A bit off topic... Alexa and Sonos Beam

I realize this is not “Mac Power Users” content per se, but I know there are a fair number of Echo/Alexa users here and I trust Sonos users, too.

I recently purchased a Sonos Beam for use with my LG TV (model UF6400). The Beam works great for most everything with the exception of responding to the “Alexa, turn on/off TV” command. When I issue either command, Beam/Alexa responds with “TV doesn’t support that”. Other commands, eg “Alexa, mute the TV”, “Alexa, unmute the TV”, “Alexa, turn down the volume” all work fine along with normal Echo/Alexa commands.

I’m using an HDMI 2.0 CEC/ARC compatible cable. In fact, I’ve tried 2 different cables. SIMPLINK is on (obviously since audio works as do some of the Alexa commands)

Any thoughts on troubleshooting? I’ve exhausted options I know to try. I have support inquiries out to both Sonos and LG (good luck, right?), but thought I would ask this crew

I don’t have a Sonos Beam, but I do have a number of other Sonos devices, an Echo and quite a few Dots around the house. To get the Echo to control the Sonos devices, you need to go into the Amazon Alexa app and set it up. This link should walk you through the steps:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3439?language=en

Once you have the Sonos skill installed, and have had Alexa scan for smart devices, you should be able to issue commands like:

“Alexa, play some Holiday Music in the Living Room” or “Alexa, stop the music in the kitchen.”

The room names are whatever you’ve called them in Sonos. Hope this helps!

@Bob thanks for the response. The device (TV) is fully enabled in the Alexa app. All commands work (at least all I’ve tried), with the exception of “Alexa, turn off/on TV”. I imagine, despite some commands working as expected, it is some sort of TV incompatibility. Though, I’m at a loss at how to definitively troubleshoot.

Ah, got it. That might be a special feature of the Sonos Beam, but my Sonos Playbar does not have the ability to turn on or off the TV it’s connected to. For that, I have a Logitech Harmony Elite hub and remote control. The Harmony Elite hub is compatible with Alexa and I can set up routines to turn on and off the TV, activate various TV components (I.e. Apple TV, Roku, cable, etc.) all from my voice. Unfortunately, the Harmony hub isn’t HomeKit compatible, so it only works with Amazon. It does come with a nice remote control that controls all my TV gear as well. Here’s a link to the one I have:

There may be better options now as I’ve had this for a few years. Others may have suggestions as well.

My wife would kill me if I added a new remote to the pile! :wink:

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Should anyone be interested, and for future solution searchability… here’s the official answer.

TLDR: Not supported by LG

SimpLink was designed for the TV to control SimpLink enable hardware, like a DVD/CD Player for example… if a user powers off the attached peripheral device then it’s probable the user may go onto use the TV for something else, like …er… watching a TV channel. Therefore the peripheral is not allowed to power off the TV when it is switched off with its own remote.

On the other-hand if a user finishes watching TV or DVD etc. and powers off the TV… the CEC command is sent out over HDMI to also power off the peripheral… its allowed to work just in that direction only.