It seems that Logitech Harmony Hubs are no longer working with Alexa as part of the smart home setup.
The skill is still there and the hubs don’t seem to have changed unless there was a software update.
But that seems unlikely on mine as the last sync seems to have been in 2020 (Sync not updated).
One-star reviews have abounded on the Alexa Skills Harmony page as so many people jump in to complain that it just stopped working.
I’ve had the Harmony Hub in the house for years and it has worked without fault.
Just by simply saying, “Alexa, turn on the Apple TV,” it would turn on my TV, my stereo, and my Apple TV, select the right channels, and we were ready to watch TV.
If I said, “Turn on the TV,” then it would turn on the TV and the stereo.
And of course, when closing up for the night, I had to say, “Alexa, turn off the living room” and the TV, the stereo, the lights, and the Apple TV all turned off.
It seems like a simple thing when I could also just use the TV remote to turn off the TV and then the stereo and Apple TV would also turn off because they are all connected via HDMI arc.
And yet, now that it’s not working, I find myself quite frustrated because my routines have always been to simply walk in the room and say the command or leave at the end of the night or when I finish watching TV and walk out of the room.
And at times when my kids were watching football when they should have been doing jobs, I can merely say from wherever in the house to whatever, “Alexa, turn off the Apple TV,” and the TV would turn off.
A loud, clear signal and a fine example of strong parenting, I’m sure you’ll agree.
So, what does this mean?
Well, rumor has it that Logitech Harmony Hub going to be unsupported moving forward.
Logitech’s focus in the hardware space has started to move away from this kind of device but we’ve yet to get confirmation from Logitech that that is indeed their strategy.
But even when I bought the Harmony Hub, probably about four years ago, the reviews were pretty terrible. Potentially even then there wasn’t a lot of support for it.
Everybody said that it was glitchy, that it didn’t work properly, and that you are better off buying one of the all-in-one controlling remotes rather than the hub, but despite this, I’ve had a really good run with the Logitech Harmony Hub.
Is there a solution?
Well, so far, I have factory reset my hub, plugged it back in, and I’m now trying to restore and repair it.
This process is not for the faint-hearted. It took so many resets and me sitting watching the Harmony App spinning and trying to connect to the Harmony Hub and seeing it continually fail.
A third time I factory reset the hub, and connected the app and it worked.
It then asked me if I wanted to set up a new hub or download from an existing profile. I selected to download my profile and all my devices reappeared.
But…
It still doesn’t work with my Alexa smart speakers.
Some users have found that they have managed just to factory reset it, repair it, and somehow download their previous settings onto the device.
I didn’t even care that I had to redo my settings. I couldn’t even get it to connect properly to the app anymore.
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The app can find the hub but it couldn’t seem to connect to it so that I can configure it.
I probably only spent about an hour trying to troubleshoot this yesterday but that’s certainly an hour of my life I’d like to be doing something else.
Others have said that if they unpair the skill and just reboot the hub that they’re having some success.
But on the whole, most people are saying that it doesn’t matter what they do, they can’t seem to get this thing to work with the Alexa Smart Skill and the Smart Home anymore.
So if you’re having any luck with getting your Logitech Harmony Hub working with your Smart Home and Alexa or if Logitech is picking this complaint up through their PR news alerts, can you please let us know what the heck is going on?
Because I think you’ll find you’ve got more customers out there that are using the hub, want to use the hub, and would love to know if you’re going to keep supporting it.
My backup plan is my SwitchBot Hub.
My SwitchBot Hub currently controls my SwitchBot switches, and my SwitchBot smart cams, and can control the SwitchBot smart lock that I have.
It can also be a kind of IR blaster or help to control other devices in my network like TVs, etc.
In fact, they’ve got quite an exhaustive list that can connect to other devices.
So, while the Logitech Harmony Hub is the preferred IR blaster that I have been using, and would like to continue to use, hint, hint, Logitech.
If I need to switch, I’m gonna need to find a plan B because the convenience of having a smart speaker do all of those really exhaustive physical tasks like pressing the button on the remote means I really need this thing.
Let us know how you’re getting on in the comments below.
Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.
Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.
I have also had problems with my Harmony Hub since October 2022. I have sent feedback on the Alexa about the hub and have done all the resets and everything with no luck.
Also my harmony hub suddenly stopped working, and after a reset it still didn’t work even trying to control it in the app timed out etc. so I plugged it into a PC and downloaded the harmony software. From there you can force it after a reset to restore from the online account. This worked and the harmony hub started working again with the harmony app.
However it never worked again with Alexa even after disabling and re-enabling the skill.
I finally just decided to load Homebridge on my synology NAS and sync the harmony hub to apples HomeKit. That worked flawlessly and is actually much more capable now. I hated having to go through this, but love the outcome. So now I just call Siri instead of Alexa, and everything is working well.
This is a really good idea. I have a Synology NAS and Apple TV 4K so that could be something I try next. Thanks for sharing!
I had the same problem and was able to fix it. I tried everything then reached out to logitech.
Do this:
Disable the skill
Plug the hub into your computer and download and install the myharmony desktop app
Once you’re logged in on the desktop app and it is powered on connected to your computer, re enable harmony on alexa. That fixed it for me.
This worked for me, but I synced before I disabled and re-enabled the skill.
I’m writing from the future and the Harmony skill is no longer available on Alexa. In case anyone else wants to try your solution (that gave me high hope!)
I had the same problem with alexa stopping turning on the TV. She would respond with the message “TV not responding, check power and network”. After trying factory resets, deleting and reinstalling apps etc. Nothing worked. Then after reading a suggestion elsewhere I tried saying “television ” instead of “TV” and it worked. Further investigation revealed that after I installed a new smart TV in another room , alexa had added “TV” to her list of devices. On hearing TV she was trying to control the new TV not the Harmony Hub. The solution was to delete TV from alexa’s list of devices and the command “turn on the tv” now controlled the harmony hub again.
I tried this on my setup. In the past, all I had to say was “Alexa TV on/off” or “Alexa, mute/unmute TV.
Thanks to your post, I tried substituting TV with Television and it worked like a charm!
Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for this. Unbelievably, it worked.
You wouldn’t happen to have 2 factor authentication enabled on the id.logi.com site would you? I had trouble with mine. It working with Alexa all of a sudden & I disabled 2 factor authentication & now it works fine again… Been using my Harmony Hub for years! I’m upset they discontinued it but I’m glad they still support it because I’m not ready to upgrade my home theatre system! Hope this helps you out.
I have a hub and it still works as expected with Alexa. There has been no interruption in performance and all features continue to work well. I’ve not done anything with the setup in years and I’ve not had to.
Same here, no issues at all with Alexa!
Mine has stopped working with Google Assistant, and nothing I do will get it working again. I’m currently looking for a replacement.
Same here…. I wrote to logitech but still waiting, I’m from Spain, and after years of perfect working with the hub connected to Google home, now it is not working any more. I don’t know what to buy if it stops working, we used a lot!!
https://www.google.com/search?q=harmony+remote+news&client=tablet-android-verizon-us-rvc3&sxsrf=ALiCzsbl69VNR9zzO_8CL8ecI8xMuLczJQ%3A1668257583392&ei=L5dvY9zHF8nF0PEPvbG-yAU&oq=harmony+remote+news&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAMyBAgAEB4yBQgAEIYDMggIIRDDBBCgAToKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoHCAAQHhCiBEoECEEYAFCPD1iIE2DWKWgBcAB4AIABjAGIAYAEkgEDMC40mAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp
Hopefully Logitech will continue to support Harmony as promised while there are still users. That would be better for the Logitech brand image. The system is good when it works, I have 3 hubs linked to Alexa using 3 accounts, it has been complicated to set up but I am pleased to limit the need for multiple remotes. If I can’t get it working again I’ll be looking at the Amazon cube which presumably links to Alexa without problems.
It’s the same for Google home users. I’d been dealing with that issue for weeks. I finally gave up and overuse installed integrations in home assistant for my TVs and receivers. Google sees these devices through when I added my home assistant devices to it and I made routines to match my old harmony hub ones.
I have two Harmony hubs for two different TV’s and both stopped working recently with Alexa. It was a major part of my morning wake up to have the TV automatically turn on.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled both of the Alexa Harmony hub apps and can’t get it to work anymore.
I like others have a complex TV setup requiring several remotes to all be in sync and using Alexa was the best and most convenient way to do that.
If anyone has a solution please let us know.
It is sad to see Harmony unsupported.
I have harmony and a Synology Nas and I’m pretty good with technology. At the moment my Alexa and harmony integration is still working but I’ll be keen to find an alternative when it stops working. However this bit “sync the harmony hub to apples HomeKit” goes right over my head! I’m not an apple.person and never have been but I’m happy to learn to be one if I can keep my “harmony conveniences” working!
You need to say “Alexa, tell Harmony to xxxx.” Works for me every time.
Typical of Logitech! A few years ago they just stopped supporting a TV webcam I used to Skype. I avoid buying their products now.
I had the same problem with alexa, just suddenly stopped working. The only good news is I also had a Google nest mini. They are only $20 right now😀. The Google nest works with harmony hub for now. Hopefully it continues to work. It’s an easy $20 solution. No guarantees on how long it will work but for I now say “hey google” turn off or on the TV and it works great!!
My harmony hub still works with Alexa
I have had an issue twice now, each time on a Sunday morning…so I am surmising something gets pushed on Logitech’s back end on Saturday nights.
I followed a Reddit string that allowed me to “fix” the issue (twice now). The first time I didn’t read the Reddit string all the way through and thus had same issues you describe in the article. The difference the second time that I did not do the first time is that I completely cleared the Harmony app of any information (e.g. forget the device).
Do this first with the app and then follow factory reset steps for the hub itself. I have full functionality with Alexa (using a Sonos One and Echo device).
Good luck!
https://www.reddit.com/r/logitechharmony/comments/ye70ik/harmony_alexa_skill_stopped_working_today/
1. Disable Harmony Skill in Alexa App.
2. Remove Harmony Hub in Harmony App.
3. On Remote, in settings do factory reset.
4. Unplug power from Harmony Hub.
5. While pressing down “reset button” on back of Harmony Hub, plug-in power. You should see hub light turn red and blink rapidly (it is resetting). Wait until light stops blinking.
6. On Harmony app, re-add hub and follow instructions to RECOVER your configuration from your cloud account.
7. On Alexa app, enable Harmony skill and re-link your account.
This worked for me and took 15min. It was not complicated, just a pain dealing with the misinformation that made it seem that way.
This worked. Though removing hub is not intuitive. Go to SWITCH HUB then long press to remove it. Then factory reset. Also make sure you go in the alexa app and choose the device Mine is Living room Harmony Hub but yours will be whatever you named it. under device settings> general> linked alexa devices> manage. then make sure to click on the alexa devices you want to be able to control harmony from. Still having to tell alexa to tell harmony but at least its working again.
No issues here. Working fine to control my home theatre and Chromecast via Alexa.
David’s instructions worked for me. I even skipped step 3, as I do not have a Remote with my hub (anymore). Thanks David!
Harmony stopped working with my SmartThings (ST) hub weeks ago. I have all of my routines built into my ST and that is what Alexa runs. I eventually removed the ST connection from Harmony and the added it back in. Worked like a champ.
We added a blu-ray player in the basement. Currently there’s an Xbox one X, AV and TV. I figured, no problem. Error E2016 or something later no can do. I can’t add or change anything to either of the hubs.
Disable the Harmony skill and then re-enable it. That solved this issue for me when I did it today (11/28/2022)
I have had same issue with Alexa no longer working with my harmony hub.
Harmony hub was still working fine and controlling, via Harmony app on my Android mobile,my denon AV device.
I made sure both Alexa and Harmony as well as mobe were on 2.4ghz wireless network or at least Harmony and mobile.
I repeatedly declined and relinked alexa and harmony.
I uninstalled harmony hub device from alexa and reinstalled.
Made sure log in method for harmony was via alexa.
Tearing my hair out until I tried David’s sequence posted 12 Nov 22 above.
That worked so it seems to me that the critical issue is a factory reset of the Harmony hub and reinstall from the cloud of devices and settings.
Makes no sense but I assume that the clean install resolves a bug or else is updated software that cannot otherwise be updated.
In any event a real pain and took me 2 hours to solve with David’s help for which thanks
I tried this too but didn’t work. I’ll try again, maybe twice is the charm? 🙂
Ps I also skipped step 3 so it was a hub reset and configured software reinstall from cloud, not a remote reset, that was key to success.
Have Harmony One few years now – everything worked perfectly and since October 2022 I have same issue (suddenly, without any prior update or modification on configs, in the morning when I used usual command to turn on tv it just nothing happened.) I tried all suggestions and nothing helped, it’s obvious that Harmony (or someone else) did something with software what caused or will cause issues (just matter of time)to rest of users. Unfortunately no any help from Harmony. I am considering some of “cheaper” solutions from Banggood or Aliexpress as recently any device I bought there have no issues with Alexa.
I have three and they all work fine. I did just install a new router so I had to do a setup of new hub for new wifi and then restore activities.
Warning, don’t disable your Harmony Skill. I just bought a new AV Receiver and in re-doing all of my Activities Alexa could not react to my demands. I then disabled and tried to re-enable the skill and it’s now gone. I had this bloody thing working great since day one and now it doesn’t work at all because the skill has been removed.
Found a fix so Harmony can suck it 🙂 Copied from Reddit…..
hello guys i found a solution ( only to run activities Alexa ) Firstly this is not acceptable from Logitech!!!
Let’s jump in :
First you need a skill called Yonomi, install the phone app , create an account , link it ….
When you try to link the Yonomi app to harmony is goes wrong ! Because harmony claims security, so the home automation can’t control the harmony via local network , this is the big part why the skill also keep disconnecting, they removed it to shut down their servers ! So if your skill is installed don’t delete it ! It’s will be gone forever! But you can use this method an report back if all is good ! First we need to remove the security, here is how :
Launch the MyHarmony software on your desktop computer ( download it )
From the login page, press the following keys to access the tool:
On Windows – Press Alt + F9
On Macs – Press Fn + Option + F9 or Option + F9.
Scroll down to the bottom where it says “FIRMWARE TO ENABLE XMPP. FOR DEVELOPERS ONLY.”
Be sure to read through the short warning and disclaimer to understand the impact of installing this firmware.
Click on Update Firmware.
Plug in your Harmony Hub via USB and click on Restore .
Keep it connected until the light becomes green !!!! And you have confirmation that all good .
Now you can go back to Yonomi, and you will notice that you can see your activities and they work .
You can go next to the Routine section on the Yonomi app , and create an action for every activity.( one for ON ( start activity), on for OFF ( end activity) )
Go to Alexa app , scenes and discover scenes !
Harmony Elite lost connection with Alexa a couple days ago. Not having read this page I disabled the skill, when I tried to re-enable it the skill is gone!
I received email today from Logitech, the skill is now back, I have since re-enabled it and it’s working great.
Mine stopped working about a month ago. I noticed that the Logitech remote was behind a few other remotes in the leather remote stand. I simply rearranged them so that the Logitech remote was in front of the others with clear access to the Hub.
ZING! works fine!!!
A few weeks ago my echo dot stopped responding to the command, “Alexa Mute”. Previously, it would mute my receiver via the Hamony Hub. Other commands like, “Alexa, turn on my TV” would execute a Harmony Hub activity effecting multiple devices. As I also have a Harmony One universal remote, losing voice control for muting was simply an annoyance, not a show stopper. Several days ago, I tried to add an Amazon Fire Cube TV. It did not go well. First, it seems that the remote that comes with the Fire Cube does not seem to be exclusively IR so programming the Harmony One remote to control the Fire Cube does not seem possible. Further, my Alexa scenes “… Good Night” and “…Good Morning” failed to be responded to. Several days of frustration followed and I was about to yank out both the Fire Cube and the Harmony Hub. Currently, I have returned back to the Echo Dot and I’m back to the point where “…mute” doesn’t work, but my scenes are back.
Still working for me but i am running via the smartthings connecting vs harmony skill – I have 3 hubs.
It imports the harmony activities as scenes from smartthings.
I got it working as well. Rename activities on Harmony anything other than TV or FireTV. Delete Harmony scenes from Alexa. Unlink Harmony app. Re-link Harmony. Confirm scenes are in Alexa app. Say Alexa turn on “new activity name”. It works, so happy to have to back.
I didn’t have a problem till I started messing with the hub, as it showed two hubs. After removing one it didn’t work properly regardless of what I did. Tried the suggestion of disabling the skill and power cycling the hub. Enabled the skill and linked; working great again.