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Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!

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Drwoodr

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #15 on: November 23, 2017, 01:23:40 pm »
On the voice training, isn't that associated to your account, not a specific device? So even if you trained Alexa using your bathroom echo, I would think it would switch the account on any echo device to which your account is linked. Happy Thanksgiving to you also.

Banished

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #16 on: November 24, 2017, 07:14:54 am »
LOL..Another thought I hadn't entertained! I would think your correct! I may have to give this more thought before I try it.

mmurley

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #17 on: November 28, 2017, 01:50:45 pm »
Can do this by using SmartThings. You need to link the smartthings hub with each of the the harmony hubs and then use Alexa to execute the differently named smartthing "devices/actions"

A question on this - when you do this do you only add the Harmony hubs in smartthings and not add the two Harmony skills to Alexa in the Alexa app? 

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #18 on: December 23, 2017, 05:07:44 pm »
If you’re like me, you started out with one Harmony Hub and one Echo, downloaded all the skills and have been so tickled with the way things worked with Alexa, you bought a second Harmony Hub and Echo for another room.  You hooked it up, got things working great on your iPad/remote and to your dismay, you discovered Alexa was as dumb as a box of rocks.  Alexa either did nothing, barked an error or kept sending commands to your original Hub.  You can pick hubs to command on your iPad in the Harmony app for manual control but you’re getting nowhere getting Alexa to pick the hub controlling the second room.  She insists on forcing you to abuse alcohol.

You came here, read that you either need to link the second hub to a different Amazon account or were forced to relegate your control to off/on commands through Yonami or hub stacking.  Neither option are appealing and voice training is boring so you drank the good stuff and gave up for a while.....

If this sounds familiar, read on......

First, you don’t need to hack your wife’s account or use duct tape.  Disable your Harmony Skill (Blue) and if you have already installed the Harmony Secondary Hub Skill (Red), disable it too.  If you’re like me, you created the problem there if you enabled all that stuff when you had just one hub linked.

Go to your Harmony Skill and enable it.  It will ask which hub you want the blue Harmony Skill to control.  Pick your most used (primary) hub.  Sign in and do all the other stuff and finish by clicking “Link Account”.  Now, either download and enable or enable the red “Harmony - Secondary Hub Skill”.  When you get to the prompt of which hub it needs to command, pick your Secondary Hub.  Do all the other stuff and finish by clicking, “Link Account”.

Time to enjoy your work.  For the primary hub, say “Watch TV”.  For the Secondary Hub, tell Alexa, “Ask Harmony to turn on the TV”.  If your world is round, “Watch TV” will turn on the television commanded by the primary hub and “Ask Harmony to turn on the TV” will turn on the television commanded by the Secondary Hub.

Going forward, put the phrase “Ask Harmony to....” in front of any command for the Secondary Hub and bammo, Alexa behaves like you were hoping.  She’s still not a genius but she gets the job done.

Good luck!
« Last Edit: December 23, 2017, 05:17:14 pm by VKSheridan »

Drwoodr

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #19 on: December 23, 2017, 09:12:51 pm »
.....
 Going forward, put the phrase “Ask Harmony to....” in front of any command for the Secondary Hub and bammo, Alexa behaves like you were hoping.  She’s still not a genius but she gets the job done.
Nice write-up, and very interesting discovery.  However, I ran this by my wife, with the different phrases for each hub setup, and she gave it a big thumbs down. I will be sticking with the separate account on the dot for the second hub.  We’ve been running this now for about a month, and we’ve had no issues keeping the one dot set to her account and all the rest on mine. All my wemo switches work on both accounts, too, but we really don’t have a need to use them, that dot is essentially dedicated to that one harmony hub setup.

Re: Using Alexa with more than one Harmony Hub can be done!
« Reply #20 on: January 20, 2018, 11:31:10 am »
My wife said the same once I got it figured out so I had to refer to page seven in her book of “Husband commands” that all married women have....

I told her, “We have two TV’s.  If she says turn off the TV, I will look up uninterested and ask which one or I will feel ambitious, try my hand at guessing and ultimately pick the wrong one”.  I told her Alexa is no different at mind reading.

She agreed, still holding her thumb down.

I asked her how painful was it for her to stick an adjective in front of a noun when she asks me to turn off the bedroom TV if that’s the one she wants off or turn off the living room TV if she wants that one off.  She said it wasn’t that hard.

Thumb still down, middle finger twitching.

I then asked her why is it impossible to fathom asking Alexa similarly?  By inserting, “Ask Harmony to” lets Alexa know you want her to command the devices controlled by the bedroom Hub.  Dropping the phrase lets Alexa know you want her to command the devices controlled by the living room hub.  Geeez, it isn’t that hard......

Her reply was, “Alexa, ask Harmony to get me a new husband”.....

Women, gotta love em, pass the vodka. I think it’s a territory infringement thing that women have against a device with a feminine name but don’t quote me on that.  (sigh)