Google Home - Device Not Responding - Solved!

[stefxx]

HSCS-8344, created July 22th.

[Duc998]

I can understand bugs and issues can happen but being outstanding for over 6 months with no updates on ETA or if it's even being worked on is ridiculous.

[emiliosic]

I had a similar problem:
I noticed that newly added devices were not detected. So I eventually deleted the Homeseer integration from Google Home and tried to add it again. After validating the user/password, it would fail.

Did not find anything at all on the HomeSeer logs, so I went over every device with a cloud and entered a voice name. This was to avoid names that are too long by default and can choke Google's system.
That didn't do it, so I started un-checking google voice but left Alexa, etc., until I noticed that mistakenly added voices to timers and some Z-Wave root devices (instead of the actual switch/dimmer handler), and for other sensors.
When I though I removed all of that, added it again and this time working, with a bunch of devices remaining with Google Voice active.
After that, add what's missing again.

[JProv]

With a separate virtual device configured for each of my lights — as described in this thread — I have all my lights on/off controllable by voice through Google Home, and reporting their status correctly.

However, dimming via Google Home does not work. See the thread linked above for my logs.

HomeSeer really needs to fix this if the want to claim they support Google Home integration.

In the meantime, a workaround for voice-controlled dimming is to use IFTTT to configure a Google Assistant → HomeSeer applet.

[TeleFragger]

With a separate virtual device configured for each of my lights — as described in this thread — I have all my lights on/off controllable by voice through Google Home, and reporting their status correctly.

However, dimming via Google Home does not work. See the thread linked above for my logs.

HomeSeer really needs to fix this if the want to claim they support Google Home integration.

In the meantime, a workaround for voice-controlled dimming is to use IFTTT to configure a Google Assistant → HomeSeer applet.

i did not have to do a separate virtual per... glad so cuz i like dimming via google..thx for the info.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

[JProv]

i did not have to do a separate virtual per... glad so cuz i like dimming via google..thx for the info.

So Google shows the status of your lights correctly and can also dim them?

What kind of lighting devices are you using? Are there multiple light features all under a single root device in your HS device list, or does each light have its own device?

Are you on HS3 or HS4? Maybe the issue is only with HS4.

[TeleFragger]

So Google shows the status of your lights correctly and can also dim them?

What kind of lighting devices are you using? Are there multiple light features all under a single root device in your HS device list, or does each light have its own device?

Are you on HS3 or HS4? Maybe the issue is only with HS4.

hs4... will check later as running out the door. I am pretty sure homeseer shows cirrect status.

I am using a znet and all zooz zen switches.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

[SteveW]

My HS4 installation with Z-Wave wall switches, dimmers and a few plugs works fine with Google Home and with Alexa. I only use root devices, and yes, it usually, but not consistently shows status.

Problems occur periodically when Google loses connection to a cloud service partner like HS, but Google periodically also loses connection to my other two cloud partners, TP-Link Kasa and ADT Pulse. So, I don't blame that on HS.

[TeleFragger]

So Google shows the status of your lights correctly and can also dim them?

What kind of lighting devices are you using? Are there multiple light features all under a single root device in your HS device list, or does each light have its own device?

Are you on HS3 or HS4? Maybe the issue is only with HS4.

interesting...
on and off..yes accurate update status.. if i say dim master bathroom lights 80% 8 I get this... led lights controlled by a zooz zwave switch...

[SteveW]

interesting...
on and off..yes accurate update status.. if i say dim master bathroom lights 80% 8 I get this... led lights controlled by a zooz zwave switch...

Say: "Hey Google, set bedroom lights to 80%. The percent you say is the brightness level it will set.

And, I am looking at the devices (lights and dimmer switches) on the Google Home app, and yes, it's not perfect, but it does perform the command, and usually it also updates the brightness level on the Home app.

[Guest]

I have the same issue with many of my devices. For example our Z-Wave central heating controller has two channels (heating + hot water) which appear as features, rather than root nodes. I can control them by voice using Google Assistant, but the Google Home app reports both of them as offline. You can still click them on and off, and they will turn on and off, but you cannot see the current state.

It's not a Google problem. I know this because I have recently moved to HS4, enabled Node-RED, and started to mess around with smart-nora.eu nodes for Google control. Even at a basic level, controlling a switch (like the example above) is flawless, and the ability to finally support more of the features of my thermostat/HiFi/TV is a massive step forward.

What it means is that I am slowly moving away from HomeSeer. With Node-RED, I no longer need HomeSeer events, and can do away with many of the plugins that I bought. Zigbee devices are interfaced to via Zigbee2MQTT in any case, and if I did the same for Z-Wave, then HS4 could be turned off. So if anyone is wondering whether these types of bugs are worth fixing, consider that the slippery slope that I am on may be the same for other existing customers.

[alex131]

Same story here - I'm now slowly drifting away from HS for the following reasons: 1. This issue of broken google integration (which is being marketed by HS and sold, basically - false advertising). 2. Visual aspect - I know the goal of automation platform is the ability to automate and not necessary interact with the system, but the lack of proper mobile app is a killer anyway - I spent hours configuring the Mobile App, just to learn that I have to spend same amount of time to configure my GFs app as well - total fail. So, for now I'm using the HS/Home Assistant integration (which is really basic for now - HA pulls basic data from HS) to overcome the issue of "visual aspect" I described above. In minutes I have really cool looking dashboards etc. But, Home Assistant has also a properly working Google Assistant integration etc.
Ah - I played with smart-nora too - totally stable. On the note of thermostats, btw: another issue I have with HS and Google integration is that for some stupid reason, my thermostats appear with Fahrenheit units and Celsius once synchronized with google. No matter what I do - drives me nuts...But based on my experience with the service desk etc. I won't even bother reporting anymore, just waste of my time...
Just to give you an idea what you can do with a fairly standard Home Assistant interface - see screenshot below. It's offtopic, but at the end, the issue with Google integration is exactly what pushed me to go there. Also note - I still like Homeseer and will probably still remain with it as a main platform. I just hope they'll manage to stay on the market.

[sdmccambridge]

Had Google Home linked some years ago but not really used. A new use case came up so went to test but the device list was a mess in Google Home and did not seem to be fully synchronised. I deleted the connection and attempted to reconnect to my HS4 system (earlier connection had been made with HS3). Various issues which were resolved by removing Google voice discovery totally from all devices, turning it back on to a single switch device and then reconnecting. Went on to add devices and they were showing up in Google Home. Identical issue however as first post in this topic. BTW Alexa integration works just fine and has no problem seeing HS4 device states. Glad to see there is a workaround by exposing non-primary devices via virtual primary devices but this really should not be necessary. Just added my voice to this and raised a ticket. Will advise if there is any response that I consider useful.

[Duc998]

alex131 thanks for sharing. I'll be going down the same route after reading your post. Start by running HS & HA side by side but maybe move to HA. What I've loved about HS is its ease of use. But now too many gaps are starting to appear and you are so right about the Mobile interface, I got around that with HSBuddy but still not as nice as HA.

Still can believe we have no updates from HS about this Google issue. Would be nice if they acknowledge the issue and at least provide an ETA even if it's months away.

[skl111]

I am wondering how this is being handled with anyone who commercially installs HS, are they staying on HS3 until this is fixed, or migrating their users to other platforms?

his Affects WAF/GAF/FAF a lot, especially when you have google routines and others. I had Hue, envisalink, etc linked to Google home via HS3, moved and bought a house and thats when I found HS4 had so many issues. Thought it was something I did during the upgrade, blew it away and reinstalled and still issues.