Alexa doesn't work when TV is off

[GeordieShores]

Hi. I have several Amazon Alexas around my house. There is an Alexa in most rooms. Alexa runs the household. She gets the kids up for school, turns light on/off, controls the heating, gives notifications and announcements etc

Just bought a new QE55Q80T for the lounge with built in Alexa. Imagine my frustration when I discovered the TV needs to be on for Alexa to work. Of course the TV has to be on for her to work you might say. But why? The speakers can work without the screen being on.

Anyone who has a few Alexa devices will know you get used to her always being available and giving various notifications and announcements. I use routines so the kids know when to get up, when to get ready for bed etc.

The fact my new TV must be on means I cannot use it as an Alexa device and will have to put my other Alexa device back into the lounge which means I will have to disable Alexa on my new TV.

When the TV is off no one in the lounge will hear any announcements. You also cannot talk to Alexa because when the TV is off she is off.

When the TV is off and you say "Alexa" the red light on the smart remote lights up but the TV is off so nothing happens when you give a command or ask a question.

Alexa works great when the TV is on, muting the volume while you ask your question, but the TV is off a lot so there's no point having her built in.

I cannot believe that Samsung, with all of their skilled engineers did not think to design it so that if you have the Alexa app enabled the TV speakers stay on in standby so you can hear her even when the screen is off. 

Any thoughts or comments?

Am I missing something?

[TessM]

Hey @GeordieShores ,

so sorry to hear that you feel let down here. It seems that to use the in-built feature the TV needs to be on. However, you may be able to connect this to an Alexa speaker by downloading the Alexa app on your phone, and enable the SmartThings skill so you can turn this on with voice commands. 

[Penguinbo]

Maybe due to power saving or something. Sometime the phone app can be odd to switch a TV on from off.....yet in other countries its OK. Also depends if connected by WiFi or ethernet.

[JAMES4578]

@GeordieShores  Unfortunately  the Technology does not appear to work with Tv switched off. Certainly should be able  to connect a speaker by  connecting Smart Things and enabling skills  though as @TessM  mentioned.  For anyone interested more information  here https://www.samsung.com//support/tv-audio-video/connect-amazon-alexa-with-smartthings/ 

[GeordieShores]

Thanks for the replies. Also just discovered you can't make announcements via Alexa on the TV. Furthermore, when the TV is on you can't hear announcements either. The 9pm "time for bed" announcement sounded on every Alexa except the Samsung TV which was on at the time.

I have put the other Alexa back on the TV stand and disabled the Alexa auto listen. You now need to press the mic button on the smart remote to talk to the TV Alexa. I can give all of the commands on the proper Alexa beside the TV anyway which sort of renders the built-in Alexa useless.