intermittent issues with Alexa commands

[MFBra]

It used to be 100% stable but now I'm still facing issues with Alexa commands to turn on/off from time to time.

It answers "ok" but the lights/outlets do not respond. How can I troubleshoot it?

[zorax2]

Same issue here. Things will work fine for a while and then they don't. As an intermittent issue that isn't always repeatable, I don't know that there is an easy way to troubleshoot. There are some ideas on other threads regarding room / group names that might be helpful.

As a side note, I think these errors are more recent within the past couple of months. I don't think the new version of Alexa made things any better.

[Geddy]

@MFBra or @zorax2 Please give more details so others might be able to help. But there have been reports of the new Alexa+ is having issues with home automations or skills in general (Other posts on the forums have mentioned issues). 

Please post more about your situation:

UD Device in use?

Firmware number (specific number not just "current"/"latest")?

What kind of devices are not responding (Insteon or other tech)?

Are you controlling an actual device, program, or scene?

Always best to include more information rather than just saying, "something isn't working 100% of the time". It's kind of hard to troubleshoot...that's probably why there were no replies to initial post a couple of weeks ago.

On 9/28/2025 at 12:19 PM, MFBra said:

How can I troubleshoot it?

Simple troubleshooting:

• Power cycle Alexa device(s)
• Powercycle UD Device
• Control device with other method (UD Mobile, Admin Console, Physical switch)
• Confirm UD Portal license is current
• Confirm UD Portal is using proper device (UUID) and linked to Alexa
  • Look at "My Profile" and see that preferred UUID is correct
  • Click on Connectivity and confirm UUID is active UD device
• Confirm Alexa Skill is linked to UD Portal account - might need to unlink/disable skill and then re-enable to re-link

 

[MFBra]

On 10/9/2025 at 12:15 PM, Geddy said:

@MFBra or @zorax2 Please give more details so others might be able to help. But there have been reports of the new Alexa+ is having issues with home automations or skills in general (Other posts on the forums have mentioned issues). 

Please post more about your situation:

UD Device in use?

Firmware number (specific number not just "current"/"latest")?

What kind of devices are not responding (Insteon or other tech)?

Are you controlling an actual device, program, or scene?

Always best to include more information rather than just saying, "something isn't working 100% of the time". It's kind of hard to troubleshoot...that's probably why there were no replies to initial post a couple of weeks ago.

Simple troubleshooting:

• Power cycle Alexa device(s)
• Powercycle UD Device
• Control device with other method (UD Mobile, Admin Console, Physical switch)
• Confirm UD Portal license is current
• Confirm UD Portal is using proper device (UUID) and linked to Alexa
  • Look at "My Profile" and see that preferred UUID is correct
  • Click on Connectivity and confirm UUID is active UD device
• Confirm Alexa Skill is linked to UD Portal account - might need to unlink/disable skill and then re-enable to re-link

 

Thanks for the help :

Eisy Version :

IOX v.5.9.1 (2025-03-05-10:18:08)

IoX v.5.9.1 (2025-03-14-16:21:41)

eisy (5226)

OpenADR (21010)

Networking Module (21040)

Portal Integragion - UDI (21075)

Z-Wave Module (21100)

A10/X10 Module (21060)

Portal Integration shows Registered

Internet Access disabled 

• Power cycle Alexa device(s) - Did Several times
• Powercycle UD Device - Did at least twice
• Control device with other method (UD Mobile, Admin Console, Physical switch) - Yes, even with Alexa it sometimes works, its "erratic"
• Confirm UD Portal license is current - Portal Integration shows Registered
• Confirm UD Portal is using proper device (UUID) and linked to Alexa - Yes, just have one eisy registered
  • Look at "My Profile" and see that preferred UUID is correct - Correct
  • Click on Connectivity and confirm UUID is active UD device - Correct
• Confirm Alexa Skill is linked to UD Portal account - might need to unlink/disable skill and then re-enable to re-link : its is connected.

 

The issues I'm facing :

- Alexa says "ok" to a command but it never happens

- Alexa says "ok" to a command but it takes 5-10 seconds to execute

- Alexa says "ok" to a command and it works "almost immediately"

Devices failing are majority Insteon :

- (2443-222) Micro Module On/Off v.48

- (2876SB) Icon Relay Switch v.39

- (2477D) Dual Band SwitchLinc Dimmer v.45 

- (2856S3B) Icon Relay 3-Pin v.39

- Sonoff Devices, firmware tasmota, thru MQTT

If a command fails, repeating it usually works flawlessly, but sometimes it doesn’t, there is no distinction of which Alexa devices I'm talking to, I have 4 (3 distinct models : 1 3rd Gen, 1 Dot and 2 Spots)

 

Thanks in advance!

[Lore]

Alexa+ puts UDI at the bottom of its internal list making it unlikely to match.  It will trigger any other sound alike (or close) device before the UDI Alexa keywords.

Just say "Alexa, UDI device take priority over all other devices" and everything will magically work.

[MFBra]

17 hours ago, Lore said:

Alexa+ puts UDI at the bottom of its internal list making it unlikely to match.  It will trigger any other sound alike (or close) device before the UDI Alexa keywords.

Just say "Alexa, UDI device take priority over all other devices" and everything will magically work.

The skill is not "UDI", great it worked with you... 

[Lore]

8 hours ago, MFBra said:

Alexa+ seems to have figured out what I wanted, but with AI you never know.  I was pretty methodical.  When I say undo prioritizing Universal Devices my issues return.  I suppose using the actual skill name would work too.  In my case, I had a hue bulb named "study bulb" that was triggering instead of my isy.io "study" scene, showing Alexa+ takes partial matches and is going through Hue names first.  I also had my roomba starting when I tried to trigger my isy.io "movie" scene from a distance.  Both issues vanish when I ask Alexa to prioritize U.D.I. devices, or Universal Devices devices, or any variation of that.

 

[zorax2]

On 10/11/2025 at 7:30 PM, Lore said:

Alexa+ puts UDI at the bottom of its internal list making it unlikely to match.  It will trigger any other sound alike (or close) device before the UDI Alexa keywords.

Just say "Alexa, UDI device take priority over all other devices" and everything will magically work.

I tried a few variations of this:  "Alexa, UDI device take priority over all other devices" and Alexa to prioritize U.D.I. devices, or Universal Devices devices, or any variation of that.

Alexa replies that she can't prioritize specific device manufacturers. All smart home devices will work regardless of their brand.

[Lore]

Not sure why I got the results I did, but more testing shows the AI inconsistent and will change what it does based on prior commands.  In my ISY "study" vs Hue "study bulb" case, if I said "turn on study" it would use the ISY scene.  If I said "set study to purple", it would use the Hue "study bulb".  If I then said "Turn off study" after asking for a color, it would also use the Hue "study bulb", where normally it would use the ISY "study" scene.

I was wrong and there doesn't appear to be a way to set skill priority, however, routines take priority over skills, so I was able to create Alexa routines to mimic the ISY skill behavior.  Routine voice "turn study off" sets study to off and always works.

Edited 6 hours ago by Lore

[MFBra]

5 hours ago, Lore said:

Not sure why I got the results I did, but more testing shows the AI inconsistent and will change what it does based on prior commands.  In my ISY "study" vs Hue "study bulb" case, if I said "turn on study" it would use the ISY scene.  If I said "set study to purple", it would use the Hue "study bulb".  If I then said "Turn off study" after asking for a color, it would also use the Hue "study bulb", where normally it would use the ISY "study" scene.

I was wrong and there doesn't appear to be a way to set skill priority, however, routines take priority over skills, so I was able to create Alexa routines to mimic the ISY skill behavior.  Routine voice "turn study off" sets study to off and always works.

To avoid any potential “naming issue,” I’ve tried using the Alexa App. My first attempt failed, but my second try was successful. The device is in Portuguese, but the first picture shows a message indicating that the device isn’t responding and is waiting… (I’ve removed the address and names from the picture.)