Original topic:

How to enable Modes through Bixby/Routines/Tasker?

(Topic created: 03-23-2023 10:04 AM)
Cooltop101
Asteroid
Options
Galaxy S20
I'm using a S20 Ultra, but I don't think that matters too much. 

I use the Bixby routines in combination with tasker for some automation on my phone. During work hours, Focus Mode is turned on. I had a bixby routine set up that when triggered would use a touch macro from Routines+ to turn off the focus mode, wait 10 minutes, and then there was a built in action in the routines to turn the focus mode back on

My phone was updates and Focus Mode was replaced with Modes. The action to turn on a Focus Mode/Mode is no longer there. The option to add a touch macro disappeared from the routines, but I was still able to edit the one I was using before to turn off the work mode. 

However, I can't find a way to re-enable a mode. I can't add a touch macro (which would be less ideal anyways), and I've even tried to use a Bixby command, but Bixby also seems unable to activate the new modes. And there's no action to turn on a mode through routines. 

Is there any way I'm able to turn on the Work Mode through a Bixby command, Routine action, or even Tasker?
2 Replies
Ellaminnowpea
Constellation
Options
Galaxy S20

I have the same problem. Bixby modes do so many things I want, if only I could trigger them on and off. The options given in modes are not useful to me, and I can't figure out how to run tasker to start/stop a mode, so Bixby modes COULD have been nice, but the interface is too restrictive. In the end, they are useless. Samsung, are you listening?

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Ellaminnowpea
Constellation
Options
Galaxy S20

Hi @Cooltop101  -- After some time tinkering with this, I've come up with a solution. You can't enable/disable a mode from a routine, but you can run a Bixby Quick Command from a routine, AND it's possible to turn modes on and off with Bixby voice. So, activate Bixby Voice and go into the Quick Command settings. Set up a quick command to turn on the Mode you want. Trial and error the commands here, weirdly, for me, "Start sleep mode" did not turn on the Bixby Sleep Mode, but instead it turned on Dark Mode theme settings. But, "Start sleep routine" DID turn on the Sleep Mode. Then I did another for "Stop sleep routine," and these were perfect.

Now that we have those, a Bixby routine can use them as actions - and it's possible to have it run silently, so it's as if you've given Bixby a voice command to start a mode, but without the noise.

Now all you need is a trigger. If the routines don't have the trigger you want, there is a trigger to activate a Bixby routine when a notification is received (notification containing keywords). If there is already a reliable notification from an app that you can use as the trigger, great. If not, use tasker to make a notification from whatever you want to use as your real trigger, and you can set tasker to clear the notification right after so it won't bug you later. I put a 2 second delay before the clear action to make sure Bixby routines has time to see it.

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