Amazon Alexa and Echo FAQ

judeboy101 · 24-11-2018 7:57pm

Davy wrote: »

You can chat by phone call or online chat.

Click Help, need more help, contact us:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/contact-us/ref=hp_gt_comp_cu?nodeId=471044

Is there a difference in content between uk prime video and Irish? And how do I know which one you are watching?

Muahahaha · 24-11-2018 8:53pm

Just wondering can you talk to Alexa through your phone or only through an Echo? Going to get an echo for the living room but would I need another one in the bedrooms or is there any way your phone can be used as an extension of the system?

mossie · 24-11-2018 9:14pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Just wondering can you talk to Alexa through your phone or only through an Echo? Going to get an echo for the living room but would I need another one in the bedrooms or is there any way your phone can be used as an extension of the system?

Yes, it works on my OnePlus 6 through the app and an icon in the notifications

mossie · 24-11-2018 9:18pm

mossie wrote: »

Hi,

I have run into a problem with my 2 echo's one 1st gen and one 2nd gen. I changed my router this evening because I switched internet providers, changed the SSID of the router to match my old one by now the echos won't connect. I have followed the instructions to change network but when I get to the stage "go to you wifi setting on this phone and select the Amazon-XXX network ... after connecting return to the Amazon Alexa app to continue setup". I do this and return to the app but nothing happens. I've followed various guides but can't get beyond this point. Any ideas how I can get past this?

Many thanks.

Just to update on this I eventually got it working by using the amazon web app https://alexa.amazon.co.uk/spa/index.html . Nothing I did would make my android Alexa app connect and set up my echos so I resorted to the web app and it worked first time.

Muahahaha · 24-11-2018 9:34pm

mossie wrote: »

Yes, it works on my OnePlus 6 through the app and an icon in the notifications

thanks.Does it work by voice recognition in the app or only manual inputs?

mossie · 24-11-2018 10:49pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

thanks.Does it work by voice recognition in the app or only manual inputs?

It works either way

cee_jay · 24-11-2018 11:28pm

CHealy wrote: »

Does anyone have an issue with 2nd Gen Dot and Spotify 'crackling' on certain songs? I think its confined to just Spotify but I havnt really tested other services much yet such as the radio. Iv restarted the device but no luck, my other one seems to be fine.

Yup we are getting this for the past few weeks or so, have only noticed on Spotify also.

scamalert · 25-11-2018 1:59pm

mossie wrote: »

Just to update on this I eventually got it working by using the amazon web app https://alexa.amazon.co.uk/spa/index.html . Nothing I did would make my android Alexa app connect and set up my echos so I resorted to the web app and it worked first time.

i sort of seen that workaround but wanted to see if we could get it up properly either way if it works then good days, as i know setting mine up it was acting strange one would connect to 2.4ghz band another would only see 5ghz, or vice versa. Thou someone who moved out from house and had to take one dot had no issues setting it up on their new router, so its a bit hit and miss, sometimes when it comes to setting these up again.

jmBuildExt · 26-11-2018 10:54am

CHealy wrote: »

Does anyone have an issue with 2nd Gen Dot and Spotify 'crackling' on certain songs? I think its confined to just Spotify but I havnt really tested other services much yet such as the radio. Iv restarted the device but no luck, my other one seems to be fine.

I get this.
I find it to be linked with changing sources from the spotify aapp on the phone. i.e. switching between one echo or another and the phone itself.
Very annoying!

markc1184 · 26-11-2018 1:20pm

Apologies if this has already been asked. I have purchased an Echo Dot and a TP Link smart plug over the weekend. Is it possible to set these up to use as an on/off timer for Xmas lights? So if I wanted the lights to come on each day at 4pm and go off at 10pm automatically or would I need to do it each day?

THE ALM · 26-11-2018 1:58pm

markc1184 wrote: »

Apologies if this has already been asked. I have purchased an Echo Dot and a TP Link smart plug over the weekend. Is it possible to set these up to use as an on/off timer for Xmas lights? So if I wanted the lights to come on each day at 4pm and go off at 10pm automatically or would I need to do it each day?

Don't know about the Dot but you can set a schedule in the Kasa app for the TP-Link

NyOmnishambles · 26-11-2018 3:45pm

markc1184 wrote: »

Apologies if this has already been asked. I have purchased an Echo Dot and a TP Link smart plug over the weekend. Is it possible to set these up to use as an on/off timer for Xmas lights? So if I wanted the lights to come on each day at 4pm and go off at 10pm automatically or would I need to do it each day?

As mentioned the Kasa app will allow you to schedule the timings for the plug

For a nice added touch you can rename the plug as Christmas, then using the Alexa app make it discover the plug, after enabling the kasa/tp link skill

Then you can proclaim "Alexa: turn on Christmas" when you enter the room if the timer hasn't kicked in yet

limnam · 26-11-2018 10:39pm

Does "follow on" work in Ireland?

I have it enabled on a number of dots she never seems to respond to the follow up ask, any ideas?

ablelocks · 26-11-2018 10:54pm

limnam wrote: »

Does "follow on" work in Ireland?

I have it enabled on a number of dots she never seems to respond to the follow up ask, any ideas?

seems to be working on my 3rd gen dot, but haven't actually used it that much yet

markc1184 · 26-11-2018 11:56pm

markc1184 wrote: »

Apologies if this has already been asked. I have purchased an Echo Dot and a TP Link smart plug over the weekend. Is it possible to set these up to use as an on/off timer for Xmas lights? So if I wanted the lights to come on each day at 4pm and go off at 10pm automatically or would I need to do it each day?

I had these delivered today and from a quick mess about tonight it seems a timed schedule can be set up in Alexa using the routines feature.

I've already got the itch to add more bits and pieces now.

Grumpypants · 27-11-2018 12:12am

Woox Smart plugs on Amazon down to £7.50. I just grabbed 6 for the lamps around the house. Not sure what they are like, but most smart plugs are at least double that if not more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woox-Smart-Plug-Works-Alexa/dp/B07GB5D8RS?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_2c14ef06_NA&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

jmBuildExt · 27-11-2018 9:29am

Grumpypants wrote: »

Woox Smart plugs on Amazon down to £7.50. I just grabbed 6 for the lamps around the house. Not sure what they are like, but most smart plugs are at least double that if not more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woox-Smart-Plug-Works-Alexa/dp/B07GB5D8RS?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_2c14ef06_NA&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

I like the look of them - Alexa control and IFTTT too....they're gone back up to 16 though

paulbok · 27-11-2018 10:34am

limnam wrote: »

Does "follow on" work in Ireland?

I have it enabled on a number of dots she never seems to respond to the follow up ask, any ideas?

There is a on /off switch for it on the Alexa app that needs to be enabled first for each device.
Tried it out this morning, asked Alexa to turn on a lamp and then a few seconds later just said "dim lamp to 50%" and it worked.

Ron Burgundy II · 27-11-2018 3:59pm

I picked up an Echo dot during the black Friday sales plus some smart plugs and bulbs to go with it. Demand for the echo dot was huge, I won't get the dot until the 12th December while other items I've ordered such as bulbs and plugs will all arrive in the next 7 days.

Looking forward to getting it.

Grumpypants · 27-11-2018 4:15pm

A friend tried to get a Dot last night and got a delivery date of Jan 2019! Really good offer on the third gen one, so they must be flying out.

I got two of the new dots last week for £25 each and got a plug for £10. I'm very impressed, pretty much puts the Echo out of business. I can't see any need for it.

Have set up one lamp to turn on and some routines around getting up and playing some music. Have ordered a bunch more plugs now.

paulbok · 27-11-2018 7:22pm

Grumpypants wrote: »

A friend tried to get a Dot last night and got a delivery date of Jan 2019! Really good offer on the third gen one, so they must be flying out.

I got two of the new dots last week for £25 each and got a plug for £10. I'm very impressed, pretty much puts the Echo out of business. I can't see any need for it.

Have set up one lamp to turn on and some routines around getting up and playing some music. Have ordered a bunch more plugs now.

Seen a stat on Twitter that at some stage yesterday, over 1000 dots were being sold per second. Was a confirmation by someone doubting the third 0 in that figure. Easy to see why stock is so scarce.

scamalert · 27-11-2018 7:34pm

paulbok wrote: »

Seen a stat on Twitter that at some stage yesterday, over 1000 dots were being sold per second. Was a confirmation by someone doubting the third 0 in that figure. Easy to see why stock is so scarce.

hell id imagine entire hangar would only be dedicated to dots only :pac: 3rd one is quite beefy in box size so must been quite a scene.

paulbok · 27-11-2018 7:59pm

scamalert wrote: »

hell id imagine entire hangar would only be dedicated to dots only :pac: 3rd one is quite beefy in box size so must been quite a scene.

When the dots ship, they can stash Jeff's cash in the hangar

flugel · 27-11-2018 9:14pm

Anyone ever have multiple dots responding to commands differently?

I got two 3rd gen dots recently, one downstairs one upstairs.

First issue I noticed was only downstairs would actually enable whisper mode. Upstairs would say enabled but would never whisper a reply. (So one issue with upstairs dot)

Today I'm setting up Routines for Hue , works perfectly from upstairs and won't work on downstairs dot. (So one issue with downstairs)

I've powered it off from the wall to see if that would reset it but no luck.

Anyone any ideas?

Grumpypants · 27-11-2018 10:26pm

Had similar yesterday but the one upstairs wouldnt do any routines. Normal commands worked, It would blink blue as if she understood the routine then would do nothing. Downstairs worked fine.

I wondered was it because it was on a different wifi extender not the main router. I changed the extender to mimic the router rather than make a new channel and did a full deregister and set up again and it seems to work.

Checked again and it's still okay.

On a different topic, I Was able to turn on my house lights today from a voice command on the phone app. Really fun.

lobbylad · 28-11-2018 1:39pm

I have the first gen Echo, about 2 years old. I know the newer version, the Plus, has a built in hub.

To control those Woox Smart plugs or TP Link plugs, will they work with my Echo? Or do I need the newer one with the inbuilt hub?

THE ALM · 28-11-2018 2:08pm

lobbylad wrote: »

I have the first gen Echo, about 2 years old. I know the newer version, the Plus, has a built in hub.

To control those Woox Smart plugs or TP Link plugs, will they work with my Echo? Or do I need the newer one with the inbuilt hub?

They work over wifi so no hub required.

OldRio · 30-11-2018 10:32am

Well the third generation dot arrived yesterday and I'm very impressed with the sound quality. Much more depth and bass.

I moved the old dot upstairs and I now have an American Alexa downstairs and an English dot upstairs. Not sure why.

Also I opened an audible account and yet both dots will not open my account. Have the book on my phone therefore I'm not sure of the problem.
Any advice would be welcome.

lobbylad · 30-11-2018 10:41am

THE ALM wrote: »

They work over wifi so no hub required.

Just in case anyone searches and finds this thread, I got 2 x TP LINK HS100 smart plugs, and they work perfectly with the 1st Gen echo.

limnam · 30-11-2018 2:16pm

Sorry if this is very basic but couldn't find a way to do this outside the app.

If you're in Room A and the dot in Room B is playing say the radio.

Is it possible to tell the dot in Room A to turn of Room B?

Amazon Alexa and Echo FAQ

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