Amazon Echo Club - Page 293

OtinG · 04-21-2021, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The other day, our Echo Plus (the 2021 model) started playing music without being asked to do so or even being talked to.

What I don't get is why Alexa responds to something without the tripper to activate it.

I think the Echo FW designers are not very good. Occasionally they make some progress at fixing issues, but then they wind up screwing things up again.

mlewis78 · 04-21-2021, 08:04 PM

Yes, I know how it is with the Show "tips." It's as if they want to you watch something on the screen when all I want (unless I ask) is to have the clock show with the temperature. I have many times said "Echo, go to the home page." Recently even when I said that, it wanted to go on with what it wanted me to watch. (I call my Show 5 "Echo" because the regular speaker in the same room is Alexa.)

OtinG · 04-21-2021, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlewis78

Yes, I know how it is with the Show "tips." It's as if they want to you watch something on the screen when all I want (unless I ask) is to have the clock show with the temperature. I have many times said "Echo, go to the home page." Recently even when I said that, it wanted to go on with what it wanted me to watch. (I call my Show 5 "Echo" because the regular speaker in the same room is Alexa.)

Does your Show 5 have trouble hearing you? My Show 5 is nearly deaf compared to all my other Echo devices. It doesn’t always respond even if I get within a foot of it and yell. I finally muted the microphone on it and moved my Echo Plus 2nd gen close to it to use for asking Alexa questions and giving her commands. My Show 5 works well with music and I like seeing the lyrics scroll on the screen, but asking her to do anything else just causes her to start pushing Tips on me. My Show 5 also has issues with keeping the clock face and background I set up. It constantly tries to mess with it. So the Show 5 is only used for music. I have it connected via BT to a set of Sony speakers. I wish I had returned it when I still had the option to do so.

mlewis78 · 04-28-2021, 03:39 AM

My Show 5 is usually pretty good at hearing me, but occasionally when I ask it to "volume down" when it's so loud, it doesn't. Then I repeat over and over. I haven't been using for music (using the Echo for that). I use it for the Fire TV Cube sound (although there is music on soundtracks).

Once while I was watching a youtube livestream, the sound had a big hum on it. I was afraid it was the show 5 and that I would have to buy a new bluetooth speaker, but it was the fire tv cube. I did a restart and that fixed the problem.

ApK · 04-28-2021, 10:26 AM

The 1st Gen Echo here in my home office just started sounding a bit fuzzy, so decided to trade it in and get a new Dot while it still had some value. $25 trade in value plus 25% off new device purchase, Dot 4 on sale right now for $29.99 added up after tax to a net $1.98 profit on the deal.

I was going to try the Dot with the digital clock, but they don't seem to have it in black.

ApK

OtinG · 04-28-2021, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

The 1st Gen Echo here in my home office just started sounding a bit fuzzy, so decided to trade it in and get a new Dot while it still had some value. $25 trade in value plus 25% off new device purchase, Dot 4 on sale right now for $29.99 added up after tax to a net $1.98 profit on the deal.

I was going to try the Dot with the digital clock, but they don't seem to have it in black.

ApK

Pretty good trade in deal. A few years ago they would only offer me $15 for each of my Echo Taps, which had already been discontinued. So I sold them on eBay for about $35 each. But I no longer deal with eBay since they became so riddled with corrupt buyers who purchase, file a bogus grievance, then get their CC company to take back the money. eBay said they would defend us from that but they don't. I had that happen twice within six months, both times I had a good case against the buyers, but their CC companies took back the money and I never saw the items again.

ApK · 04-28-2021, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtinG

But I no longer deal with eBay since they became so riddled with corrupt buyers who purchase, file a bogus grievance, then get their CC company to take back the money. eBay said they would defend us from that but they don't. I had that happen twice within six months, both times I had a good case against the buyers, but their CC companies took back the money and I never saw the items again.

That sucks. I only use eBay occasionally as a buyer and a seller, but have never had a problem, or at least, in the very few occasions when I had a minor problem, it was as a buyer, and eBay did resolve the issue for me. As a seller, I've been fortunate, the worst I ever encountered was a non-paying bidder, where it only cost me a few days delay before I could offer the item to the next bidder. And I've only sold relatively low-value stuff. As a seller I use eBay as a garage sale or flea market table, not a storefront or a serious business opportunity.
They are still really the only game in town for what they do. Reminds me of that other thread here this week talking about how there seems to be just one real winner in any given space on the Internet.
I was just about to get a batch of stuff ready to sell this weekend. Fingers crossed.

ApK

OtinG · 04-28-2021, 07:11 PM

I only used eBay occasionally, and whenever it was an issue between a seller and a buyer eBay always took my side. Issues were few. But some buyers have learned to take their grievances directly to their credit card provider and there isn’t anything the seller or eBay can do to keep the CC provider from backing off a purchase. In one case, I sold an item for about $200 to a buyer who even gave me a favorable review. Then a year later he told his CC provider that he had never intentionally bought the item and demanded a refund, and they backed the charge off against my objections and against eBay’s objections.

ApK · 04-29-2021, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtinG

In one case, I sold an item for about $200 to a buyer who even gave me a favorable review. Then a year later he told his CC provider that he had never intentionally bought the item and demanded a refund, and they backed the charge off against my objections and against eBay’s objections.

Hm. That doesn't sound right at all. Sounds like a class action suit waiting to happen. But in any case, it doesn't seem like eBay's fault. Seems like you'd be susceptible to that scam if you choose to accept credit card payments in any way.

ApK

JSWolf · 04-29-2021, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Hm. That doesn't sound right at all. Sounds like a class action suit waiting to happen. But in any case, it doesn't seem like eBay's fault. Seems like you'd be susceptible to that scam if you choose to accept credit card payments in any way.

ApK

A credit card can be the way to pay though PayPal. There's nothing the seller can do about that.

cc_in_oh · 04-29-2021, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A credit card can be the way to pay though PayPal. There's nothing the seller can do about that.

That might be one of the reasons eBay severed its affiliation with Paypal?

OtinG · 04-29-2021, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A credit card can be the way to pay though PayPal. There's nothing the seller can do about that.

That is exactly what happened. They used a CC to pay through PayPal then a year later pulled the money back out of my PayPal account. Absolutely nothing I could do. So I stopped using eBay. eBay is filled with scam buyers nowadays anyway, so better off without them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

That might be one of the reasons eBay severed its affiliation with Paypal?

I’m sure eBay got a lot of complaints about PayPal.

JSWolf · 05-01-2021, 03:45 PM

I bought something from eBay and it wasn't as advertised. It was advertised as like new and it was clearly not. After going back and forth with the seller, I contacted PayPal and they refunded the money and did not require I send back the item.

Catlady · 05-02-2021, 04:26 PM

Anyone using Wemo smart plugs and/or the Wemo app? I had the plug set up a couple of years ago and had used it occasionally, but my home network name has changed, and so I had to set it up again. Which I thought I did (after a lot of difficulty!); it worked when I tested it. But later when I wanted to set up a timer with the app, the app couldn't find the device--it's listed, but grayed out. The app won't connect to the network. The plug is in the same place it always was when it worked. I haven't even reached the step of trying to get the Dot to control the plug. Any ideas?

John F · 05-02-2021, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Anyone using Wemo smart plugs and/or the Wemo app? I had the plug set up a couple of years ago and had used it occasionally, but my home network name has changed, and so I had to set it up again. Which I thought I did (after a lot of difficulty!); it worked when I tested it. But later when I wanted to set up a timer with the app, the app couldn't find the device--it's listed, but grayed out. The app won't connect to the network. The plug is in the same place it always was when it worked. I haven't even reached the step of trying to get the Dot to control the plug. Any ideas?

Maybe the WiFi security protocol has changed with the home network change? This happened to me.

A suggestion for next time: do screen captures of your current WiFi settings, and when you get a new WiFi router, set everything (names, passwords, protocols, ...) To the same as the old network, that way you will not need to update every connecting device.

04-28-2021, 10:26 AM	#4385
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,316 Karma: 67862884 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	The 1st Gen Echo here in my home office just started sounding a bit fuzzy, so decided to trade it in and get a new Dot while it still had some value. $25 trade in value plus 25% off new device purchase, Dot 4 on sale right now for $29.99 added up after tax to a net $1.98 profit on the deal. I was going to try the Dot with the digital clock, but they don't seem to have it in black. ApK Last edited by ApK; 04-28-2021 at 10:28 AM.

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04-21-2021, 08:04 PM	#4382
mlewis78 Guru Posts: 858 Karma: 6449772 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New York City Device: Kindle Oasis 2 (7"); HDX 8.9"; Ipad2	Yes, I know how it is with the Show "tips." It's as if they want to you watch something on the screen when all I want (unless I ask) is to have the clock show with the temperature. I have many times said "Echo, go to the home page." Recently even when I said that, it wanted to go on with what it wanted me to watch. (I call my Show 5 "Echo" because the regular speaker in the same room is Alexa.)

04-28-2021, 03:39 AM	#4384
mlewis78 Guru Posts: 858 Karma: 6449772 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New York City Device: Kindle Oasis 2 (7"); HDX 8.9"; Ipad2	My Show 5 is usually pretty good at hearing me, but occasionally when I ask it to "volume down" when it's so loud, it doesn't. Then I repeat over and over. I haven't been using for music (using the Echo for that). I use it for the Fire TV Cube sound (although there is music on soundtracks). Once while I was watching a youtube livestream, the sound had a big hum on it. I was afraid it was the show 5 and that I would have to buy a new bluetooth speaker, but it was the fire tv cube. I did a restart and that fixed the problem.

04-28-2021, 07:11 PM	#4388
OtinG Old Gadget Guy Posts: 1,906 Karma: 6854865 Join Date: Jun 2018 Device: Oasis 3, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad mini 6, iPad Air 2020, Alexa Devices	I only used eBay occasionally, and whenever it was an issue between a seller and a buyer eBay always took my side. Issues were few. But some buyers have learned to take their grievances directly to their credit card provider and there isn’t anything the seller or eBay can do to keep the CC provider from backing off a purchase. In one case, I sold an item for about $200 to a buyer who even gave me a favorable review. Then a year later he told his CC provider that he had never intentionally bought the item and demanded a refund, and they backed the charge off against my objections and against eBay’s objections.

05-01-2021, 03:45 PM	#4393
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,897 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I bought something from eBay and it wasn't as advertised. It was advertised as like new and it was clearly not. After going back and forth with the seller, I contacted PayPal and they refunded the money and did not require I send back the item.

05-02-2021, 04:26 PM	#4394
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Anyone using Wemo smart plugs and/or the Wemo app? I had the plug set up a couple of years ago and had used it occasionally, but my home network name has changed, and so I had to set it up again. Which I thought I did (after a lot of difficulty!); it worked when I tested it. But later when I wanted to set up a timer with the app, the app couldn't find the device--it's listed, but grayed out. The app won't connect to the network. The plug is in the same place it always was when it worked. I haven't even reached the step of trying to get the Dot to control the plug. Any ideas?