Why does SmartThings duplicate my devices in SmartThings… I’m a bit OCD when it comes to keeping things neat and tidy… when I look at devices in my Alexa app SmartThings have duplicated my devices for example Hallway light appears twice
Brand and model of the device which is being duplicated?
(First rule of home automation: “the model number matters.“)
There are two different things that can cause this.
A. Both the device manufacturer and SmartThings have an Alexa integration, so Alexa has an entry for both
First, if the manufacture of the device as their own native integration with echo, then Alexa May see the device twice, once from the manufacturer’s app and once from smartthings.
Smartthings allows you to individually Authorize a device for use by echo. So one way to get rid of the duplicates is to just go through smartthings and instead of authorizing all devices, don’t authorize the ones which have their own native integration. (In many cases, the native integration from the manufacturer will have more features than SmartThings does.)
Another way to get rid of the duplicates is to leave them in smartthings but not to use the manufacturer’s own Alexa skill.
B. Double SmartThings Entries
It’s also possible that you linked the device twice to your SmartThings account, once locally and once as a cloud to cloud integration. This most often happens with lights attached to a hue bridge.
In that case, you will also see the device twice in the smartthings app as well.
If you do see the device twice in the smartthings app, then you have to clear up the linkage on the smartthings side.
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Something else that can cause this. I only mention because I was just looking at it a day or so ago. I saw all my Arlo cameras were listed twice. On closer exam I realized that once instance was the camera and the other was the Motion sensor.
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They’re only showing once in smartthings but twice in the Alexa app… how do I turn the setting off for Alexa in the smartthings app?
Brand and model of the device which is being duplicated?
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First, thank you for this topic. I thought my Alexa app just had a fluke with my duped devices, but @JDRoberts’s explanation made sense and I was able to figure out what he meant in post 2.
I had to go digging, but apparently it’s in the settings. So (gear icon) > Connected Services > Amazon Alexa. From there, you can “Allow Alexa to access all devices, Scenes, and Routines”. Turn it off, and you can select which individual things you want Alexa to access.
To be honest, I turned it back on. I have two duplicated Lutron Caseta dimmer switches (but not the third?? lol) and my two LIFX bulbs are also duplicated. It’s weird in Alexa, but since I’m trying to move to more ST than Alexa, I’m trying to not let it bother me.
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Thank you for the reply I found it very helpful… I unlinked a lot of my devices which still work ok with both smartthings and Alexa… after I unlinked them I noticed I had to go into the Alexa app and delete the duplicates manually but that wasn’t to painful…
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Are you referring to the new SmartThings app? I don’t see it in my app.
Yes I see it in the new app… if you click the gear icon in the menu on the left “Connected services” are listed in there…
I hope that’s what you meant 
OK I am using classic as I have too many automations to switch.
I am having this issue as well. Every non internet connected device has two entries in Alexa. ST only has one that I can see in the new app. They both have the same device name but the description is different, for example: first one says Smartthings the second one says smartthings switch (its a GE Jasco on/off switch). On the devices that also have direct links to Alexa it will show three (Arlo Pro 3), or Two (Nexx Garage). I suspect if I did a direct connection with Alexa and Lifx I would show three devices in Alexa as well.
I would at a minimum like to clean up the Z-wave and Zigbee devices so Alexa show only one.
Architecture is (2) V3 wifi hubs using the new app.
Ideas on how to clean it up short of manual deletion in Alexa? Ive done the selecting the devices to be shared to no avail.
Doug
Reviving this thread.
The instructions for new smart things app don’t work. You click on Alexa and it just shows an icon and a button to delete / unlink. No way to control what is shared.
Any ideas or knowledge on a modern approach?
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Unfortunately, this changed about a month ago when a new Alexa skill was released for SmartThings and you can no longer choose which devices are exposed to Alexa. It’s now all or nothing. (The same issue was introduced for google home at about the same time.)
Lots of discussion, no easy workarounds, in the following thread:
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Wow that is crazy- what a huge regression 
What is the timeline of having this fixed? It is making Alexa unusable.
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My temporary solution is to rename the Hue devices from within the SmartThings app. I just add an “ST” to the beginning of the name. For example, “Living Room Lamp” is renamed to “ST Living Room Lamp”.
I think there is an option to rename devices when they are initially discovered/added too.
Then I disable the “ST” devices, in the Alexa app. The SmartThings device names are automatically updated in the Alexa app so I can easily distinguish which are ST and which are not.
(The “ST” in the name should also help Alexa distinguish the two names when using voice commands even if you don’t disable the devices.)
Then update your groups as needed.
Hope this helps, until ST and Alexa can come up with a more graceful implementation.
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Is there any update or fix for this? Seeing the same in the new SmartThings app.
Upvoting the issue - it is actually quite annoying.
Agreed it’s definitely annoying. However, this thread is about the previous 2019 skill, which has now been Removed, so upvoting this thread doesn’t really do anything at all.
The thread discussing the current skill with the same issue is here: