alexa says command doesn't work

[aweber1nj]

I upgraded my Amazon Echo to the new ISY "skill" (v2) last week.  I had been using the original integration via the ISY Portal successfully.  Everything seemed to be working smoothly...and for the most part, everything still is, except...

 

I added an insteon module to control the Christmas Tree.  Also added it to the portal.  First two days everything worked great: "Alexa, turn Christmas tree on/off" was flawless.

 

Yesterday afternoon I turned it on (using Alexa), no problem.  But when I was headed to bed, I couldn't turn it off!  Alexa kept responding with, "That command doesn't work for this device."  The command being "off".

 

This morning I tested it and it turned on fine.  But when I went to turn it off, she complained again...but then successfully turned it off?

 

Has anyone experienced something like this controlling ISY-devices via their Echo?  Any tips/tricks?

 

Thanks in advance,

AJ

[larryllix]

I upgraded my Amazon Echo to the new ISY "skill" (v2) last week.  I had been using the original integration via the ISY Portal successfully.  Everything seemed to be working smoothly...and for the most part, everything still is, except...

 

I added an insteon module to control the Christmas Tree.  Also added it to the portal.  First two days everything worked great: "Alexa, turn Christmas tree on/off" was flawless.

 

Yesterday afternoon I turned it on (using Alexa), no problem.  But when I was headed to bed, I couldn't turn it off!  Alexa kept responding with, "That command doesn't work for this device."  The command being "off".

 

This morning I tested it and it turned on fine.  But when I went to turn it off, she complained again...but then successfully turned it off?

 

Has anyone experienced something like this controlling ISY-devices via their Echo?  Any tips/tricks?

 

Thanks in advance,

AJ

Mine does that occasionally.

 

Alexa integration has just gone through some bugs, that have just been fixed, as well. See the other recent thread.

[aweber1nj]

Are the bugs related to the "newer" version of the alexa skill?  Maybe I was really lucky, but I don't remember having a single problem with the older one.

 

Not sure which "other recent thread", but if you can point me in the right direction, I'll be happy to read through it.

 

Thanks for your reply!

[andyf0]

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/20547-echo-dot-stops-responding-new-mystery-devices-showing-in-alexa-app/

[aweber1nj]

Thanks, Andy.

 

Doesn't seem directly related, other than they're fixing some bugs in the integration.

 

Appreciate the heads-up.

[larryllix]

Thanks, Andy.

 

Doesn't seem directly related, other than they're fixing some bugs in the integration.

 

Appreciate the heads-up.

I had some problems with tha in the beginning but I switched my syntax to

 

Alexa. Turn Off Christmas tree lights.

 

 

I found the On/Off before the device name, much more reliable. I think it would be esaier for a vocal parser to grasp.

[paulbates]

I had some problems with tha in the beginning but I switched my syntax to

 

Alexa. Turn Off Christmas tree lights.

 

 

I found the On/Off before the device name, much more reliable. I think it would be esaier for a vocal parser to grasp.

 

Me too.

[G W]

I say, Alexa, Lights On.

 

Gary Funk (Joke removed at the request of one user)

[larryllix]

Me too.

Thinking again it does make sense

 

In the former case. "Turn" and "On" are split into two distinct places in the sentence.

 

In the latter, "turn On" is one phrase with more syllables that may be easier to recognise.

 

 

If "turn" is just a useless word, we have just injected, at a random place in the sentence, a useless word, that needs to be parsed so it can just be ignored.

[aweber1nj]

Yeah, I don't know Alexa's implementation, but I did work with the MSFT speech sdk at one point and it (logically enough) would try and "understand" all words, then throw-out all the ones that it figured were irrelevant according to its "vocabulary".

 

So technically, you should be able to say something like, "Alexa, please turn the Christmas tree in here all the way on right now", and it would only care about noun and verb for this case: "Christmas Tree" and "On".  Certainly, other "skills" or actions require additional vocabulary -- even ISY's; like if it recognized the word "percent" it might try and find the number to associate with the command as well as changing it's pattern to look for the words "up" or "down" as adverbs.

 

I appreciate the advice and experience.  I'll try to re-arrange my requests to Alexa (though I'm sure Amazon's goal is to make the order of the sentence anything at all)...us early adopters have to deal with idiosyncrasies sometimes!

[larryllix]

Yeah, I don't know Alexa's implementation, but I did work with the MSFT speech sdk at one point and it (logically enough) would try and "understand" all words, then throw-out all the ones that it figured were irrelevant according to its "vocabulary".

 

So technically, you should be able to say something like, "Alexa, please turn the Christmas tree in here all the way on right now", and it would only care about noun and verb for this case: "Christmas Tree" and "On". Certainly, other "skills" or actions require additional vocabulary -- even ISY's; like if it recognized the word "percent" it might try and find the number to associate with the command as well as changing it's pattern to look for the words "up" or "down" as adverbs.

 

I appreciate the advice and experience. I'll try to re-arrange my requests to Alexa (though I'm sure Amazon's goal is to make the order of the sentence anything at all)...us early adopters have to deal with idiosyncrasies sometimes!

It might be that, Michel just gets tired of listening to all the voice recordings and typing that fast, sometimes late at nights!

 

@Michel. It's not nice to spit food on your keyboard!

[stusviews]

Sometime less is less problematic. Change "Christams tree" to "tree" unless you have multiple trees that you want to illuminate

[larryllix]

More WAF for shorter too?

[G W]

More WAF for shorter too?

What's the Air Force have to do with this?

 

Gary Funk (Joke removed at the request of one user)

[stusviews]

What's the Air Force have to do with this?

 

It's where I dedicated four years.

[larryllix]

It's where I dedicated four years.

Most of us spend decades in the WAF.

 

Was that with aeroplanes or airplanes?

[stusviews]

B-52's actually. Armament & Electronics, 99^th Wing.

[G W]

Most of us spend decades in the WAF.

 

Was that with aeroplanes or airplanes?

Most of us aren't women.

 

Gary Funk (Joke removed at the request of one user)

[Guitartexan01]

I wonder how many actually "get it"?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cwintermeyer]

I say, Alexa, Lights On.

 

Gary Funk (Joke removed at the request of one user)

 

I didn't realize this was an option, and I like it a lot better than using "turn on". I did notice that GaryFunk's trick works with devices and scenes, but doesn't appear to work with programs.

[G W]

I haven't "turned" on a light in over 50 years.

 

I'm Gary Funk and I approved this message.

[Yoda_One]

:Rotflmao:

[aweber1nj]

As much as I like the banter (and I do), just to get back to the OP...

 

Still having trouble with this.  I actually always had just "tree" as a secondary name for the outlet-module, but it doesn't help.

 

The really strange thing is that Alexa doesn't seem to ever have a problem with the "on" command.  It is only turning it "off" that she thinks the device does not support the command.  In addition, sometimes she replies that she can't execute that command, but then it turns off anyway.  So I'm wondering if there is some timing or other resource issue where commands aren't being sent to the portal or ACK'ed back to Alexa in a timely manner?  Still...why only the "off" command?

 

I did notice my devices get messed-up over the past few days as one poster had mentioned (some were in Spanish, some were devices I never had, etc.)...I did a forget-all and re-discover and it appeared to get my devices back.

 

Any further ideas or updates from the devs?

 

Thanks again,

AJ

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi AJ,

 

Please do the following:

1. Forget all devices

2. Discover devices

3. Settings | history

4. Please make sure Echo hears what you are asking it to do

 

Hi larryllix,

 

Didn't get spit/keyboard comments. Sorry!

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[larryllix]

Hi AJ,Please do the following:1. Forget all devices2. Discover devices3. Settings | history4. Please make sure Echo hears what you are asking it to doHi larryllix,Didn't get spit/keyboard comments. Sorry!With kind regards,Michel

Sorry... Just a joke inferrence that, you sit up late at nights, translating the vocals into text by hand on your computer. Reading the joke, I figured you might choke, laughing, somewhat! :)

 

I hope it wasn't too close to reality, and I "let the cat out of the bag".

 

All the best!