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Alexa won't voice trigger my events -Solved!

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    #46
    Originally posted by avgeek View Post
    Just need to chime in here. I have been using Homeseer 3, then upgrade to 4 with Alexa and it has been mostly stable. Lately as of late 2022 when I call an event through Alexa, it works about half the time. I give it a second and try again - something’s a third time and it usually works. I can even try triggering the event from within the Alexa app routines section and it will not fire when it’s acting up. If I trigger through the Homeseer app it works fine.
    The issue seems to be with the Alexa cloud communicating with the Homeseer cloud.
    something has happened recently that has made the whole Alexa interface become unstable. Homeseer support - please look in to this!
    Please log a support ticket in order to get their attention.

    https://dev.homeseer.com/servicedesk/customer/portals

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      #47
      Well I thought this was fixed but tonight in uk again the problem resurfaced 😞

      Comment


        #48
        Originally posted by phillb View Post
        Well I thought this was fixed but tonight in uk again the problem resurfaced 😞
        Please log a support ticket.

        Comment


          #49
          I've given up hoping this might get fixed and have ordered some remotes.
          One thing I forgot to mention about Alexa routines is that I noticed along time ago that when the routine does work Alexa (or the skill) calls the scene twice. If I tell Alexa to turn on the TV and then check the HS4 log you can see that the TV On event is run twice, back to back. This could cause some problems if the event it calls gets run before the previous run is finished. I set all my Alexa events to not allow being re-run for 5 secs.

          I tried turning that off, it didn't help.

          Comment


            #50
            Originally posted by andyf View Post
            I've given up hoping this might get fixed and have ordered some remotes.
            One thing I forgot to mention about Alexa routines is that I noticed along time ago that when the routine does work Alexa (or the skill) calls the scene twice. If I tell Alexa to turn on the TV and then check the HS4 log you can see that the TV On event is run twice, back to back. This could cause some problems if the event it calls gets run before the previous run is finished. I set all my Alexa events to not allow being re-run for 5 secs.

            I tried turning that off, it didn't help.
            The surefire workaround is to create "triggers" for the events as virtual On/Off devices. Set the event to run when its corresponding device trigger turns on, (somewhere in the event remember to reset the virtual trigger to its off state). Then tell Alexa to turn ON the trigger device to execute the event.

            It's an inconvenience to have to set it up this way, but it works 100% of the time.

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              #51
              That doesn't work for me. I'm not going to tell Alexa to turn on/off the Garage Door when I want it to open/close. Plus, all the virtual devices cluttering up the device list. I'd rather use remote controls.

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                #52
                Originally posted by andyf View Post
                That doesn't work for me. I'm not going to tell Alexa to turn on/off the Garage Door when I want it to open/close. Plus, all the virtual devices cluttering up the device list. I'd rather use remote controls.
                I made all the virtual devices as features under one Virtual Device heading to keep them together and not clutter up my system. I agree calling events with Alexa should work as is without the workaround and HS should fix it. The only way they will is to keep on HS through the bug tickets.

                P.S. The Open/Close commands should also work for other devices (Blinds) but HS hasn't enhanced the Alexa skill yet for those Open/Close commands. A little time for them to enhance the Alexa Skill should be in their best interest I would think.

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                  #53
                  Originally posted by andyf View Post
                  That doesn't work for me. I'm not going to tell Alexa to turn on/off the Garage Door when I want it to open/close. Plus, all the virtual devices cluttering up the device list. I'd rather use remote controls.
                  Remote controls? I'm interested.

                  Comment


                    #54
                    Hah! When you tell Alexa to turn on Shirley, or turn on Hazel, what does she do? 😆😁

                    Well, first, HS has a nasty habit of ignoring and closing tickets that you submit when running a beta of anything. I seem to to be always in running some kind of beta whether it be HS4 or the Z-Wave plug-in. They just won't accept bug reports if you're running beta software.

                    Remote Controls? randy is the master of remote controls. The one he likes and I like is the ZRC-90 which seems to be discontinued. I never could get it to include into my system, it's a very finicky device.

                    However, I have ordered 2 of the Hank Remotes here: https://www.thesmartesthouse.com/col...ler-hkzw-scn04
                    I think these should add easily. They look like they'll work great on a tabletop or night stand.

                    I mourn the loss of the Aeotec MiniMote, no longer of this world other than eBay overpriced knockoffs. RIP.
                    Also, the Aeotec Quadmote seems to have gone the way of the MiniMote (a moment of silence).

                    While Z-Wave remotes seem to be dying with the advent of Alexa, maybe there'll be a comeback given the current state of Alexa. I'm not totally convinced this is a HS skill issue either.

                    Comment


                      #55
                      For remotes, you might look at Vesternet. They have the Remotec among others. My experience with the Hank has been positive. I haven’t tried one, but the form of this one is interesting.

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                      HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

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                        #56
                        I too have experienced everything described in this thread beginning in December 2022 (about). It is very frustrating and I have wasted countless hours trying to debug with the few tools and cumbersome interface the HS provides. It is further frustrating that pre-December everything worked perfectly to point that I had concluded that voice was by far the best way to automate a home in a way acceptable to normal humans (as opposed to computer hobbyists). see https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/homeseer-products-services/general-discussion-area/1589200-alexa-getting-very-unreliable-in-the-uk-time-to-change?p=1593175#post1593175

                        Here is a summary of what I have learned/experienced:
                        1. Everything was working well prior to (around) Dec 2022
                        2. Alexis device commands seem to work quickly and accurately (although we do not use these often)
                        3. Alexis Routines voice command which importantly allow you to use custom phrases (these are key to our use case) now have come to work erratically. It generally takes 2 Alexa attempts to invoke a HS Event but sometimes it takes 3 to 4 tries.
                        4. When an Alexa Routines Event is successfully executed it will often take 15 to 20 seconds. Sometimes, however, it will take an exhilarating 2 seconds.
                        5. When an Alexa Routines Event is finally executed after sometimes minutes between sequential attempts, the events will show as triggered multiple times in the log with the exact same timestamp. (I believe I have even observed this having happened where the occasional successful single attempt produced 2 event trigger log entries with identical timestamps.)
                        6. I too have found that deleting the Alexa Routines and recreating them as well disabling the Alexa Skill and relinking it temporarily seems to improve things only to have the problems reemerge hours later.
                        7. I discovered at one point a month ago that the Alexa app somehow had created many duplicated HS scenes. Elated that I surely had found the source of the problems, I cleaned this up (deleted them, unlinked skill, rediscovered devices, rebooted HS,... everything I could think of) only to find the unreliable Alexa Routines execution reemerged.
                        8. I tried unchecking both Alexa Discovery and Voice Command in the Advanced tab. It did not help the problem.
                        9. I learned that an Event without Advanced>Voice Command checked will NOT be discovered by Alexa Find My Devices.
                        10. Suggestions of using ridiculous commands (with virtual devices) only serve to turn-off family and friends. I view this as poorly reflecting on HS and me. (Try explaining to you wife why she has to say "turn on Nighttime")
                        11. Everything used to work very well so HS really needs to do whatever is required to fix it. Even if its open sourcing the SmartHome skill so the userbase can fix it. I believe HS may not appreciate how killer comfortable voice commands are, but they have work consistently and reliably.
                        Hopefully, this summary will be of use to others. HS makes it painfully slow to do this kind of trial and error. I am embarrassed to think how much time I have had to spend on this. I am creating a ticket referencing this post and encourage all of you to make noise about the problem.

                        Ticket: https://dev.homeseer.com/servicedesk...l/2/HSCS-18304

                        Comment


                          #57
                          Originally posted by amarcuvitz View Post
                          I too have experienced everything described in this thread beginning in December 2022 (about). It is very frustrating and I have wasted countless hours trying to debug with the few tools and cumbersome interface the HS provides. It is further frustrating that pre-December everything worked perfectly to point that I had concluded that voice was by far the best way to automate a home in a way acceptable to normal humans (as opposed to computer hobbyists). see https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/homeseer-products-services/general-discussion-area/1589200-alexa-getting-very-unreliable-in-the-uk-time-to-change?p=1593175#post1593175

                          Here is a summary of what I have learned/experienced:
                          1. Everything was working well prior to (around) Dec 2022
                          2. Alexis device commands seem to work quickly and accurately (although we do not use these often)
                          3. Alexis Routines voice command which importantly allow you to use custom phrases (these are key to our use case) now have come to work erratically. It generally takes 2 Alexa attempts to invoke a HS Event but sometimes it takes 3 to 4 tries.
                          4. When an Alexa Routines Event is successfully executed it will often take 15 to 20 seconds. Sometimes, however, it will take an exhilarating 2 seconds.
                          5. When an Alexa Routines Event is finally executed after sometimes minutes between sequential attempts, the events will show as triggered multiple times in the log with the exact same timestamp. (I believe I have even observed this having happened where the occasional successful single attempt produced 2 event trigger log entries with identical timestamps.)
                          6. I too have found that deleting the Alexa Routines and recreating them as well disabling the Alexa Skill and relinking it temporarily seems to improve things only to have the problems reemerge hours later.
                          7. I discovered at one point a month ago that the Alexa app somehow had created many duplicated HS scenes. Elated that I surely had found the source of the problems, I cleaned this up (deleted them, unlinked skill, rediscovered devices, rebooted HS,... everything I could think of) only to find the unreliable Alexa Routines execution reemerged.
                          8. I tried unchecking both Alexa Discovery and Voice Command in the Advanced tab. It did not help the problem.
                          9. I learned in Private Messages that an Event without Advanced>Voice Command checked will NOT be discovered by Alexa Find My Devices.
                          10. Suggestions of using ridiculous commands (with virtual devices) only serve to turn-off family and friends. I view this as poorly reflecting on HS and me. (Try explaining to you wife why she has to say "turn on Nighttime")
                          11. Everything used to work very well so HS really needs to do whatever is required to fix it. Even if its open sourcing the SmartHome skill so the userbase can fix it. I believe HS may not appreciate how killer comfortable voice commands are, but they have work consistently and reliably.
                          Hopefully, this summary will be of use to others. HS makes it painfully slow to do this kind of trial and error. I am embarrassed to think how much time I have had to spend on this. I am creating a ticket referencing this post and encourage all of you to make noise about the problem.

                          Ticket: https://dev.homeseer.com/servicedesk...l/2/HSCS-18304
                          +100 for "...encourage all of you to make noise about the problem."

                          BTW - Although I'm trying to do away with as many remotes as possible in favor of Alexa/HS events controlling things, it would be nice to give them to guests or housesitters instead of teaching them Alexa commands. Good find!

                          Comment


                            #58
                            Originally posted by randy View Post
                            I haven’t tried one, but the form of this one is interesting.

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                            I just ordered one. Once it arrives I'll make a post.

                            EDIT: EU version only. There is a Zigbee version. I asked some questions about how it adds to a Hue bridge. Will update later.
                            Last edited by Kevb; March 10, 2023, 10:39 AM. Reason: New info

                            Comment


                              #59
                              I had the same issue and I had made a bunch of changes to my device names (I have about 150 devices) so I just decided to;
                              1. Deactive Homeseer Skill
                              2. Deleted ALL Homeseer related Alexa automations that called homeseer events
                              3. Deleted ALL HomeSeer devices and scenes from Alexa
                              4. Reactivate Homeseer Skill and allow rediscover
                              5. Recreated Alexa Automations

                              This has solved my issue. Has been running for about 2 weeks now without issue.

                              Comment


                                #60
                                Is it possible? I'm not holding my breath but all of a sudden I got an Alexa notification on my iPad saying it had automatically discovered a bunch of new scenes. This has never happened before. So I went back into Alexa, deleted all my routines and scenes (you can't tell which were the newly discovered scenes). Did a new Scene Discovery and created a few voice activated routines. So far, all working 100%.

                                Something must have just changed with Alexa or the skill. I know, been there, done that. We'll see if it lasts, meanwhile voice activated routines are back up and running🤞

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