Since 28.09.2022 the “TextCommand” (execute a text command like a spoken text) of Amazon Echo Control Binding no longer work as expected - the behavior has changed. I use Openhabian 3.3.0 on a PI4. I’m not sure if this is a problem of the Echo Control Binding or a problem of the Alexa API. The VoiceCommand directly spoken to the echo device still works only the TextCommand (via API) no longer works. It seems that the problem arise in combination with Alexa skills where the first part of the TextCommand opens the skill and the second part of the TextCommand should be “transferred” to the skill. Does anybody experience the same problem … and possibly has found a solution?
example 1:
I use Echo Show 15 as Openhab dashboard and as display for the door camera. For that purpose I use the Alexa skill “MyPage”
To show the Openhab dashboard on the Echo Show, Openhab sends the TextCommand ”open My Page and load page 1” (Openhab repeat that every 6 Minutes because after several minutes of inactivity the echo show shows the default page again). When the doorbell rings, the item doorbell changes from OFF to ON and a Openhab rule sends the TextCommand ”open My Page and load page 2" to the Echo Show to show the Openhab page with the door camera view (stream) and “open door button” on the Echo Show. After two minutes Openhab sends the TextCommand ”open My Page and load page 1” to show the Openhab dashboard again. The TextCommand without "Alexa, " at the beginning.
In the above example the first part of the TextCommand “open MyPage” works but I have to write "MyPage instead of “My Page” (without space in-between). I the past it was vice versa. The second part of the TextCommand “and load page …” is wrongly understood by the Alexa API / Echo device as the Echo device responds “can’t find the video”. As said before the same command directly spoken to the echo device (VoiceCommand) still works. I have tested in English and German “öffne My Page und lade Seite …”.
example 2 (only tested in German):
VoiceCommand „Alexa, frage Miele, was meine Geräte machen“ still works but TextCommand „frage Miele, was meine Geräte machen“ does not work. The TextCommand „frage Miele" or “öffne Miele” still works (responds with introduction of the skill)
A few weeks ago I had a similar problem with the “playMusicVoiceCommand” (voice command as text. e.g. ‘Yesterday from the Beatles’) of the Echo Control Binding. The “playMusicVoiceCommand” has no longer be interpreted correctly by the Alexa API / echo device. I solved this problem (work around) by changing my Openhab rules from “playMusicVoiceCommand” to “TextCommand” … but TextCommand is now wrongly interpreted by the Alexa API too
It would be great if anybody could help to solve this issue.
I cannot help to solve this issue, but I can confirm this strange behaviors in general.
Some times the TextCommands work. And sometimes they don’t.
And the stangest part is, that the same Voice Command works and is recognizes exactly as the written TextCOmmand.
For example Schalte TuneIn 1LIVE Wohnzimmer ein worked as a TextCommand well for month (most of the time).
But the last few days Alexa just plays some music vom Amazon Prime Music.
Thank you @Wolfgang_S and @christoph_wempe for your quick reply. The LowerCase approach for TextCommand solved the problem or is at least a good workaround. Everything seems to work again with that fix.
How does the echo show 15 work for you as an OH display? Do you use a web browser or is there an application?
What are your impressions after a year of use? I’m thinking about using Echo Show 15 as a display at first (maybe for sitemap) and in the distant future I’ll use voice commands
Hi @stonke - the echo show 15 works fine for me. The design and speed is ok. The disadvantage of the echo 15 is, that it overwrites the screen every 7 minutes with echo stuff. You have to overwrite the screen every 6 minutes to overcome that special behaviour (takes about 4 seconds on my screen).
I use the following rule to overwrite the screen (with the Alexa skill MyPage):
Another disadvantage of the echo is that it responds to your command (every 6 minutes). To overcome that behaviour I have attached a “dummy” bluetooth device which mean that you can not use the echo show 15 for voice output.
In October Amazon will sell “echo hub” which has 8 inch only and I plan to use this in the 1st floor of my house
During Black Friday week I got another “Echo Show 15” for my house … the “Echo Hub” still has status “soon available” and might be to small with 8 inch. The “Echo Show 15” is placed between two doors.
… and after that I update the screen every 6 minutes with the following commands, to avoid overwriting of Openhab with echo stuff every 6 … 10 minutes:
the command “open silk” does not update the screen as silk is already started so you dont see the refresh (but you see the change of item states).
To fill the space on the bottum, I included a photo album on the new echo (automatic picture change every 10 seconds)
Hi Bernhard, what for a command do you use to start MyPage?
I try in SDL with StartCommand and SendMessage.
It only works to StartCommant for Weather but nothing works with MyPage.
Thanks for your help!
Thanks vor the link to the Alexa-Skill. The skill works thats not my problem.
I would like to know which command you exactly use to send the command “öffne MyPage auf Seite 1” to Alexa?
Can you show me your code?
the rule on openhab instructs the echo device to start the openhab screen again on the Echo screen, to avoid the specific echo behavior to place other stuff on the Echo screen … if you don’t do that, there will no more openhab stuff be seen on the echo screen, at least after 6 - 10 minutes … you can try it
To refresh the sreen I use the command “open silk” which instructs the echo to open the last displayed page without any “optical refresh behavior” (“silent refresh”). If you use " öffne my page und lade seite 1" you will see “optical refresh behavior” which lasts 4 seconds every 6 minutes.
… what you see in the other topic items is that Echo is sensitive if you write with upper or lower case. That’s the reason why I wrote the echo command in lower case.
I had to replace “openhab” on MyPage with the IP address, because MyPage or Echo dont use my Fritzbox as DNS but a different DNS where the name openhab is not stored.
