Alexa loses communication with Smarthome Devices

[travcore]

Just recently I've been having a problem with the Alexa app staying connected to various smart home devices. One minute everything is working fine, then all of the sudden randomly my devices stop working and I have to go into the Alexa app and discover all of my devices again. Once I do that, everything works fine. However later that same day or maybe the next day it happens again and I have to repeat the process. Once again, this just started happening over the last week or so. Is there a glitch with the Alexa app or is it some other issue? I don't believe it has to do with the Echo itself.
I am using Insteon lighting automation and Harmony remote TV control and they both go offline randomly.
Any suggestions to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated.

[mike27oct]

You do not need to go into the Alexa app to discover devices, you just say, "Alexa, discover devices".

You could have weak wi-fi places in the house.  Be sure all smart devices are connected to 2.4G signal, as well as Alexa, because range on that frequency is farther reaching.

[travcore]

Thanks for the suggestions. My router is 2.4 GHz and the router and hubs are all within 10 ft of each other and in the same room. Any other suggestions are welcome.

[asianrocker]

Try rebooting all the devices involved. I honestly am disappointed with the whole echo system though. with all the same problem I read here even my own. It's looking more like the whole echo system is unstable and Amazon need to step up their game.

[renegade600]

my echo setup is very stable.  if it keeps losing connections, I would look into the router and see if it may be losing connections from there.  try a power cycle for the router and modem.  what is the router model number?

[travcore]

My router is an Apple Airport Extreme and my modem Motorola MB8600 (Docsis3.1). Do I understand correctly that if there is an interruption of WiFi that the Echo will lose communication with Smarthome devices? I thought for sure that when I have had to reset my router for other reasons that I have not had to rediscover my devices.
I have been thinking of switching out my router for the Google Mesh System. Does anyone have any experience with how well it works with an Echo?

[mike27oct]

I assume since it is a new router it will work fine.  Read some reviews of it.

[jwlv]

I just bought the Google Wifi System (3 unit mesh) and it's very cool. Strong signal throughout the house.
I've gone through several routers in the past few years and I've never had any issues with the Echo. Originally I did have an issue with too many WiFi devices on my ancient Linksys WRT54G router (probably about 10 years old). With this particular router, some WiFi devices would just drop off when it wasn't used for a period of time. For example, some of my Wemo switches would drop off the network because I didn't use that particular switch to turn on/off a light in that room for a couple of days. Then the Echo would have trouble finding it. Other routers I've used were much newer and never gave me any problems.

The only reason I went with the Google WiFi system was because of the superior mesh technology. This mesh technology is different than using WiFi extenders. With WiFi extenders, you have to lose a connection with your router before it will switch to the extender's connection. With Google mesh, it switches seamlessly and it always connects to the strongest access point. So if I was using my iPhone in the bedroom, it connects to the access point in the adjacent room. As I walk out towards the kitchen, it connects to the access point in the living room. It does this automatically and never loses a beat. Using the Google Wifi app, I can see which access point I'm connected to (as well as where all other devices are connected to).  Another cool feature is that the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands are combined. They are both treated as the same network. Many people on this forum have found that when their Echo is connected to the 5GHz band on their router, the Echo can't see devices on the 2.4GHz band. This is completely eliminated. Both bands have the same SSID name and it doesn't matter which band you connect to. They are the same network.

My only complaint about the Google WiFi system is that there are no advanced settings that many other routers have. But the benefits outweigh the lack of advanced settings by far. So I'm happy that I got the Google WiFi system.