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Knowledge Base

Amazon Alexa says, “Sorry, the device appears to be malfunctioning.”

When Alexa says, “Sorry, the device appears to be malfunctioning”, the Alarm.com device is currently in a malfunctioning state. 

If lights are malfunctioning:

To confirm the devices are malfunctioning, verify on the Alarm.com customer website. The light bulb symbol should display the malfunction icon. For more information about verifying the status, see View the status of Z-Wave lights.

The most common cause of a malfunction is a loss of power due to turning off a switch or unplugging a lamp. After confirming the light is plugged in, send a command through the Alarm.com customer website or Alarm.com app to confirm that it is now working. If the light is now working, try the Alexa command again.

If the light continues to stay in malfunction, see Light device is in malfunction.

If thermostats are malfunctioning:

The most common cause of a malfunction is a loss of power due to low or dead batteries.

To change the batteries:
  1. Turn off the Heat/AC and all power to the thermostat using your breaker box.
  2. Replace the batteries in your thermostat.
  3. Restore power to the thermostat.
  4. Send a remote command to your thermostat from the Alarm.com customer website or Alarm.com app to confirm that it is now working.

If the thermostat continues to stay in malfunction, see Thermostat is in malfunction.

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Alarm.com technology is sold, installed, and serviced by licensed service providers near you.

 

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