Alexa open my garage

Thanks Jason but the one step that I don’t see described here is the same question JDRoberts asked on Oct. 12. How to associate the Linear Garage Door Opener with a virtual switch if routines are not used.

Just curious and not trying to be inflammatory…
But why not use a routine?

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There should be one posted now. I have a linear,all I say is alexa open or close garage and she says ok

Which device type are you using. Does she just say OK, or does the door actually open/close?

I think I have confused myself in regards to routines. At one point I had created a close garage door and an open garage door routine but couldn’t figure out how to associate them with a virtual switch either.

Here’s the FAQ for associating a virtual switch with a routine and having echo control it.

If you use Alexa helper to set up the Association, you can have turning on a binary switch execute routine a, and turning off the same switch execute routine B, which is a voice command format that a lot of people return prefer. So you can say “open the garage” and “close the garage” and it should run the two routines appropriately.

Linear, she says ok and it beeps while opening. I’m using smartthings

I can tell alexa to open or close in smartthings and my garage opens and close

It opens and close. I’m using smartthings. I don’t say turn on and off. I say open and close garage

Yes, that was a change in Amazon a few weeks ago. You used to be able to name a switch “power” and say “turn power on.” Now you can’t do that, power is a reserved word for echo’s own operations. But, now instead of just saying “turn on” or “switch on” Amazon will also recognize “open” for connected home devices :sunglasses:

Hey ya’ll thanks a lot. I’ve got this mostly working this evening thanks to ya’ll getting me thinking straight. Need to move from 2 momentary switches to one virtual switch based on the Amazon change but other than that golden.

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How are you mapping the virtual switch to the actual status of the garage door sensor (closed vs. open)?

I don’t see anywhere in the virtual switch where you can map the on/off status of the virtual switch to the garage door’s open/close sensor.

I’m using a SmartThings multipurpose sensor for the open/close status. I have a MyQ garage controller, and while I can control it with voice it’s just “dumb” in that it acts as a momentary push button. I can say “Alexas, trigger garage door” which opens or closes it. But it cannot distinguish between “open vs. close”.

I have MyQ and am able to say “Alexa Open Nicole’s Garage Door”.(my wife’s door) I am using the native Smartthings and Echo integration. However, it s extremely flakey. If I say “Alexa, turn on Nicole’s garage door”, it works every time. I think it just because it’s s long phrase?

aquaman95, did you solve the problem with the linear and virtual switch?
I have the same problem I want to link to echo and dont see it.

Would be sweet if someone wrote a skill in ASK to do it without the switch. “Turn on my garage door opener” just seems weird

You can. All I say is alexa open/close my garage. .I don’t use turn on

You don’t have to. …all I say is alexa open my garage

It depends on your garage door opener.

Are you using a nutone device with the custom code? That one you just say open n close the garage door. The switch to do this is written into the code. The time for that looks like an outlet.

Some people are using different openers, or they are using a switch connected to the door opener and a multi switch in the door. Kind of a piece meal setup. That one requires the virtual switch and you have to say turn on. That is because ST doesn’t see that as an actual garage door… This Alexa only sees it as a switch. Where the other is different.

Wow good call. I created a virtual switch, tied the states together with 4 Rule Machines (thanks Bruce @bravenel) – open the door, flip the switch on if its off; close the door, flip the switch off if its on; flip the switch off, closed the door; flip the switch on, open the door. Switch only opens the door if my car is present. Only closes if there’s no motion in the garage and the trunk contact sensor is closed.

Added the switch named Garage Door to Alexa – then told Alexa to “close the garage door” and it worked on the first try.

Similarly, I noticed I could tell Alexa to close the light and it would do it. All the sudden it all makes sense now – Alexa is my Yiddish bubbe.

For those getting Alexa to close garage door with “close” command, how did you get that working? I can only say “open” and it opens and closes my Chamberlain MyQ system. It has been like this from the start using these instructions for Logitech Harmony and adding the MyQ as a switch:

Door is open, I have to say “open garage door” for it to close, as it doesn’t know how to “close” for some reason. ST sees it as open or closed, and when added to Amazon Echo, it should translate it but doesn’t. Works great other than that!