How to set up Alexa to announce when it detects a person?

Hello

Still new to Alexa so bare with me

How do I set up Alexa to announce when my cameras detect a person ? Thanks

There’s a few different ways. I prefer this one:

Open Alexa App
Click More
Click Routines
Click Plus Sign
Click the plus to the right side of “when this happens”
Click Smart Home
Select the Camera
Select Person
Save
Select the plus sign next to Add Action
Custom
Type Custom Announcement
Next
Choose Device
Select which devices will do that announcement

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OR

Open Alexa App
Select Devices tab
select cameras
choose which camera
Click the settings gear icon
Toggle on Person Detection Notifications.

There are other ways too…

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Carver , thank you very much .

You helped me more than you know ! Have a good evening my friend @carverofchoice

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I have found the second method (the one you marked Solution) to be much more reliable.

Edit: Link to original thread on this great, nearly unique, and unheralded Wyze feature.

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I have Cam Plus for all my camera. And enabled on all. I have 3-4 setup with routines that provide a detection and display on a SHOW and notifications.

But I have noticed when I use that second method, and try to enable Person Detection, some are greyed out, some I can enable. And it does not seem to matter whether its already triggered in a routine. Makes no sense.

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The thing I like about the first method is that you have much more control over customizing it. You can make the message anything you want it to say. In addition, you can select which devices will announce it. For example, I may just want it to be announced in the main rooms like my living room and den, instead of all the Alexas in the bedrooms while people are trying to sleep, or on my office display, where I might be streaming a video for my toddler…in that case every announcement will interrupt the video being streamed, and that gets really annoying. I also really like the custom messages.

That is why I prefer the first method. Though the one marked solution is probably the best option for simplicity. Turn it on, and it just announces it on all Alexas. Very convenient.

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I’ve got it turned on via the 2nd method on several device. None have announced to any of my Echoes though. I think that 2nd method simply enables the feature. But using it in a routine allows you to enable it, but still makes no sense why its greyed out on some when trying to enable.

Oh I agree with you… in theory. That’s why I tried to use it. But it rendered all my person detection unreliable. The same person going across two cameras would no longer reliably trigger announcements for either camera on a consistent basis, or sometimes at all. It was difficult after cleaning out the routines to even get “method 2” to start working again, and quite a relief when it did. I will never try that again. The only real benefit for me was shortening the detection announcement.

Nope, that same customization is available for method 2 - you can select exactly which devices will announce for each camera on a per camera basis.

That said, as Sam alluded to, Alexa integration is always wonky and mysterious. At any given moment Alexa thinks some cameras can do PD and some can not, even though all are on the same firmware and CamPlus or CamPlus Lite account. So I stopped fiddling once my front door announcement was working again…

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Interesting. I haven’t experienced that issue yet with method 1.

That’s good to know you can customize devices on the second method. I rarely use it now, so wasn’t sure. Seems like an even better option now.

But yes, sometimes Alexa does go a little wonky regardless. :man_shrugging:

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I think we have beat this horse nearly to death and have not gain much knowledge of its working.

I have always used method 1. I have routines setup for PD and displaying on a show. However this does not work regularly. Sometimes when PD sees a car, I get an announcement. But it doesn’t always project to my Show 8. And the same with the other camera with PD. I thought method 1 was the only way to use PD on a camera.

So, this thread introduced me to method #2. I started looking at about half my 12+ camera (all with CP). Some the Method #2, I could enable and some I could not, because it was greyed out. Specifically, of the two used in the routine and both displaying on Show 8, one was greyed out and the other I enabled it. I don’t know what good enabling it did for me, but I was able to enable it.

So, I sum up again, some I can enable, some I can not. All have CP. Of my 12+ 3 are V2. So, only ones I was tweaking was V3’s.

Now, I ask, with Method #2, how do we benefit if we can enable it there? Simply PD to some specific device? Is it a canned Wyze favored announcement from that device? UPDATE: Oh, I see now. I went back in and found where we pick the device. I don’t want to remove my question, though. Because leaving it might generate some good ideas or discussion. But I do know “how to select the device now”.

This is a good thread. These are the type (frustrating as they may be) healthy, educational, and fun to try sources of knowledge. This is why I am here. This is why I try to give back, - because you guys are smart, clever and bring more to the table, than I eat.

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Hmm, I discovered one of the answers to my own question. I see that PD can be turned on for a SHOW 8. And no device is selected. So, when I look under there, it won’t list so, I can’t select a device.

And for a camera, that I can enable PD, I see all devices are already selected. I enabled detection on one camera and left all devices selected. Then I tried triggering PD. I guess I was not successful in the trigger, because there was no announcement on any.

But talk some more about that. I can select a camera and enable PD, then un-select all but one or two device. Makes me wonder. Need to look at every camera that I have enabled/using PD and make sure ONLY 1 or maybe 2 devices are selected. I wonder, if I am overloading my net because Alexa defaulted to selecting all my device, so I need to un-select them. Ideas?

And I think now, I know why they have been grayed out and unable to “enable”. I went back into the Wyze app, Select a camera > Settings > Detection Settings > Detection Zone, and selected at least 1 block. So, then the Save button comes up and save. Then just so it would not be greyed out in Alexa, but I didn’t want right now to have detection, I set the sensitivity to 1. After a short breath for Alexa to update, I see its no longer greyed, and I can select a device and enable it.

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Your last post is promising, @Sam_Bam , and thanks. I bet it’s not the establishing of the zone itself but rather that you fiddled with the camera at all and somehow woke up the Alexa Skill to realize it was there and usable.

I will have to try and follow your lead. Right now I have about two or three cameras Alexa still thinks can’t do PD announcements. I considered doing another round of Skill uninstall / reinstall but would really rather not have to.

Also, obviously, a Show’s person detection is a different animal from Wyze person detection.

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Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean Show’s Person Detection in that sense. My comments about Show here were when I was sending the camera’s PD view directly to the Show screen. It does that a few times, but not everything it detects cars. So some cars show up and other times the display does not bring up the Wyze camera’s detected car. Although, I will get an announcement of the camera detected a car.

I have 3 Show 8’s 1 1st gen, 2 2nd gen. Minor difference in its guts. One can be used as a camera and see it under Live view under Devices for that sub-device. The 1st gen, no.

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Good news, bad news for me. In adding my new V3s I checked and somehow all of my older cameras are enabled for PD in Alexa now. But… the newly added V3 is not. :frowning:

No rhyme or reason.

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Will this work for Pet detection?

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Right now there is no pet detection option shown in the Alexa options. So, the short answer is “no, it’s not natively possible”

… But the long answer is that it is still possible with some complicated workarounds of a person has an Android phone and some technical skills… Basically, it would involve having a notification monitoring app send a web hook to a virtual switch that is integrated with Alexa and then have Alexa do a routine/rule/automation based on that virtual switch. That is advice the capabilities of most people, but it is technically possible. I do something similar with map location notifications for some of my family members so Alexa will let me know when they get to work or school safely, or to let me know when my wife is almost home from the grocery store so I can meet her out there to help carry everything in.

Maybe later Amazon will have that option.
Thanks for replying back to me.

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Not sure if helpful. I have a front door Cam v3 set to detect people, and Alexa does get the notification from Wyze and alerts to it, and turns on that cameras view in my Echo Show.

But I only have Plus so no pet detection. So I use a Cam V3 in my home to monitor my pets. When they enter a room, I have a Wyze Rule set to “detect movement” then turn a Wyze Plug with a nightlight plugged in (don’t need it as Alexa only needs to detect the plug is on). Then I set a Routine in Alexa, that when the Wyze Plug turns on to send me a phone notification, announce “what are you doing in here, you better play nice”, wait 1 minute, then turn the Wyze Plug off so it’s ready for the next movement detection. I can Drop In on my Echo Show if needed. Simple to setup, and works for what I need it to do.