Are you trying to mechanically toggle the fireplace switch? That’s going to be a though and probably unreliable. Can you mount a low voltage relay (like 12VDC) next to the fireplace switch (as you have pointed out the thermocouple only puts out a few millivolts) and use a WiFi switch powering a 12V DC power adaptor to energize the relay? Just a thought.
Try rebooting the router.
Yes, it is called “non-volunteer computing”. Your windows 11 was probably doing some Excel calculations for an instance of Office 360 running in Timbuktu
I have used Homeseer since HS2. My rebuttal to your rant follows:
Can be fully autonomous. No connection to internet
Outside of Alexa and Google voice control.
I have had same problem with Alexa asking “which one” with Homeseer. Used to work, then suddenly did not. It seemed like after a couple of repeats the problem cleared. Alexa learns from mistakes. I don’t know why she suddenly got confused.
What are you going to do when your ISP crashes?
Don’t put home automation on the cloud.
I use Homeseer which runs on Windows, Linux, or a Pi. Homeseer interfaces with (practically) everything, Z-Wave, Zigbee, Insteon, UPB, even X10. And it could give a rip whether the internet is up or down. Home Assistant is like Homeseer but open source so less expensive. Just a thought.
Disconnect bell wire wire from transformer and measure voltage at the screw terminals. Should be 24VAC. If nothing, internal fuse link in transformer is open. Transformer is toast.