Amazon Alexa and Echo FAQ

fionny

So I bought an Echo Dot today, im hoping to gradually make my house "connected" for better or worse :P

Im thinking of buying a few of these TPLink Smart Plug jobbies which work with Alexa https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Control-Anywhere-HS100-UK/dp/B01I3ZCBFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481739109&sr=8-2&keywords=Smart+switch but im wondering if there are even cheaper options?

Also is there an easy way to make your light switchs smart around the house?

We plan to install Hive thermo's next year when we re-do our heating too so that will be another.

What other cool (and somewhat) cheap things can you do or are worth doing?

NomadicGray

fionny wrote: »

So I bought an Echo Dot today, im hoping to gradually make my house "connected" for better or worse :P

Im thinking of buying a few of these TPLink Smart Plug jobbies which work with Alexa https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Control-Anywhere-HS100-UK/dp/B01I3ZCBFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481739109&sr=8-2&keywords=Smart+switch but im wondering if there are even cheaper options?

Cheaper, and in stock, at the moment in PowerCity
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=20-27-HS100

They work well just for turning things on and off from home with voice or when away through the app.
Im going the Hue route for lights and then using SmartThings for any other home automation. That is not the cheap way to do things but I like the potential of those two products.

I can't seem to order an echo dot from amazon.co.uk directly to ireland - is a redirect service the only option?

davo2001

glasso wrote: »

I can't seem to order an echo dot from amazon.co.uk directly to ireland - is a redirect service the only option?

Yes and has been since they released it in the UK.

davo2001

davo2001 wrote: »

Yes and has been since they released it in the UK.

so many items on amazon seem to be increasingly not available for direct sending to ireland.

judeboy101

Anyone else put Alexa on the car and pretend they are Michael knight?

underwaterdog

glasso wrote: »

so many items on amazon seem to be increasingly not available for direct sending to ireland.

Even if they were available it still often cheaper to use services like Parcel Motel. Just a shame product like the Echo are so difficult to localise to Ireland

underwaterdog

underwaterdog wrote: »

Even if they were available it still often cheaper to use services like Parcel Motel. Just a shame product like the Echo are so difficult to localise to Ireland

a real pain when amazon decides to ship items separately and you end up paying parcel motel / other multiple times though!

underwaterdog

glasso wrote: »

a real pain when amazon decides to ship items separately and you end up paying parcel motel / other multiple times though!

I have four items on the way, including a dot. Hoping they don't end up separately delivered!!!

Irish Gunner

Maybe its just me but Echo seems to be having difficulty understanding my dialect especially around Radio stations. I tried NewsTalk last night and kept getting Young Turks??? Then I also try 8radio.com on TuneIn and although Alexa confirms the name of the radio station it does not work. Got it to work via the Alexa App. Also tried using the dot  as an Alarm this morning(had regular one as back up). Got it to go off this morning but then when I tried to get it to stop or snooze by voice control no joy had to press a button on the Dot. Will try out again. Also trying to figure out how to play the last station. I listen to  CDNX Camden radio but each morning I keep saying Camden FM so have to check to see if Dot / Alexa will play last station?

ceegee

underwaterdog wrote: »

I have four items on the way, including a dot. Hoping they don't end up separately delivered!!!

I ordered two dots yesterday, got a message saying one was being shipped separately so as not to delay the order. followed 2 minutes later by an email saying the second one was dispatched. annoying

underwaterdog

underwaterdog wrote: »

I have four items on the way, including a dot. Hoping they don't end up separately delivered!!!

the only way to avoid this is to go into amazon chat straight after ordering and get onto a customer agent to stop this.

mossym

glasso wrote: »

a real pain when amazon decides to ship items separately and you end up paying parcel motel / other multiple times though!

Given they give you the choice of multiple shipments for faster service or a single shipment when ordering its a pain you can easily avoid. Not really amazons fault if you dont pick it

mossym

mossym wrote: »

Given they give you the choice of multiple shipments for faster service or a single shipment when ordering its a pain you can easily avoid. Not really amazons fault if you dont pick it

that's not true. it gives you the option to group items into as low as a number of shipments as possible, not one.
I always select this option, yet have had multiple shipments.

alastair

glasso wrote: »

that's not true. it gives you the option to group items into as low as a number of shipments as possible, not one.
I always select this option, yet have had multiple shipments.

Happens all the time. Happened my grouped order yesterday:

We thought you'd like to know that we've dispatched this portion of your order separately to give you a quicker service, at no additional cost to you. The remainder of your order will follow as soon as those items become available.

degsie

We thought you'd like to know that we've dispatched this portion of your order separately to give you a quicker service, at no additional cost to you. The remainder of your order will follow as soon as those items become available.

Obviously doesn't heed PM deliveries.

fionny

degsie wrote: »

Obviously doesn't heed PM deliveries.

Anyone know of any smart light switches which would work with echo? Something that could replace an existing switch? 1 gang 2 gang or even 3 gang?

Seems to be a gap in the market?

Livolo have "smart" switches but for a remote control

underwaterdog

What about Alexa on the Amazon Fire TV? I have one I use for Kodi and Alexa will only work outside of Kodi but doesn't seem to be able to do much.

degsie

underwaterdog wrote: »

What about Alexa on the Amazon Fire TV? I have one I use for Kodi and Alexa will only work outside of Kodi but doesn't seem to be able to do much.

Might be US applicable only, but I found this...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201859020

underwaterdog

degsie wrote: »

Might be US applicable only, but I found this...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201859020

I had read that but it's very limiting talking to the remote and having to select each action from a list of possible results. Need to play with it a bit more I think.

judeboy101

Kids got upset this morn as Alexa was speaking with a bbc accent instead of her usual sexy American one. Any reason for this? I haven't changed settings on app to uk voice.

oinkely

fionny wrote: »

Anyone know of any smart light switches which would work with echo? Something that could replace an existing switch? 1 gang 2 gang or even 3 gang?

Seems to be a gap in the market?

Livolo have "smart" switches but for a remote control

Just received an energenie mihome smart switch in the post this morning. You need the hub too, and then you can operate it through alexa I believe. Got 1 and 2 double sockets. Already have the hub and 3 plug in adaptors sitting at home waiting for installation.

It doesn't do dimming and they don't have any multi gang switches, so a bit limited at the moment.

I'll update how it all works when set up. Probably over christmas......

flangemeistro

oinkely wrote: »

fionny wrote: »

Anyone know of any smart light switches which would work with echo? Something that could replace an existing switch? 1 gang 2 gang or even 3 gang?

Seems to be a gap in the market?

Livolo have "smart" switches but for a remote control

Just received an energenie mihome smart switch in the post this morning. You need the hub too, and then you can operate it through alexa I believe. Got 1 and 2 double sockets. Already have the hub and 3 plug in adaptors sitting at home waiting for installation.

It doesn't do dimming and they don't have any multi gang switches, so a bit limited at the moment.

I'll update how it all works when set up. Probably over christmas......

I was also looking at this switch but didn't bother purchasing when I did a bit of research and discovered it needs a neutral at the switch which in Ireland is unheard of.

JAMM222

Uk version now working with IFTTT

Zascar

What recipes are people using?

oinkely

flangemeistro wrote: »

I was also looking at this switch but didn't bother purchasing when I did a bit of research and discovered it needs a neutral at the switch which in Ireland is unheard of.

It doesn't. The terminals on the back of the switch are L, L1 and Slave. Straight swap for your current switch. You just need the hub to communicate with it.

mossym

glasso wrote: »

that's not true. it gives you the option to group items into as low as a number of shipments as possible, not one.
I always select this option, yet have had multiple shipments.

I stand corrected so, any time in the last 10+ years of ordering from Amazon I've selected the minimal packages option it's resulted in one package.

maybe they don't try so hard on echo's as they know full well any of them going to Parcel motel or parcel wizard are Ireland bound and officially they don't sell them here?

mossym

mossym wrote: »

I stand corrected so, any time in the last 10+ years of ordering from Amazon I've selected the minimal packages option it's resulted in one package.

maybe they don't try so hard on echo's as they know full well any of them going to Parcel motel or parcel wizard are Ireland bound and officially they don't sell them here?

nothing to do with echos in particular. I find that it especially happens where you have small items in your order that can be cheaply (low postage cost) sent on their own - e.g. glass phone screen protector that will be sent out separately. I think that it's mainly due to amazon's shipping cost algorithm / rule-set.

as I said you can try to stop this by going to amazon chat straight away after completing your order and ask svc to only send one package.

ROS123

Anyone try IFTTT yet, any good recipes you'd reccomend ?

Zascar

Here are a few links I've seen - let us know if any of these work well for any of you.

https://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/essential-ifttt-recipes-for-the-amazon-echo/
https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/15/amazon-echo-ifttt-uk/
http://www.androidcentral.com/our-favorite-ifttt-recipes-amazon-echo

What I need to figure out how to do be able to add to-do's and shopping list items, and get them to appear in my Google Tasks. So far I've only been able to link it to evernote - I think I can then get evernote to sync with Tasks, but that's an unnecessary extra step.