Hi, Newbie here just getting started… So I would’ve thought that this would’ve just happened automatically, like most of my other devices did when I initially ran my HA instance but I am having zero luck finding and adding any of my amazon smart plugs, smart switches or echo hubs to my new HA. Is this normal? I added the free trial to the cloud service to allow alexa to control a handful of my HA devices as a temp solution, as I thought that might handle both issues but it only goes one-way. Now I can control my HA devices with alexa but cant control my alexa devices with my HA.
Are there any known work arounds or do I need to just replace all of the amazon devices in the house?
Hi, Thanks for the message. So, I already did that part… I created a cloud account and connected Alexa to my HA instance. So I can have Alexa control my exposed devices but I still can’t see any of the amazon devices within my Home Assistant. So I guess my question would be; what is the next step?
Be aware that Amazon does not like to share control of devices that are connected to Alexa. There is a checkbox during set up of Alexa Media Player to include connected devices, but it’s pretty common for some devices to not be brought through from Alexa to HA.
@mkhz36 A good suggestion too. It’s a decent addon for adding your Echos as media players, but be aware it doesn’t allow Alexa to control your devices via voice control.
I havent added alexa to my yaml file. That might be beyond me… lol. Do I just copy and paste what you added above? I looked into that same link earlier and it seemed a little above my paygrade with regards to creating all the different accounts with amazon, etc…
I only have 2 switches and 2 plugs that I am trying to add… It might be easier to just replace them than to open that can of worms. I am not scared to try to do it but at the same time, time is money and I might be better off just spending a little to replace the devices than go down that rabbit hole. Unless I am misunderstanding all that this next step entails? Thanks again for your help.
I saw this too… but it looked like it was specifically for controlling echo/alexa media players and what I am trying to control are 2 switches and 2 plugs. I read the whole wiki page on that tool and it didnt say anything about being able to control devices other than the media player. Is that not the case?
Yes you can copy what I posted as a template, but you’ll need to enter your client_id and client secret. These are available on your Alexa developer console under account linking.
The link I posted walks you through the whole process for the Amazon Alexa Custom Skill. It’s overwhelming at first, but you can’t really break anything.