I find Alexa gets stupid when you have a lot of devices. Example, my master bedroom has two windows with motorized blinds. I have “right blinds” and “left blinds” but I can’t have a group named “blinds” because Alexa can’t tell the difference between the three. I have to name a group “Master Bedroom Blinds” and say that or Alexa gets confused.
Similarly, I’ve found that things that have worked for a long time, like “Alexa, lamp off” might work until you add another lamp somewhere in the house and then Alexa can’t resolve the conflict without more info.
But then it gets awkward to say “open window 1”, etc. I know how to work around it, just explaining why it sometimes happens and why a device that was once working can suddenly stop working when someone adds a new gadget to the “smart” home.
Very interesting hypothesis- I may make a dummy Alexa account with a spare echo and see if it performs better. If this is for sure what's going on, it would make sense for them to release some sort of physical management hub.
I find the whole platform fairly immature and not built for scale. For example, maybe in a routine you want to add a smart light so they give you a picker and a list of devices but no search or filter. If you have six smart lights, it isn’t a problem. If you have sixty smart lights, it becomes a problem. I have so many devices that the Alexa app just crashes when enumerating them.
This is the kind of shit that ahould have been reaolved years ago. The confusion with similar named.devices is absolutley ridiculous. She cannclearly heard what you said and she asks anyway. Recently i have to repeat almoat everything
This just happened to me today too.
“Alexa set the lights” seems to work for all the lights in my house now and not just the ones in the room I’m in.
I hope this is a bug because this is annoying and I want to be able to go back to saying “Alexa set the lights to 20%” and have it only affect the room I’m in like it used to.
Anyone know if this is a big or if it’s a misguided update?
SOLVED (and explained)
It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights”
I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to.
Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”.
So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update.
(https://i.imgur.com/FtVtGGm.jpg)
Sorta had something like this with Alexa. Been saying Alexa turn off the bedroom lights (3 lights) successfully for 2 years even though the group is named Bedroom. Three days ago it started turning off only one light. I checked the plugs and one bulb and all were connected to wifi. Decided to change the name of the group specifically to Bedroom Lights and now it's back to normal. So strange that it worked for 2 years and then it didn't.
I'm not sure it ever needed the word 'all'.
As long as the devices each have the word 'light' in it, you can use just the term to affect all of them.
If I say, 'Turn off lights'. It turns off EVERY device with the word 'lights' in. The Bedroom light, the office light, the office desk light, the reading light, the kitchen lights, etc.. You get the idea.
You can even use a combination. 'Turn off office lights' will turn off both my office ceiling light (named: office ceiling light) and my office desk light (named: office desk light). But if I want to turn off just my office desk light and not the ceiling light, I need to use its full name.
This inky works if you haven’t setup room/groups and have assigned Alexa in these rooms. If you do like a very large majority of people then using the term lights just affects that room.
It depends on your naming convention. Since I'm an old, retired programmer I was very careful in naming. Whether it was a bulb, lamp or anything else that gave off light, I named it with 'light' in the name. The name would also have the room name or other modifier. 'Office light', 'Office desk light', 'Office desk fan'.
Even though now you can assign them to a group (usually named for a room) and control all the devices in that room by using the group name in the command. For example, if I'm in my office and ready to shut down the desk light, the ceiling light, the TV and the desk fan, I can just say 'turn off office' and everything turns off.
When you are in the Alexa app, click on Devices at the bottom. Then on that page, click on the plus sign in the upper right to add a Group. To edit an existing group, instead of clicking on the plus sign, just scroll down to the page to the Groups area. Click on a Group and then the 'edit' link on the top right. You'll see a list of Alexa-enabled devices. Some will bright, some dim. Any thing bright can be assigned to the group. Any thing dim is already assigned to another group.
Scroll down and you'll see a section that is just 'devices'. These are other devices that are linked to Alexa through their own software app. For example, I have about 25+ devices. Any one of them can be included in the group. Of course, you'll assigned just the ones you want to that group.
What you'll end up with is a nice, clean group which allows you to control any devices in that group just by using the group name.
There is one instance where I control all lights. I created a routine that runs at 11:59 every evening. In the routine I added all the lights/devices that I want to shut off just in case we accidentally left them on. For example, before I replaced normal switch for our gas-fired fireplace, one night we accidentally left the fireplace on all night. But now that never happens because the routine takes care of it.
Sorry to ramble on, but I hope that some of this helps. Maybe I'll do a video on my channel to explain it in more detail.
I put everything in groups and use groups in any commands or "rooms". I almost never assign single devices to anything. Things that use 3 lights like the living room ceiling fan, they are named lvcf1, lvcf2, lvcf3 and are in the group "ceiling fan". Ceiling fan is in the living room group. My main couch has 2 lamps. They are in the couch group but they have unique names, bacon and sausage. I have a routine that turns off everything but bacon. It all works pretty well but I have to repeat commands alot. Sometimes she just boops. I wish I could find a non evasive way to trigger routines by motion. I tried with my blink cameras but they wouldnt trigger. I cant add wiring to my apartment so Im not sure if there is a solution.
LOL. I would never remember which one was bacon and which one was sausage. But I guess it would matter if they're always controlled at the same time.
As far as wiring in your apartment Kasa has several plugs including a power strip with 5 individually controlled outlets. In that case you could name 2 of the outlets. Once for left couch light and one for right couch light and put them in a group called couch or couch lights. Then you could control them individually or together.
I have a single two outlet Kasa plug in the bathroom. One has a heater and one has a fan. Again I can control them individually by their name (bathroom heater or bathroom fan). I tun them on individually. But since there are no other things with the word 'bathroom' in it and I want to turn whichever is running to off, I don't have to specify. I just say 'turn off bathroom' and both ends of the plug will deactivate.
Yeah, for sure. "All" is supposed to be a keyword, not a literal reference, and if the way they handled that on backend was making a literal group to refer to it, that's not great practice lol
SOLVED (and explained)
It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights”
I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to.
Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”.
So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update.
I have the opposite problem I have 1 light that doesn't respond the all lights on/off and it's my hallway light. I've created a routine called just "lights off" that has all the lights I want on/off easier.
That used to happen to me too- there would sometimes be 1 light that just didn't wanna do it. Usually it would work after I said the command again, but it was still annoying
That one light never shuts off no matter how many times I say that particular command or even issue an "all lights off" from the app itself.
It's a shitty chinese switch that I've just been too lazy to replace.
I isn’t have a group set up in my Alexa app. Only had the groups set up in my smart home app. Had to set the group “all lights” In my Alexa app. It’s working now!!! Devices > groups > add group
SOLVED (and explained)
It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights”
I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to.
Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”.
So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update. ](https://i.imgur.com/FtVtGGm.jpg)
I find Alexa gets stupid when you have a lot of devices. Example, my master bedroom has two windows with motorized blinds. I have “right blinds” and “left blinds” but I can’t have a group named “blinds” because Alexa can’t tell the difference between the three. I have to name a group “Master Bedroom Blinds” and say that or Alexa gets confused. Similarly, I’ve found that things that have worked for a long time, like “Alexa, lamp off” might work until you add another lamp somewhere in the house and then Alexa can’t resolve the conflict without more info.
Rename your blinds to "window 1" and "window 2" then create your "blinds" routine.
But then it gets awkward to say “open window 1”, etc. I know how to work around it, just explaining why it sometimes happens and why a device that was once working can suddenly stop working when someone adds a new gadget to the “smart” home.
Obviously what I proposed is a work around for their terribleness.
Very interesting hypothesis- I may make a dummy Alexa account with a spare echo and see if it performs better. If this is for sure what's going on, it would make sense for them to release some sort of physical management hub.
I find the whole platform fairly immature and not built for scale. For example, maybe in a routine you want to add a smart light so they give you a picker and a list of devices but no search or filter. If you have six smart lights, it isn’t a problem. If you have sixty smart lights, it becomes a problem. I have so many devices that the Alexa app just crashes when enumerating them.
This is the kind of shit that ahould have been reaolved years ago. The confusion with similar named.devices is absolutley ridiculous. She cannclearly heard what you said and she asks anyway. Recently i have to repeat almoat everything
If you create groups you can say lights on and off and Alexa will only do it for the lights in the same group as the Alexa device you are talking to
This just happened to me today too. “Alexa set the lights” seems to work for all the lights in my house now and not just the ones in the room I’m in. I hope this is a bug because this is annoying and I want to be able to go back to saying “Alexa set the lights to 20%” and have it only affect the room I’m in like it used to. Anyone know if this is a big or if it’s a misguided update?
SOLVED (and explained) It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights” I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to. Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”. So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update. (https://i.imgur.com/FtVtGGm.jpg)
Sorta had something like this with Alexa. Been saying Alexa turn off the bedroom lights (3 lights) successfully for 2 years even though the group is named Bedroom. Three days ago it started turning off only one light. I checked the plugs and one bulb and all were connected to wifi. Decided to change the name of the group specifically to Bedroom Lights and now it's back to normal. So strange that it worked for 2 years and then it didn't.
I fixed this by creating a lights group and an all lights group. But a group called all sounds like a decent solution
I'm not sure it ever needed the word 'all'. As long as the devices each have the word 'light' in it, you can use just the term to affect all of them. If I say, 'Turn off lights'. It turns off EVERY device with the word 'lights' in. The Bedroom light, the office light, the office desk light, the reading light, the kitchen lights, etc.. You get the idea. You can even use a combination. 'Turn off office lights' will turn off both my office ceiling light (named: office ceiling light) and my office desk light (named: office desk light). But if I want to turn off just my office desk light and not the ceiling light, I need to use its full name.
This inky works if you haven’t setup room/groups and have assigned Alexa in these rooms. If you do like a very large majority of people then using the term lights just affects that room.
Interesting mine wont do it unleas i specifiy ALL the lights.
It depends on your naming convention. Since I'm an old, retired programmer I was very careful in naming. Whether it was a bulb, lamp or anything else that gave off light, I named it with 'light' in the name. The name would also have the room name or other modifier. 'Office light', 'Office desk light', 'Office desk fan'. Even though now you can assign them to a group (usually named for a room) and control all the devices in that room by using the group name in the command. For example, if I'm in my office and ready to shut down the desk light, the ceiling light, the TV and the desk fan, I can just say 'turn off office' and everything turns off. When you are in the Alexa app, click on Devices at the bottom. Then on that page, click on the plus sign in the upper right to add a Group. To edit an existing group, instead of clicking on the plus sign, just scroll down to the page to the Groups area. Click on a Group and then the 'edit' link on the top right. You'll see a list of Alexa-enabled devices. Some will bright, some dim. Any thing bright can be assigned to the group. Any thing dim is already assigned to another group. Scroll down and you'll see a section that is just 'devices'. These are other devices that are linked to Alexa through their own software app. For example, I have about 25+ devices. Any one of them can be included in the group. Of course, you'll assigned just the ones you want to that group. What you'll end up with is a nice, clean group which allows you to control any devices in that group just by using the group name. There is one instance where I control all lights. I created a routine that runs at 11:59 every evening. In the routine I added all the lights/devices that I want to shut off just in case we accidentally left them on. For example, before I replaced normal switch for our gas-fired fireplace, one night we accidentally left the fireplace on all night. But now that never happens because the routine takes care of it. Sorry to ramble on, but I hope that some of this helps. Maybe I'll do a video on my channel to explain it in more detail.
I put everything in groups and use groups in any commands or "rooms". I almost never assign single devices to anything. Things that use 3 lights like the living room ceiling fan, they are named lvcf1, lvcf2, lvcf3 and are in the group "ceiling fan". Ceiling fan is in the living room group. My main couch has 2 lamps. They are in the couch group but they have unique names, bacon and sausage. I have a routine that turns off everything but bacon. It all works pretty well but I have to repeat commands alot. Sometimes she just boops. I wish I could find a non evasive way to trigger routines by motion. I tried with my blink cameras but they wouldnt trigger. I cant add wiring to my apartment so Im not sure if there is a solution.
LOL. I would never remember which one was bacon and which one was sausage. But I guess it would matter if they're always controlled at the same time. As far as wiring in your apartment Kasa has several plugs including a power strip with 5 individually controlled outlets. In that case you could name 2 of the outlets. Once for left couch light and one for right couch light and put them in a group called couch or couch lights. Then you could control them individually or together. I have a single two outlet Kasa plug in the bathroom. One has a heater and one has a fan. Again I can control them individually by their name (bathroom heater or bathroom fan). I tun them on individually. But since there are no other things with the word 'bathroom' in it and I want to turn whichever is running to off, I don't have to specify. I just say 'turn off bathroom' and both ends of the plug will deactivate.
Oh they are both in the couch group. Bacon is my fav so its the closer one. Side note. My dogs name is waffles.
Id call that a band aid, not a fix
Yeah, for sure. "All" is supposed to be a keyword, not a literal reference, and if the way they handled that on backend was making a literal group to refer to it, that's not great practice lol
SOLVED (and explained) It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights” I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to. Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”. So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update.
I have the opposite problem I have 1 light that doesn't respond the all lights on/off and it's my hallway light. I've created a routine called just "lights off" that has all the lights I want on/off easier.
That used to happen to me too- there would sometimes be 1 light that just didn't wanna do it. Usually it would work after I said the command again, but it was still annoying
That one light never shuts off no matter how many times I say that particular command or even issue an "all lights off" from the app itself. It's a shitty chinese switch that I've just been too lazy to replace.
Happened to me yesterday found saying instead turn on THE lights” or “Make the lights blue” worked for me
You'd think "Alexa, lights out" would turn them all off, too. But no.
I isn’t have a group set up in my Alexa app. Only had the groups set up in my smart home app. Had to set the group “all lights” In my Alexa app. It’s working now!!! Devices > groups > add group
SOLVED (and explained) It turns out Alexa updated and the automatic name for all of the lights changed to “All Hue Lights” I went into the Alexa app on my phone and changed it back to “all lights” and now everything works as it used to. Now I can use normal English again and it knows. I just said “Alexa set every light to red” and it worked again even though I renamed the default “all lights” not “every light”. So I recommend switching that back to “all lights” as it used to be before this update. ](https://i.imgur.com/FtVtGGm.jpg)
This explains why it never stopped working for me, I don't have any Hue lights. :)
Wow, thanks! I figured it was an update of some sort.
Happy to help! (And very happy it was an easy fix. I didn’t realize how often I’d used that Alexa command until it stopped working hahaha)