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Echo (2nd Generation) - Smart speaker with Alexa and Dolby processing...
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Customer reviews
- Echo (2nd Generation) - Smart speaker with Alexa and Dolby processing...
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- Customer reviews
Top positive review
AMAZING SOUND!!
July 20, 2018
I got some smart plugs so that I could turn on inside lights if we come home after dark with the app on my phone.
My 82 y.o. Dad lives with me & has a hard time walking & he's also losing his ability to see at all in the dark, because of Macular Degeneration. So the last thing I need is him tripping over something in the dark, trying to turn lights on!!
I have an Echo & Dot in my room, which I mostly use to stream music with my Amazon Music Unlimited.
I was controlling even his bedroom light & the hallway light with the app on my phone as well as my Echo.
So I bought two more Dots during prime day sale.
It's been a game changer!! My Dad struggled, even with the app on his phone to control the lights. Now that we have a Dot in his bedroom & an Echo & Dot in the living room, he's very easily learned how to ask Alexa to turn on the hallway light, his bedroom light when he's going to bed!! NO MORE STUMBLING AROUND IN THE DARK or trying to remember where he put his flashlight!!
Since the Echo Dots all sync together, once he gets to his bedroom, he tells Alexa to turn off the living room light & the hallway light when he gets to his bedroom!! This little device is a SAVING GRACE, not only for my Dad, but for me!! I don't have him calling me to "Show me again how to turn the lights on/off" with his phone app!!
It's like having someone else here that helps me take care of my Dad!!
I made a list of the commands for the lights, etc & hung one on his night stand & put the other beside his chair in the living room!!
He's also exploring, BY HIMSELF, different commands for Alexa. I've heard him ask her about the weather, baseball scores, etc. THIS LITTLE ITEM IS A TRUE GEM FOR SENIORS!! I love mine just as much & the quality of the sound thru the Echo is AMAZING for listening to music. I'm VERY PICKY about sound quality!! I have Bose speakers hooked up to my TV & have Bose ear buds as well. The quality of the sound from the Echo is just as good as Bose speakers!!
My 82 y.o. Dad lives with me & has a hard time walking & he's also losing his ability to see at all in the dark, because of Macular Degeneration. So the last thing I need is him tripping over something in the dark, trying to turn lights on!!
I have an Echo & Dot in my room, which I mostly use to stream music with my Amazon Music Unlimited.
I was controlling even his bedroom light & the hallway light with the app on my phone as well as my Echo.
So I bought two more Dots during prime day sale.
It's been a game changer!! My Dad struggled, even with the app on his phone to control the lights. Now that we have a Dot in his bedroom & an Echo & Dot in the living room, he's very easily learned how to ask Alexa to turn on the hallway light, his bedroom light when he's going to bed!! NO MORE STUMBLING AROUND IN THE DARK or trying to remember where he put his flashlight!!
Since the Echo Dots all sync together, once he gets to his bedroom, he tells Alexa to turn off the living room light & the hallway light when he gets to his bedroom!! This little device is a SAVING GRACE, not only for my Dad, but for me!! I don't have him calling me to "Show me again how to turn the lights on/off" with his phone app!!
It's like having someone else here that helps me take care of my Dad!!
I made a list of the commands for the lights, etc & hung one on his night stand & put the other beside his chair in the living room!!
He's also exploring, BY HIMSELF, different commands for Alexa. I've heard him ask her about the weather, baseball scores, etc. THIS LITTLE ITEM IS A TRUE GEM FOR SENIORS!! I love mine just as much & the quality of the sound thru the Echo is AMAZING for listening to music. I'm VERY PICKY about sound quality!! I have Bose speakers hooked up to my TV & have Bose ear buds as well. The quality of the sound from the Echo is just as good as Bose speakers!!
1,659 people found this helpful
Top critical review
My Echo was secretly listening in on me.
March 28, 2018
I have 3 Echo's and each one is now unplugged. If you go to the Alexa app and choose your device ---> settings and then history you'll find a long list of recordings the echo has made while secretly listening into your home. I had no idea this was happening and I find it very creepy. Nobody was using the wake word, etc. It just listened in and then recorded bits of conversation. I'm getting rid of them.
**UPDATE** I discussed this issue with Customer Service who, by the way, have the best Rep's in the world. Their engineers reviewed my data and concluded the sounds being recorded were coming from a TV in the room. At first it was hard to agree with them but after I listened over and over to a few of the recordings it was apparent it was from the TV. My Bad!! I'm back to being an Echo fan. 😊
**UPDATE** I discussed this issue with Customer Service who, by the way, have the best Rep's in the world. Their engineers reviewed my data and concluded the sounds being recorded were coming from a TV in the room. At first it was hard to agree with them but after I listened over and over to a few of the recordings it was apparent it was from the TV. My Bad!! I'm back to being an Echo fan. 😊
1,265 people found this helpful
Showing 11-20 of 50,835 reviews
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May 24, 2018
Difficult to connect. Cannot run it from my phones hotspot although that is listed as an option . The only way to connect it is by running your app on a separate device than hotspot. An unpractical solution. Having to use 2 seperate phones to run it is ridiculous. They need to stop advertising that option since ir is not a practical solution to areas that do not have high speed internet or wifi access . I spent a long time with customer service , he was rude and impatient, and didn't seem to have very much knowledge about how exactly to do his job. My time is valuable and I am very frustrated that Amazon's employee wasted my time. I am returning this device.
After making this review customer service called me within 15 minutes, repeatedly while I was at work and finally after subsequent calls disrupting my work day, I answered. They were trying to make my echo experience better and asked me to connect in a different way. I told them I could not talk at that time and I didn't have the device with me anyways. I could not seem to politely get him to hang up. He kept drawing the conversation out . They said that if I put the app on a separate cell phone and used my Hotspot to connect to the echo that I could then delete the app off of the other phone and continue using the echo from my personal hotspot. But when I followed their directions and then deleted the other app on someone else's phone it disconnected me and I cannot reconnect. If you would like to use Alexa off of the home Wi-Fi it works great but they should stop advertising it as hotspot compatible because it is not a practical usage. Each and every time I go in and out of range with my cell phone to the echo I have to completely reconnect it using a secondary cell phone. It takes about 15 minutes to completely hook up the echo through hotspot, so I would have to do that when I reach the edge of my yard and came back every single time. I am very dissatisfied and I feel that it was deceptive advertising. Customer service has wasted my time multiple times now with no satisfaction to the echos usage. They are not informed about the real usage of the device or how to practically help users apply the steps of connectivity.
Speaker crackles and is poor quality.
I am beyond frustrated with this experience and it makes me less likely to purchase any other merchandise from them in the future.
After making this review customer service called me within 15 minutes, repeatedly while I was at work and finally after subsequent calls disrupting my work day, I answered. They were trying to make my echo experience better and asked me to connect in a different way. I told them I could not talk at that time and I didn't have the device with me anyways. I could not seem to politely get him to hang up. He kept drawing the conversation out . They said that if I put the app on a separate cell phone and used my Hotspot to connect to the echo that I could then delete the app off of the other phone and continue using the echo from my personal hotspot. But when I followed their directions and then deleted the other app on someone else's phone it disconnected me and I cannot reconnect. If you would like to use Alexa off of the home Wi-Fi it works great but they should stop advertising it as hotspot compatible because it is not a practical usage. Each and every time I go in and out of range with my cell phone to the echo I have to completely reconnect it using a secondary cell phone. It takes about 15 minutes to completely hook up the echo through hotspot, so I would have to do that when I reach the edge of my yard and came back every single time. I am very dissatisfied and I feel that it was deceptive advertising. Customer service has wasted my time multiple times now with no satisfaction to the echos usage. They are not informed about the real usage of the device or how to practically help users apply the steps of connectivity.
Speaker crackles and is poor quality.
I am beyond frustrated with this experience and it makes me less likely to purchase any other merchandise from them in the future.
October 2, 2018
Welcome to the Amazon bait and switch. It’s called the Echo. I was a preorder and I had one of the first units and then added 3 more to my house. I used the Amazon Music Match service to get all my ITunes onto Alexa. All was well and I used it regularly. Then disaster struck. Amazon suddenly cancelled the Amazon music match service in an attempt to get you to pay a monthly fee for Amazon Music subscription service. This service has less then 40% of my music available on it and is drastically more expensive then match. I have 4 Echoes for sale and a Fire TV and Tablet. This bait amd switch taught me a leason. Do not trust Amazon products and features as they will be taken away to your detriment.
April 16, 2018
GETTING CLASSICAL MUSIC IS PROBLEMATIC...AFTER PICKING SAY AN OPERA OR SYMPHONY IN THE DIGITAL LIST
ONE HAS TO TREAT EACH MOVEMENT OR ARIA AS A SEPARATE "SONG"AND THEN SAVE IT FOR YOUR PLAYLIST
I COULD NOT MAKE AMAZON CUSTOMER PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM...AND THEY REFERRED TO EVERYTHING
AS "SONGS" . SOMEONE WHO IS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THIS MUSIC SHOULD SEE IF THEIR IS A WAY TO GET
THE COMPLETE SYMPHONY OR WHATEVER WITHOUT HAVING TO SAVE EACH PART ..JUST THE WHOLE IN ONE SHOT
OTHER WISE THE DEVICE IS AMAZING AND IT IS A KEEPER
I WAS IN TOUCH WITH AMAZON TECH SUPPORT AND FOR SOME REASON THEY WANTED ME TO LIST THE ALBUMS THAT
ALEXA WONT PLAY....THE AMOUNT OF ALBUMS THAT ALEXA FAILS TO PLAY IS LARGE,,THAT IS MOST ALBUMS
EVEN THOUGH THE ALBUM MAY HAVE "play with your echo"..ON THE SITE....I GAVE THEM A NUMBER OF ALBUMS...BUT THE
TECH TEAM SHOULD DO IT ON THEIR OWN..I ASSUME THEY HAVE AN ECHO...THEY WONT AND THEY WONT FIX IT
ONE HAS TO TREAT EACH MOVEMENT OR ARIA AS A SEPARATE "SONG"AND THEN SAVE IT FOR YOUR PLAYLIST
I COULD NOT MAKE AMAZON CUSTOMER PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM...AND THEY REFERRED TO EVERYTHING
AS "SONGS" . SOMEONE WHO IS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THIS MUSIC SHOULD SEE IF THEIR IS A WAY TO GET
THE COMPLETE SYMPHONY OR WHATEVER WITHOUT HAVING TO SAVE EACH PART ..JUST THE WHOLE IN ONE SHOT
OTHER WISE THE DEVICE IS AMAZING AND IT IS A KEEPER
I WAS IN TOUCH WITH AMAZON TECH SUPPORT AND FOR SOME REASON THEY WANTED ME TO LIST THE ALBUMS THAT
ALEXA WONT PLAY....THE AMOUNT OF ALBUMS THAT ALEXA FAILS TO PLAY IS LARGE,,THAT IS MOST ALBUMS
EVEN THOUGH THE ALBUM MAY HAVE "play with your echo"..ON THE SITE....I GAVE THEM A NUMBER OF ALBUMS...BUT THE
TECH TEAM SHOULD DO IT ON THEIR OWN..I ASSUME THEY HAVE AN ECHO...THEY WONT AND THEY WONT FIX IT
July 19, 2018
I still have my original gen 1 echo,... she's getting a bit tired, doesn't always hear you, been knocked off the end table onto the hardwood floor way too many times by the cats, leaving her top a bit crooked and wonky,...but we still love her and she does her best to keep up so she stays in the living room until she decides she wants to call it quits.
During the prime day deals I saw a 2 pack of the generation 2 echos. Seeing how the Heather Gray and the Sandstone colored echoes hopped into my shopping cart (story I told hubby) I figured it shouldn't be too hard to find a place in the house they could stay.
Well the Heather Gray echo looks very nice in our bedroom and the Sandstone looks great in the kitchen. A tiny little white echo Dot (super cute) also stowed away in the cart... all three of them get along great with each other, even our original Alexa. They are grouped together in our Alexa app and can function singly or as a group.
Not wanting to sound disloyal to our original Alexa, these newer models do sound better, a little bit more bass than I like but still better. The sound is deeper and richer. It could be it's because they're new, or maybe it's because Alexa had been dropped one too many times, whatever the reason they sound great and response time is quick.
We have them set up to control the lights and the fans around the house using a few Wi-Fi plugins and I can also have them play the same music at the same time if I ask Alexa to play through the group I set up, ....which is great because not only does the echo have room filling sound by themselves, but as a group they completely fill the entire house with sound, love it! 😍
I love these echoes, including our original one. They are used daily for one thing or another, it's so simple to set alarms, timers, play music, ask questions, make phone calls, text someone on my contact list, even play games. It's very easy to get used to having and using them in your daily routine, they are habit forming for sure and once you have one adding a few more makes the experience even better! 😊
During the prime day deals I saw a 2 pack of the generation 2 echos. Seeing how the Heather Gray and the Sandstone colored echoes hopped into my shopping cart (story I told hubby) I figured it shouldn't be too hard to find a place in the house they could stay.
Well the Heather Gray echo looks very nice in our bedroom and the Sandstone looks great in the kitchen. A tiny little white echo Dot (super cute) also stowed away in the cart... all three of them get along great with each other, even our original Alexa. They are grouped together in our Alexa app and can function singly or as a group.
Not wanting to sound disloyal to our original Alexa, these newer models do sound better, a little bit more bass than I like but still better. The sound is deeper and richer. It could be it's because they're new, or maybe it's because Alexa had been dropped one too many times, whatever the reason they sound great and response time is quick.
We have them set up to control the lights and the fans around the house using a few Wi-Fi plugins and I can also have them play the same music at the same time if I ask Alexa to play through the group I set up, ....which is great because not only does the echo have room filling sound by themselves, but as a group they completely fill the entire house with sound, love it! 😍
I love these echoes, including our original one. They are used daily for one thing or another, it's so simple to set alarms, timers, play music, ask questions, make phone calls, text someone on my contact list, even play games. It's very easy to get used to having and using them in your daily routine, they are habit forming for sure and once you have one adding a few more makes the experience even better! 😊
January 20, 2018
Not responsive. I am returning it. Amaozn is sending another one. I hope the new one is better. I also have a Dot, it response every time. I sure hope the new one works as well as the dot does. The top lights up like it hears me but nothing happen. If I give it the same command over and over again eventually it will work. Not what I was hoping for.
March 17, 2018
The Achilles heel of Amazon’s Alexa system is having to reset the devices every day. My Charter internet service sucks and if I lose internet service for just a few seconds the 6 Amazon Alexa devices become unresponsive and have to be reset EVERY TIME, and unfortunately the only way to rest them is to unplug them, and since most of the plugs are out of reach, my only option is to unplug the wire at the device. The tiny little connection feels like it’s going to break every time I try to insert it back in the hole and I’m sure that eventually it will break.
WHY ISN’T THERE A WAY TO TELL ALEXA TO RESET THE DEVICES?!?!?! Or better yet why can’t the devices just reconnect to the internet if they loose their connection?!?!?!?!?!?!
It’s the only thing that sucks about this system, but it’s a big issue, and makes me wish I’d never invested so much in these devices. Try to imagine every day when you come home from telling Alexa to turn the lights on, but instead of lights you get “BLONG - I’m sorry but I’m having trouble connecting to the internet...” and since all my lights are connected to devices, controlled by Alexa, I have to unplug Alexa, wait for it to reconnect before I have lights. And then I have to walk around unplugging, and almost breaking each Alexa device.
Fix this $h!+ Amazon!!!!!!!!!!
WHY ISN’T THERE A WAY TO TELL ALEXA TO RESET THE DEVICES?!?!?! Or better yet why can’t the devices just reconnect to the internet if they loose their connection?!?!?!?!?!?!
It’s the only thing that sucks about this system, but it’s a big issue, and makes me wish I’d never invested so much in these devices. Try to imagine every day when you come home from telling Alexa to turn the lights on, but instead of lights you get “BLONG - I’m sorry but I’m having trouble connecting to the internet...” and since all my lights are connected to devices, controlled by Alexa, I have to unplug Alexa, wait for it to reconnect before I have lights. And then I have to walk around unplugging, and almost breaking each Alexa device.
Fix this $h!+ Amazon!!!!!!!!!!
July 12, 2018
The Echo speaker as such is great. Nice design and really good sound quality for it's size.
However, I bought the device to play music via Alexa and that is what makes the whole package a very disappointing and frustrating experience. Alexa's voice recognition is just awful. She doesn't understand the name of bands, she doesn't understand the name of albums and then sometimes just plays something that is far away from what we would to listen to.
My spouse tried as well (I thought it is maybe me and my inappropriate pronunciation) and we both fail way too often to make this a pleasant and satisfactory experience.
Bottom line: Echo device is nice but the really weak link is Alexa whose voice recognition is so much worse than Siri.
However, I bought the device to play music via Alexa and that is what makes the whole package a very disappointing and frustrating experience. Alexa's voice recognition is just awful. She doesn't understand the name of bands, she doesn't understand the name of albums and then sometimes just plays something that is far away from what we would to listen to.
My spouse tried as well (I thought it is maybe me and my inappropriate pronunciation) and we both fail way too often to make this a pleasant and satisfactory experience.
Bottom line: Echo device is nice but the really weak link is Alexa whose voice recognition is so much worse than Siri.
January 7, 2018
I saw no reason to get one. I've lived 60+ years without one. But then my 80+ yo friend raved about hers. She calls her friends, plays music, orders from Amazon, etc. She had me over to show me what it could do. Hmmm, it sounds darn good! And so easy.
So I came home and ordered one. Love it. No fumbling around with CDs or LPs on the stereo. No more radio stations fading in and out and with static. Wow. The sound quality is good enough for me that I'm seriously considering getting rid of all my stereo equipment and music collection. It's now all there in this little gadget. I've even re-ordered stuff from Amazon through Alexa - so easy. Have yet to do phone calls, one thing at a time :)
I have only one regret - that I didn't order two while they were on sale.
So I came home and ordered one. Love it. No fumbling around with CDs or LPs on the stereo. No more radio stations fading in and out and with static. Wow. The sound quality is good enough for me that I'm seriously considering getting rid of all my stereo equipment and music collection. It's now all there in this little gadget. I've even re-ordered stuff from Amazon through Alexa - so easy. Have yet to do phone calls, one thing at a time :)
I have only one regret - that I didn't order two while they were on sale.
February 13, 2019
Al principio no me agrado cuando la active pues no le encontraba el español por ningun lado, llame al soporte y no me atendieron porque no hablaba inglés, despues de un rato descubri que se habia actualizado y que tenia español que alegria, ahora estoy contento pues puedo hablar con alexa, en mi idioma español, asi que si eres como yo de los que no habla inglés te la recomiendo gracias
December 15, 2017
I have all the Echos from the first one sold originally only to Prime members to both generations of Dots. This one has two excellent features. The primary one is the better sound. I listen to audiobooks, so didn't really think I would notice a difference, but indeed, I can understand the narrators even better (I have some hearing loss). Those low tones really help. Still, it isn't as good as a high quality speaker, so please just have modest expectations. I also like the wider selection of covers. Since I have no reason to touch my solid black echos, fingerprints have never been a problem. However, I do really like the shorter version next to my chair (less chance of cat knocking it over) and the grey fabric looks great. Instead of stand-out tech, it melds into the background.
Many of the features that this Echo has they have added to the other Echos and the 2nd Gen Dot such as multiple alarms and timers. So, I really appreciate the ability of Amazon to keep improving on what you already have. Except for ordering ink and certain specials via Alexa, I don't actually order stuff through the unit because typically, I order 3-5 things at once, not just one.
If you already have an Echo 1st generation, other than being shorter and having finish options, there is no real improvement in features. But the price is good and now I have 3 Echos. With the dots, that covers my living space pretty well so I have audiobooks and music everywhere.
Many of the features that this Echo has they have added to the other Echos and the 2nd Gen Dot such as multiple alarms and timers. So, I really appreciate the ability of Amazon to keep improving on what you already have. Except for ordering ink and certain specials via Alexa, I don't actually order stuff through the unit because typically, I order 3-5 things at once, not just one.
If you already have an Echo 1st generation, other than being shorter and having finish options, there is no real improvement in features. But the price is good and now I have 3 Echos. With the dots, that covers my living space pretty well so I have audiobooks and music everywhere.
There are 50,833 customer reviews and 51,813 customer ratings.
