Amazon Echo Club

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

Your phone? The smart audio/video gps-enabled tracking device that you voluntarily carry around at all times?
( That's a paraphrase from a Ryan George video: https://youtu.be/Qn8dMQJlDZE)

It's not activated. I use it as an offline media player and only carry it to medical appointments. Otherwise, I leave it at home.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Help! I was trying to get my Dots to play an album I purchased from Amazon, using the Alexa app. But to browse my albums, the app tells me to open the Amazon Music app, and when I do that, the music plays on the device, not on my Dots. If I don't open the Amazon Music app, only the first song on the album plays with the Alexa app (and I'm only seeing the handful of recently played albums). What am I doing wrong? Can't I browse my purchased albums/songs if I want something specific?

I wanted to use the app after being unsuccessful with voice commands (I couldn't get Alexa to understand "everywhere" and "shuffle"; I was getting one or the other).

Any advice is appreciated!

Maybe try connecting bluetooth between the device you are using the app on and the dot(s)?

[cc_in_oh]

IIRC, I was originally able to use my PC to do the network setup for my Tap and Dot. Now, to connect to a different SSID, it seems I have to use the alexa app on android or ios, so I installed it on my phone.

FWIW, the app settings include a placeholder for Sidewalk, and although sidewalk hasn't been deployed yet, the setting allowed me to disable it. While I don't trust Amazon to keep it disabled through the rollout and future update cycles, I thought others here might want to do likewise...

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

IIRC, I was originally able to use my PC to do the network setup for my Tap and Dot. Now, to connect to a different SSID, it seems I have to use the alexa app on android or ios, so I installed it on my phone.

FWIW, the app settings include a placeholder for Sidewalk, and although sidewalk hasn't been deployed yet, the setting allowed me to disable it. While I don't trust Amazon to keep it disabled through the rollout and future update cycles, I thought others here might want to do likewise...

After Sidewalk appeared in my Alexa app on my iPad it was already set at disabled. The feature isn’t available yet, so no telling whether Amazon turns on the toggle switch when they take it live. Amazon has a history of turning on new options in settings when they first appear in the FW. It seems like every time they add more options for those damn unwanted Tips, they turn the settings option for them to ON! Keeping my Show 5 setup the way I like it is a PITA as Amazon is constantly making changes to options and then turning those options ON.

[ApK]

Yesterday Alexa did one thing I though was very good, and one that wasn't.
After responding to a command, she said "I'm trying to improve my ability to recognize the device being spoken to. Did the correct device respond to this request?" Machine learning where it's needed....that's pretty encouraging.
The not so good thing was that on a device set to brief mode, after the acknowledgement tone, she went on to say something like "by the way, you can also do <whatever>, would you like to know more?"
Dang you Alexa, I put you on brief mode because I DIDN'T want to hear your opinions and commentary. What's the use of reducing "OK" to a beep tone if you're going to go on yakking anyway?!?!

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ApK

....The not so good thing was that on a device set to brief mode, after the acknowledgement tone, she went on to say something like "by the way, you can also do <whatever>, would you like to know more?"
Dang you Alexa, I put you on brief mode because I DIDN'T want to hear your opinions and commentary. What's the use of reducing "OK" to a beep tone if you're going to go on yakking anyway?!?!

Periodically I have an Alexa device just start jabbering on about something when I didn't speak to her. I try to call her name and say, "STOP." But apparently she can't hear very well when she is talking about something! I think it was Albert Einstein who used to tell his students, "You can’t learn with your mouth open." A very polite way of saying, "Shut up and listen to what I'm telling you." My Mom would just use the second of those two approaches.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by OtinG

After Sidewalk appeared in my Alexa app on my iPad it was already set at disabled. The feature isn’t available yet, so no telling whether Amazon turns on the toggle switch when they take it live. Amazon has a history of turning on new options in settings when they first appear in the FW. It seems like every time they add more options for those damn unwanted Tips, they turn the settings option for them to ON! Keeping my Show 5 setup the way I like it is a PITA as Amazon is constantly making changes to options and then turning those options ON.

That's surprising - the documentation is pretty clear that it will be enabled by default. Though I would think that most people would take a dim view of stealing your bandwidth without explicit permission...

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by John F

Maybe try connecting bluetooth between the device you are using the app on and the dot(s)?

But that's not how it's supposed to work; I'd be wasting battery life on the device and I wouldn't be able to get all the devices to play the same music when they're scattered in different rooms.

[tubemonkey]

You Can Now Do Group Video and Audio Calls on Echo Devices

Video calls have become clutch this year, and just in time for the holidays, Amazon is launching the ability to do group video and audio calls via Amazon Echo devices.

The group calling feature will allow up to seven people to join a group call using commands like, “Alexa, call my family,” or, “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting.” Users will be able to create groups, and once that group is created, any member can then initiate either a video or audio call—provided they have a supported device, such as the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show. In the U.S., Amazon is also adding compatibility with Zoom and Amazon Chime, but you’ll have to have an Echo Show 8.

Amazon is also enabling a near real-time captioning feature for one-on-one video and audio calls, as well as Drop Ins, which is a nice touch. This only applies to Echo Show devices, but is actually a pretty cool feature for folks who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Amazon is also enabling children with a Fire Kids Edition tablet or a Fire tablet loaded with the Amazon Kids app to make Alexa-to-Alexa voice and video calls—but only to contacts pre-approved by their parents.

more...

[John F]

Originally Posted by Catlady

But that's not how it's supposed to work; I'd be wasting battery life on the device and I wouldn't be able to get all the devices to play the same music when they're scattered in different rooms.

FWIW, I don't find bluetooth streaming to be much of a battery drain. I can play a 45 minute album, and I'm guessing it uses 5% battery. And if you are going to be streaming from the your app, how much of a power difference would there be streaming over wifi vs streaming over bluetooth?

I'm guessing that it is working as it is supposed to/designed to work using the Alexa App. I may be wrong and would be interested on how it can be done.

I just tried "play the white album by weezer on basement" and it played it on my basement group. I tried it both from an Alexa device and from the Alexa app.

I did have to add "Amazon Music" in "More->settings->Music & Podcasts->Default services. I previously had spotify; Spotify played the album before I made the change.

Good luck.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You Can Now Do Group Video and Audio Calls on Echo Devices

"Alexa, call the family."

"Turning on the Family Channel on your Fire TV."

"Alexa, stop! Alexa, call the family."

"You can watch All in the Family on Pluto, would you like me to turn it on?"

"Alexa, stop! Alexa, call the family."

"You can watch Family Matters on Hulu, would you like me to turn it on?"

"Alexa, stop! Alexa, call the family."

"According to Wikistupidea, 'family....'."

5 hours later...

"This is a reminder, call family."

"Alexa, #$%$^&!!!"

[mlewis78]

I've been getting some shopping notifications that there is a good deal on my wishlist. It says it won't say what it is in case it's a gift. I don't want to hear this unless it tells me what the item is. It says I can fix that in the Alexa app. I looked at it and don't see a way to have it tell me what the item is when there is a deal in my wishlist. So, I can't make it stop telling me this and keeping the item a secret.

Anyone else get these notifications? And if you fixed it in the app, how did you do it? I found an area in the app for notifications but not how to change it so it tells me the item that is a good deal in my wishlist.

[Catlady]

Does anyone have any insight into why my Alexa routine turning my Christmas lights off would be going kerflooey? It happened the other night--lights that were supposed to turn off at 11 p.m. turned off around 9 p.m. I used a voice command to turn them back on, and they stayed on until the appointed time. Tonight, again they turned off around 9 p.m., I told Alexa to turn them on; they went on but they turned off again about 9:30.

I checked the routine in the Alexa app, and it says 11 p.m. off; the time wasn't accidentally changed. I'm annoyed at Alexa's unreliability. Any ideas?

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Does anyone have any insight into why my Alexa routine turning my Christmas lights off would be going kerflooey? It happened the other night--lights that were supposed to turn off at 11 p.m. turned off around 9 p.m. I used a voice command to turn them back on, and they stayed on until the appointed time. Tonight, again they turned off around 9 p.m., I told Alexa to turn them on; they went on but they turned off again about 9:30.

I checked the routine in the Alexa app, and it says 11 p.m. off; the time wasn't accidentally changed. I'm annoyed at Alexa's unreliability. Any ideas?

No ideas how to correct the issues, but I constantly have snafus with some of my scenes and often have to argue with Alexa when I ask her to turn on/off my smart bulb named “Bath light.” Usually she turns it on/off, but occasionally she says there is no device with that name. I’m convinced it is buggy software. Amazon is a book store at heart, not a high tech firm.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Help! I was trying to get my Dots to play an album I purchased from Amazon, using the Alexa app. ...

Did you get this to work?