Amazon Alexa and Echo FAQ

8-10

Does anybody use echo for podcasts? Is there a way of playing particular episodes or resuming the episode you're listening to using Alexa? When I ask it seems like she just gives the latest episode from the top every time

d31b0y

You could try the Pod-Buddy skill - http://alexa.amazon.co.uk/spa/index.html#skills/dp/B01NGTTOPK/?ref=skill_dsk_skb_sr_0 - though it looks like it's more aimed towards the American market. There is a list of supported podcasts on this website - http://fatmandev.net/pod-buddy/help
Spotify has podcast support now for certain podcasts. Not sure if the Echo will play them back though. I can get to them from my phone but not from the desktop player.
For some things, you just need an interface. This might be one of those instances.

degsie

degsie wrote: »

Oddly, I get 2FM when I say this

Me too!!

Sorry for the double post but has anyone here signed up for Amazon Unlimited? I believe it's £4 a month. Can't see what advantage it has over Spotify though as you can access Spotify on loads of devices whereas I believe the Amazon Unlimited is for the Echo only.

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Hi all have the echo in my living room and bought the dot for my kitchen. Wouldn't mind getting a bit more power for the speaker in the kitchen so any recommendations on a decent bluetooth speaker I could pair with the dot?

bk

Dr.Winston O'Boogie wrote: »

Hi all have the echo in my living room and bought the dot for my kitchen. Wouldn't mind getting a bit more power for the speaker in the kitchen so any recommendations on a decent bluetooth speaker I could pair with the dot?

UE Boom or Megaboom. Lots of folks, myself included, using the Dot with these.

Nelbert

Is there any way to delay a command with Alexa? I tried in 2 minutes turn off the lights but it turned them off straight after and when I tried again it just set a timer but didn't actually do it.....

Thinking of a temporary measure till I get a second / collection of Echo dots where I say lights out in 2-3 minutes while locking up downstairs before going to bed.

giftgrub

What's the story with multiple Bluetooth speakers? Thinking about getting another one for the living room in addition to the kitchen.

setanta1984

Nelbert wrote: »

Is there any way to delay a command with Alexa? I tried in 2 minutes turn off the lights but it turned them off straight after and when I tried again it just set a timer but didn't actually do it.....

Thinking of a temporary measure till I get a second / collection of Echo dots where I say lights out in 2-3 minutes while locking up downstairs before going to bed.

I use a Yonomi routine to do this (assuming you are using Hue) - can set the lights to fade out over a period of time.

d31b0y

bk wrote: »

UE Boom or Megaboom. Lots of folks, myself included, using the Dot with these.

These Ankers are supposed to be very good too if your budget is a bit tighter;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Wireless-Bluetooth-Radiators-Subwoofers/dp/B0109TWZ54/ref=sr_1_19
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-SoundCore-Dual-Driver-Distortion-Microphone/dp/B016MO90GW/ref=sr_1_3

I currently have a soundblaster speaker of some sort as I had to buy in D.I.D. with very limited choice but I will probably pick up that first anker speaker soon.

mrcheez

Dr.Winston O'Boogie wrote: »

Hi all have the echo in my living room and bought the dot for my kitchen. Wouldn't mind getting a bit more power for the speaker in the kitchen so any recommendations on a decent bluetooth speaker I could pair with the dot?

I got a JBL Charge 3 brand new in the Amazon warehouse sales for £88 and it's blowing my mind, but it's a little bit more pricey at the mo.

Bass is incredible.

bk

setanta1984 wrote: »

I use a Yonomi routine to do this (assuming you are using Hue) - can set the lights to fade out over a period of time.

I was about to say. Yonomi is great for this. I've a Yonomi routine called "night mode" and it:

- Turns off TV/AV equipment (Harmony Hub)
- Turn on the bedside Hue Bloom lamp
- Gradually turns off all the other Hue lights over 60 seconds

Nelbert

bk wrote: »

I was about to say. Yonomi is great for this. I've a Yonomi routine called "night mode" and it:

- Turns off TV/AV equipment (Harmony Hub)
- Turn on the bedside Hue Bloom lamp
- Gradually turns off all the other Hue lights over 60 seconds

Using a Vera Edge z-wave controller pretending to be a hue. Will just setup a scene called bedtime or something that turns the lights off on a delay. They already turn off automatically at 12. It's just to cover early nights.

8-10

d31b0y wrote: »

bk wrote: »

UE Boom or Megaboom. Lots of folks, myself included, using the Dot with these.

These Ankers are supposed to be very good too if your budget is a bit tighter;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Wireless-Bluetooth-Radiators-Subwoofers/dp/B0109TWZ54/ref=sr_1_19
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-SoundCore-Dual-Driver-Distortion-Microphone/dp/B016MO90GW/ref=sr_1_3

I currently have a soundblaster speaker of some sort as I had to buy in D.I.D. with very limited choice but I will probably pick up that first anker speaker soon.

I have this one. The battery life is unbelievably good. Probably makes it a better recommendation for anyone looking for a portable speaker. Plenty of people using it with the dot and must be the best around at that price

duffer247

Can Echo be used as a Bluetooth speaker - as in if I'm listening to something on my phone e.g. podcast, can I just pair it with Alexa?

8-10

duffer247 wrote: »

Can Echo be used as a Bluetooth speaker - as in if I'm listening to something on my phone e.g. podcast, can I just pair it with Alexa?

Sure can, you just can't use it as a speaker for phone calls - at least not out of the box.

degsie

duffer247 wrote: »

Can Echo be used as a Bluetooth speaker - as in if I'm listening to something on my phone e.g. podcast, can I just pair it with Alexa?

Yes you can. Just say 'Alexa, pair bluetooth' and follow instructions.

randombar

Anyone using with Hive?

Also what's the best set up for Hue? Have added the skill and searched devices and all the stupid scenes came with it.

fionny

Anyone in Cork managed to get Corks RedFM radio station going? It keeps picking up a redfm from god knows where.... tried play 104fm 105fm 106fm, Corks RedFM, 106 Red FM... nothing works (aside from picking it in the app obvioulsy)

d31b0y

Try "play Red FM 106" or "play Red FM 1061".
I don't have access to my echo to test but I have a little theory that I will share if that works.

fionny

d31b0y wrote: »

Try "play Red FM 106" or "play Red FM 1061".
I don't have access to my echo to test but I have a little theory that I will share if that works.

No joy I'm afraid

d31b0y

poop, my theory is wrong so.

uck51js9zml2yt

I've encountered the one thing that can bring my iot home tumbling down with a bang........My broadband is down the last 2 days:(

garbeth

Can't test it here but try each number from .0 to .9 for each of these numbers 104 to 106 so say play 104.0 on tunein. Play 104.1 on tunein and so on.

It worked for Newstalk for me

mossym

Surely TuneIn just uses a single frequency? The reason for the slight variations in radio frequencies was to avoid interference and ghosting, that's hardly a problem on a stream.

bk

Ariel Big Schwa wrote: »

I've encountered the one thing that can bring my iot home tumbling down with a bang........My broadband is down the last 2 days:(

That is why I've a strong perference for HA tech that continues to work or has a decent fall back mode if internet is down.

That is another thing Hue got right. Continues to work well even if your internet is down (with the exception of remote access obviously).

Netatmo at least can be physically controlled at the thermostat even if the internet goes down (believe it or not there are one or two thermostats that won't, insane!).

Harmony Hub continues to work no problem without internet access, you just can't change the settings.

I think Smartthings Hub is increasingly moving to local control and processing.

One thing I'm surprised by, I don't think anyone has build a LTE backup module for Smartthings hub. Would be very useful as a backup channel, similar to what you get with decent alarm systems.

d31b0y wrote: »

poop, my theory is wrong so.

My theory is that Tunein is like a search engine. It's backend database is constantly changing, so every time you do a search, it can give a different answer.

The solution is for them to allow you to create a Tunein account and create some favourite radio stations and default to those first.

Doodah7

I notice now that asking Alexa for Radio Nova now gives Radio Nova 101.5FM in Paris!!!

frash

tallpaul wrote: »

I notice now that asking Alexa for Radio Nova now gives Radio Nova 101.5FM in Paris!!!

It's always done that for me - could never get it to play the Dublin version.

seamus

The full title of Red FM on Tunein is "Red FM - 106.1 FM Cork".

So maybe try ask for "106.1 FM Cork" or similar?

Or even "Red FM Cork"

d31b0y

I tried Red FM Cork. It confirmed the station I want to listen to but gave me silence.
When I tried Red FM Ireland, it confirmed the station but then told me there was no such station so I think the "Red FM Cork" is the right path but not sure why it wouldn't play.