Today we’re excited to announce updates to our Alexa Smart Home Skill to deliver greater control and monitoring from the Alexa app as well as the ability to unlock door locks with voice commands.

Unlock your smart home with abode

Our initial abode Alexa Smart Home Skill gave users the ability to control lighting, including RBG functions, dimming capabilities and basic on/off functions using voice commands. It also allowed users to lock doors that were armed with a smart lock.

This skill update enables Unlock by Voice and Unlock by App functionality that allows users to unlock doors integrated with their abode system via the abode Smart Home Skill. Once users enable the abode Smart Home Skill in the Alexa app, they’ll be able to say “Alexa, unlock my front door” — Alexa will respond with a request for a pin code. Once the pin code is provided, the connected door lock will unlock. The pin code is designed to provide an extra layer of security and prevent unwanted intruders from gaining access.

Native app control

Along with the voice unlocking feature, devices in the abode ecosystem will now be able to be controlled and monitored from the Alexa app directly. Users can see a status of each device right in the app — including if the doors are locked or not and if the lights are on in any given room. Within the Alexa app, users can group abode devices by room and utilize group commands to trigger certain actions for an entire room. For example, if a group of lights are all put together under “Living Room,” users can simply say “Alexa, turn off the living room” instead of naming each device. Users can also unlock and lock a connected door lock via the Alexa app.

For a full walk through of how to enable the Voice Unlock feature, check out our support site.

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