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    Insteon Scenes and Alexa Groups

    Is anyone else having trouble turning on and off Insteon Scenes from Alexa Groups containing other devices?


    If I create an Insteon Scene called "Dining lights" I can trigger it from Alexa no problem. I can also add this scene to an Alexa Group with a different name, say "Table lights" and it will turn on and off just the same.
    However, if I add ANY other device (such as the LIFX smart bulb or Haiku Fan that I own), the Alexa Group "Table lights" will not function correctly, by either failing to turn on or failing to turn off some or all of the devices (see scenarios below).

    My first thought was that it may be the other "non-insteon" device causing the issue. So I even tried adding a Insteon Device to the Alexa Group containing the Insteon Scene, but this also fails, indicating to me that the problem is somwthing to do with the Insteon Scene and Alexa Group interaction. (Please note I am aware that adding an Insteon Scene and Insteon Device to the same Alexa Group is redundant, as it would be possible to add the Insteon Device directly to the Insteon Scene. I was purposely trying to rule out an issue existing with the "non-insteon" devices).

    Here is what I've discovered through some scenario testing:
    Scenario 1: Add a single Insteon Scene to an Alexa Group - working.

    Scenario 2: Add a single Insteon device (eg Dimmer Switch) to an Alexa Group - working.

    Scenario 3: Add 2 or more Insteon Scenes to an Alexa Group - working.

    Scenario 4: Add 2 or more Insteon devices to an Alexa Group - working.

    Scenario 5: Add an Insteon Scene AND a non-insteon device to an Alexa Group - NOT WORKING.
    (Insteon Scene turns on but non-insteon device does not turn on, Insteon Scene cannot be turned off using group)

    Scenario 6: Add an Insteon Scene AND an Insteon device to an Alexa Group - NOT WORKING
    (Insteon Scene and Insteon device turn on, Insteon Device can be turned off but Insteon Scene cannot be turned off using group)


    To clarify upfront:
    When I say "Insteon Scene", I mean a "Scene" setup in the Insteon App. Achieved by opening the Insteon App on iOS, selecting "Scenes" from the menu, and then "Create a Scene".
    When I say "Alexa Group", I mean a group setup in the Alexa App. Achieved by opening the Alexa App on iOS, selecting "Smart Home" from the menu, then "Groups", "Create Group".
    Between each of the above scenarios I would always run "Discover Devices" on the Alexa app.
    I'm running the iOS versions of the apps. Insteon app version 1.15.3, Insteon Hub version 1012, and Alexa app version 1.24.2496.0.

    Can anyone else recreate this issue?

    #2
    What's the result if you add only devices to a group, but no Insteon scenes at all?
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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      #3
      Hi stusviews!
      As mentioned in my OP, that would be Scenario 4.
      Adding a single or multiple Insteon Devices to an Alexa Group works as expected. So, when asking Alexa to turn the group "on" all devices turn on (albeit in sequence, as per the limitations of any Alexa Group), and when asked to turn "off" all devices turn off.

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        #4
        I wasn't clear with my request. What's the result if you add only devices including a non-Insteon device?
        Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
        Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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          #5
          This also works as expected. I can add Insteon devices and non-insteon devices to the same Alexa Group, and all they will all turn on and off as expected.

          Comment


            #6
            That seems to be the solution to your difficulty. I realize that it's redundant to create scenes and also add the same devices to an Echo group, but if it works, then go with it.
            Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
            Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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              #7
              Actually, this won't work for me.
              I specifically wanted to control Dimming and turning off devices as part of the scene. Eg a "Dining Scene" that reduces kitchen lights to 50%, turns on dining table lights and turns off hall lights, as well as turning on say a non-insteon smart ceiling fan. It was very much the need to use an Insteon Scene that I'm wanting to do. Alexa Groups cannot dim or turn off devices at the same time as turning on other devices.

              What I believe though, based on my testing, is that the Insteon Scene is actually malfunctioning, ie there is a bug in the code.

              This can be evidenced by the fact that if you add an Insteon Scene to an Alexa Group it can be turned on, but not turned off.
              Further, as it is clear that Alexa Groups just sequentially turn on or off devices (they do not turn on/off in parallel), and Insteon Devices are added first, that what ever devices appear to follow the Insteon Scene will fail. Which indicates to me that the Insteon Scene is throwing up an error and causing the Alexa Group to exit also prior to completing the sequence. This would explain why even using an Insteon Scene with any other device has inconsistent behaviors as above. It appears to me that the Scene is not exiting gracefully for some reason.

              Comment


                #8
                I think more controlled testing could identify this better, but since I have many Insteon devices, it would mean completely reinstalling all of my house items to provide more detailed scenario testing, causing me huge disruption. This is something that I would suggest your development team should do, in order to identify a repeatable testable scenario to both identify root cause and fix the apparent bug (which I think is in the Alexa Skill code).

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                  #9
                  [QUOTE=swhyte;n95759][COLOR=#0000FF]This is something that I would suggest your development team should do[/COLOR].[/QUOTE]
                  This is a user-to-user forum. Try Menu, Setting, About ..., Feedback.
                  Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                  Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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                    #10
                    Apologies, I didn't realise this was a strictly user to user forum.
                    Since I've already raised this multiple times with Insteon via email and tried speaking to Insteon via phone call with no satisfactory response or even admission (or understanding) that there is a problem, I guess I'm plumb-out-of-luck then!

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                      #11
                      Can anyone else re-create this issue or is it just me?

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