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andybell
andybell
Avid Contributor III
May 22, 2019
Answered

Sonos Beam - Alexa will turn the TV on but not off

  • May 22, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 4616 views
Hi,
As described in my title using my Beam Alexa will turn my TV on but if I ask her to turn the TV off she says 'OK' but the TV stays on.

Commands I'm using are:
"Alexa, turn the TV on" - this works
"Alexa, turn the TV off" - does not work
"Alexa, turn the living room TV off" - does not work

The attached image shows how the TV is connected in my Alexa app.

My TV is a Samsung UE50NU7400

Thanks for any help.

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    Best answer by melvimbe
    With Samsung TVs, the TVs were programmed to ignore turn off requests through CEC commands (which is what the Beam is using) unless it's coming from the input the TV is currently set to. So if your Beam is connected to HDMI 1, you would need to be on HDMI 1 for Samsung to accept the command. They are developers felt that this is the way it should behave.

    Unfortunately, that's not very useful if you're using a Beam. Grabbing the remote to switch inputs and then giving a voice command is more steps than just grabbing the remote and hitting the power button.

    3 replies

    melvimbe
    melvimbeAnswer
    May 22, 2019
    With Samsung TVs, the TVs were programmed to ignore turn off requests through CEC commands (which is what the Beam is using) unless it's coming from the input the TV is currently set to. So if your Beam is connected to HDMI 1, you would need to be on HDMI 1 for Samsung to accept the command. They are developers felt that this is the way it should behave.

    Unfortunately, that's not very useful if you're using a Beam. Grabbing the remote to switch inputs and then giving a voice command is more steps than just grabbing the remote and hitting the power button.
    Danny
      andybell
      andybellAuthor
      Avid Contributor III
      May 22, 2019
      OK, thanks for the info. Looks like I'm stuck! Would have been nice to have but not essential.

      Thanks again.
      Slowly getting there.....
      melvimbe
      melvimbe
      May 22, 2019
      OK, thanks for the info. Looks like I'm stuck! Would have been nice to have but not essential.

      Thanks again.

      It's worth noting that CEC control through HDMI is not limited to the HDMI-ARC connection. Many device you connect to your TV can also turn on/off the TV automatically. For example, I have an xbox one that will turn on/off the TV when the xbox is turned on/off (when on that correct input). Other devices, like fireTV sticks, will only turn the TV on when it's turned on/awakened.

      You can also get voice control to turn on/off with devices that use IR controls, such as the firetv cube or logitech harmony.
      Danny
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