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    Alexa skill stopped working - Solved!

    My "HomeSeer SmartHome" skill seems to have stopped working properly. When I issue a command, Alexa doesn't return a "not responding" or other error, she beeps as usual as if it works, but then nothing happens. This started a couple of days ago. Nothing has changed in my setup. The "HomeSeer Home Automation" skill still works fine, but I prefer the simpler syntax of this one.

    Alexa still lists all the devices (5 z-wave lights). I deleted one of them, and had Alexa rediscover, and it found the device again, but it still doesn't work.

    All of the light devices show their controls in the Alexa app. The dimmers will reflect the current dim setting, and the readout will update if I dim the lights manually or from the HomeSeer app. But the power status shows as "off" whether or not the lights are on, and neither toggling the power or changing the dim setting does anything if done from the Alexa app. Again, no error, just nothing happens. It's as if it's gotten into a "read only" mode or something.

    Any thoughts, or is anyone else having the same issue?

    #2
    Try shutting down HS, reboot your router, then restart HS4 and test.
    πŸ’β€β™‚οΈ Support & Customer Service πŸ™‹β€β™‚οΈ Sales Questions πŸ›’ Shop HomeSeer Products​

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      #3
      Ah, thanks, that did the trick. I should have mentioned I did also try rebooting HS, which didn't do it. But adding the router reboot did.

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        #4
        Glad this worked for you. This seems to be an issue on some users networks. It appears that the network is caching an old invalid connection.
        πŸ’β€β™‚οΈ Support & Customer Service πŸ™‹β€β™‚οΈ Sales Questions πŸ›’ Shop HomeSeer Products​

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          #5
          Same issue here, but restarts aren't helping. I shut down the System (power light on my SEL goes out), reboot the modem/router, turn the SEL back on. Web app and remotes control Homeseer. Alexa gives the "BaDink", but no action.

          If "the network is caching an old invalid connection", how do I get it to cache a valid connection?

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            #6
            I just had this happen over the last week...the few commands I use (e.g. Alexa turn on the kitchen lights) failed. Rebooted server, updated firmware on all my mesh WiFi devices, rebooted again...no joy.

            Then I noticed that the Homeseer skill was...slightly different from what was in the current search for Homeseer. I deleted the old, added the new, and no joy. Then I deleted the new AND deleted all the devices. And added the new. Linked. Discovered...and bob's your uncle I'm back in business.

            The New forced me to deal with "groups" (or skip them) - something I had not had previously. I imagine it will be useful but I think I'm going to have to reword my devices in Homeseer.

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              #7
              New / Old - note that old one had 51 reviews and 2.5 stars, new had 67 reviews and 3 stars.

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                #8
                I am having trouble getting the Alexa HomeSeer Smarthome skill to recognize my OMNI devices.

                I am using a HomeSeer HS4 Pi Hub G3 v4.2.14.0 with the OMNI plug-in v3.0.2.23. My OMNI devices are visibile and controllable in HomeSeer.

                I have "Amazon Alexa Discovery" selected on all of my OMNI lights.
                I have a simple name in the "Voice Command" field on all of my OMNI lights.
                "Amazon Alexa Discovery" should be disabled for all other devices in HomeSeer besides the OMNI lights.
                I have the HomeSeer SmartHome skill enabled in the Alexa app.

                When I discover devices in the Alexa app, none of the Alexa devices appear.


                Click image for larger version

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                  #9
                  F rom bad to worse.

                  I'm having serious trouble with Alexa. In the last few weeks, I keep getting "[Device X] is not responding. Make sure the device is powered on and..." (approximation because I can't recreate it anymore--keep reading). A few minutes later Alexa works correctly as it has for years. Sadly, in an attempt to solve the problem, I removed all devices from Alexa's devices. I then disabled and re-enabled the HS Smarthome Skill. I login via HS account interface and then try to discover devices. It always comes back with no new devices found. I've tried the solution suggested earlier in this thread by Rupp (stop HS, disable skill, reboot modem, restart HS, re-enable skill) to no avail. I've tried numerous times. Something is completely broken now that was only sometimes broken. The notion of a "new" skill vs. something older is no help because I have the one centerisland suggests is the new skill.

                  I do have one hint of something being amiss. In the Alexa app, under devices, when I scroll to the bottom, I see a heading "Your Smart Home Skills" and then absolutely nothing below that. (I can't even scroll past that heading.) That may be telling me that even though it says that the skill is enabled, it is for some reason not interfacing properly. Of note, though I have the other HS skill enabled, and it works, yet it also doesn't show up as a smart home skill on the devices page. I have been using this skill as a workaround (e.g., Alexa, ask HS to turn the kitchen light off).

                  Alexa app screenshots:
                  Click image for larger version  Name:	Screenshot_20220903-194834_Amazon Alexa.jpg Views:	4 Size:	56.6 KB ID:	1564553Click image for larger version  Name:	Screenshot_20220903-194847_Amazon Alexa.jpg Views:	5 Size:	38.6 KB ID:	1564555

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by ToinkyRoo View Post
                    ...
                    In the Alexa app, under devices, when I scroll to the bottom, I see a heading "Your Smart Home Skills" and then absolutely nothing below that. (I can't even scroll past that heading.)
                    If I touch "Your Smart Home Skills" it takes me to a different screen, where "HomeSeer SmartHome" is one of the skills shown. There's nothing below that heading.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by ToinkyRoo View Post
                      F rom bad to worse.

                      I'm having serious trouble with Alexa. In the last few weeks, I keep getting "[Device X] is not responding. Make sure the device is powered on and..." (approximation because I can't recreate it anymore--keep reading). A few minutes later Alexa works correctly as it has for years. Sadly, in an attempt to solve the problem, I removed all devices from Alexa's devices. I then disabled and re-enabled the HS Smarthome Skill. I login via HS account interface and then try to discover devices. It always comes back with no new devices found. I've tried the solution suggested earlier in this thread by Rupp (stop HS, disable skill, reboot modem, restart HS, re-enable skill) to no avail. I've tried numerous times. Something is completely broken now that was only sometimes broken. The notion of a "new" skill vs. something older is no help because I have the one centerisland suggests is the new skill.

                      I do have one hint of something being amiss. In the Alexa app, under devices, when I scroll to the bottom, I see a heading "Your Smart Home Skills" and then absolutely nothing below that. (I can't even scroll past that heading.) That may be telling me that even though it says that the skill is enabled, it is for some reason not interfacing properly. Of note, though I have the other HS skill enabled, and it works, yet it also doesn't show up as a smart home skill on the devices page. I have been using this skill as a workaround (e.g., Alexa, ask HS to turn the kitchen light off).

                      Alexa app screenshots:
                      Click image for larger version Name:	Screenshot_20220903-194834_Amazon Alexa.jpg Views:	4 Size:	56.6 KB ID:	1564553Click image for larger version Name:	Screenshot_20220903-194847_Amazon Alexa.jpg Views:	5 Size:	38.6 KB ID:	1564555
                      I have the same issue now. It is very unreliable. I rebuilt my Alexa devices also and spent hours upon hours trying to get HomeSeer to work properly. I changed settings all over the place trying to get it to work, i.e. combinations of "Amazon Alexa Discovery" and "Local Voice Control" checkboxes on devices. I finally got it working, although I feel like it is a serious bug and not a failure of my original settings. It shouldn't be this complicated. I agree that something serious is wrong. I do continue to have occasional issues with "[Device X] is not responding" errors even after I was able to get Alexa to rediscover the devices. I am about ready to give up on HomeSeer.

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                        #12
                        Duh. Thanks zwoldpack. I was thinking it was a heading, but it is a link! The HS Smart Skill shows up there. Still don't know how to get it to recognize all my HS devices. 😟

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                          #13
                          Hey, kctx, could you please describe in more detail what you did to finally get things working again?

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                            #14
                            Over the past few weeks I have had a few devices not work with Alexa but work great in Homeseer. I have deleted from Alexa but now they aren’t discovered even though checked correctly.

                            is there a solution I have not found? Thanks for the help!

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                              #15
                              FINALLY SOLVED...

                              Eureka! Here is a rather simple, although tedious solution that worked for me. I took verbatim the statement in the HS Knowledgebase that says, "Make sure that you only have voice control enabled for on/off, dimmable, and thermostat devices. Only devices and features which have these controls on the right hand side in List view of the Devices page should have voice control enabled." I went through and removed any and all voice enabled devices that were not on/off/dimmable or thermostats and it now works. Why it worked fine for so many years wtih so many of my devices that were not such (e.g., Status and Central Scene elements of my HS brand switches) I may never know. My hunch is that the HS Skill changed in some way and that change made it so the discovery process failed. Alexa could only say it found no new devices rather than say, "I got lost trying to discover devices because I choked on something other than an on/off/dimmable device! Therefore, the whole discovery was canceled [despite there being lots of new devices to be discovered]."

                              Remains to be seen whether this will also remedy the original problem I had that led to me deleting all my devices in Alexa in the first place. That is, I kept getting "device not found" errors on devices that had worked for years and would work a few minutes later no problem.

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