Discussion
Has anyone tried out how quietly and how far away from it you can whisper 'Alexa' and still wake it up? I'd been speaking normally, maybe a slightly raised voice, to wake it. Then yesterday I mumbled something that must have sounded like Alexa, and it lit up. So then I was whispering to it, standing next to it and standing in the doorway to see how sensitive it was. Yes it's very sensitive. Yes I was bored 
Edited by ajprice on Thursday 29th December 09:17
Bought one for my 12 year old's Christmas as I wanted to get him some sort of speaker and alarm clock set up which didn't involve a screen (do NOT want him to have his phone with him at night).
The voice recognition works surprisingly well. Integration with Spotify was fine (2nd time round). Audible works fine. Alarms, calendar, do list all good. Will hook up some Phillips Hue lighting next.
Given that it's of similar size to a Bose Mini Soundlink the sound quality is pretty poor but I guess you're paying for the AI not the sound. It's OK for a kitchen or bedroom but it it was for me I'd have just got a Dot* and plugged it onto one of the amps dotted around.
But my son loves it and has a lot of fun with it so on that basis it's a hit.
The voice recognition works surprisingly well. Integration with Spotify was fine (2nd time round). Audible works fine. Alarms, calendar, do list all good. Will hook up some Phillips Hue lighting next.
Given that it's of similar size to a Bose Mini Soundlink the sound quality is pretty poor but I guess you're paying for the AI not the sound. It's OK for a kitchen or bedroom but it it was for me I'd have just got a Dot* and plugged it onto one of the amps dotted around.
But my son loves it and has a lot of fun with it so on that basis it's a hit.
- I'll probably get the Google version next year when it's out as this is mainly a Google/Android household
Like others I got a Dot for Christmas (from my Son) and I'm very impressed with it.
Thanks to this thread I've turned off the voice order thingy! My wife would have a field day with that!
He also gave me a very nice Sony Bluetooth speaker, but it goes to 'sleep' after a while so I had a play and if I say 'Alexa Bluetooth' she 'wakes' the speaker.
It wouldn't recognise my post code but insisted that I'm in a village about 10 miles away. So I filled in a feedback form and got a reply in less than an hour, they apologised for the issue and said they would pass the matter on to the Alexa development team. Very impressive customer service!
Thanks to this thread I've turned off the voice order thingy! My wife would have a field day with that!
He also gave me a very nice Sony Bluetooth speaker, but it goes to 'sleep' after a while so I had a play and if I say 'Alexa Bluetooth' she 'wakes' the speaker.
It wouldn't recognise my post code but insisted that I'm in a village about 10 miles away. So I filled in a feedback form and got a reply in less than an hour, they apologised for the issue and said they would pass the matter on to the Alexa development team. Very impressive customer service!
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Echo has really opened my eyes as to how cool it really is. We are moving house in the summer so will look at building a whole house set up, but the price of hive plugs is quite scarey - £30 each?We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Bit of a personal question but how much have you spent so far, including the heating bit?
I am in a bit of a quandary too - I am on the cusp of being completely converted to Apple - we have Apple TV, Iphones/Ipads and was about to change the PC to a Mac. All my movies/music/photos are within Plex run by the PC - I do not really want to undo all that work. Is there any integration between the Apple line and Echo line?
Also, I bought an Ipad cover through the echo yesterday on Prime - Alexa asked me for the pin number to confirm the purchase.
mattyn1 said:
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Echo has really opened my eyes as to how cool it really is. We are moving house in the summer so will look at building a whole house set up, but the price of hive plugs is quite scarey - £30 each?We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Bit of a personal question but how much have you spent so far, including the heating bit?
I am in a bit of a quandary too - I am on the cusp of being completely converted to Apple - we have Apple TV, Iphones/Ipads and was about to change the PC to a Mac. All my movies/music/photos are within Plex run by the PC - I do not really want to undo all that work. Is there any integration between the Apple line and Echo line?
Also, I bought an Ipad cover through the echo yesterday on Prime - Alexa asked me for the pin number to confirm the purchase.
We got 3 Hive plugs on an offer (£50) a while ago, when they first came out. Since then we've added 4 more at £27 each (Amazon are cheaper than Hive themselves) and having collected Amazon vouchers via Quidco, we've not spent that much really. The advantage for us is that you can still use the Hive plugs via the app, so even when not in the house you're not tied to using it with Echo.
Years ago, in a flat I owned I have full X10 stuff, although it was all button / timer orientated. It does feel like Home Automation is becoming a viable option.
As for Apple / Amazon mtegration - it seems limited, apps aside.
It's quite good fun, but the "intelligence" is all over the place currently.
Being able to say "Alexa play that song that goes like <lyrics>" genuinely feels like a Tomorrows World moment, but other simple questions get the stock "hmm, I don't know the answer" or whatever. It's some distance away from being a natural language AI I think, kinda feels like a beta for a future product that gets it right.
Genuinely surprised that Amazon ordering is enabled by default.
Then there's this which is a bit scary.
The lack of any parental control, even though it is a tricky proposition (voice identification), is surprising.
Being able to say "Alexa play that song that goes like <lyrics>" genuinely feels like a Tomorrows World moment, but other simple questions get the stock "hmm, I don't know the answer" or whatever. It's some distance away from being a natural language AI I think, kinda feels like a beta for a future product that gets it right.
Genuinely surprised that Amazon ordering is enabled by default.
Then there's this which is a bit scary.
The lack of any parental control, even though it is a tricky proposition (voice identification), is surprising.
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Have you looked at Hue? Bulbs and physical light switches available We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
pmanson said:
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Have you looked at Hue? Bulbs and physical light switches available We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
pmanson said:
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Have you looked at Hue? Bulbs and physical light switches available We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
The bulbs aren't compatible with our light fittings.
I want physicial, wall mounted light switches to replace the existing ones, that are not dimmers - just on / off.
Nimby said:
I'd hoped the Echo Dot would see the Fire TV box as a Bluetooth speaker and output through the AV system, rather than the internal speaker.
Is that so unreasonable? They pair OK but I can't get it to work.
I haven't even managed to get them to pair up, it shows in the device list on the app but she seems to think I watch too much TV because she just tells me there is no such thing. Think I might need to stop it seeing the stick first. For something that is meant to make things easier we do seem to spend a lot of time setting the damn things up Is that so unreasonable? They pair OK but I can't get it to work.
Podie said:
pmanson said:
Podie said:
Well, they're breeding in our house
We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
Have you looked at Hue? Bulbs and physical light switches available We now have 2 dots, connected to Hive (heating and water work well) and 7 Hive plugs connected to various table lamps around the house, and one to the kettle for the early morning starts.
Starting to look at light switches now... lightwaveRF looks good, but I don't want dimmers - any recommendations / suggestions?
The bulbs aren't compatible with our light fittings.
I want physicial, wall mounted light switches to replace the existing ones, that are not dimmers - just on / off.
Anyone connected a PLAYBULB Bluetooth Candle to Alexa? Thought it might be handy if creeping round at night not wanting to put main lights on.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PC1V3XU/ref=wl_it_d...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PC1V3XU/ref=wl_it_d...
Got one for my birthday. Loving it so far, i use it for very mundane stuff like shopping lists and adding appointments to calendars, or timers when cooking. I love throwing random questions or film quotes at her, see what she says. She was definitely coded by kids of the 80s
Been looking at cheapo Chinese aliexpress WiFi bulbs for a bit of multicoloured fun. And a nest thing when I eventually get round to putting the new boiler in, not really a job for winter. But it's looking like semi automated homes are very much with us.
Been looking at cheapo Chinese aliexpress WiFi bulbs for a bit of multicoloured fun. And a nest thing when I eventually get round to putting the new boiler in, not really a job for winter. But it's looking like semi automated homes are very much with us.
Wife would like one of these as a late Xmas present, ignoring the fact she already had twice as much spent on her as on me 
But I don't want to get one if it doesn't do what she wants.
So,will Alexa :
1) be able to find a recipe,either from an skill that has a database, or from a webpage, either for a specific item,eg curry, or suggestions from an ingredients list
2) stream music, is it from another PC, or via something like Spotify.Will a free Spotify account be OK? Or if I keep Amazon Prime, will it stream from Amazon music?
3) will it work with rubbish internet,as here it is dreadful
4) do Google searches
5) is there a definitive list of what it can do, of third party skills etc,to see if it is worth getting...I suspect she thinks it will do more than actually possible...it isn't Marvin the paranoid android after all
Sorry if this has been asked before, can't read the whole thread at the minute due to the aforementioned rubbish internet, which has taken 25 minutes just to load this page!
Thanks
But I don't want to get one if it doesn't do what she wants.
So,will Alexa :
1) be able to find a recipe,either from an skill that has a database, or from a webpage, either for a specific item,eg curry, or suggestions from an ingredients list
2) stream music, is it from another PC, or via something like Spotify.Will a free Spotify account be OK? Or if I keep Amazon Prime, will it stream from Amazon music?
3) will it work with rubbish internet,as here it is dreadful
4) do Google searches
5) is there a definitive list of what it can do, of third party skills etc,to see if it is worth getting...I suspect she thinks it will do more than actually possible...it isn't Marvin the paranoid android after all
Sorry if this has been asked before, can't read the whole thread at the minute due to the aforementioned rubbish internet, which has taken 25 minutes just to load this page!
Thanks
Just how bad is your internet ?
It does not use a lot but when streaming it depends on the source
Cut and paste:
"What can you ask Alexa?
There are plenty of things you can ask Alexa to do. A feature called Skills in the Alexa app will enable you to customise your Echo device with capabilities to suit your preferences.
There are a number of different skill categories within the Skills section of the app, including Go Places, Stay Informed, Make Your Home Smarter and Be Entertained. To get started, you just have to tap Enable Skill when you've found one that is suited to you.
Some will require you to link to an existing account or separate subscription to use. For example, to use Uber with Alexa, you'll need to have signed into your Uber account within the Skills section of the the Alexa app. Here are just a few examples of what you can ask Alexa to do.
"Alexa, wake me up at 7 in the morning"
"Alexa, ask Skyscanner for a flight to New York"
"Alexa, ask The Telegraph for the top stories"
"Alexa, what's on my calendar today?"
"Alexa, what's the weather in London?"
"Alexa, play Taylor Swift from Amazon Music"
"Alexa, how's my commute?"
"Alexa, shuffle my Favourites playlist"
"Alexa, turn it up"
"Alexa, will it rain tomorrow?"
"Alexa, read my audiobook"
"Alexa, what's in the news?"
"Alexa, ask Uber to request a ride"
"Alexa, open Just Eat and ask for my last order"
"Alexa, turn on the coffee machine"
"Alexa, turn on all the lights"
"Alexa, set the master bedroom to 20 degrees"
"Alexa, ask Jamie Oliver for a recipe"
What apps and services work with Alexa?
Numerous companies have announced partnerships with Amazon Echo, as you will have seen from some of the questions above. Here are some of the services that work with Alexa and what they mean you can do.
Just Eat
The Just Eat partnership means you can get Alexa to order you a take away from one of the thousands of restaurants it has available.
Uber
Need an Uber from home? No problem. Just ask Alexa to request you one and you'll have a driver on its way to you.
National Rail
Want to know what your commute has in store for you before you leave the house? Ask Alexa to check and she will pull in the information from National Rail regarding train times and schedules.
The Guardian
For those that read The Guardian, Alexa will give you a rundown of the paper's top stories so you can find out which ones you'll want to read before your commute.
The Telegraph
Like The Guardian, the partnership with The Telegraph means users can ask Alexa for this paper's top stories too.
Sky Sports
Want to know how your favourite football team is doing? Or how your rival team is doing? Just ask Alexa and she'll deliver the bad news in her lovely accent.
Jamie Oliver
Need a recipe from the Jamie Oliver app but have your hands full? Just ask Alexa and she'll find it for you so you can carry on with whatever you're doing.
Fitbit
Want to know how you slept or how many steps you've done? Fitbit's partnership with Echo means you can just ask Alexa and she'll let you know. No need to open the Fitbit app.
Skyscanner
Take me to New York. The partnership with Skyscanner allows users to ask Alexa for flight dates and prices using a natural conversation search method.
TuneIn
For those that love a random radio station, the TuneIn partnership with Echo allows you to ask Alexa to find your favourite station and listen to it all day.
RadioPlayer
Like TuneIn, RadioPlayer offers numerous radio stations meaning you can ask Alexa to recommend you one or just play one you know you like.
Spotify
The Spotify partnerships allows users to request songs, artists or playlists through Alexa, which she will then play through Echo's 360-degree omni-directional audio.
Laundrapp
Have a suit or dress that have needed dry cleaning for months? Ask Alexa to take care of it and the partnership with Laundrapp means they will be collected, cleaned and redelivered.
BMW
BMW Connected is available as a Skill, allowing users to ask Alexa for an update on their fuel and battery levels, as well as ask her to lock their car remotely.
Tado
The partnership with smart heating system Tado means users of the system can ask Alexa to set, increase or decrease their home temperature without moving a muscle.
Netatmo
Like Tado, the collaboration with Netatmo means users with this heating system can also ask Alexa to turn the temperature of their house up or down.
Hive
British Gas-owned Hive is another smarthome partner of Echo, allowing users to ask Alexa to turn the heating up or down, turn lights on or off, as well as turn anything with a Hive Active plug on or off.
Neato
Neato's collaboration with Echo means you can ask Alexa to tell your Botvac Connected robot vacuum cleaner to start, stop, pause or resume cleaning. More commands will also be coming in the future, such as scheduling.
Philips Hue
Need to turn off the bedroom light, or all the lights? The Philips Hue partnership allows you to control your Hue lights by asking Alexa rather than having to go into the app.
EDF Energy
The EDF Energy partnership allows users to ask Alexa to access their energy account, check their next payment data give a meter reading, without lifting a finger.
TP Link
The partnership with TP-Link means users with any of the company's smart plugs or bulbs can ask Alexa to control them with their voice.
WeMo
Like TP-Link, the WeMo collaboration means users can ask Alexa to turn their WeMo connected devices off or on without needing to open the app.
Honeywell
Have a Honeywell connected system? Just ask Alexa to turn your heating up or down in and she'll make sure it gets done.
SmartThings
SmartThings is also a partner of Echo, offering users the ability to command their smart home through Alexa, whether it's turning the lights off or the temperature up.
Nest
The Nest compatibility with Echo means users can control their thermostat through Alexa, like other smart heating systems on this list. You can set a specific target temperature, lower the target temperature, as well as say things like "I'm too hot".
Sonos
It's not available yet, but Sonos has announced it will add Alexa voice support in 2017, meaning you'll be able to ask the personal assistant to play music in your living room without even opening the Sonos app.
The Grand Tour
Amazon's Grand Tour companion app compatibility means users will receive a clue from Alexa every Thursday about that week's upcoming episode."
It does not use a lot but when streaming it depends on the source
Cut and paste:
"What can you ask Alexa?
There are plenty of things you can ask Alexa to do. A feature called Skills in the Alexa app will enable you to customise your Echo device with capabilities to suit your preferences.
There are a number of different skill categories within the Skills section of the app, including Go Places, Stay Informed, Make Your Home Smarter and Be Entertained. To get started, you just have to tap Enable Skill when you've found one that is suited to you.
Some will require you to link to an existing account or separate subscription to use. For example, to use Uber with Alexa, you'll need to have signed into your Uber account within the Skills section of the the Alexa app. Here are just a few examples of what you can ask Alexa to do.
"Alexa, wake me up at 7 in the morning"
"Alexa, ask Skyscanner for a flight to New York"
"Alexa, ask The Telegraph for the top stories"
"Alexa, what's on my calendar today?"
"Alexa, what's the weather in London?"
"Alexa, play Taylor Swift from Amazon Music"
"Alexa, how's my commute?"
"Alexa, shuffle my Favourites playlist"
"Alexa, turn it up"
"Alexa, will it rain tomorrow?"
"Alexa, read my audiobook"
"Alexa, what's in the news?"
"Alexa, ask Uber to request a ride"
"Alexa, open Just Eat and ask for my last order"
"Alexa, turn on the coffee machine"
"Alexa, turn on all the lights"
"Alexa, set the master bedroom to 20 degrees"
"Alexa, ask Jamie Oliver for a recipe"
What apps and services work with Alexa?
Numerous companies have announced partnerships with Amazon Echo, as you will have seen from some of the questions above. Here are some of the services that work with Alexa and what they mean you can do.
Just Eat
The Just Eat partnership means you can get Alexa to order you a take away from one of the thousands of restaurants it has available.
Uber
Need an Uber from home? No problem. Just ask Alexa to request you one and you'll have a driver on its way to you.
National Rail
Want to know what your commute has in store for you before you leave the house? Ask Alexa to check and she will pull in the information from National Rail regarding train times and schedules.
The Guardian
For those that read The Guardian, Alexa will give you a rundown of the paper's top stories so you can find out which ones you'll want to read before your commute.
The Telegraph
Like The Guardian, the partnership with The Telegraph means users can ask Alexa for this paper's top stories too.
Sky Sports
Want to know how your favourite football team is doing? Or how your rival team is doing? Just ask Alexa and she'll deliver the bad news in her lovely accent.
Jamie Oliver
Need a recipe from the Jamie Oliver app but have your hands full? Just ask Alexa and she'll find it for you so you can carry on with whatever you're doing.
Fitbit
Want to know how you slept or how many steps you've done? Fitbit's partnership with Echo means you can just ask Alexa and she'll let you know. No need to open the Fitbit app.
Skyscanner
Take me to New York. The partnership with Skyscanner allows users to ask Alexa for flight dates and prices using a natural conversation search method.
TuneIn
For those that love a random radio station, the TuneIn partnership with Echo allows you to ask Alexa to find your favourite station and listen to it all day.
RadioPlayer
Like TuneIn, RadioPlayer offers numerous radio stations meaning you can ask Alexa to recommend you one or just play one you know you like.
Spotify
The Spotify partnerships allows users to request songs, artists or playlists through Alexa, which she will then play through Echo's 360-degree omni-directional audio.
Laundrapp
Have a suit or dress that have needed dry cleaning for months? Ask Alexa to take care of it and the partnership with Laundrapp means they will be collected, cleaned and redelivered.
BMW
BMW Connected is available as a Skill, allowing users to ask Alexa for an update on their fuel and battery levels, as well as ask her to lock their car remotely.
Tado
The partnership with smart heating system Tado means users of the system can ask Alexa to set, increase or decrease their home temperature without moving a muscle.
Netatmo
Like Tado, the collaboration with Netatmo means users with this heating system can also ask Alexa to turn the temperature of their house up or down.
Hive
British Gas-owned Hive is another smarthome partner of Echo, allowing users to ask Alexa to turn the heating up or down, turn lights on or off, as well as turn anything with a Hive Active plug on or off.
Neato
Neato's collaboration with Echo means you can ask Alexa to tell your Botvac Connected robot vacuum cleaner to start, stop, pause or resume cleaning. More commands will also be coming in the future, such as scheduling.
Philips Hue
Need to turn off the bedroom light, or all the lights? The Philips Hue partnership allows you to control your Hue lights by asking Alexa rather than having to go into the app.
EDF Energy
The EDF Energy partnership allows users to ask Alexa to access their energy account, check their next payment data give a meter reading, without lifting a finger.
TP Link
The partnership with TP-Link means users with any of the company's smart plugs or bulbs can ask Alexa to control them with their voice.
WeMo
Like TP-Link, the WeMo collaboration means users can ask Alexa to turn their WeMo connected devices off or on without needing to open the app.
Honeywell
Have a Honeywell connected system? Just ask Alexa to turn your heating up or down in and she'll make sure it gets done.
SmartThings
SmartThings is also a partner of Echo, offering users the ability to command their smart home through Alexa, whether it's turning the lights off or the temperature up.
Nest
The Nest compatibility with Echo means users can control their thermostat through Alexa, like other smart heating systems on this list. You can set a specific target temperature, lower the target temperature, as well as say things like "I'm too hot".
Sonos
It's not available yet, but Sonos has announced it will add Alexa voice support in 2017, meaning you'll be able to ask the personal assistant to play music in your living room without even opening the Sonos app.
The Grand Tour
Amazon's Grand Tour companion app compatibility means users will receive a clue from Alexa every Thursday about that week's upcoming episode."
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