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Alexa, Alexa, Alexa: What to do with all your extra Amazon Echos

Is an Amazon Echo speaker in every room overkill? Yes, which is why you should do it. Here's how to make it all work.

I bet you've got an unused Echo Dot stuffed somewhere in your house. I had two -- both white third-gen models that I'd since replaced with the better-sounding fourth-gen "orbs." But those old hockey pucks still slapped, especially when paired with my black Echo Show 8, so I dug them out and found homes for the both of them.

One third-gen dot went in my half-bath, the other in my upstairs hallway -- bringing my menagerie of Alexa devices up to a whopping 11 smart speakers and displays, including an Echo Flex (see photo for how ridiculously small those are). That means I now have one Alexa speaker or display for every 122 square feet of house, give or take.

Is that overkill? For sure. Should you put an Alexa speaker in every room of your house (including the hallway and garage) anyway? Absolutely. Once you do, you'll never go back. That's because there are some unique advantages to keeping a houseful of Alexa. (Keep reading -- that's what the rest of this story is about, plus how to keep everything in order.)

Organization is key, because having a chorus of Alexa devices within earshot of each other can cause some interesting problems. Alexa can supposedly tell which device you're speaking to (and respond accordingly) but in my experience, the opposite is more often true. But these problems have solutions, and that's what I'm here to show you.

This is how I manage my expanding cornucopia of Alexa devices, plus some of the cool things I do with them, like pipe music through my whole house.

Why so many Alexas? Because more is better

• Announcements | Drop In | Multiroom audio (but in the same room)

Choose wake words, but choose them wisely

• Voices: Female (original) | Male (new)
  
• Wake Words: Alexa | Amazon | Computer | Echo | Ziggy

Pair Alexas for stereo and multiroom audio groups


Note: read article for details