Alexa-Enabled devices in a group

[orange]

In the IOS app (but not the web app?) you can add an echo/dot to a group for "smarter control of common commands" - the help section it really ambiguous and doesn't seem to work anyway.

I assumed this was so you can limit voice controls to a specific room/echo to avoid you having to use a load of different keywords for "lights" for example.... but it doesn't seem to work in that way.  The app guides you towards naming the group name as a room name ? and there is no way to define what the group actually is or what the trigger words would be (normally the group name)

also an echo/dot can only be a member of one group (like multiroom audio) so you couldn't use this for lighting and heating ?

anybody any idea what this feature is and how to use it ?

[StevenR]

From what I have found through testing, this seems to be tied to device type. For example, if you have a group named Kitchen containing several Hue bulbs, several smart plugs, and a thermostat and also have an Echo in that group, and say "Alexa, turn on the lights" ito that Echo it will turn on the Hue bulbs. Unfortunately this means that it won't turn on lights which are not smart bulbs but are plugged into a smart plug even if the plug is named "Light".
I have managed to work around this using an emulated Hue bridge plus IFTTT.

[orange]

so that means that Amazon know what a light is - I have Lifx bulbs that are supported by the Echo but don't switch on.

I'm guessing what you're saying is to make a group, call it the room name and add EVERYTHING in that room - then let amazon work out what the device is ?

I've tried making a group called kitchen - adding everything in there, including the kitchen echo and all devices including lights etc. I then  say to the kitchen echo - turn on lights - I get the reponse "I can't find a device called lights"

So maybe only Hue is supported ?  Is it only Hue lights and some brand (?) of locks ?

Spoke to Amazon support who had zero idea of what this feature was - they thought I was talking about drop-ins ! sigh.

[seast91]

I have researched this feature extensively. It should work as such:

Create  group called Kitchen
Add all kitchen devices and an Echo

You can now say "Turn on lights" and that each will turn on any device of type "Light" to on. Other devices such as thermostats can be in the Group and controlled normally.

Other groups with or without their own Echo can be set up and used from that first Echo as normal but other Echos will respond to commands like 'Turn on the lights' to their own group.

Perfect for me, I have three echos and five smart rooms so I can control them all from any Echo but the room the echo is actually in should not require a group name or a device name for simple commands.

HOWEVER... it doesn't work. At least not for me. Alexa just says "cannot find lights'.
I believe this is because my Lightwaverf switches are (they say Light in the Alexa app) are not being picked up as lights.

Amazon support are clueless and have obviously not received any training on the feature. They keep advising me to use routines or groups with names and just don't understand the concept of this feature.