Don Cohen

The Webhost is recommending a different SMTP Server and Port, although they say so far this has nothing to do with gmail. I'm not convinced, but so far those settings aren't working either.

One can change the email server settings in the DS2's web portal, or in Composer - is there a preferred way to do this?

Edit:

They're recommending these:

Incoming/Outgoing mail server : xxxxx.asoxxxxx.com 

Port : 995

Encryption : SSL

SMTP Port : 465

I don't see an option to enter the 995 Port, only the SMTP Port of 465

Interesting thought, guys. I'll have to look into that.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not using gmail for SMTP - as I indicated, I have a small website for my photography, and I'm using their SMTP server. The webhost is A Small Orange, and I have contacted them just in case they also changed something. I am aware of the gmail and July 1st thing, as the timing is certainly suspicious. But in my case, gmail isn't being used.

I have had my DS2 Mini programmed for about 3 years now to send an email with a snapshot when someone presses the doorbell. This uses the DS2's built-in "Snapshot-Email" function. This was working as recently as June 25th, and has basically never been a problem.

I have recently realized that this is no longer working - if someone presses the door bell, an Intercom call is made, and works fine, but I never receive an email. I also have programming to send a similar snapshot when an Axxess Motion Sensor at the front door detects motion, and this is not working either.

I have:

• Rebooted the Controller
• Restarted the DS2
• Firmware Version is 2.33.5.42.15. I hit the Action Button to 'Update Firmware' with no change in Firmware version shown
• The email is sent via my Photography email server, and the credentials haven't changed in years. I can send email from that address outside of Control4 with no problem
• When I log into the DS2 mini itself, under Services...Email...SMTP...Advanced Settings...E-Mail Sending Diagnostics, I can enter an email address to test this system, and this is the output:
  Email created.
  Snapshot attached.
  Sending started.
  Test email FAILURE.

I can't think of what else to try, and am open to suggestions. I'm on OS 3.2.4 with an EA-3 as my Controller.

I have contacted my ISP to make sure they didn't make any changes in terms of SMTP access, but haven't heard back as yet.

Thanks.

Really appreciate this, @Darin, C4 PM UI. I updated the Driver, rediscovered devices, and I now have voice control over my Bluray players once again.

It's really great having you guys on the forum and available and receptive to fixing problems when they arise!

On 5/23/2022 at 10:10 AM, msgreenf said:

I have talked to c4 about this.  The best thing they recommend is changing a setting which will refresh the token, you don't actually have to reboot.  So all i do is pick mode and repick heat or cool based on time of year and it reconnects

Just as a data point here - my Ecobee thermostat was asking me to get a new PIN in the C4 App. I remembered this post, and tried this trick, but it didn't work unfortunately. Tried it a couple of times, either picking Heat or Cool. It was in Cool to begin with, when choosing Heat, it changed in the C4 App, but after 20 seconds or so, it changed back. If I chose Cool, basically nothing happened.

I had to regenerate a PIN, log into my Ecobee App, deleted the Control4 App, and re-added it. Everything is back to normal again.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often, but I wish this trick would have worked. Would be much simpler than having to basically redo the linkage.

As much as I enjoy the simplicity and efficiency of using Alexa to interact with Control4, I have definitely found it to be inconsistent in its response.

@daveva- I've also had situations where not all programming commands get activated when initiated by Alexa voice command, which have always been vexing. Sometimes it does involve Lighting control, but sometimes other functions as well.

@DRP - I would say that in general I find Alexa to be about 80% to 90% responsive, with the most usual scenario being giving a Room-level AV command: there will be a pause in Alexa's response, and basically at the same time that the command is actually executed, Alexa says something along the lines of "Hmm...(x) device is not responding".

Given that Control4 has to interact with Amazon's servers and programming, I understand that it can't be as consistent as reliable as dedicated Control4 functions. But I do hope that things will improve over time, since It is so much quicker and easier to give a quick voice command than it is to find a tablet, phone, go through any number of taps, to accomplish the same thing. Not for all functions certainly, but for many of them.

@Darin, C4 PM UII don't know if this is within your area of expertise with Control4, and if not, please let me know who would be, but since this seems to be a fresh bug associated with the release of OS 3.30 and associated infrastructure, I am hoping that this has been recognized by Control4, with a fix in the works.

@DIEHARD's post above seems to be the best summary of the problem:

Quote

 

Yay it's not just me! I may sound happy but am really sad as it feels like this is intentional.

From what i have found anything that uses the dvd proxy is no longer is usable via Alexa. (not even detected for the customer.control4.com site anymore)

Also my HDMI Matrix is basically useless with Alexa now as well as the devices connected to it no longer show up in the rooms with the TV's and will only show up in the room with the devices!

I have been at this for days and am at a standstill waiting for someone to see there is an issue or have someone who knows make some type of statement or acknowledgement as to this is now working as intended.

I hate to have to build out a ton of manual workarounds for what should be built in functionality and WAS built in previously and would prefer to not have to if anyone can answer why it seems functionality was removed.

*I should also note that previously when it "was" working i was running 2.10 and updated to 3.3. to see if it would fix some of the Alexa weirdness and issues i had been experiencing (Server is unresponsive, cant connect to null, device is not responding...) but all it did was make things worse!*

 

Thanks.

28 minutes ago, DIEHARD said:

*I should also note that previously when it "was" working i was running 2.10 and updated to 3.3. to see if it would fix some of the Alexa weirdness and issues i had been experiencing (Server is unresponsive, cant connect to null, device is not responding...) but all it did was make things worse!*

Very disappointing, but glad to understand a little better what's going on, and that it's not just me, or something odd in my system.

I was wondering if updating to 3.30 might fix this, but your last statement, quoted above, gives me the answer, unfortunately.

This does seem like a pretty major step backwards, and hopefully will be corrected sooner rather than later.

I'm having similar problems, though more selective.

I have multiple virtual Devices for my Theater (Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Hulu, etc.) so I can turn any on with Voice Commands. I've used these for years. Most of these are still working, but for some bizarre reason, neither of the Bluray Player players are being recognized. When I log into my Alexa account, they are listed there as devices, but strangely when I log into my.control4.com they're not (while all the others are listed). They have been there in the past, since I have been using them for several years, customized the name, etc.

I have tried multiple things to get this working:

• Reboot Controller
• Reboot the Echo dot I'm using
• Unlinked the Control4 Skill in the Alexa interface, rebooted the Controller again, and then relinked
• Rediscovered devices through Alexa multiple times
• Cleared the cache on the Alexa App, checked for updates (last update was June 1)
• I even removed one of these bluray devices in the Alexa app, hoping that it would be 'rediscovered', but no joy. It's now nowhere to be seen
• I renamed one of the devices for the same reason, to see if that would trigger re-recognition, but also no joy

The only thing that has changed is Control4's release of OS 3.30, and while I haven't yet upgraded, the release and system changes actually fixed another problem I've had for months, where Alexa would respond "Hmm..I'm having trouble reaching null" whenever I gave a voice command to turn on any of these devices (and which did in fact turn on, despite this odd error).

So no matter what I do, I can't get Alexa to respond to voice commands to activate these 2 bluray players, even though they were shown as devices in the Alexa App. And presumably because there's an issue there, my.control4.com isn't seeing them either. Very strange...

6 minutes ago, DIEHARD said:

As of yesterday i can no long control my TV's at all... this is still the case today.

Previously Alexa either said she could not find "null" for the last few weeks... then a 2nd or 3rd request would work.

And beyond that for the last year most commands for everything require 2-3 tries as she always says that it's not responding and this happens for any device.

Alexa + C4 is almost completely unusable for me now and as most of my C4 usage was via Alexa.

How is this not a bigger issue C4 is not addressing?!

I don't know what specifically is causing your problem, but have you tried the usual troubleshooting steps?

• Unlink Control4 Skill from Alexa account, using the Alexa webpage, rather than the App
• Reboot Control4 Controller
• Relink Control4 Skill using the Alexa webpage
• Have Alexa then 'rediscover' all your devices
• You can also log into your Control4 account, and confirm that all of the devices there are configured properly, and enabled for voice control

You might also try unplugging your Alexa device(s), wait 30 seconds, and then replug in. Hopefully this will get you going, as at least for now, mine is *finally* working perfectly.

Very interesting - I woke up this morning, and Alexa is now saying "Ok" after I give a room-level command, and it executes properly.

Apparently 3.3 has been released today. I haven't done the update on my system yet, but the timing is suggestive. Perhaps something on the server side was switched on as part of the update, which fixed the problem.

Hopefully it will remain fixed.

5 hours ago, Howard P said:

I’ve had the”not responding” for years where sometimes it will, sometimes not. A second attempt typically succeeds. Earlier today, however, it “couldn’t find profile for device.” There are about 40 devices and most work. TV’s don’t respond at all beginning 2 pm. Did all the rebooting and relinking to no avail. Mentioned it to my dealer/friend and he’ll investigate tomorrow. It’s incredibly frustrating. Perhaps it’ll work properly tomorrow. As a software developer my guess is something changed on the C4 server AND there’s a bug (timing) issue in the driver.

Thanks for the post. Yes, the 'not responding' has been a sporadic issue for years with my system as well. But this "I'm having trouble reaching null" message has been 100% consistent - it occurs every time when issuing a room-level command involving AV gear. Other commands involving non-AV devices (lights, garage doors, locks, etc.) work fine.

Out of curiosity, with room-level AV commands (in my case, "Turn on Netflix, Turn on Amazon, Turn off Family Room, etc.), do you encounter the "...trouble reaching null" response from Alexa?

And a further follow-up here: I did another chat yesterday with Control4 tech support, and he confirmed that they were aware of the problem, and when he researched it further, he said that they had explicitly fixed it with OS 3.3. Time will tell, but hopefully we won't have to deal with this glitch for too much longer...

48 minutes ago, South Africa C4 user said:

For anyone using the Flo driver, I strong recommend pairing this with the Janus Technologies BMS Monitor.  This gives great visual feedback on water usage on Touchscreens or in the C4 App.

Interesting. If I'm only using this with a single Moen Flo shutoff valve, would the "BMS Monitor Lite" be sufficient? It's quite a bit more cost effective than the full version.

7 minutes ago, indecision said:

Thanks guys.  I am actually an Android user for the past 10+ years.  I have been considering making the switch to iOS but not right away.  Those of you using Android Auto...you are just using the voice capabilities, correct.  No visuals on the screen?  It would be great to see the status of a garage door or lighting on the screen.

Correct. Google Assistance voice commands only. If there is a way to get device status on-screen, I'm not aware of it.

I have no experience on the Apple side of this, but I've been using Android Auto in my vehicles in this way for the last couple of years. I give a simple voice command, and it opens the garage door, unlocks the door to the house, turns off the alarm, and turns on the lights. Works really well, and we really like the ease of use here.

It might not be enough for you to switch to Android, but just wanted to mention that this does work well.

4 hours ago, brucecampbell said:

Anyone else experiencing Alexa doing as she is asked, followed by "I am having trouble reaching null"?

This happens all the time now when I ask her to turn on Netflix or other items from my watch list.

I, and many others, have been reporting this for many months now. Quite annoying.

C4 Thread

Amazon Alexa Forum Thread 1

Amazon Alexa Forum Thread 2

I have reported it to Control4 Tech Support via dealer channels, and the person I chatted with acknowledged the problem. But that was months ago, with no action or follow-up. This happens with other SmartHome, non-Control4 Devices as well (ou can google the exact phrase "I'm having trouble reaching null" and see reports with other devices), so the ball may be in Amazon's court more than Control4's, but nobody is stepping up.

On the Amazon thread, I did get Ellen, from the Amazon team, to contact their internal support team about this. According to her they responded, updated the App, and unilaterally declared the problem "resolved." Well, I have updated the App, cleared its Cache, unlinked/relinked Control4 to it, rediscovered devices, and the problem is most definitely not resolved. I reported that back to her, and there has been radio silence for going on a week now.

This happens with all room-level, AV commands, 100% of the time, while other Alexa commands (turning on lights for example) work fine.

The original problem ("x device is not responding) started shortly after the major AWS Eastern outage and fix, so the timing suggests that this is related. And around a month or two after that, it changed to "I'm having trouble reaching null" and has remained that way for a few months.

I'm really getting quite tired of this. Nobody is stepping up to acknowledge or fix the problem.

57 minutes ago, msgreenf said:

you have said many times you work for a dealer - use the official support channels

I have asked my dealer's tech genius, whose knowledge really impresses me, and he had no further suggestions on the matter, unfortunately. He said that the voice driver would be undergoing a complete change with the next impending OS update, saying perhaps that would resolve it.

And as I indicated a few posts up, I did contact Control4's tech support through the Dealer portal, and they said they would look into it. That was several weeks ago, and I haven't heard anything further. As I've also indicated, my relationship with the dealer and Control4 is somewhat unique, following retirement from my primary career. Further my 'job description' is on the sales end, not the technical, so I'm likely not as adept in navigating the support structure, don't have full access to all of the technical channels, etc.

Lastly, my most recent post was to suggest that while there are Control4 ramifications, the source of the problem may be with Amazon, since this same odd message appears with other smarthome devices.

I don't know what others are experiencing, but the problem persists for me, but now, every time I give a room-level AV command, Alexa says:

"Hmm...I've having trouble reaching null."

I tried contacting Alexa support, but that was a waste of time. There doesn't seem to be a way to get in touch with the people there at a high enough technical level to even understand the nature of the problem.

Out of curiosity I did a search for that phrase ("I'm having trouble reaching null"), and found a few reports of this occurring with some other smarthome devices, not related to Control4:

• Mysa thermostat
• eufy security's 2k battery doorbell
• vont smart bulbs

This certainly suggests the problem is with Amazon. But that is of little consolation...

I unlinked Alexa with Control4, rebooted the Controller, relinked Alexa with Control4, rediscovered Devices - the same sequence I had done multiple times in the past - but the problem persists.

Every once in a while, I do get a different message from Alexa. So when I said "Alexa, turn on Cable TV," it did turn on correctly, but said:

"Hmm...I'm having trouble reaching null."

That's new! Strange, but new!

8 minutes ago, DIEHARD said:

Mine has been doing this for months now.. worked fine for the 6 years prior. I have just been so busy i have not had time to look into it but it sure did not take long once i did to find others with the same issue here.

It is getting so bad my wife and kids are asking me to get rid of Control4 and do something different as almost every command has to be repeated twice and the other half of the time when you don't have to repeat yourself.. what you ask happens after it tells you it could not as the device is not responding.

Is this them trying to push people to v3? Does this issue only exist with a controller running v2? I guess that's my next question.

No change for me either. It's been a few months now. I just tried again to fix, unlinking Alexa to Control4, then rebooting the Controller, relinking, and then rediscovering devices - no difference.

I'm on 3.2.4 so it has nothing to do with OS2 vs OS3. I reported it to Control4 via tech support several weeks ago, but I've heard nothing back about it.

Agreed, @zaphod.

I've also run into occasional glitches when turning on my theater: the programming includes dimming the lights, ejecting the tray on my player, and muting the audio on my AVR. I've noticed that every once in a while, these 3 events wouldn't execute, even though the rest of the theater turned on properly (multiple electronic devices turning on, projector on, video processor, etc.). Last night it seemed that this glitched when turning on with an Alexa command, but not when I executed the command from the Control4 App on my phone.

Something funky going on here with Alexa and Control4 integration...

2 weeks later, and this problem hasn't changed. I unlinked Alexa to Control4, rebooted Controller, relinked Alexa, Discovered Devices, with no change, as before.

@ChrisHenderson - is Control4 aware of this problem? It's really quite annoying. I don't know whether the problem is with Control4 or Amazon, but having Alexa say "hmmmm....x device is not responding" each and every time I issue an AV room command, even though the command executes properly, is frustrating.

And I would hesitate to Demo the system to friends or potential customers with this happening - doesn't speak well of good integration with Alexa's voice commands.

And just like that, the glitch is back. The system responds correctly, but each and every time Alexa says "Hmmm...x device isn't responding."

Sigh....

Others seeing this too?

31 minutes ago, ashwinmj said:

I read all comments on this thread, and I plan to buy the Moen Flo. I already have what I think is a very similar product - the Grohe Sense. It doesn't have a Control4 driver though, and that's why I'm thinking of changing it to the Flo. 

I wanted to make sure the Moen Flo does what the Grohe Sense does for me now, before I make this change. I don't plan to buy and Moen sensors though. Without additional external sensors and just the Flo valve, does the Flo automatically detect slow leaks or a pipe break and turn off the water supply by itself?

The reason I don't plan to buy any sensors from Moen is that I already have water leak sensors connected to my DSC security system (which is integrated with C4 via it's driver), so any leak is known in C4. I could use this info to turn off the Flo via C4. Is there any disadvantage of doing this as opposed to using Moen's external sensors? 

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

You are correct - the Moen Flo monitors your water usage and pressure, developing a 'model' over the first couple of weeks of use. After that, it is then able to detect unusual patterns indicating a small or large leak. You can configure the Moen Flo App itself to do what you want, including automatic turn-off. It's actually pretty slick.

My wife took a shower a bit longer than usual, and I received the alert on the app, and I also have it configured to call my cell. I have it set to auto turn-off, but I can override this either in the app, or via the phone call. Same thing happened when Stanly Steemer was here cleaning the rugs, and using a fair amount of water. I received the alert and phone call, and was able to over-ride the auto turn-off that would otherwise have occurred.

It does a nightly check as well, and alerted me to a slow leak. I then discovered an outside faucet that had a slow leak, and which needed to be replaced. No alerts after that.

And it works well with Control4. I have a 'Vacation' experience button which when activated, includes turning the valve off (along with other programming for HVAC, lights, etc.). And when we return a simple tap opens it up, and restores everything to normal.

I do have a few external sensors (refrigerator, kitchen sink area, washer), for a little added protection. But these are optional, and the primary functionality described above does not require them.

So you could say I'm extremely happy with the Moen Flo.