Any tips for good naming conventions of devices? How do you use the label/device name ?
Do you rename things in the Alexa app or try to establish a naming convention that works well with Alexa “as is”.
Are there any problems in changing device names after they have been added ?
Many thanks !!
Generally, I name the device by location and what it is. For device ID, I use 001A, 001B, etc with virtual devices, but some people use the name of the device again. That one doesn't matter what it is as long as it's unique. I prefer to be able to sort if I need to.
I'm unclear if this is RM 2.5 specific, but previously changing device ID or Device name afterward would remove them from a rule, so do check in the bottom of the device details page before you rename them to see what they're in use by, so you'll know if there are rules or apps you forgot they're part of and might need a fix after renaming. Really, you would normally use Device Label to customize names for Alexa and other apps, or just for your own sense of order.
The Alexa app throws a curve ball because of conflicts with names it thinks it hears, vs what you actually want. If there are conflicts with the way any of us speak or the way it recognizes our speech, I solve that with groups. I have just about all my devices named by a logical name in Hubitat and the group named by what works well for speech in Alexa. So many of my Alexa groups contain a single device just to keep the voice recognition vs organization easy to deal with. This has a great benefit when and if Alexa has to be reset or device names change in Hubitat. Really simple to just re-add the device to the group from the Alexa web portal vs doing it in the app. And most importantly in all that, is my Alexa routines that can only be painfully built from the app, are preserved since they all point to groups, instead of the actual device.
That’s very helpful - thanks !
Always striving to be that way.
Really wish they could fix this. I'm afraid to rename my devices.
I also name my devices how I want to refer to them via alexa. Usually its "room device". So that way when imported into alexa I just say turn off the living room lamp.
Also helps when I sort and devices are they are listed by room.
I believe @SmartHomePrimer was referring to the use of a name for the device network ID. Changing the device label should have no effect on smartApps. You should never change the DNI as this is how all Apps reference the device in order to control it. The label is how it is presented for display purpose (in the device list, default name in Alexa, etc)
Edit: actually Alexa is the only exception here. I reread your post and you would have to refresh you Alexa discovery and delete the old name if its changed.
Correct and major edits here.
I need confirmation from @bravenel, but I think this may have been fixed in RM 2.5
I just did some test with changing all three parameters (which I never do) and the rule updated with all the device changes. Going to edit my first post again to reflect my uncertainty.
Editing a device name or label should track into most apps (with noted exception for Alexa). In some apps including Rule Machine, Motion Lighting, etc (whenever devices are selected on a different page than the main page), the change won't be visible on the main page until you drill down into the app. But the main page display reflects the last time the inner page was opened, NOT the changes made to the device (so the rule could look wrong, but actually be right).
Generally it's not a good idea to mess with device network id (DNI). For real devices this is how the controller references them, for virtual devices it is often how the app references them.
Thanks for confirming the behavior and for jogging my memory Bruce! I do recall that display issue now.
I don’t know if this is new or if I never noticed it before, but I recently figured out that you can edit a device name in the Alexa app to be more user friendly without doing anything on the Hubitat side. And no need for re-discovery!
@bjcowles But when you discover devices again, the name goes back to what is in Hubitat doesn't it? Just one more reason why I put just about everything in a group, even if by itself. Have to re-discover every time you add a new device and that inevitably messes up something. Fixing things in the terrible Alexa app is a pain on a smart device, but pretty fast on a laptop.
Honestly, I don’t know as I haven’t added anything since I noticed that, but I imagine you are correct. Thank you.
@SmartHomePrimer Out of curiosity, I deleted a device in the Alexa app and ran discovery. To my surprise, the edited names remained.
Cool. Thanks for checking. That's a nice new feature!
This has been my experience too. It’s useful because sometimes the device name that works for organization purposes in the web GUI is cumbersome to use for voice control purposes.
I wonder if the HE staff could add an Alexa label attribute to the device that is shared with Alexa only. This way you set it once and it stays.
When renaming the device in the Alexa app, you only have to set it once.
I keep the device names simple. DeviceLocation DeviceType. Example Living Room Standing Lamp. When I create a device group I add the prefix ALL, like All Living Room Lights When I use occupancy manager I name those devices with the prefix THE, example The Living Room. This let's me use voice commands with something close to normal language syntax while grouping the virtual devices in the device list.
That's my system so far. I'm sure it will evolve as things change.
After several years of adding Hue lights then Z-wave stuff my naming was a mess and Alexa often got confused, When I started with Vera I kept my computer habit of not using spaces and had names Like "MasterBathSwitch" or "DenCeiling_One" and Alexa does not like that.
I went through and renamed everything "System Location [ Sub Location] [Type]"
All Hue rooms end with Lights and only they have Lights in the name
Examples:
Hue TV Room Lights which has Hue TV Room Left & Hue TV Room Right
Hub Entry Doorbell
Hub Entry Lock
Hub Patio Lock
This way Alexa does not get confused, She responds without having to add "Hue" So the wife can just say "Alexa dim TV Room Lights""
Download the Hubitat app
