Echo & Alexa Forums
General Category => Amazon Echo Discussion => Topic started by: Thinker3932 on December 06, 2018, 08:19:55 am
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So one challenge I am having is that I have multiple rooms where I have lights installed (controlled) by Alexa. They use the Jinvoo smart home app or whatever to control the AC plug. I can't name two plugs "lights," so I have to name the second (or third or fourth...) plug something else (i.e.--"candle".) This is confusing to me. I have to walk into a room, remember what I call the lights in that room and say "Alexa, candle on" ...
Am I doing this wrong? Is there a way I can say "lights on" and have the Alexa (since I have multiple Alexa's ... one in each room) know that I am talking about the lights in the room I am in?
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Yes, it's possible :
https://www.howtogeek.com/331578/how-to-associate-certain-smart-lights-with-a-specific-echo/
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First, don't ever name a light just 'light', that'll cause problems. Also a no-no is 'light 1' 'light 2' etc. Also avoid 'room names', so better not use 'kitchen light' and definitely not 'kitchen'.
Name your lights something more specific like 'tv corner light', 'wall light 1', 'wall light 2', 'kitchen door light', 'kitchen main light' etc.
You can group those lights in alexa like 'wall lights' if you want to turn those specific lights on/off by voice. Again, for groups, avoid 'light', 'lights' and room names.
Then for you question, you can create a smartgroup (only possible in the app atm) that includes the alexa in that room plus all the lights in that room.
That way you can say to that alexa "turn on the lights" and she knows which lights you mean.
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Agree with avoiding generic names like "light" or room specific like kitchen especially as you start adding more devices to control. I use names like 'nightstand', 'headboard', 'side door', etc. But using groups, either by room, or downstairs, upstairs, basement, etc., can help as well. Even better is using Routines. How do you turn on/off different lights. For instance, I have a Routine I activate be saying, 'Alexa light my path', it turns on a light on a table by the bottom of the stairs, the light at the top of the stairs, & the light in my bedroom. Another, 'Alexa, I'm going downstairs', turns off all my upstairs lights & turns on the lights that I use downstairs.
If you put some thought into how you set up the Routines they will be easy to remember.
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one thing, if you are going to use numbers in the name, spell it out. for whatever reason alexa will sometimes get confused with numeric characters.