Hi, all. My wife and I recently got new phones, and it got me thinking again about how notifications work.

Currently I have several automations (maybe 10) that send notifications to my phone, her phone, both, and possibly other devices.

But when we get a new phone, or replace a tablet, etc., I have to update every single one of those automations. And I inevitably forget some or introduce errors.

Is there a better way to do this? For example, it’d be nice if I could abstract the concept of “my phone” out in those automations, then I’d only have to change the device “my phone” in one place, rather than a bunch of places.

Any thoughts on this? Maybe I’m missing a way to do it. Thanks.

  • mojo17English
    5•3 months ago

    I use the notify service with a group platform. This way you add and remove devices in one place only. Here’s how I set it up in configuration.yaml:

    notify:
  - name: notify_all_devices
    platform: group
    services:
      - service: mobile_app_pixel_6_pro
      - service: mobile_app_pixel_3_xl

    In my automation triggers, I simply call my notify_all_devices service.