New skill but the Lag time has not been fixed. It sucks when I tell Alexa to do something and it takes 8 to 10 seconds for the device to respond and Alexa to say ok. I’ve been trying Homeseer and devices respond within 2 seconds. I have been with Vera for about 4 years. I started with a Vera Lite and now have the Plus. Not much has changed over the years. I may pick up a used laptop and purchase Homeseer during the half off sale. If you were to ask me about Homeseer a year or two ago I would of said hell no it’s to much money but I have been getting more and more frusterated with my Vera Plus and the lack of updates that really fix much. Homeseer is different to setup bu not to bad. It’s only a 30 day trial so no way to know how it will be for me for the long run. I’m still on the fence of deciding to go Homeseer. The biggest draw back is the cost of the plugins. I would need to purchase around 4 so at $29.99 or $39.99 each that does add up but if the system runs for a long time like it has for the last couple of weeks I may switch to Homeseer.
the big problem with Vera / Echo integration is that they are using the web not the local network, when you say something to Alexa, it will go check with the Vera servers and then the Vera servers will execute. if you have a group on Echo then it will take longer… i am still using HA-Bridge because they were not able to provide a convenient solution to that, why not using the local network instead of the net is beyond my understanding.
It’s my understanding anything you say to Alexa goes to to cloud and back. Not sure how a skill works but wouldn’t it be the same? I thought nothing works local with the Echo.
Yes, the commands to Alexa go to the cloud. The issue is once the needed task is IDed, does the execution of that task also go the cloud? Meaning with the skill, you are touching not only the Amazon servers, but also the Vera servers for execution, and finally to your home Vera. With the HA bridge, you are touching the same Amazon servers, but then the HA bridge server - which is local to your network - sends a local command to your home Vera. Fewer internet hops.
I just setup my my father’s hue lights on Alexa. No delay. The lag with vera is very noticeable and awkward. I was hoping they would not go out of bedta without fixing the lag. I am on a Vera3.
We have done some changes to make things faster. When/if you have time please test your commands and let me know if you see any improvement or deterioration. Please keep in mind that internet lag can fluctuate and if you can, test twice at distance of a few hours - I’ve seen customers that had command time variation between 2 and 7 seconds depending on time of day.
While amazon provides some performance graphs (and they show an improvement), I would like some real live feedback.
I have 43 devices, so far, and within the last couple of days the response has been one second or less! I am VERY happy. Now I can setup my theater room controls without the delay! YEAH! Go Vera and Alexa!