Amazon Echo Skill - Fan Control Issues

[doctorkb]

Amazon Echo Skill - Fan Control Issues

Issue: When saying "Alexa, set X fan to high" she waits a while, then says "Sorry, X fan isn't responding". The signal is sent correctly and the fan does set to that level, the problem is in the response. This is an issue with the GE Smart Fan Control built-in device and Amazon Echo Skill (built-in).

Attempted workaround: Set up a Virtual Fan Controller device that would mirror X fan, as the issue was supposedly related to the device response including both level and speed variables. The Virtual Fan Controller only uses speed. It behaved the same with "Sorry, X fan isn't responding" as the answer to any setting.

Analysis: The root of this appears to be in the communication between the Amazon Echo Skill app and the Alexa Hubitat Skill. This issue has been longstanding and I don't imagine it is hard to fix and both sides should be within the control of Hubitat.

Please let me know if I can provide any further information or testing.

[user3988]

I am having this issue as well - with 7 fan controllers. The speed changes, but the Alexa skill thinks that the device is not responding.

[Sebastien]

I think I had this issue when I first setup my fans. I’m not having the issue anymore with this setup in the Amazon Echo Skill:

[doctorkb]

The "Respond immediately" flag has reportedly worked for some but not all. That said, there's no delay on the devices -- I believe the "level control" switch also causes issues asking for low / medium / high. At least that was what was reported here, on a closed thread, that did not have consistent resolution: 2.2.3.118 - GE Smart Fan Control and Alexa

And ultimately, this isn't a solution, it's a workaround. We should be at the point where something like this is fixable, particularly with built-in device drivers and apps.