Sound notification (Alexa)

Does anyone know how to get sound notification through Alexa when using a smart thing sensor for the door. What I am trying to do is have Alexa give a sound notification when my back door opens and closes. Currently I get a text on my phone.

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It depends on how youā€™d like to do it. There are no notifications native to Alexa right now, but since you obviously have push notifications built into ST that display on your phone, there are a few ways that you can resolve this to suit you.

Buy a Sonos (or other WiFi speakers) and push notifications to it as TTS (Text-to-Speech) or a media file.

Use a Bluetooth or 3.5mm connected speaker to output the TTS or a media file.

Use a computer or other connected device to push the TTS to a speaker.

Use your phone to output TTS or a media file. This can be done by a notification reader app.

Any other variations of the above involving a computer, amplifier (connected or not), tablet, etc.

A media file would be a pre-recorded message that corresponds with the event. I really like Rachel (English UK) from Acapela. Otherwise you would push the message via pure text to be converted to speech by an app or other renderer.

I hope this helps.

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And when you decide how you are going to get the tts to playā€¦ Use this app to control it.

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Currently, what I do is I have a tablet that is paired with my Echo for audio output. The Echo is attached to a wireless (Bluetooth) speaker with a 3.5mm cable that is usually plugged in to power as well. When I want to move the speaker around, I have a 2-inch diameter ā€œpuckā€ Bluetooth 4.0 (can connect to 2 output receivers simultaneously, though the output is not synchronized) that I connect via 3.5mm jack.

This setup allows me to broadcast notifications via 3.5mm cable out or Bluetooth out from my Echo. Also, I have multiple setups like this in different areas of the house.

The tablets have Lannouncer installed, which receives messages from notification Smartapps like BigTalker.

Also, the tablets all have a notification reader app installed. This allows me to bypass configuring a Smartapp to broadcast TTS or media notifications. Instead, just regular notifications are read and rendered TTS by the app, using the renderer I choose and have installed on the device.

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Iā€™ve got the echoes and six dotsā€¦ Along with a bunch of Wi-Fi speakers and android connected speakers. I send messages all over the house and can send from all over the houseā€¦

I get notifications for doors, presences, switchesā€¦And can send them anywhere in the house as well as push and textā€¦

Itā€™s a really expensive awesome communications system in the house.

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But so sexy, and pushes the boundaries of whatā€™s capable with a ā€œbasicā€ setup.

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Yeah and with the release of our new appā€¦ There is so much I can do! The heart of my system is free form ttsā€¦ No pre determined messagesā€¦ I say what I want and itā€™s repeated! And nowā€¦ We can record messages and play then back later!

Yeah. I was definitely excited when I saw 3.0 released. Iā€™m gonna get around to trying it out after Christmas.

Still dealing with mailbox and laundry room issues around here.

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What is the name of the app and how does it work

So how does this stuff work?

Hey, you guys are the best. I really appreciate the help

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The name of the app is EchoSistant
you can find it hereā€¦

What kind of ā€˜issuesā€™?

Currently, Alexa itself is incapable of producing any kind of sounds without being awake. That feature has been promised and we all hope it will happen soon. Meanwhile you can use any methods that @MEarly postedā€¦

Trying to cheaply and efficiently setup monitoring.

Elaborate on laundry room, pleaseā€¦

This was what I was looking at but the issue is it only works with upnp/dnla speakers and not bluetooth dongles. If I could pass it through to BT, then this would work for me as I have a few BT receivers connected to my SS AVR.

Isnā€™t your AVR dnla capabale?

It is but the SApp doesnt see it or find it. But my AVR isnt always on. So if I can have the speaker go through Echo that would be best.

Yes, but you can ā€˜wakeā€™ it up without yelling AVR, like you do with Alexa lol