Using Siri shortcuts with a Solution 6000

This new feature enables you to control your Alarm System effortlessly by simply speaking to your iPhone. The new Shortcut Actions allow for more advanced interactions, such as arming your alarm system and closing your garage door with a single voice command.

This will greatly enhance the user experience and make controlling your Alarm System more intuitive and convenient than ever before.

Please follow this checklist to get your Siri shortcuts setup.

1. Make sure you have V4.00 of iFob Control app or higher and iOS 16 or higher.

2. Check you can connect to and control your security system with the iFob Control app.

3. If not already installed, download the Shortcuts app from the app store.

4. Go to “Settings” and then “Siri & Search” and make sure Siri is configured. Scroll down the app list and tap on iFob Control and configure the options to suit your preference.

5. Launch iFob Control and tap on the Shortcuts button in the My Sites list. The shortcut app will open and the predefined Siri shortcuts will be displayed. Press the information icon at the top right of the screen and make sure to enable the Spotlight and Siri options. From here you can tap on the shortcut to perform the action.

6. If a custom shortcut is required, follow the steps outlined in this document to create it. Custom shortcuts can contain multiple actions that can be triggered by a single phrase. Custom shortcuts you create are also shown in the Shortcuts app in the My Shortcut section.

7. Custom Shortcuts can be added to and controlled via the Apple Smart Watch.

The following tips and suggestions will help you get the best from your Siri integration.

1. For best results make sure to go through the Siri training to set up Siri to recognize your voice.

• Go to Settings.
• Tap Siri & Search.
• Turn off Listen for “Hey Siri,” then turn it back on.
• When the Set Up “Hey Siri” screen appears, tap Continue.
• Say each command that you see on your screen.
• Tap Done

2. Choose unique phrases that are easy to remember and pronounce.

3. Better results are often achieved by using 2 or 3 word phrases. It is important to not setup shortcuts

with similar names or names that can lead into other names.

eg:

• Open Garage
• Open Garage Door
• Open Left Garage Door
• Close Shop
• Close the Shop
• Close the Petersham Shop

After installing MyAlarm iFob Control V4, several predefined “App Shortcuts” are automatically installed and can be activated via Siri using the predefined phrases. 

Use the predefined App Shortcuts to arm / disarm your system. Siri will prompt you for additional information if required to perform the function.

For example:

To arm your system say,

“Hey Siri, Arm all Areas with iFob Control”

To disarm your system say,

“Hey Siri, Disarm all Areas with iFob Control”

Use the predefined App Shortcuts to operate an output or door. Siri will prompt you for additional information if required to perform the function.

For example:

To operate a door on your system say,

“Hey Siri, Operate Door with iFob Control”

To turn an output on say,

“Hey Siri, Turn Output On with iFob Control”

With the iOS Shortcuts app, you can create custom shortcuts that incorporate actions from any app on your iPhone. The iFob Control app offers actions that allow you to create basic shortcuts using personalised phrases, as well as more complex multi-action shortcuts that can span multiple sites or for multiple objects

that can span multiple sites.

The iFob Control actions are grouped by the object they control and the method used to locate the object. Typically, you would use the “Selector” actions, which provide controls that list the available objects from iFob Control. If you do not see any options, please connect to the site and ensure that there are entries for

the object you wish to use. When configuring an action a search list allows you to select the correct object for the action. 

To create a custom shortcut, navigate to the Shortcuts app and tap on the + icon located at the top right corner. This will bring up the Shortcut editing page. From there, tap on the “Add Action” button to add a new action. Next, select “Apps” and navigate to the iFob Control app. Here, you will find a list of all the available actions provided by the app. 

Choose the desired action, such as “Arm All Areas on a Site” and “Operate Door” in our example. 

If you select the “Arm All Areas on Site” action, you will see an action added to the shortcut that says “Arm All Areas on <Site>”. Tap on <Site> to choose the specific site you want to arm all areas on. For instance, if you only have one site called “Home”, select that option, and the action will be updated to “Arm All Areas on <Home>”. 

Note that the <WORD> is used to indicate where the user needs to make a selection or enter an object choice while creating the shortcut. 

Pressing the Siri Shortcut launch button at the bottom of the My Sites page in iFob Control, will load the predefined iFob Control shortcuts page. Tap the info button at the top right of this screen and make sure the Spotlight and Siri options are enabled.

To include multiple actions in a single shortcut, drag the slider located at the bottom of the screen up and select another action. In our case, we have added the “Operate Door” action to our new custom shortcut. To specify the operation to be performed, tap on the <Task> entry and select one of the available choices. For example, we will choose “Operate”.

Next, we need to select the door that we want to operate using the action. Tap on the <Door> entry and choose one of the available doors. Each door option includes the name of the door first, followed by the site name. In our example, we will select the “Garage Roller Door” located at the “Home” site.

Note that <WORD> is used to indicate where the user needs to make a selection or enter an object choice while creating the shortcut.

To set a custom phrase for your new shortcut, tap on the grey text located next to the icon at the top of the screen. Whatever you enter here, will be both the name of the custom shortcut and the phrase that you can say to Siri to activate the shortcut. In our example, we will enter “Leaving Home”.

Now, you can simply say “Hey Siri, Leaving Home” and Siri will run the shortcut.