Amazon Echo FAQ

Corholio · 03-10-2016 9:07pm

NakedDex wrote: »

Welp, still no luck with the time zone. Interestingly, it's only now that I've realised I'm getting the US voice for Alexa, as when I did the reset on it, it had a UK voice. Once it completed setup, it switched back to the UK voice.
I'm utterly baffled now. I've tried everything from a hard reset, to de/re-registering, random addresses... I'm completely out of ideas.

It seems you may have to contact Amazon UK customer service, as I will probably have to. They are apparently changing over loads of Echos from US settings to UK ones

https://turtleblog.info/2016/09/29/heads-up-for-uk-amazon-echo-buyers/

03-10-2016 9:13pm

I tried to get on to Amazon support over the weekend about another product and noticed a warning of delays. They must have been snowed under.

03-10-2016 10:12pm

The solution to my problems with TuneIn was to set my default address back to a Northern Irish one. Phew.

Corholio · 04-10-2016 1:10am

I managed to get my Echo changed to the UK one, with the UK voice after following instructions from a reply from Amazon by email. I still haven't been able to change my address to an Irish one though. Any tips for putting in the address to work? I don't even need it specific really, just to get the weather in Cork generally would do.

In order to use the UK Echo you will need to migrate to the UK marketplace.

If you would rather we help you do this over the phone please contact us by going to the link below:

www.amazon.co.uk/contactus

If you wish to change these yourself please follow the steps below.

Existing Amazon.com customers with the UK, Ireland or Gibraltar as their country of residence can choose to switch to the Amazon.co.uk Kindle Store for future purchases.

Also, Amazon.co.uk Kindle customers will be able to subscribe to blogs from the Kindle Store and they are updated automatically on your Kindle.

For ease of use, all your Kindle order history will be accessible in one place on your Amazon.co.uk account.

If you are eligible to purchase Kindle content from another Amazon website, you’ll need to migrate your Amazon account.

To do this, visit Manage Your Content and Devices (www.amazon.com/mycd) and follow these steps:

1. Click the Settings tab.
2. Enter a new or existing address by clicking “Change” and then choosing “Update” when you’re finished.
3. Once updated, a notification will appear at the top of Manage Your Content and Devices if you're eligible to migrate to an international Amazon website. Click "Learn more about updating your default Kindle Store to Amazon.co.uk".
4. You'll be notified of the changes being made to your Amazon account when you transfer it to another Amazon website. Click “Transfer your Kindle account to Amazon.co.uk to complete the migration”.

By transferring your Kindle account to Amazon.co.uk you can purchase Kindle content in Pounds Sterling. Any Kindle content that was purchased through Amazon.com will remain available to you on the Manage your Kindle page in Amazon.co.uk.

Edit: Didn't see NakeDex's edit above with the same instructions.

Cabaal · 04-10-2016 8:14am

Corholio wrote: »

It seems you may have to contact Amazon UK customer service, as I will probably have to. They are apparently changing over loads of Echos from US settings to UK ones

https://turtleblog.info/2016/09/29/heads-up-for-uk-amazon-echo-buyers/

Except the story is wrong,
Amazon most certainly did not ship all echo's as US registered/configured

The setup of mine was a breeze.

Some people have experienced issues, some of that seems to be US config based and others in the UK were effected by the crappy BT routers blocking their echo from connecting

mccaffm · 04-10-2016 9:24am

Brayruit - did you get your problem resolved as I have the same issue. If I try on the PC I get no continue on my screen. Same with app - Alexa says connected, phone connects to Amazon wifi but then screen hangs on app saying Attempting to connect and doesn't go any further..

mccaffm · 04-10-2016 10:01am

I am encouraged that so many people here have the Echo working but can anyone advise me. I have the app and Alexa says connected, my phone flashes up connected to Amazon xxx but then the app page hangs at Attempting to Connect and goes no further. I tried going via the website but had the same problem as Brayruit, once I connected to Amazon wifi the page didn't update so no continue button to use..

I think the problem is when my phone connects to Amazon wifi it is not switching over to use my mobile data to carry on using the app but I don't know how to get around that. I read elsewhere to connect to the Amazon wifi before launching the app but when I tried that it said I had no connection to launch the app. I'm using a Samsung S4 phone. Any ideas would be most welcome as I'm losing the will to live here...

degsie · 04-10-2016 10:36am

mccaffm wrote: »

I am encouraged that so many people here have the Echo working but can anyone advise me. I have the app and Alexa says connected, my phone flashes up connected to Amazon xxx but then the app page hangs at Attempting to Connect and goes no further. I tried going via the website but had the same problem as Brayruit, once I connected to Amazon wifi the page didn't update so no continue button to use..

I think the problem is when my phone connects to Amazon wifi it is not switching over to use my mobile data to carry on using the app but I don't know how to get around that. I read elsewhere to connect to the Amazon wifi before launching the app but when I tried that it said I had no connection to launch the app. I'm using a Samsung S4 phone. Any ideas would be most welcome as I'm losing the will to live here...

Maybe try this: While the echo is on, use a paperclip and push in the reset button on the bottom for around 5 sec and you should see a blue light on the echo. Now press the button on top of the echo (the one with the dot) for 5 secs and you should be in setup mode again, now try to connect with the app/pc.

mccaffm · 04-10-2016 10:42am

Thanks for that. I've already tried that option but to no avail. Really think the problem is not with the Echo itself but with my phone/connections as this is the 2nd Echo I've tried with the same result.

NakedDex · 04-10-2016 11:23am

You may be disconnecting too early. Once you connect, leave the wifi connection directed at the Echo until it disconnects itself. If you manually reconnect to your internet connection during the wifi connection to Echo, it can hang mid-process.

mccaffm · 04-10-2016 11:31am

But I'm not reconnecting to my home wifi at all. My phone connects to the Amazon wifi and then the page hangs there and doesn't go any further. I think it's stuck because it's connected to Amazon which doesn't have any signal?

degsie · 04-10-2016 11:36am

When the echo is setting up it issues an ip address in the 192.168.11.X range. If your normal router issues ip's in the same range it may cause confusion.

mccaffm · 04-10-2016 11:47am

Yes my router does issue IP addresses in that format.. how would I get around that? Any ideas?

degsie · 04-10-2016 12:12pm

mccaffm wrote: »

Yes my router does issue IP addresses in that format.. how would I get around that? Any ideas?

If you log onto the router and change the routers's IP and DHCP range to a different one, for example 192.168.10.X.

degsie · 04-10-2016 12:32pm

Another possible solution I found on the interwebs...

(1) activate wifi tethering on your phone (or you can use any other access point you have in the house besides your main wifi)
(2) connect to the echo via the Echo app using a separate device (e.g. laptop or ipad)
(3) configure the Echo to use the Wifi tethering network on your phone.
(4) proceed to the rest of the echo setup & registration
(5) when setup is complete, use the echo app to manage your Echo WiFi settings.
(6) change the Echo's wifi network to your home WIFI network
(7) at this point setup will hang. Since the echo is already registered, this is OK
(8) pull the power plug on the echo. When it reboots, it will use your home network.
(9) now your echo will work on your home network. You can turn off wifi tether on your phone.

Corholio · 04-10-2016 1:11pm

Anybody have luck entering a Southern Irish address and it accepting it? Tried different formats of addresses and it won't accept any.

Corholio · 04-10-2016 1:12pm

Cabaal wrote: »

Except the story is wrong,
Amazon most certainly did not ship all echo's as US registered/configured

The setup of mine was a breeze.

Some people have experienced issues, some of that seems to be US config based and others in the UK were effected by the crappy BT routers blocking their echo from connecting

Yes, well it wasn't all of course but a fair number of them it seems.

richardw001 · 04-10-2016 1:16pm

For those of you using Prime Music - can you do so from a web browser ? - I moved my prime music association from US to UK to try and get it working on the echo and now when I try to listen I get prompted for UK billing info ??

degsie · 04-10-2016 1:39pm

richardw001 wrote: »

For those of you using Prime Music - can you do so from a web browser ? - I moved my prime music association from US to UK to try and get it working on the echo and now when I try to listen I get prompted for UK billing info ??

Still fighting this with Amazon US/UK, they are insisting on a UK issued payment card :mad: I threatened to quit my prime subscription, still waiting for a response.

lawred2 · 04-10-2016 1:40pm

What does the echo do?

degsie · 04-10-2016 1:42pm

lawred2 wrote: »

What does the echo do?

You talk to it, it talks to you

lawred2 · 04-10-2016 1:43pm

degsie wrote: »

You talk to it, it talks to you

I already have the wife for that

degsie · 04-10-2016 1:45pm

lawred2 wrote: »

I already have the wife for that

Alexa doesn't nag...

paulbok · 04-10-2016 1:50pm

degsie wrote: »

Alexa doesn't nag...

She doesn't listen to you half the time either...

Cabaal · 04-10-2016 3:37pm

richardw001 wrote: »

For those of you using Prime Music - can you do so from a web browser ? - I moved my prime music association from US to UK to try and get it working on the echo and now when I try to listen I get prompted for UK billing info ??

Yep,
Mac App, Android App and webpage all work perfectly for me

bk · 04-10-2016 3:43pm

degsie wrote: »

Still fighting this with Amazon US/UK, they are insisting on a UK issued payment card :mad: I threatened to quit my prime subscription, still waiting for a response.

Sign up to Revolut, the card they send you is primarily tagged as a UK card.

Revolut being a banking app for iphone/android, they will send you a debit card to use with it. Brilliant service, allows you to convert money between euro, sterling and dollar for very cheaply.

richardw001 · 04-10-2016 4:08pm

degsie wrote: »

Still fighting this with Amazon US/UK, they are insisting on a UK issued payment card :mad: I threatened to quit my prime subscription, still waiting for a response.

Problem is that Prime Music is a grey area really - sounds like we are not strictly entitled to it - so if your account gets stuck in this state - unless you have a UK credit card handy youre finished.

I guess I can't move it back to the US at all now ? - or can I change the whole echo to be US setup ?

richardw001 · 04-10-2016 4:08pm

bk wrote: »

Sign up to Revolut, the card they send you is primarily tagged as a UK card.

Revolut being a banking app for iphone/android, they will send you a debit card to use with it. Brilliant service, allows you to convert money between euro, sterling and dollar for very cheaply.

Just saw this - thanks will try !

nakano3153 · 04-10-2016 5:12pm

yabadabado wrote: »

Yup I have the very same problem.

Reported to Amazon, got a reply as follows:

I'm sorry to hear that you have been facing difficulties in playing music through your spotify account via Alexa app.

As you have mentioned, if you've added spotify as your default music library you need not mention the service name inorder to play the song.

I'd like to inform you that, I've replicated this on our device and experienced the same.

This has been reported to our technical team and they are currently working on it to resolve it as soon as possible.

Their follow up advice was to reset the Echo. That didn't work so I'm waiting on their advice - will post here when I get it.

degsie · 04-10-2016 5:15pm

bk wrote: »

Sign up to Revolut, the card they send you is primarily tagged as a UK card.

Revolut being a banking app for iphone/android, they will send you a debit card to use with it. Brilliant service, allows you to convert money between euro, sterling and dollar for very cheaply.

Just to confirm, this worked! Thanks bk

Amazon Echo FAQ

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