How To Use Alexa With Harmony?

How To Use Alexa With Harmony
Setup

Using the Amazon Alexa app, navigate to Menu > Skills & Games and search for Harmony.
Tap the search result for the blue Harmony skill, and then ENABLE.
When prompted to log into your Harmony account be sure to select the same method used when first setting up your remote.

Does Harmony 950 work with Alexa?

The Harmony 950 does not have voice control built-in. However, it can be paired with the Home Hub and you can then use Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or other voice assistants to control Harmony.

Can you use Alexa to change TV channels?

How can I control my TV with Alexa? – How To Use Alexa With Harmony (Image credit: Future) The specific supported voice commands and phrasing may depend on your setup, so consult relevant Alexa skills for more details. But below are some of the things that you might be able to do if you can control your TV with Alexa.

Just remember that Alexa can only respond to what it hears, and that means you’ll probably want to move your smart speaker away from the TV, so it can pick up your voice commands over the top of whatever show you’re trying to enjoy. Can Alexa turn on my TV? This is a basic function that seems to be in pretty much every integration on the best TV brands,

It’s delivered by saying something like “Alexa, turn the TV on” or “Alexa, turn on ” if you have more than one connected. Naturally, this also works in reverse, and you can turn off the TV by subbing in the word “off.” Can Alexa change TV channels? As long as you’re using the TV’s built-in tuner, you can use Alexa to change TV channels.

Just say something like “Alexa, channel 7 on TV” or “Alexa, change channel to on,” If you’re using a cable/set-top box for your TV, this is a little different, but more on that later. Can Alexa adjust the TV volume? As long as your TV is controlling the volume (either through internal speakers or a synced soundbar ), then you should be able to control it with Alexa.

This could be done via “Alexa, turn up the volume on TV” or “Alexa, set the volume to 10 on ” commands. This also works for muting and unmuting. Try “Alexa, mute TV” or “Alexa, unmute,” How To Use Alexa With Harmony (Image credit: Amazon) Can Alexa find TV shows to watch? Getting into more complex operations now, some Alexa integrations work with connected apps. Not just starting them up (“Alexa, open Netflix”) but the ability to search for genres, actors, or specific shows too.

A few examples of this include “Alexa, play The Man in the High Castle,” “Alexa, search for cooking videos on YouTube,” and “Alexa, show me action movies on Hulu.” You may even be able to say something as specific as, “Alexa, show me Tom Hanks movies on Prime Video.” Can Alexa control TV playback? Once you’re viewing a show or movie with playback controls, you should be able to get Alexa to perform the most common functions.

Try saying “Alexa, play/pause” to stop and start playback, or even “Alexa, go back 30 seconds” if you missed something important. If you’re watching a series on a streaming platform, you may be able to skip entire shows by saying, “Alexa, play the next episode.” Unfortunately, you can’t pick out a specific episode by name or ask Alexa to play the previous installment, but it’s still some decent functionality.

Does Harmony remote have voice control?

Controlling Activities Harmony can begin your Watch TV Activity, powering on your TV, AV receiver and cable box and setting everything to the correct input. A simple voice command allows you jump right into gaming. Let Harmony take care of setting up your entertainment center.

Does the Harmony 950 need a hub?

A: When you add your TV to the Desktop APP to setup your remote, a prompt will appear notifying you of any device limitations. The 950 works best with the Harmony Hub. A: hello Chris, this remote needs direct line of sight to the ir receiver on your devices.

Can I connect Alexa to my hifi system?

Add voice control by connecting a smart speaker – One of the easiest routes to giving your vintage hi-fi system a voice is by connecting an external smart speaker to it. How you do so depends on which voice assistant you want to add. Add Alexa to your system The Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker comes with its own built-in driver under its little spherical fabric jackets, but you can beef up its audio by making it play through the speakers in your sound system instead.

Amazon launched a speaker-less Echo Input device a few years ago for this very purpose, but it’s now been discontinued.) This may be handy, but note that audio quality will be limited here.
The Echo Dot offers wired and wireless connectivity, and will work with just about any integrated amp, receiver, soundbar or pair of active speakers with a 3.5mm aux input or Bluetooth connection.

With either connection, all of the audio – including Alexa’s verbal answers – will play through the connected speakers in your system. The diminutive, cheap and cheerful Amazon Echo Dot has a 3.5mm output, which means you can wire it to any receiver, integrated amp or powered speaker with a 3.5mm input.

Check out the Best Alexa speakers 2022

Add Google Assistant to your system Want Google Assistant to run the show instead? Similarly, you can pair a Google Nest Mini * (Google’s version of the Echo Dot) over Bluetooth for voice commands and music to play through your Bluetooth-toting system. However, it does not have a 3.5mm output. *Older Google smart speakers, such as the Home Mini, can also do this.

These are the best Google Assistant speakers 2022

Can I play Alexa through my hifi?

Bluetooth Connection – If you have a bluetooth capable AV home theater or stereo receiver, you can also set up your Echo device to connect to your receiver through bluetooth connection. Pretty much all modern receivers will come with bluetooth connectivity now.

We recommend SONY STR-DH190 stereo receiver or Yamaha RX-V4A surround sound home theater receiver as great entry level receivers.
Set it up using the Alexa app.
Go to your Alexa device in the app and tap on bluetooth.
Make sure you activate your receiver’s bluetooth scan.
Once you have it set up, just say “Connect bluetooth” and Echo will connect to the last bluetooth device.

To disconnect, say “Disconnect”. If you switch receiver input, it will automatically disconnect your bluetooth connection. When you switch you receiver back to bluetooth, Echo should auto connect. How easy is that? Now you can always get a standalone bluetooth receiver and connect it to your AV receiver if it’s not bluetooth capable.

Why won t Alexa change my TV channel?

Article ID : 00199864 / Last Modified : 05/14/2019 Print IMPORTANT: This article applies only to specific products and/or operating systems. Check Applicable Products and Categories for details.

Make sure that you can change the channel using the supplied TV remote.Make sure that your TV is able to scan and broadcast the channel. Check if the Amazon Alexa™ enabled device recognizes your voice correctly,

Note: You can also use the Amazon Alexa app on a mobile device to check how the device recognizes your voice commands.

Community A place where you can find solutions and ask questions

Is Logitech killing Harmony?

Logitech has announced that it will no longer manufacture its popular line of Harmony universal remote controls, In a blog post published on April 9, a spokesperson for the company said, “While Harmony remotes are and continue to be available through various retailers, moving forward Logitech will no longer manufacture Harmony remotes.” Over the years, Harmony remotes have become more and more capable, with the ability to control devices both inside and outside home theater setups, including a variety of Bluetooth and smart home devices like light bulbs and smart outlets.

But the one feature that Logitech never included was universal voice control. Virtually all new smart TVs and streaming media devices like the Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast with Google TV use voice commands for everything from navigation to search, making it a key part of the experience.

Logitech tried to solve this problem with a product called the Harmony Express, which leveraged the power of Amazon Alexa. But the Express was an odd device from a universal remote perspective. It was expensive ($250) and didn’t offer the big set of customizable buttons Harmony users had become accustomed to.

In the end, the Express didn’t prove popular with buyers and Logitech discontinued it a year after it went on sale.
Existing Harmony remote users don’t need to worry about their remotes just yet as Logitech has committed to providing ongoing updates and support.
We expect no impact to our customers by this announcement,” the blog post said.

“We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes. We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered.” In the FAQ section, Logitech clarifies this by saying, “Our goal is to keep service running as long as customers are using it.” Despite this offer of continued service, Logitech’s decision to abandon the universal remote business is a problem for anyone who wants to manage a variety of home theater devices with a single remote control.

Does Harmony have an app?

Ever wanted to control your television and other devices with your smartphone or tablet? Maybe even use Alexa or Google Assistant to control those same devices? Well, this is all possible by the Logitech Harmony Hub! Setting up the Logitech Harmony Hub is slightly confusing if you aren’t technically inclined.

Connect power to the Harmony Hub with the micro USB cable and connect the IR mini blaster (if needed).
Download and open the Harmony app on IOS or Android. You can also download the MyHarmony desktop application.
Select “Set Up New Hub”
Select the WiFi network for the Hub to connect to and enter the WiFi password.
Sign into your Harmony account, if you don’t have one, then create a new account.
Select “Add as new remote” if you don’t have any previous remote settings.
Adding Devices – The hub will detect devices that are controllable via IP commands. Select “Add Device” to add additional entertainment devices. Enter the Manufacturer Name and Model Number to add your devices.
Creating Activities – The Harmony app will suggest certain activities to create from the devices you have added.

There is a lot more that can be done with the Harmony Hub. Next, we will go into detail about the individual steps for setting up the hub and what its different capabilities are.

How do I use voice commands on my remote?

How does it work? –

On the supplied TV remote control, press the Microphone or Google Assistant button, depending on your TV model.
Speak what you want to search for, such as a movie title, into the microphone at the top of the TV remote control.

Note: If your TV supports eARC and it’s activated, the verbal response won’t be available. Follow these steps to enable the verbal response feature:

On the supplied remote control, press the HOME button.
Select Settings and press the Enter button.
Press the Down arrow button to select Display & Sound or Sound, and press the Enter button.
Press the Down arrow button to select Audio output, and press the Enter button. Note: If Audio output doesn’t show, skip this step.
Press the Down arrow button to select eARC mode, and press the Enter button.
Press the Down arrow button to select Off, and press the Enter button.

: How do I use the voice search function on the remote control?

What is better than Harmony Hub?

Fire TV Cube: Best Overall Harmony Hub alternative – How To Use Alexa With Harmony Fire TV Cube is an excellent smart home hub that comes integrated with the Fire TV 4K Streamer and Amazon Echo. Although it comes at half the price compared to the Logitech Harmony Hub system, it lets you control your home theatre system and other smart devices using the speaker.

You can also use the remote. However, thanks to speaker integration, more than one device could be controlled at a time, even if the remote control is employed somewhere else. The visual version of Alexa was a little of a surprise for me, in the right way, of course. It was able to display the lyrics of all my favorite songs and identify the actors of any movie when asked for.

At times, it did not understand my commands, but I could quickly fill those gaps by tapping a few buttons on the remote. The Hub is equipped with the latest Amazon Fire TV version, which uses the new Amazon Fire UI. Hence, like Netflix, I could set up a profile for every family member, and it also came with a picture-in-picture mode that made things very convenient.

Moreover, the best part was that it natively comes with YouTube integration.
I could play anything off YouTube by either asking Alexa to play it or by using the remote.
I know, terming this as the best feature sounds a little pedestrian, but if you remember, Amazon and Google were in a feud for a long time, preventing Amazon from including YouTube on most of its streaming services.

This is the only thing that deterred me from using Amazon streaming devices in the past. Unlike the Harmony hub, the Amazon Fire TV Cube does not come with hidden charges, and it has a lower learning curve and a universal clicker. Hence, I did not have to use my smartphone every time I wanted to use one of my smart devices.

Apart from the Amazon Echo, the clicker also has voice control options.The setting up process is way more comfortable than the Harmony Hub.Supports 4K HDR streaming,The voice controls are on-point.

Cons

It does not come with an HDMI cable included.

Fire TV Cube The Amazon Fire TV cube is the Best Harmony Hub alternative thanks to speaker integration, which allows more than one device to be controlled at a time, even if the remote control is employed somewhere else. Alexa can display song lyrics and identify actors from movies.

Is Harmony One IR or RF?

The Harmony Smart Control remote and Harmony Smart Keyboard don’t control devices directly, but communicates with the Harmony Hub using radio frequency (RF) that then relays the command to your devices using IR.

How do I update my Harmony remote?

How to add a Harmony upgrade – Mobile Desktop

Launch the Harmony mobile app and connect to your existing Harmony Hub.
Select > Harmony Upgrade > Add Remote or Add Smart Keyboard,
Select Add Now and follow the on-screen instructions to finish adding your device.

Sign into your MyHarmony account using the MyHarmony desktop software,
Select your current remote from the Remote Gallery.
Select the Upgrade button in the left tab and select the device you wish to add.
Follow the on-screen instructions to finish adding your device.

Is Logitech Harmony Hub worth it?

Conclusions – If you’re looking for a way to control all of your home entertainment devices from one place, and don’t care about a physical remote, the Logitech Harmony Hub is an excellent choice. It turns your phone or tablet into a universal remote and a middleman for your smart home devices, even if it isn’t technically a home automation hub itself. It can control nearly anything you throw at it, but you’ll have to spend another $100 on the Extender if you use Zigbee or Z-Wave devices. The Bottom Line The Logitech Harmony Hub is a great device for controlling your home theater and smart home gadgets. Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.”,”first_published_at”:”2021-09-30T21:24:30.000000Z”,”published_at”:”2022-08-31T18:36:19.000000Z”,”last_published_at”:”2022-08-31T18:36:16.000000Z”,”created_at”:null,”updated_at”:”2022-08-31T18:36:19.000000Z”})” x-show=”showEmailSignUp()”>

Will Harmony remote stop working?

Harmony Express – If Harmony stops sending commands or if the Harmony Express app is unable to discover your blaster, rebooting your Harmony blaster will often resolve the problem. To reboot your Harmony blaster, disconnect the power cable and wait 10 seconds, then connect it again. It will take about 30 seconds to power back on. The following tips may also be helpful:

If your remote is blinking red, it needs to be charged until the light turns solid white. However, while plugged, in the remote will be operational.
If your blaster light is red, launch the Harmony Express app to see if there is an issue with the remote connecting to your Wi-Fi network.

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Does Logitech own Harmony?

How To Use Alexa With Harmony Logitech Well, the other shoe finally dropped. After years of speculation about the fate of its Harmony line of universal remotes, Logitech has announced that it will stop making the devices effective immediately. In a post on its support site, Logitech said that its remaining stock of Harmony remotes will continue to be available through retail channels until stocks run out, and that it will continue to support the remote for the foreseeable future.

We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes,” the post reads.
We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database.
Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered.” The writing has been on the wall for years about Harmony remotes, which Logitech acquired way back in 2004.

Is Harmony Remote worth it?

Using the Harmony Utlimate Remote – The Harmony Hub supports up to two IR blasters My uses case for the activities, or macros as I like to call them, is largely just one, though I’ve added up to 5 so far. My “go to” is something I call Home Theater, which turns on my projector, drops down the 115″ Screen Innovations screen (love that screen!!), turns on the home theater receiver and sets it to the PS4 HDMI input.

As previously stated, the Harmony Utlimate used to be able to automatically turn on my Playstation (when it was a PS3), but apparently Sony no longer supports this in the PS4.
Update: it looks like the Harmony Hub now works with the PS4.
Problem solved.
Once all of my gear is fired on, I largely use the Harmony Ultimate remote to control my receiver’s volume and PS4.

That and shut down the entire system when I’m done for the night fragging foes using the latest GTA 5 cheats. Why? Well, in the case of DISH, I prefer the company’s dedicated remote, largely because I know that remote’s buttons without looking, allowing me to easily channel flip, recall the last channel and scan through the guide page by page.

It’s feasible to perform the same functions with the Harmony Ultimate. But you see, sometimes you’ll need to use the touchscreen to access functions that would otherwise be a physical button press on the standard DISH remote. And to be honest, I just don’t have the patience for that. Update: I’ve since discovered that you can easily map additional (physical) buttons on the Utlimate Harmony Remote via the app.

Moreover, Harmony makes it very simple to do this. So in theory, provided you don’t need too many functions within a thumb’s reach, this should resolve (my) any issues. I do, however, often end up using the Harmony Utlimate remote to control my PS4 when I’m watching Netflix, Amazon Prime or media stored on a connected hard drive to the console.

It’s worth noting that the back button doesn’t work in every PS4 app, which means I occasionally have to scan for the O button in the touchscreen. This also takes time and builds slight frustration. Furthermore, and this might be a result of how I setup my remote, I can’t control my receiver’s volume once i’ve selected the PS4, unless I wait for the remote to return to its locked mode, where upon the volume can be accessed again.

Is there a setting to fix this? Perhaps. Good to know: And yes, the remote’s touchscreen locks automatically after about 10 seconds of inactivity. To lock, you just slide your finger to the left or right. What is a nice touch, is the ability to program up to 50 favorite channels into the remote’s touchscreen.

Each channel can be represented by an icon or station name.
It’s a handy feature if you tend to watch the same channels, which many of us do.
In terms of smart devices, or smart home devices in this case, I’ve connected the Harmony Utlimate to my Sonos system.
And while it’s nice to have it integrated into the remote, and the Harmony app on my iPhone for pausing or lowering the volume, I continue to use Sonos’ app because it allows me to search for music and change the systems settings.

And it would seem that the Harmony Hub has to be connected to each individual speaker on the network, thus defeating some of its usability. Where as the Sonos app can control all the speakers on the network at the same time and perform a variety of other functions that aren’t available otherwise.