So this issue is new to me after going into my Alexa app to make some updates/ changes. Originally, my Harmony activities that show up in smartthings as switches were showing in the Alexa app as switches and allowed both on and off functionality. Now, in the Alexa app they are showing up as scenes and only allow “on” functionality. Can anyone help me figure out what has caused this change. Smartthings support is giving me the “run around” I feel like. It’s almost as if something has changed in the way Alexa discovers devices/ scenes or something has changed on the smartthings side in how the discovery of the harmony integrated items are seen. Thank you all for any ideas or fixes.
If you are only concerned about voice control of the harmony, then just leave smartthings out of the equation altogether and use the native harmony “blue” skill. It’s quite good.
https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/harmony-experience-with-amazon-alexa
If you want to be able to automate harmony activities through smartthings, like turning on the TV when you pass a particular motion sensor or when a particular person gets home, then you should be able to do that from the smartthings side without worrying about the fact that the scenes will show up in Alexa.
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In my case, I was creating 2 alexa routines. 1 for morning, 1 for goodnight. Neither would be a time scheduled routine but both would be “on demand” routines after a certain statement is said. All of the devices were good from the Alexa side except for not being able to properly control the harmony activity (since it now shows only as a scene, Alexa allowed on but not off). The device settings showed that smartthings was the distributor for the device I was looking at inside of the Alexa app. Whereas in the smartthings app the device/ harmony activity shows as a switch, the harmony activity should show as a switch in the Alexa app- Also, this used to work appropriately, I had both on and off control for this harmony activity/ smartthings device and the Alexa app either allowed on/ off control for a scene for a time period or it was actually displayed as a device in the Alexa app- I can’t remember the specifics, I just know now it is a pita and doesn’t work as logic would expect. (Displayed as switch in parent distributor app- the Alexa app, displayed in child app which would be smartthings in my opinion also as a switch)
If I want on and off functionality inside of a group that is called in a routine for this harmony device. Is there a method to make it happen. Can I somehow create a virtual switch that will be seen in Alexa as a switch but have it control the harmony activity that is integrated into smartthings so that Alexa will in a roundabout way give me that on/ off device switch functionality?
Thank you for your response- I know this was long winded.