Google Home - Sorry I couldn't reach Vera Smarter Home Control

Other Devices & Integrations Voice Assistants
#1

Anyone else having issues with Google Home lately?

Seemingly since I updated the firmware on my Vera Plus, but not certain if it is related.

Whenever I issue a voice command to a Google Home speaker it says “Sorry I couldn’t reach Vera Smarter Home Control”

However it does what it was told anyway and controls the device or runs the desired Vera scene etc.

#2

Yes, it happens intermittently but it is not a new problem for me since it has happened sporadically since Google Home support was released.

#3

Very likely a server performance related. This is the magic of the cloud to cloud scheme… The command went from

GH → GH server(cloud) → ezlo server(cloud) → vera (local)

ok but with so much delay that the acknowledgement which needs to come back in the opposite direction didn’t make it to the GH server on time. This happens with Alexa as well and is one of the many reasons why it is flawed by design. The two arrows around the Ezlo server are particularly problematic in both directions.
This is the better scheme:

Echo → Amazon voice recog server(cloud) → Echo (local) → Echo habridge(local) → openluup or vera(local)

In the latter case, the acknowledgement return path is 100% local.

1 Like
#4

I agree, however HA Bridge no longer works with Google Home.

#5

Rephrase… GH no longer works with habridge. Google decided to block their local API (remember what Logitech tried with Harmony? same thing). So I decided to block Google… :face_with_hand_over_mouth: