Alexa does not understand my device: choosing the right names

If Alexa cannot find a device or switches the wrong one, the name is almost always the cause. Choose names that you actually say in everyday life, that are unambiguous and that sound clearly different from one another.

The MFM Voice skill currently only works with an amazon.de account and Alexa set to German, so the examples are shown in German with an English gloss in brackets.

Where the names come from

MFM Voice takes devices and rooms from your Miniserver. In Loxone Config, devices are often named the way the electrician needs them for planning: with abbreviations, numbers and room codes. That rarely works well when spoken. So in MFM Voice you give each device its own voice name. Your Loxone configuration stays unchanged.

Five rules

1. Say it out loud. Say the name once before you save it. “Esstisch” (dining table) rolls off the tongue. “Licht EG 03” (light, ground floor, 03) does not.

2. One name, one device. Two devices called “Deckenlicht” (ceiling light) mean Alexa has to ask which one you mean. Rename them “Deckenlicht Küche” (kitchen ceiling light) and “Deckenlicht Flur” (hallway ceiling light).

3. No abbreviations or special characters. Alexa struggles with underscores, slashes and abbreviations such as “OG” or “WZ”. Write them out: “Obergeschoss” (upper floor), “Wohnzimmer” (living room).

4. Avoid similar names. Even a person would mix up “Stehlampe” and “Stehleuchte” (both mean floor lamp). Choose names that sound clearly different.

5. Keep device names and group names apart. If a device has exactly the same name as a group in the Alexa app, Alexa does not know which one you mean. Call the group “Wohnzimmer” and the device “Wohnzimmerlicht” (living room light).

Groups save words

In the Alexa app, assign devices and your Echo device to the same group. In the living room, “Alexa, Licht an” (Light on) is then enough. Alexa switches the lights in the group that the Echo device belongs to.

After renaming

If you have changed a name in MFM Voice, say: “Alexa, suche nach neuen Geräten.” (Search for new devices.) Only then does Alexa know the new name. If the old device is still listed in the Alexa app, delete it there.

All the steps from sign-up to the first command are in the setup guide.