Play/Pause via Alexa Lost on TU6985 After January-February 2026 Update via SmartThings Integration

[Stygnus]

Hello,

I'm experiencing a loss of play/pause voice control on my Samsung TV via Alexa after a firmware update in January-February 2026.

Device Details:

Model: Samsung 70" TU6985 4K Crystal UHD Smart Tizen TV

Serial Number: 0CR43CNRA02262L

SmartThings App Version: 4.HR04.0224

Setup: External Amazon Echo device controlling TV through SmartThings integration

Issue:

After the recent update, play/pause voice commands no longer work. Other controls remain functional:

✓ Power on/off

✓ Volume up/down

✓ HDMI input switching

✗ Play/Pause (stopped working)

The play/pause control does not appear in the available capabilities list in SmartThings.

Troubleshooting Completed:

Deleted and re-added the device in SmartThings

Updated TV firmware to latest version

Updated SmartThings app

Power cycled all devices

Verified SmartThings device capabilities (play/pause not listed)

Questions:

Was play/pause capability intentionally removed for TU6985 models in a recent update?

If so, is there a way to restore this functionality?

If unintentional, can this be escalated as a bug?

Anyone else seeing this? Any guidance is appreciated.

[Stygnus]

Update: I realized Samsung's official mobile remote app doesn't show play/pause controls for the TU6985 either — only volume, channel, input, and navigation. This suggests play/pause was never implemented for this model at the device capability level, so Alexa losing the ability makes sense.

Question: Was this an intentional limitation for the TU6985, or is it missing from the mobile remote as well?

[quest7]

😂😂