Hi. 

It’s not possible to sync music across Sonos and Non Sonos speakers and, I suspect, never will be.

My advice would be to focus on either an Alexa or Google architecture for voice control, rather than both.  It just makes the system more manageable as you expand it. Personally, I use Alexa for voice and the Hubitat Evolution hub, for smart home control.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. So I can use the voice control features on these to play music independently on the in built speaker or I can request they play on my Sonos system instead?

Cheers,

Gary

Yep

You may want to look at this post I created to explain how Alexa Groups and Sonos players interact - please note the post is 1 yr old now. :)

Cheers mate. I’m fairly new to all this. Do you believe Alexa is the best in terms of voice control? The reason I was looking into both as I have read a few forums about the voice control and as I am buying some outdoor nest cams I thought it might be a good idea to go with google to use the home hub max which can apparently act an indoor camera. But I have read Alexa seems to be more user friendly. 
 

Also what actually is the hubitat evolution hub and what do you use it for? If you don’t mind me asking? Unsure if I need something like that.

Cheers Gary

:) You’ll find as many Google fans as Alexa… Personally, I started with Google but moved to Alexa after a few weeks.  Basic search questions are much better on Google but overall I find Alexa more user friendly and better at controlling other devices. (This may be influenced by my better knowledge of Alexa.)  If you go for Alexa, I’d recommend the Ring camera’s.

I use this for any automated tasks.  My view is that the more actions happen without human interaction the better. e.g. If motion then switch lights on or If door bell is pushed then read announcement over Sonos speakers throughout the house, etc.

I pretty much agree with this.  I use Alexa over Google, but that’s primarily because I got used to Alexa and then couldn’t see myself switching over.  Both are pretty good options, but you’ll end up with one or the other in the long run, rather than a split system.    And both are coming out with new products and features, so the next you say one is better the other, something will change to question that.  And at least from now, both will have that feature or two that you really want that just doesn’t exist because it’s not a highly requested feature, or it’s not good business for the companies involved to work with each other like that.  Playing Sonos and Alexa/Google speakers together is a good example. 

Is there a reason you have a separate hub as well as alexa? Does alexa not let you control your smart devices through one app? The reason I ask is, I am looking to be able to control my smart lighting (just simple on and off commands, no motion sensors etc), thermostat and possibly my music in the house from the one app that I can have on an i-pad or tablet, that will effectively act as a ‘remote’ 

I know this possibly isn’t the correct forum for this but thought I would ask anyway as you seem knowledgeable on this subject.

Cheers,

Gary

Yes, Alexa and specifically Alexa Routines will be fine for most requirements.  I have a few actions that have become more complicated where I want to to say If x & y is Yes do this, else if only x is Yes then do this. These are called ‘Complex conditional statements’. 

For example my internal motion sensors also read the room temperature, so I have a Rule that says: If any internal temp is greater than 30C then If Mode is Away then send txt message to my wife's and my phone Else if Mode is Home, then turn the main lights on and announce through all Sonos devices ‘High temperature Alert in hroom name]’ I use this as a backup to my fire alarms.

Just wanted to add that the alexa app really isn’t a good option to use as a remote.  It definitely can be a smart hub to perform some automation and allow for voice control, but it doesn’t really allow you to easily press a button to perform a series of tasks.  Most hub options aren’t ideal for that really.  You may want to look into logitech harmony hub if you want to turn a tablet into a remote. It also has the benefit of acting like a typical TV remote to control your TV attached players, as well as light, music etc.   It can control your thermostat too but you should always check to make sure whatever hub you use can control your smart devices.

Oh, and harmony hub does work with Alexa as well, so you can create routines in harmony and execute them via alexa voice control.

Thanks a lot for the help. 
 

Yeah I just want something that makes it easy to turn off and on my lights etc rather than constantly using voice control or having to use the Sonos app, Phillips app and Nest App (for cams and thermostat) seperately.