I'm sure it has been asked before and I searched for this but didn't see any matches in the first few pages of results.

Is there a way to get Alexa to get the status of devices like switchlincs, sensors, or at the very least state variables by asking?

I tried created a state variable (pseudo virtual device) and asking what the status of it was, but Alexa says its not supported. Is this something that will ever be supported?

@dsstrainer,

You could try 'what is' but I do not think it works for anything but thermostats:

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Portal_Amazon_Echo_Integration_V3#Devices

With kind regards,
Michel

I do miss the "Ststus" command that was lost when they killed the ISY skill. I, too had hoped they would have planned on implementing replacements for ALL the commands in the skills. 

In addition to querying thermostat, you can also query locks; Alexa, is front door locked?

Regular devices, which includes variables, can't be queried by voice. However, they can be queried using the Alexa app.

Benoit

 

And what's the bottle neck there as to why we don't have status ability on devices? Alexa or udi?

1 minute ago, dsstrainer said:

And what's the bottle neck there as to why we don't have status ability on devices? Alexa or udi?

Alexa.

Smart Home skills cannot do this at this time. But this might be something Amazon adds eventually. The APIs are already there to query, which the mobile app uses.

This can be done, but requires some work.  I use this function all the time to check status of lights, pool pumps, ELK security status, etc.