Newly Added Smart Outlets Will Turn On But Not Turn Off with Voice Commands

[JamesOrtega]

Not sure if this is where to post about my problem, but here goes: I recently added a few smart outlets to my home (all in the same room) and the Google Assistant voice command will turn them on but will not turn them off.  For example, I will say "Hey Google, turn on The Elliptical" (where the smart outlet was named "The Elliptical") and it will turn it on just fine.  However, when I say "Hey Google, turn off The Elliptical" it responds "I don't understand".  I previously added smart outlets in other rooms months ago that still can be turned off and on with the voice commands just fine, but these new additions will not turn off with a voice command. 

The first of these new outlets I added were all Cync by GE (they came with the Nest Minis, from Lowes).  I've tried removing them from the GE Cync app and re-adding them, followed by re-adding them to the Google Home app, but no success.  I then removed one and used a TP-Link Kasa smart plug/outlet (which I have several others already that turn on and off with voice commands just fine) and even this one wouldn't turn off with a voice command.  It can be turned on with voice, but then I get the same reply of "I don't understand" when I try to turn it off with a voice command. 

Any ideas why suddenly adding new smart plugs/outlets can't be turned off with voice commands? Perhaps a Goggle Home app update messed something up?

[ATLJeff]

Hey James,

I'm sorry you're experiencing this, but I'm glad to find another Google Assistant user who uses GE Sync devices. I just started installing the plugs around the house myself.

Just a few things come to mind. Even as a Smartthings user previously, sometimes after I'd installed and linked more than a few devices, I found either that the two systems (Google Assistant and Smartthings) had to take a few hours or a day to truly sync themselves up. On a few occasions, when that wouldn't work, I'd cycle both my router and my hubs and that would take care of it.

The GE Cync software, devices, and integration all appear to be a new and immature product, but I have faith it'll work its kinks out. I understand from your message that your issue isn't exclusively with the new Cync plugs, though, so I hope the sync-up period and/or cycling your hardware will take care of the problem for you. Good luck!

[GarrettDS]

Hey there,
Just wanted to hop in here to see if we still needed help on this. Thanks to ATLJeff for the help on this. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.

Have a great day.
Garrett DS

[JamesOrtega]

Unfortunately, this issue hasn't been resolved and no one provided any potential fixes.  I'm thinking the problem has something to with "built-in" terms or phrases that Google put into Google Assistant.  So when I say "Hey Google, turn off The Elliptical" it perhaps thinks I mean the word "elliptical" to be an adjective for a noun that I never said.  Thus, it responds "I don't understand".  However, this possible reason doesn't seem to explain why I can't say "Hey Google, turn off The Treadmill" after it turned The Treadmill on just fine previously. 

So to "fix" these, I called them "The Elliptical Outlet" and "The Treadmill Outlet" and both will now turn back off with voice commands.  After getting them to work in this manner, I tried renaming them back to just "The Elliptical" and "The Treadmill" but again Google Assistant won't turn them off (again responding "I don't understand").  So I changed them back to the working name with "outlet" at the end of both names.  It's silly since it will turn on and off the outlet named "The Stairmaster" without adding "outlet" to its name.  BTW, I tried many times to remove the outlets and re-add them both from/to Google Home and the outlets' separate apps, but nothing worked.  Anyway, it still doesn't make any sense and I can't figure out why this happens.  

[Ryan_G]

Hi JamesOrtega,

Thanks for reaching out and we're sorry for the delay.

There are names (generic) that Google Assistant may not be able to understand or execute when being used as a device name in your commands.

We're always improving and your feedback really matters to us. You could send your feedback to us by following the complete guides here.

Best regards,

Ryan

[GarrettDS]

Hey folks,
It looks like we haven't heard back from the OP so I'm going to go ahead and lock the thread. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to create a new thread.

Have a great day,
Garrett DS
 

[GarrettDS]

Hey there,
Just wanted to hop in here to see if you saw our response on this. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.

Have a great day.
Garrett DS