I've spent the last couple weeks struggling with an issue that I'm not 100% where the culprit is. After removing Wink from the house, setting up HE and installing the Echo Skill I was able to get both HE and Alexa "talking" to all the devices and when in either app/dashboard I can control without issue, however talking to Alexa is another issue completely.
Only those switches nearest the hub are able to be voice controlled (simple on and off). There are Leviton Z-wave switches, outlets and plug-ins throughout the house (3,000 sq.ft) so I would've imagined the range extension inherent in Z-wave would do most of the mesh network work for me, but for whatever reason I cannot get Alexa to control anything but a couple devices.
Is this issue something everyone knows about (other than me)?
If everything can be controlled from an app, it wouldn't be a range issue would it?
If it's an Alexa issue, is there a fix?
Just thinking about it, I sometimes experience the same issue from time to time. I just attributed it to Alexa being flaky.
Does it show in your HE logs?
I think to eliminate a signal issue, if you still have your old wink hub, convert it to a repeater and see if the issue persists. I guess it's pretty easy, but might get you more answers as to whether it's a signal issue or a driver issue. I've never put much time in that situation. I only have alexa connected for announcements. My whole house interacts without a need for dashboards or alexa. Maybe I'll walk around today and see if mine are flaky too. That might not seem like much help, but I do know that my mesh is strong, so if I get flaky responses I'll let you know.
Anyway, here's the link to the wink repeater hack. I'd recommend trying that. So many things get attributed to signal issue, it's nice when you have something to test that issue.
That's not a bad idea, thanks.
I was just looking at the unplugged Wink Hub2 earlier today with no clue of how what to do with it. I'll give this a spin and see what happens.
I have no issues with Alexa controlling everything I have exposed through the skill for her to control. I have a lot of stuff on routines but Alexa is still my wife preferred method for interaction so alexa gets used a lot in my house.
I do have one dimmer in my kitchen that is a little finicky and although it always does what it was asked, Alexa would say that it was not responding about 20% of the time. To overcome that I set up a virtual dimmer and mirrored it to the physical dimmer.
Also when I tell alexa to turn off all lights - a group that I have defined in HE, I occasionally get a similar response. Again I think it is an alexa skill timeout issue that is not adjustable by us.
But in all cases the commands get carried out. That sucks that you are not seeing the same behaviour. Especially since you can control everything via HE directly.
I think the Alexa skill is the unknown here.
You didn’t specify if your devices are zigbee or zwave. With zwave I know if one of the devices close to your hub is not passing Trafic properly then is can cause issues with the outer devices.
Can I suggest you run a zwave repair and watch the logs while it runs. If it gets stuck in one device for too long it may be worth looking closer at that device. Note I have had issues with Leviton zwave switches with old FW.
Yeah, I think it is the "skill", after doing April's suggestion with the Wink Hub, some things actually seem to be firing up correctly, so thanks again @april.brandt .
Also, everything in the house uses Z-Wave, except for some spare Zigbee pieces from Ikea and Sylvania. but those are another issue entirely.
did you do a repair after adding the wink with zwave?
[EDIT]
See here's the issue. If one of your mesh networks is having problems, it could affect them both. Something maybe clogging up your communication. Mesh issues can do weird things.
Although, I'm not sure if the issue with your echo is mesh related. I'd sit on it for a day or two. If you did a repair, zwave plus self heals and stabilizes over time. So, as much as we'd like to bash on it, it's better to wait it out for a day or so to see if there's improvement in performance.
I know! It's crazy! Right?
I figured as much, I had to move it down to the basement from my office (3rd floor) where I set it in Learning Mode earlier today. I'll play around with placement and see if that fixes the issue.
I would say it isn't a mesh issue then. If the dashboard can reach every device reliably then it sounds like something with the Alexa -> HE integration.
I see some odd behaviors with Alexa and some devices. I have three Bali motorized blinds I have them individually connected to Alexa and also a virtual switch that controls all three. I have a custom Alexa action that triggers off of "Alexa, open/close shades" that triggers the virtual switch. I always get an immediate confirmation from Alexa. The shades on the other hand don't always react immediately, they seem to be a bit sleepy. Most of the time they will all start together, every now and then it will take up to ten seconds for one or two to start. I can deal with that.
If I trigger one shade directly ("Alexa, turn on left blind.") the shade will start but Alexa will always tell me that it isn't responding. However, if the shade is already moving and I have it switch direction I get an immediate confirmation from Alexa.
What does this all mean? I'm not sure but Alexa voice control sometimes doesn't always get the full round trip. I would suggest looking at the interaction between Alexa and HE as it sounds like your mesh is OK as evidenced by the HE dashboard working.
Edit: When I say something between Alexa and HE it could possible be something entirely on the Alexa side, not something between the two.
I am a Noob as far as HE goes. Got a replacement HE to fix dead Zigbee radio and got back to moving devices from Smartthings to HE. Devices and routines rebuilt in HE and working just fine. Except that Alexa voice insists that all devices are unresponsive. After wasting time trying to fix Alexa decided to try something else. Google Assistant keeps popping up on my tablet in error and I thought could it help. Turns out it could. Without any Google hardware I loaded the Google Home and Assistant apps and was able to duplicate every thing expected Alexa to do successfully, except for device group issue I am still working on. Not quite as convenient as handsfree Alexa but only one click away for the same voice requests.
