Skip to content

Verifying Device Capabilities

Before building your integration, it is important to verify that your specific SmartHQ device (washer, air conditioner, etc.) supports the capabilities you need. While the SmartHQ data model shows all possible features for each device type, individual devices may only support a subset of those capabilities.

For example, the documentation shows that dryers can support all of these services, but your particular dryer model may not implement every one.

Goal

Verify that your device supports the SmartHQ features you need.

SmartHQ Device Feature Verification Steps

  1. Follow these Get Started steps, including the third Postman step, to obtain an access token to authenticate future API calls.
  2. Download the SmartHQ app and sign in to the app using the same account you used to obtain your API access token.
  3. Add your SmartHQ device to the SmartHQ app (see Device Commissioning for more information).
  4. Call GET /v2/device of the Digital Twin API. The device you added to the SmartHQ app should appear in the device list. Copy the deviceId for the device shown.
  5. Call GET /v2/device/{deviceId} with the deviceId.
  6. You should see a list of service objects in the returned JSON. These objects represent all the SmartHQ functionality present on the device.
  7. It is recommended to read the Conceptual Overview of the Data Model to make sense of the services. Then, you can navigate the data model for the device and understand its functionality from its services.

Conclusion

If a service appears in the data model documentation but not in your device's JSON API response, your device does not support that service. The JSON response is the source of truth for what your device can actually do.

At this point, you've successfully verified your device's SmartHQ capabilities. You can now move forward with confidence, knowing exactly what features are available for your app or integration.

Commonly Asked Questions

What if my device doesn't support the features I need?

You'll need to adjust your integration to work with the available services or consider targeting a different device model that supports your required capabilities.

Consider building your application to dynamically offer features based on each device's supported services. This approach allows your app to work across different device models—for example, showing advanced cycle controls only for washers that support them.

What if I don't have access to the device I want to integrate with?

If you're building a major application around a particular SmartHQ product, we strongly recommend verifying device capabilities before diving into development. If you're just exploring, this isn't strictly necessary but is recommended before developing a full application.

In the future, we hope to support a way of seeing example responses from any device without needing the physical device.

To get a sense of what is supported without following the steps above, GE Profile devices typically contain the most SmartHQ capabilities. However, even the newest GE Profile devices aren't guaranteed to support every documented service in the data model for that device.

What's the difference between features, capabilities, and services?

Features and capabilities refer to what you'd expect your integration to do: start a washing machine cycle, check the fridge temperature, or receive notifications when a dryer finishes.

Services are the technical components in the SmartHQ data model that make those features possible. Each service represents a specific device function—like a temperature sensor or cycle control—that your app can interact with through the API.

Will a SmartHQ device ever stop supporting a certain feature?

For the services shown in the GET /v2/device/{deviceId} response, a SmartHQ device will continue to support the service for that device.