If you're sick of having to find and fumble with the light switch every time you enter a dark room, you can use SmartThings to automate that process and have the lights turn on automatically when you enter.

Related: How to Control Multiple SmartThings Devices at Once with Routines

There are a couple of ways you can do this, and it depends what smarthome products you have in your arsenal. To trigger the automation for the lights, you can either use a SmartThings open/close sensor or a SmartThings motion sensor. As for the lights themselves, you can use a SmartThings Outlet (or a third-party smart outlet connected to SmartThings) with a lamp plugged in, or if you have Wi-Fi light bulbs like Philips Hue, you can use those as well.

To set this up, start by opening up the SmartThings app on your phone and selecting the "Marketplace" tab at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

IMG_2249_stomped

Tap on the "SmartApps" tab at the top if it isn't already selected.

IMG_2250_stomped

Next, tap on "Lights & Switches".

IMG_2250.1_stomped

Select "Smart Lights". It will likely be the first option at the top.

IMG_2251_stomped

Tap on "New Lighting Automation".

IMG_2252_stomped

Tap inside the box where it says "Which lights do you want to control?".

IMG_2253_stomped

Place checkmarks next to the lights you want to turn on. If you have a lamp plugged into a smart outlet (from SmartThings, Belkin WeMo, etc.), select that in the list. Hit "Done" in the top-right corner.

IMG_2254_stomped

Next, tap inside the box where it says "What do you want to do?".

IMG_2255_stomped

Select "Turn On" and then tap "Done" in the top-right corner.

IMG_2257_stomped

Next, tap inside the box where it says "How do you want to trigger the action?".

IMG_2258_stomped

There are several options to choose from, but in this case we're going to select "Motion" and have our SmartThings motion sensor decide when to turn the lights on. Then, tap on "Done" in the top-right corner.

IMG_2259_stomped

Tap inside the box where it says "Which motion sensors?".

IMG_2260_stomped

Select the motion sensor that you want to use and then tap "Done".

IMG_2262_stomped

Next, turn on the toggle switch next to "Turn off after motion stops". This is an optional step, but it will ensure that the lights turn off when you leave the room.

IMG_2263_stomped

If you do this, tap inside the box where it says "After this number of minutes".

IMG_2264_stomped

Enter in a number here--1 or 2 minutes should be fine, but you can make it whatever you want.

IMG_2265_stomped

Tap on "Next" in the top-right corner of the screen.

IMG_2265.1_stomped

If you want to give this automation rule a name, tap on the toggle switch next to "Edit automation name".

IMG_2266_stomped

From there, tap inside the box where it says "Enter custom name" and type in a name for the automation rule. When you're done, tap "Done" in the top-right corner.

IMG_2267_stomped

The new automation rule will appear in the list. If you want to remove it, simply swipe it to the left and tap "Remove".

IMG_2269_stomped

Granted, something like this might not be ideal for every room in the house, but for those spaces or closets where you're only going in to get something and poke around for a minute, automating the lights can be really convenient.