Forum Discussion
Alexa and To Do not syncing
We use the Alexa shopping list and sync it to MS To Do. It has been working great, but just stopped. Looking for the the Wonder Do It skill seems to be 'gone'?
Anybody else do this? Having problems?
Thanks
I just noticed I have the same issue. I was using the Wonder Do It skill. I found somewhere online that the I you can download the skill called Tasks in Hand instead. I tried this but it’s not working, I think because I have an office 365 business account and not a personal account. Let me know if any of you make any headway
Maybe the solution is to switch to AnyList app. This app synchronizes with Alexa Shopping List and Google Assistant. You can either ask Alexa or Google Assistant to add any item to the shopping list without using extra invocations, words or phrases. There is a AnyList widget that you can add to your phone or table screen.
- This is so frustrating. Alexa integration was I think the most requested feature on the ToDo feedback hub, and Microsoft closed it, saying the feature was "added" because it already exists via the Cortana integration. I've been a Microsoft fan-boy for most of my life, but this is the final straw. I'm moving to Todoist.
DragonKing87 If you follow this discussion you will find that we have solved this issue with the alexa skill "Tasks in hand". It performs as we need it to.
We can add to our to-do lists, our shopping lists, and also remove items from both.
Add the skill and then reset both Microsoft to do and also Alexa apps.
- I have 22 lists in MS ToDo. No way can I narrow that down to two lists. "Tasks in hand" is not a solution for me.
This is all really frustrating, I can't get the task in hand integration to work consistently, so when I do anything I need to look at todo and Alexa lists in the app. Has anyone tried a completely new ecosystem like any.do? I don't want to leave Microsoft To Do, its so good in it's simplicity, however, I also don't want to check two apps the whole time!
- Same here, tasks in hand worked for about a day for me. I’ve currently got IFTTT checking Alexa and adding to an IOS reminders list. But that is only one way so never removes things from the Alexa list. I’ve looked at any.do but it seems you need to pay for a useful version. I’d just like Microsoft to write a skill for Alexa.
- I'm not sure why but the skill continues to work for me. I can add and remove from MS to do the shopping and to-do list.
When I began, I made sure my Alexa app was current. I disabled the work on hand skill and re-enabled it.
I also exited and signed in again to MS todo (I have a personal account)
Sometimes the removal from the list was slow but I think that was because Alexa misunderstood what I was saying.
If you did all that and its still not working I don't know why.
- Leider auch bei mir - quieter with me too
- Well, I think I have my short/long term solution....not the best, but will work for us. I am back to an app call OurGroceries
It is a very good, shareable, grocery list app and has a skill for Alexa. It is working, for now. Looks like I will deprecate the MS To Do from my daily use.mallanbell Well I tried ourgroceries skill and it worked one time and then no more. I think the integration requires to ask ourgroceries to add the item and not just asking alexa.
- I loved the wonder to do skill in spite of it's limitations, I am sad that it has gone, but I looked at the guys slides (linked earlier) and it looks like it might be back at some point. I am using the task at hand skill now, however, it is no longer working for me although appears to be setup correctly 😞
I wish Microsoft would develop their own skill for doing this! It's very frustrating, I don't want to leave the Microsoft To-Do ecosystem, but given the competition and some of them having native Alexa skills I might have to jump ship 😞- Yeah, we came over from Wunderlist. I was using it from the beginning. I think at this point I will start to research other To Do lists and Alexa integration. For my needs, all I am looking for is shared shopping list+Aexa voice integration. My 60 year old brain is at the point that I need to shout at the house immediately when we are out of something, else it ends up as a lost thought! lol
I certainly understand that I get what I pay for, so I am accustomed to my favorite google apps getting deprecated; but I will say that I have spent a TON of money on the Amazon ecosystem, and for that, I really do expect Amazon to protect their interest in me.
If anyone has a good success story of a multi-platform (Linux/Mac/Win) To Do client that takes input from Alexa, I would love to hear about them.
Thanks!
Mike Bell
Glens Falls, NY USA- Exactly the same here.
- Same problem here in Canada with Wonder Do it, new tasks stopped appearing in MS To Do a couple of days ago and I can't find Wonder Do It in the list of skills anymore.
I couldn't find Tasks In The Hand when searching the Alexa skills but when I googled it I found the skill on Amazon.ca. After enabling it there I noticed that two new lists were created in MS To Do 1) Alexa to-do list and 2) Alexa shopping list however, when I tried to add tasks or shopping list items with Alexa they only appear in the Alexa lists and never make it to MS To Do.
I verified on Amazon that the skill has read/write access to my lists but nothing is moving from Alexa to MS To Do. I have had this problem as well. I depended on Wonder Do It tremendously, until I noticed it was not syncing. Apparently Wonder Do It is gone. The Tasks In The Hand skill is not as good for what I use it for, but it worked. That disappeared now too, but I hear they're working on getting it back. In the meantime, there is a skill called Task Link. It's a little particular; you have to say "Open Task Link" then "Add...." and it will add it only to your Microsoft tasks list (no other tasks lists). At least it's something.
- Tank you for researching and posting the tip. I just installed and it adds to the task list. It is not very user friendly like you said, but it will have to do it for now.
I am having the same problem here. I noticed a few days ago that Alexa stopped repeating the item added to a list, and today when checking my lists, I saw the new items were not there. I did find them on Alexa's own lists.
I was using the Wonder Do It skill for years, but now it is gone. Lists are one of the main features I use Alexa for, and syncing Alexa with my Hotmail Tasks on my desktop and Microsoft ToDo App on my phone is a must (Hotmail Tasks and Todo lists are the same). Maybe Alexa is forcing us to use their lists instead of using Microsoft, and as of today, I see no choice but to change platforms for my lists/tasks.
Microsoft, please help.Edited: Amazon just updated their android app and now it has "Alexa Lists" at the very top where "Your Orders" used to be (see attached image). Can you see what is going on here?
P.s.: I miss having a Microsoft phone, on a Microsoft ecosystem, with Microsoft controlled apps. Amazon and Google make me feel used and abused.
- I reported this to Amazon 2 weeks ago and their "expert " had me uninstall Alexa on my phone and re-install it and everything started working again. Until today. Glad to have found this group and see that it may be working again soon in the future.
- EMAIL FROM PETER FOOT, DEVELOPER OF TASKS IN THE HAND
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your email. It looks like there has been a change in the Alexa Skills Kit and the task was temporarily disabled. I’ve submitted it for certification again using the latest SDK so I hope it should become available again in the next few days. If you already have the skill installed it should continue to work.
Kind regards,
Peter
=========================
From: Mike Bell <mike@thebells.us>
Sent: 04 April 2021 14:20
To: Peter Freeman Foot <peter@inthehand.com>
Subject: Fwd: Re: Alexa and To Do not syncing (Microsoft Tech Community Subscription Update)
Hi Mr. Foot,
First, thanks for the Tasks in the hand skill on Alexa, it is helping a few of us out.
I am sending you this email to let you know that the old Wonder Do It skill some folks were using with Alexa/MS To DO no longer works, and someone found your excellent work.
I have included the latest email thread and links below, if this is of interest to you.
Thanks again and have a great day!
Best regards,
Mike Bell (mallanbell)
Glens Falls, NY USA
