Amazon Echo Club

[cc_in_oh]

Thanks all - the charging dock looks like it would be a nice accessory, basically giving you a Show whenever you're not using it as a tablet. Seems to be discontinued though, and the ones available on eBay only work with older Fires. Maybe it was cannibalizing Show sales...

[cc_in_oh]

Is anyone here using Ring motion detectors? I'm looking for help to figure out how to use Alexa to turn them on and off. (Ideally I'd like to "snooze" it for a specified time so I don't forget to turn back on.) Alexa can react to motion or non-motion but I don't see a way to have it turn the detector itself on or off.
Thanks,
cc

[tubemonkey]

Facebook's New Battery-Powered Portal Go Lets You Tote a Smart Display Around Your House

Facebook bet big on connecting people via video with the original Portal smart display, and the company is back with two new Portals: a bigger Portal+ for large group calls and a battery-powered Portal Go that can tag along as you move about the house.

The Portal Go is Facebook’s first portable smart display. It has a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 by 800 screen resolution. It’s also got two full-range speakers and weighs about three pounds. There’s an integrated handle on the back that you can prop up to tote the device around your home. It’s the kind of gadget you’d station in a common area like the kitchen or the living room, though you can move it anywhere you might want to relocate for a video call. The Portal Go can be used outdoors, too, if you have a solid wifi connection. And since Facebook enables music playback with apps like Spotify and Pandora, you can use the Go as a speaker when you’re not using it for calls.

Amazon has it's fall hardware event next week (28 Sep), so I wouldn't be surprised if they added a portable Show or two to its lineup. If they do, hopefully they'll do a better job with it than their last venture into portable smart speakers, the Amazon Tap.

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

Is anyone here using Ring motion detectors? I'm looking for help to figure out how to use Alexa to turn them on and off. (Ideally I'd like to "snooze" it for a specified time so I don't forget to turn back on.) Alexa can react to motion or non-motion but I don't see a way to have it turn the detector itself on or off.
Thanks,
cc

I have a ring motion/light sensor. I normally don't use it with Alexa, but I just tried and ...

I enabled the skill and linked the accounts.
I was then able to say the command "'Alexa, turn on Motion Sensor on front steplight'" or "Alexa, turn off Motion Sensor on front steplight" and it turned the motion sensor off/on. This was for a single motion/light sensor.

I'm not sure if I actually had to enable the skill. I tried the following for the group "'Alexa, disable Ring Motion Alerts on front' and this only disabled alerts, the light still went on and off when there was motion.

And looking at the sensor in routines, there are multiple options: Power, brightness, motion detection, on duration, and sensitivity. I'm guessing you wouldn't need the skill if you wanted to do things through routines.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by John F

I have a ring motion/light sensor. I normally don't use it with Alexa, but I just tried and ...

I enabled the skill and linked the accounts.
I was then able to say the command "'Alexa, turn on Motion Sensor on front steplight'" or "Alexa, turn off Motion Sensor on front steplight" and it turned the motion sensor off/on. This was for a single motion/light sensor.

I'm not sure if I actually had to enable the skill. I tried the following for the group "'Alexa, disable Ring Motion Alerts on front' and this only disabled alerts, the light still went on and off when there was motion.

And looking at the sensor in routines, there are multiple options: Power, brightness, motion detection, on duration, and sensitivity. I'm guessing you wouldn't need the skill if you wanted to do things through routines.

How do you get to where you see those options in Routines? I don't see the device anywhere under a routine's "add action" node.

I have the Ring skill enabled and have been using Alexa routines to announce contact sensors open & close events but when I tell Alexa to turn a motion sensor on or off it tells me the sensor doesn't support that.

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

How do you get to where you see those options in Routines? I don't see the device anywhere under a routine's "add action" node.

...

Add Action->Smart Home->All Devices->[pick your device or group]

Pay attention to whether you pick a group or actual device.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

How do you get to where you see those options in Routines? I don't see the device anywhere under a routine's "add action" node.

I have the Ring skill enabled and have been using Alexa routines to announce contact sensors open & close events but when I tell Alexa to turn a motion sensor on or off it tells me the sensor doesn't support that.

I don't use Ring devices, but for other devices I've been able to set up start and stop times in Routines. Each device is a bit different though, so no telling how the Ring devices work. See attached screen captures.

I've been able to set up times to turn my HEPA filter on/off, turn on/off my Govee LED lights and set the colors and brightness, etc. I typed in the appropriate Alexa commands that work with each device while setting up the routine. Sometimes it is a bit of trial and error, but once you get it right it works great.

BTW, in my screen capture when you see "TV" in the routine name that isn't actually controlling my TV. Rather it is controlling Govee or Kasa LED lights to set the lighting moods for watching TV at various times of the day or night. For example, at sunset the lights all dim a bit, after it is totally dark outside they dim even more, then after a certain time some lights turn off as it gets close to bedtime.

[cc_in_oh]

When I do add action > smart home > all devices I get a list of available devices, all non-Ring lights except the Ring outdoor smart plug, followed by an Unsupported list which includes all the Ring sensors. Am I missing a skill or something?

As I said, Alexa routines do respond to sensor triggers so I thought I had Ring and Alexa integrated properly...

[OtinG]

As far as Ring goes, I don't have a clue since I don’t have their devices. I know for other devices it seems to be hit and miss with the Alexa app. Kasa devices have to be set up in the Kasa app, then intergrated into the Alexa app. Same for Govee devices. Sometimes I'm able to get what I want, other times it fails miserably. Amazon home devices (marketed as Amazon brand) tend to only require the Alexa app, but even they don't always integrate well.

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

When I do add action > smart home > all devices I get a list of available devices, all non-Ring lights except the Ring outdoor smart plug, followed by an Unsupported list which includes all the Ring sensors. Am I missing a skill or something?

As I said, Alexa routines do respond to sensor triggers so I thought I had Ring and Alexa integrated properly...

I have no idea.

If you are feeling bold, try deleting the sensor device, or maybe scan for devices again? Or enable/disable the skill. Just a caveat, in the past, I've had devices in routines, and when I deleted the device (or maybe it was disable the skill), the action step that used the device was deleted.

Right now, I have two groups named "front" both which look like ring sensor groups; one has a lot more options then the other.

If you are patient, I would give Amazon a call first.* I have had some success when something wonky with devices happens in the past.

* Amazon will probably point the finger at Ring. You'll call Ring and they will point the finger at Amazon. You'll call Amazon again and get someone who knows something and they will solve your problem.

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

When I do add action > smart home > all devices I get a list of available devices, all non-Ring lights except the Ring outdoor smart plug, followed by an Unsupported list which includes all the Ring sensors. Am I missing a skill or something?

As I said, Alexa routines do respond to sensor triggers so I thought I had Ring and Alexa integrated properly...

The name of the Skill I'm using is "Ring".

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

When I do add action > smart home > all devices I get a list of available devices, all non-Ring lights except the Ring outdoor smart plug, followed by an Unsupported list which includes all the Ring sensors. Am I missing a skill or something?

As I said, Alexa routines do respond to sensor triggers so I thought I had Ring and Alexa integrated properly...

And maybe look at the Ring skill in the Alexa app. Check if says anything under the "Attention" tab in "Your Skills".

[cc_in_oh]

When I was evaluating security systems, Ring got lower scores in smart home integration so I'm actually encouraged to hear that someone has this working. That makes it worthwhile to spend some more time trying to figure it out.

Some of this smart home stuff isn't ready for prime time. I have 3 brands of smart light bulbs that work, but the apps are exercises in frustration. The home I bought also has a Liftmaster WiFi garage door opener that I haven't been able to get connected. OTOH, the Ecobee thermostat works pretty well. I had trouble managing deck & landscape lighting with Alexa routines but just setting the smart plug for dusk-to-dawn works fine. It all seems to be a work in progress and I'm optimistic things will continue to improve.

Thanks for taking the time to help...

[OtinG]

What I hate is that most of the security cams, including Ring, require a monthly cloud fee to use them with Alexa to view on a Show or Fire TV. It isn’t worth the fee IMO. If the cams have WiFi, and most do, then they should let you view them through your WiFi rather than having to use a cloud storage. I prefer to do my on storage too.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by OtinG

What I hate is that most of the security cams, including Ring, require a monthly cloud fee to use them with Alexa to view on a Show or Fire TV. It isn’t worth the fee IMO. If the cams have WiFi, and most do, then they should let you view them through your WiFi rather than having to use a cloud storage. I prefer to do my on storage too.

I'm with you. Home security footage is the last thing I want under the control of some unknown foreign corporation.

I'm eventually going to get a commercial/industrial type camera system that's all local.

The problem with Alexa integration is that, IIRC, Alexa is totally blocked from working locally. So if you REALLY want "local" functionality with Alexa, you'd need to serve your own content out to the cloud via your own server, and then create an Alexa skill to consume it. (Unless you choose an existing server/skill that accomplishes the same thing.)