[RELEASE] Echo Speaks v3 + Actions

Otto_Mation · February 9, 2020, 5:00pm

Thank you for the update. I got it installed and the errors for the most part are gone. I did just get this one:

dev:2112020-02-09 10:46:18.318 am errorEcho (v3.5.0.0) | getWakeWord | Request Timeout (Possibly an Amazon/Internet Issue) | Msg: Connect to alexa.amazon.com:443 [alexa.amazon.com/54.230.249.102] failed: connect timed out

Edit: Looks like this was a one off error that was related to a single Echo device. I have been watching my logs for a while now and I haven't seen any more errors like it.

dman2306 · February 9, 2020, 6:32pm

Did you ever get around to the whole local Nodejs thing?

jdagreek · February 9, 2020, 8:46pm

when this is installed does it affect the Echo Skills app? I had this installed but I did not configure the server and my devices were working with the dashboard but Alexa Echo would not access the devices?

zarthan · February 9, 2020, 9:14pm

This does not affect the Echo skills app. The Echo Speaks app allows you to have spoken responses to things like Rule Machine. The Echo Skills app allows you to control devices using voice.

jdagreek · February 9, 2020, 9:21pm

is this safe ? HerokuApp ? If I use Alexa Speaks am I giving any control to my hubitat to outside apps?

Thanks in advance,
John

zarthan · February 9, 2020, 9:30pm

You will need to decide how risky this is for you. There is a three-way communication with your HE hub, the Heroku server, and Amazon. Heroku is an Enterprise service. I was initially concerned but I got over it. There is a locally controlled alternative if you don't want to have that exposure. [Release] Amazon Alexa Text to Speech (TTS) v0.5.8 - Direct Integration (USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Australia, & Brazil)

Ken_Fraleigh · February 9, 2020, 9:34pm

I believe, and @tonesto7 please correct me if I’m wrong, that the Heroku server is only used for cookie validation and isn’t exposed to any of your devices/info. Nothing is kept on the Heroku server.

jdagreek · February 9, 2020, 9:35pm

Thanks for the info. I had installed Echo Speaks this morning maybe I was in a hurry and messed up something because my Echo Skill stopped working. Alexa Speaks has nothing to do with the other app?

zarthan · February 9, 2020, 9:39pm

The validated cookie is access to Amazon. It would be worth knowing what the validated cookie gave someone access to and how it could be used.

zarthan · February 9, 2020, 9:43pm

Echo Speaks has nothing to with the Echo Skill.

tonesto7 · February 10, 2020, 7:55am

You are 100% correct. It’s only used for the cookie

zarthan · February 10, 2020, 2:53pm

That token links to my Amazon account. does it not? It is presumably limited to Alexa, but what could someone do with access to that cookie?

tonesto7 · February 10, 2020, 10:23pm

Yes, It's a token for your amazon account.
Here's how it works:

On initial setup the server acts as a proxy to get your cookie and send it back to Hubitat.
The server goes back to sleep after 30 minutes and doesn't persist any memory (It behaves like new on every wake)
Every 3-5 days the SmartApp/App wakes the server and send the keys to the server to refresh your token and then goes back to sleep.

So as far as your question about having access to your Amazon account, it's Yes and No.
It's only valid on the Alexa Web API and is only valid for 7 or less days. It does not have access to anything outside of the Alexa ecosystem.
So if in some hypothetical scenario where someone acquired your token they could make your echos speak and play/pause music (This has never happened on Any HA Platform yet).
The only people you may ever need to worry about are your tech friends messing with you

zarthan · February 10, 2020, 10:31pm

When I did my initial investigation on whether I was going to trust the Heroku server and your app, I more or less came to the same conclusion as you outlined. Many thanks for confirming .

eugene · February 11, 2020, 4:08am

@Otto_Mation This is probably a super amateur question, but how do we actually update the echos peaks app?

Otto_Mation · February 11, 2020, 4:28am

Just import the new app and driver code and save it replaceng the previous version of drivers and apps. Then open the app and hit the done button.

eugene · February 11, 2020, 4:42am

@Otto_Mation Thank you!!

Otto_Mation · February 12, 2020, 4:06pm

@tonesto7 I continue to get a couple of errors. For WakeWord and AlarmVolume. They happen on various Echo devices. Why would Echo Speaks even need our wake word and alarm volume? Is there anything that I could change on my end to stop these errors from occuring?

2020-02-12 05:46:58.772 am errorEcho (v3.5.0.0) | getWakeWord | Response Socket Timeout (Possibly an Amazon Issue) | Msg: Read timed out

and

2020-02-12 06:17:16.287 am errorEcho (v3.5.0.0) | getAlarmVolume | Request Timeout (Possibly an Amazon/Internet Issue) | Msg: Connect to alexa.amazon.com:443 [alexa.amazon.com/13.249.118.121] failed: connect timed out

tonesto7 · February 12, 2020, 7:02pm

They are there because you can actually change the words using ES same with the alarm/reminder volume.
I will get an update out tonight that quiets those errors.

xamindar · February 13, 2020, 2:09am

Where are the hubitat install instructions? I tried using the smartthings instructions that are linked here thinking they were universal but the device driver does not work. I must have the wrong one. Why are the wrong instructions linked anyway?

The device driver produces this error when I try to save the code:
Metadata Error: Capability 'Audio Mute' not found.

EDIT: I went to the github page and found the right documentation. Why it's not linked in the hubitat forum post makes absolutely no sense.