Until a week or ten days ago, Alexa could be used to operate nearly all of our Ezlo Plus devices. No longer. Now, every device gets a spinning blue and green ring on the Alexa followed by the message “Floor Lamp (or whatever device I’m trying to switch) not responding”.
I am being led to believe that this is a very widespread problem, and as such, there should be a common, highly successful fix or work-around. I see the question posed but no answers to how to fix it. Can Ezlo/Vera or any users offer help to get Alexa working again with our Ezlo Plus controller? Thank you, thank you!!
Thank you, Jonathan. There’s a HUGE convenience difference between being able to “speak” a command to turn a light on or off versus going across the room to get the iPhone, open the app, navigate to the screen that will let one do it, and then execute the command. Or, depending on the device, one may be able to go to the device and press a button on a module.
ONE QUESTION - Is there any other device that will work with Ezlo Plus hubs to accomplish the same purpose? We aren’t in love with Alexa. Does something else work?
I absolutely pray that your team gets this problem nailed down, really soon!! Thank you for your getting back to me/us so quickly. Cheers and blessings!
Yes, if you have an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Home Pod with Siri shortcuts it will be a great option.
SIRI SHORTCUTS
With our latest VeraMobileTM application, you can now control any Z-Wave device using Siri. VeraMobileTM uses the latest addition to iOS 12, the Siri Shortcuts, which allows you to assign Vera scenes to custom Siri phrases. Use this step-by-step guide to set your favorite scenes!
Make sure you have the scenes set up in the VeraMobileTM application and that you are connected to a Vera controller.
Open the Shortcuts app and set up a shortcut by tapping on “Create Shortcut”.
Tap on “Add action”
You can give the shortcut a custom name and choose to have it displayed on your home screen for easy access by toggling on “Share in Widget” or “Show in Share Sheet”
Then select the Vera app and, finally, the Vera scene you want the shortcut associated with
You can now see it in the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or Apple Watch and Siri will understand and run your scenes with voice commands or tapping the shortcuts on the app
You can add other scenes to the Shortcuts app and you will see one next to another
Restrictions
You can add up to 30 scenes to Siri Shortcuts - according to Apple’s rules.
You need to be connected to the controller you want the scenes to run (for now).
Give it a try and let us know your results, please. We will be attentive.
Control of ezlo devices can be restored by going to “Skills and Games” in the Alexa app, disabling the ezlo skill and re-enabling it, then run “Discover devices.”
How do you do that??? The Alexa app has ZERO intuitiveness. I have literally spent hours in the app trying to make it work. HOW DO I DISABLE THE EZLO SKILL??? I guess I need button-by-button guidance, because I can not find out how to do what you say I need to do. HELP!!!
So, I can run a scene? But I can’t just turn the porch light on or off! I have to create scenes for every device I want to turn on or off? IS THAT TRUE???
And I CAN’T do it with Alexa and I CAN’T do it with Google Home. I have to have my phone IN MY HAND so I can ask SIRI to do it? IS THAT TRUE???
You all are pushing my patience to the breaking point!!!
UPDATE - I was FINALLY able to get all but one of my devices to work with Alexa. I struck out 100% with Google Home (Nest). Sadly, I have no idea what ultimately worked!! It may be that what I did at the start of today’s fiasco was the answer, and it just took several hours for the EZLO Plus controller and Alexa to finally update??? Is it a “local” thing or is it a web server thing?? I have no clue. The Alexa app is a train wreck when it comes to intuitive interaction. And the Vera Home app is almost worse.
Furthermore, everyone has gone to on-line support, and after the information is posted, the products firmware and/or hardware gets updated and the on-line support isn’t updated in lockstep with it. So the help aids point to screens, dropdown, choices and such that no longer apply. Very frustrating and discouraging!!
If anybody else came up with a product that actually DOES what Vera/Ezlo CLAIMS to be able to do, I would jump ship in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I think EZLO and Vera remain the best game in town.
Our team solved the Alexa integration issues a few days ago but the behavior depends on Amazon instances, so the best idea if you are experiencing any issues is to disable and enable the eZLO skill again.
So, I can run a scene? But I can’t just turn the porch light on or off! I have to create scenes for every device I want to turn on or off? IS THAT TRUE??? No, you only need to say “Alexa turn ON/OFF [the device name]”
And I CAN’T do it with Alexa and I CAN’T do it with Google Home. I have to have my phone IN MY HAND so I can ask SIRI to do it? IS THAT TRUE??? Siri is a different solution, so if you have an Apple HomePod at home you can use it as you do with Alexa, just move around and if the HomePod can hear you it will do it as Alexa, else yes, you will need your phone around to run your voice commands.
Your comments are important for us, so let me ask you… what support information should be updated to be more clear?
We will be attentive to your response.
Regards,
Jonathan Botero.
Customer Care Tier 1 Support.
Best Home Automation shopping experience. Shop at Ezlo!
