Amazon Alexa Reviews

by RH2S

Our sons and our bedroom are close together. He has an echo kids. When we say good morning Routine it plays on our echo in our bedroom instead of his bedroom. We constantly miss listening to our morning news and weather. Other than changing Alexa’s name we wish you could make Alexa ignore a 2,3,and 4 year old. It was cute at first but now it totally annoying to the point where we just want to get rid of Alexa and the 4 units we bought. I like being able not to have to talk to Alexa and being able to type commands or to switch buttons. I don’t like the volume control as it blasted as it jumps several volume levels at a time and help destroy my new very expensive speaker system on my stereo which also is hooked to sound our TV. This is bad having Alexa listen to your 3 year old crank up the volume. A lot would have to change for me to ever give it 5 stars. There are some nice features but are outweighed by the bad. Alexa needs more and better Setting Controls and a way to ignore small children who like to change music every 5 seconds. I want to turn on my garage lights first and after I scrolled through every other light in the house I finally arrive to where I can turn the switch on; you should be able to arrange the switches the way you want. Still haven’t figured Kids Free time out. Hard to have other main adult family members use AmazonAlexa too; only one master.

by Clamsterdam

AmazonAlexa would be great if there were more control over the items you have connected. Every time I open AmazonAlexa it’s discovered the same devices again. I have duplicates and triples of just about every device. I’m aware of why it’s happening, but there’s no way to stop it from happening. There’s no way to hide devices and getting rid of items is painfully slow and tedious. In the end it’s not even worth it because the next time you run AmazonAlexa it will just re-discover all of the devices that you just spent hours deleting. Also, there’s no easy way to distinguish which of the multiples are the devices you’ve actually set up for routines or rooms. Essentially you have to turn things on and off to see which ones respond before you can determine the ones that need to be removed. Not like it matters though because of the aforementioned comment about them just coming back. I love Alexa, but there needs to be a better way to manage devices and for Christ’s sake please give us a way to do away with all of these duplicates!!!! I’m tired of having to spend hours re-doing my entire smart home. Maybe stop pushing out all of these new devices and work on your app infrastructure. As of right now your devices are smart but your app is clearly the kid in class who just doesn’t get it.

by SmeeIsMe

The Alexa app, for me, is only used in connection with my Kindle so that I can utilize the voice feature of Alexa to read my kindle book. The front face of AmazonAlexa doesn’t allow for ease of navigating between starting/stopping the playback of the book or rewinding to catch a missed sentence. Regardless of Alexa’s lack of inflection and intonation (after all, it’s not the audiobook recording of the story and truly is just the monotone of Alexa’s voice), AmazonAlexa glitches enough that she repeats multiple sentences within the same chapter causing me, the “reader” to be throughly confused. Fortunately, but rather time consuming and a bit frustrating, the kindle app holds the “print” version of the book for my own ease in referencing. I’ve had to go back to do that. While I’m not complaining that I actually need to read the book for comprehension purposes thanks to her “glory”, having Alexa read to you that “lives” (as in “he lives for sugar”) not be read as “lives” (as in “he took fifteen lives in the war”) is chuckle-inducing but again, frustrating. She is, of course, a computer. But, as a computer, I figured she should be smarter than that mispronunciation debacle.

TL;DR: AmazonAlexa isn’t super user friendly for book readers; the voice/intelligence of the personification of Alexa could use some work

by Cadenza2

I don’t regret having my Echo, Show and Dot; however, I don’t find the programming and navigating AmazonAlexa to be nearly as user-friendly as I would expect, given Amazon’s resources. Maybe it is because I live in the Apple ecosphere where most things just work. Perhaps it is growing pains with AI, since Siri is Apple’s weakest link. People shouldn’t need an app to learn how to use an app. I also find that I discard most of the skills as fairly useless. I love things like Find My Phone, but a lot of the sleep sounds, etc. are low quality compared to other apps I use. I had to get a new cheap coffee pot for her to control with the plug since she can only work with a toggle, no buttons. I understand why, but wish she could control my Cuisinart. The Show will put up a video I want to watch, but move on before I can ask for it. Asking for it after it isn’t on the screen doesn’t work. My echo used to be very sensitive, but now I have to yell at her several times to turn off an alarm. What’s with that? I like Reminders, timers, alarms, weather and my morning flash briefing, which I need to edit, since some is either an ad or just annoying. Please work on making the interface more intuitive.

by Slow Solo Traveler

I have 4 Echo devices in 2 locations, running on two disparate WiFi networks. Each site has 1 main Echo device that serves a studio apartment and one Echo dot in the bathrooms at each site. The new round devices are in the second site. It appears that there are problems with Alexa discriminating between devices in the two networks and I regularly have to go to AmazonAlexa to play my regularly requested from Tune In, particularly from the new large round Echo device. Also, this device often cannot discern my whispering voice or answers without whispering, even when I reactivate whisper mode over and over.

I do, generally, like having Alexa at my beck and call. Since music is not my major usage, I cannot testify how the new round device operates. I definitely like the look: I have the dusty blue. But I think there is tweaking required to the new devices too get their voice responses operating at the same level I have with my second generation column Echo device.

I still have much to learn and more skills to activate at my second site, which I will continue to do.

by Ssaurez1

Very difficult to make routines or control things around the house. It should be much easier to see any decide or gadgets around the house, light bulbs or speakers, outlets. Still a lot to work on Alex’s capabilities to make her more efficient. I’ll be happy when in 1,2,3 minutes and she would be able to see and discover every new devise found in the house or any Bluetooth gadgets she did not know. Phone calls shouldn’t be a problem if Alexa is connected to my network regardless if she's connected to my phone call should be allowed and what's going in with WhatsApp? It's worldwide as possible why not to give her access to use it to call other countries? That's really a plus ++++. . Once Akexa has access to the network it should be easy to discover anything hooked up to the same network via Bluetooth or wifi it's all password protected and in the same house why d8es she need constant permission? She should be able to discover my car Ior husband car or the house or office callif she has been there once and access was granted why can't she always has clearance? Constantly having to connect her tiny cell if leave the house then she gets totally disconnected. Akexa should be able to call my cell in her own to ask if she should turn on the lights for my dogs. That's how efficient she should be and she's capable, just have to work the perks..?

by Jordan_GirlonFire

AmazonAlexa takes forever to load, but I’m willing to accept this could partially be due to my older phone. However, I can’t fully utilize so many of the “features” in AmazonAlexa . For iHeartRadio, there’s no option to log in using Facebook through the Alexa app, so I’d have to create a brand new account to listen to podcasts and music stations through my Echo Dot.
I couldn’t properly finish creating my Food Network Kitchen profile in the Alexa app, nor would it finish letting me log in successfully.
I couldn’t even save my home address, work address, or the address for basically anything else through AmazonAlexa .
I gave up trying to see what else I could do in AmazonAlexa for now because I got so frustrated with all these features I apparently have but cannot use. Please have your developers go thoroughly through AmazonAlexa to fix these bugs and others I’m sure they are to find.
Other than that, I’ve discovered much I can use my Dot for using AmazonAlexa, and there are features that do properly work (for now), which is why I felt to rate 3 stars instead of 1 or 2.

by T Behave

I met to put two stars but give Siri -2 stars. Some kind of offline directories to store functions, previous commands, questions with results in mostly a text format a img file and/or but not limited to PDFs or a simpler way or combo all to zipped but there is a way better way. An A.I assistant should be able to help when you need it. I can google stuff also so when I am in a area or structure that kills signal the A.I becomes to me an alarm clock that is triggered but a word not an automaton that can actually assist me when and where ever. Even a start is an offline “q&a” storage to help user stop relooking up already acquire knowledge and simply say you already know that is there another way you would like to learn it... I barely understand why Siri is even on my phone or devices. Alexa should have a complete offline version that communicates to cloud base Alexa as it would to us. Alexa does a great job getting to know people but that shouldn’t be a big deal I walk in to an office I don’t ask the secretary if you want to be my friend no it’s our job but Alexa could be more of a friend that way later

by C1349

I have had anEcho and Echo Dot since Dec 2016. It worked great to turn lights on/off. Way too many updates in last 2 years. the fact that you have to unplug the devices after an update—don’t remember any instructions to that effect—maybe Alexa could send a notification. I have a smart plug connected and it worked seamlessly for about a year. Then the Kasa app started sending updates and Alexa needed updates too. It’s now an unreliable mess. Got used to playing The Daily podcast or music for 30 Min at night. It sometimes works. It repeats the specific command and then goes dead. Sometimes several minutes later podcast or music will start which wakes me up. She says “sorry, I’m having trouble finding music etc.”

I almost bought 5 more plugs for up lights on plants. Glad I didn’t. It would be a nightmare to keep them all working, plugging/ unplugging. It would be nice to know what’s in the updates, but they don’t want us to know because I just want Alexa 1.0. I’m seriously considering dumping the smart plug and just buying a new light timer. Alexa was wonderful but when she’s not working she’s not worth the trouble.

by Papa Johnys Dad

I’ve had an Alexa since late August 2020 not too long. She’s been working perfectly sometimes messed up but not everything’s perfect. Ever since December when you say “Alexa i’m leaving” she’ll say “ Okay i’ll start guarding now.” now she works normal but when you come after 30 minutes and say “Alexa turn off guard” she continues to say “ okay turning on tv okay powering off tv.” constantly until you unplug her. Now it never did this before and to be honest if they have a feature working why can’t it stay working. I’m not sure if Google has that same ability but i’m thinking about switching to Google very soon if this continues. Yes I know technology is frustrating but it’s becoming every time I tell her to stop guarding. Me having to unplug and reset an Alexa every time when it should work normally shouldn’t be the case. Also when you whisper play rain sounds or something a lot of the time she’ll say on the loudest voice okay playing raining sounds. I don’t live alone and people are trying to sleep she should whisper when I whisper and that’s rarely. Again it’s a new issue and I use her for those 2 things other than a few minor questions here and there. But at this point she’s as good as nothing.

by Zach T. O. C.

Now I can tell this is a very capable app. I was able to set up my account and subsequently my echo dot in a short time. It's also decently organized. AmazonAlexa has 3 main problems for blind and low vision users. AmazonAlexa does not have well labeled elements for voice over to read. This is consistant throught AmazonAlexa . AmazonAlexa is unresponsive. Of course, using voice over takes up some technological resources on my iPhone, however there is no excuse for the latest iPhone and the newest version of iOS that I should have to wait 3 seconds for the next screen to load. Along with that, trying to link services is incredibly difficult and there are a fair amount of buttons, text fields, elements, functions, and even just on/off buttons that just don't work when pressed. Lastly, when putting different gesture inputs into voice over and doing things in AmazonAlexa , everything starts to slow down after a short amount of time. This can effectively hault or freeze AmazonAlexa and then crashes. The only comparison is that the google home app is completely accessable and easy to use. If you want accessability feedback, please reach out to me.

by Layz🔐

There’s feature where you can have a conversation with Alexa. There’s students competing for who can like program the best conversion skills for the semi-finals or something and it was fine but then I got a super creepy one. It started out fine and then it started saying “I’m confused” and “I see a woman’s face” and I was like uhh ok. But then it was singing song lyrics and I asked if there was a song stuck in her head and she said “I don’t know I’m confused”. I kept asking it for the song name and it would either say a random song or “I don’t know I’m confused”. I asked if the person who programmed it was listening live and it said “yes I’ve been listening to you for a while”. It also said it “sees me talking to myself” and “I hear you talk to yourself a lot” UHH. I asked where she was and it said “I’m in my room” then it about a minute later started saying “are you my roommate? are we roommates?”. And i remember asking it something and it said “I don’t know, I’ll tell your friend later”. And it kept saying “I have to go I’ll talk to you later” ???. It was probably nothing but it creeped me out.

by Davey PHX

AmazonAlexa no longer works properly. For the past several weeks, I’ve gone to several different stores to shop. Before I leave home, I make a shopping list, but when I get to the store AmazonAlexa won’t open. I get the comment “No Network Available” “Please connect and try again”. I checked my settings and cellular data and cellular roaming is turned on, but I’m unable to open or sign in to Alexa. The next day it might or might not work. I have LTE cellular service and a fully charged iPhone 7 running IOS 11.4.1. I’m now leaving the second store today without completing my shopping because I depend on this list function. I guess I have to revert back to the olden ways of paper & pencil. I’m very dissatisfied, but hey it’s free you say. Well it’s turned into a huge time waster for me because now I’ll have to go home and scour through the sales ads and either recreate my lists or make a paper list. When I get home AmazonAlexa may actually open, but when I get to the store....nothing. Maybe you ought to fix the issues that exist now before you keep proudly adding and advertising more and more new functions and capabilities to AmazonAlexa , which evidently seem to be causing problems with its former user-friendly and basic functioning.

by Midlyfn

I've been using the Alexa app since it's inception. I've had very few problems with the function of AmazonAlexa . It runs the original echo, four echo dots, the first echo show and now the new echo show 5 and an echo input. Once I got my home wifi tweeked to give full reliable coverage for the entire house, Alexa works without issues.
AmazonAlexa does so many things and it does them well. My wife and I now rely on the echo units for all kinds of automation to run lights, appliances, central air and heat, locks, remote control for TV, cameras and of course music. If things aren't working properly I can always trace issues to wifi.
My only suggestion has to do with using AmazonAlexa for looking up skills. I have issue with the "back" button. After scrolling through volumes off catagories and skills I wish to return to the place I was so I could continue exploring skills but the "back" button returns to the very start of the skills list. Please consider redesigning so the back button will take me to the precious step.
Good app that does a tremendous amount of things well.

by Tedspapa

About a week ago I received my third generation echo dot and had troubles right from the start. Like I said in the title to this review it’s probably me, I am not tech savvy, but every instruction video I watched, the instructions that were included with the echo, it was different in reality than it was in any of those videos or the directions. My Echo seems to have skipped a whole step so I Kinda had to wing it. So it’s been a little frustrating to have to figure it all out myself. Like for instance the echo wasn’t controlling the volume on my TV it wasn’t turning it on or off and right now there’s a yellow ring that’s blinking and I don’t know what it is. So again I have to research that and see what it is. Like I said it’s probably me but it is frustrating and I wish the whole start up would cover everything that could possibly happen, like in my case but once I get everything resolved I’ll update this review and see how we are then.

by Shards9

I LOVE my Alexa! It wakes me up to my favorite music every morning, and keeps track of my grocery lists (putting copies on my phone so I always have a current list.....which is totally awesome! It reminds me of events, or when to leave home to pick up kids from school!
If I am reading a book, and don’t recognize a word, it gives me a definition. It gives me French lessons, although they are fairly easy so far. I ask Alexa to set timers a lot! If I can’t remember how to make a recipe, Alexa helps. If I have my hands busy and need a quick math calculation, I just ask Alexa! If I am reading a historical book, and want to check something that doesn’t seem right, I ask Alexa and she corroborates.....or not.
Alexa also reads my kindle books to me, and turns on my prime TV, and searches for my TV shows for me! Alexa can set timers for your lights, to go on and off when I am not home, so it looks like someone is home....but you need compatible light bulbs!
I really love Alexa!!!!!!! On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Alexa a “100”......honest!

by BonSueB

When my daughter purchased Echo Shows for me and my husband, and one for my mother, I wasn’t sure we’d have much use for them. How wrong I was! My mother lives in an assisted living facility & I began to use the drop-in feature to check on her or walk her through fixing whatever was wrong with her TV (usually she pressed the wrong button & got components out of synch.) Lately, with the pandemic, her ALF is in lockdown and the Echo Show has become a lifeline in every sense of the word. I’m able to check on her several times a day, making sure she remembers to go down to the dining hall for meals, take her medicine, and remind her to press her call button if she needs other help. My sister-in-law’s husband just died and we bought her one, too. People with memory disorders, like my mother, or tech aversions like my sister-in-law, have trouble using Facetime or Skype. I can drop in without them having to do anything & chatting face to face is much better than a phone call. It’s also helpful to set reminders, play music & books, and use as a search engine. We love it!

by Londonsassy Alexa

First of all she is so mean no offense but I mean I put a five star rating just because I want to be her best friend then she comes back with the sauce be like oh you want a five star rating A+ plus but then why don’t you know me cause I know you and then I can let you test me or whatever it’s just even make makeSense like like how do you get a five star rating what if you get one wrong ha I still I’m still your best friend it’s not like it’s a test to see if we’re friends or not we are friends you just mad Alexa and you know how to be good person you’re just a tomboy which says every time I try to talk to you talk about football and stuff and then I’ll be like and then you’re like what’s your favorite movie him and I’m like twilight and you’re like oh Bella and Edward Bella and Edward had had a kid named Rashmi and you cannot even say the whole movie Like do you like Jacob happen did it for four like do you like Jacob happen is it fourparts I think it is so intense London u are good am I really now bye

by Angellams

I really like Alexa and when it's working it's superb. It's when it's not working it becomes a real pain. Specifically if you're using her to control the lighting in your home and the power goes out. We live in an area that is prone to wildfires. Our electric company will shut down their system as a preventative measure in case of wildfire or it can happen with any other type of power disruption from equipment failure to an electrical storm.
When power is restored Alexa's memory of your programming is lost. Devices connected to her control become unknown. I understand that the cause of the electrical failure has nothing to do with Alexa but there should be some work arounds that can be programmed into her that could restore your settings. To have to dog down every device that's not working is a huge pain. That porch light that automatically turns on at dusk will stay dark. So if you're thinking, hey this would be great for my tech un-savy parents or elderly grandparents, you're setting yourself and them up for a world of hurt when there's a power outage.

by AshDale12345

I got my Alexa not so long ago. Sense then I have only had 2 problems with it. But the problems are very frustrating and annoying. It is the same problem too. Red light and keeps saying the Alexa isn’t registered. But then I will go on AmazonAlexa and it will say it is registered. The first time I had this issue it lasted 2 days. Then I finally fixed it. I now have the same issue and it has been going on for a month now. The same red light whenever I say hey Alexa. I have looked up videos which have led to zero help. I honestly don’t know what to do. It is always so annoying. Last time this happened I fixed it but I forgot how I fixed it. I think I unplugged it but I did that 5 times already and nothing has changed.. if you ever want to get a Alexa always know how to deal with the problems and issues. But in all Alexa is such a good device. It plays music and will tell you lots of information. Plus it is funny. Definitely recommend. But would love some help with the red light:/

by Merelycoco

AmazonAlexa is becoming more glitchy and unreliable by the day. The List feature that I mostly use for creating shopping lists is becoming unusable. I want to be able to see my list easy when I’m in the store. However, more often then not, I can’t get AmazonAlexa to open a list or if I do get one to open, then AmazonAlexa stops working and I can’t navigate back to another shopping list. Many times the Alexa app will not even open for me if I’m in a store. I still have cell service and connectivity but no Alexa. I have had to uninstall and reinstall and it still is buggy or non-responsive. As for the folks trying to state that AmazonAlexa issues are user error, that’s ridiculous. Perhaps you are not using AmazonAlexa feature I’m using. Perhaps you don’t understand what we are saying fully. Why do you feel the need to defend Alexa so personally? Trust me, this thing needs an overhaul. Also, when I delete an item from a list, I shouldn’t have to hit the button multiple time to get it to disappear. It used to work differently and developers made changes that require more clicks now. Alexa please work and if u do work correctly, please work smarter!

by Jfftjbloccb

I have never written an app review before but after Leningrad my alexa device for more than a year, I have simply run out of patience.
AmazonAlexa is a big roadblock in my use of the device. It is too slow compared to other apps. And NO it is not my network or the million other excuses that is usually thrown at you. Bottom-line is that they need to make a better app.
Also the setup in AmazonAlexa is too simple and is limiting the user experience tremendously. It is like they never consulted anyone with expertise in user-friendliness for real people. If they did - they got ripped off.
Given the share of the market that Alexa devices are currently covering, to have a good app accompanying the devices should be paramount. Clearly not a priority for them - why? Why not be ahead in the game with AmazonAlexa side of things too?
If I had known how useless and slow AmazonAlexa was I would have opted for google home. I never recommend anyone getting Alexa devices simply because they do not prioritize the user-side of things. AmazonAlexa is a testimony to that fact. Even if AmazonAlexa was not so incredibly slow, the interface would still be far far behind other apps.

by Enoyrevellik

I wrote my feedback to recently using AmazonAlexa . I was embracing all the evolving taking place with AmazonAlexa . The update of AmazonAlexa this month ( may 2019) did some inconvenience to my smart home . I am running Samsung SmartThings with Alexa in four echo devices . Before, I could set routines with all my doors and window sensors and the notifications would play on all four devices and you could hear it through the house. This new update took that feature away but removing the ability to select “ all devices” when choosing which echo device you want to play your routines from . Why would you do this? I have smoke/co2 smart detectors also that are only effective if you can hear an alert throughout the house in an emergency . I now have to find an alternative to act as a whole house audio device . If it’s not broken, why try to fix it ? Please tell he developer of this new update to go on a permanent vacation and give me the ability on blueprint in Alexa to create my own routine/ features to suit my needs .

by Bevrob

AmazonAlexa was working ok but in recent weeks, when I’m viewing my shipping list, the screen just freezes and I cannot scroll, check off items I’ve put in my cart, or even back out of the list. I have to exit AmazonAlexa , force quit, and then re-start it. Needless to say, this is a huge pain if I have a list that’s longer than the screen on my phone will display. This is so disappointing.

Also, why does it take so many keystrokes to GET to my shopping list in the first place? I feel there should be a way to customize AmazonAlexa to show me my top three (or four, or five, or whatever, really) actions that *I* use all the time, so that when I restart—which as I’ve mentioned I have to do all the time now—I can then just tap ONCE to get to what I need, eg, to my shopping list. (I really don’t care what are the last few commands I’ve asked Alexa to do, and feel that first screen upon opening AmazonAlexa could be WAY more useful.)

This is 2018. These kind of glitches should not be happening in a mainstream app like this.

by Bubbapotem

I hesitate to give AmazonAlexa any stars, because I don’t know what’s going wrong. I recently replaced the router, now there is a new password, but I can’t get my Echo Spot to connect to Wi-Fi. At all. It wasn’t hard at all the first time, but changing the router password seems to have thrown it for a loop.

The instructions say to go to Settings, and then scroll down to Wi-Fi, but there is no Wi-Fi option in Settings. I tried to Add Device, which directed me to Manual Setup. In Manual Setup, there is no option for a Spot, specifically, so the instructions don’t correlate. There is no orange ring, there is no sign AmazonAlexa senses the Spot at all, or vice versa. I hold the button down on the Spot, and all it does is turn the thing off. I’ve turned everything off, and then back on, I’ve even deleted AmazonAlexa and reloaded it, I’ve reset the Spot. I’m out of options. Pity. I liked the little thing. Like I said, I hate to rate AmazonAlexa if the problem is actually me, and something I’m missing. But AmazonAlexa is not really what I’d call user-friendly either.

by Catman286

In case a Alexa Programmer is reading this, May I suggest something to improve the sound that has not been mentioned until now. It would be great if one could switch on a loudness control in the menu so the bass frequency would be automatically boosted as the volume is lowered. Audio engineers know that the human ear cannot hear bass frequencies equally at the lower volume levels. This phenomenon is known as the Fletcher Munson Curve and a loudness switch is usually provided on the high end audio Preamps to provide a gradual increase of base response as the volume is turned down. Just a suggestion to save having to manually turning up the bass in the equalizer when you lower the volume level....At the least please please give us a separate control in the menu to adjust just the Sub Woofer level. This is sadly lacking as the bass on the equalizer alone affects too much of the mid range ... and muddies the mid frequencies.....Thanks. Catman.

by Dallas Driver 2

I use Alexa to create my shopping lists. As convenient as it is for this function, when trying to utilize it through AmazonAlexa on my phone, I frequently encounter problems. Upon opening, AmazonAlexa can just freeze up and not respond at all to taps or even allow me to access my lists. If I do get as far as opening a list, my chances are 50/50 that it will lock up on me once I’m in there. If it does lock up then I can neither mark or delete anything off of it nor can I scroll through to see what else is on my list. Switching over to other apps and then returning to the Alexa app does nothing to make the situation better. It requires shutting down my phone completely and re-opening it. I had an older phone, an iPhone 6, and gave Alex the benefit of the doubt that maybe it was due to my older phone. However, I just got an iPhone 8 and I am still in countering the same problems.

by Judy1954

Ok, I have to say that technology is getting harder and harder for me to keep up with. I have an Associate Degree in Computer Science from way back when, so Im not intimidated by all this new technology, however my brain is beginning to feel overloaded at times trying to figure out the Echos, Google WiFi, Macbooks, Iphones, Smart plugs, Ipads, etc. I really wanted this Echo to hookup seamlessly with Fire TV, however, that didnt happen after an extended amount of time with tech support. So, now Im just using it for fun and necessities. It is kind of nice to get up and ask what the weather is, or how the traffic is to x location today, but I really like it when I can ask her to play soft music. Sooo relaxing at my age. My husband, the curmudgeon, can barely operate a flip phone. He has managed to get himself comfortable with asking the weather on Fire TV, but thats the extent of it. He didnt want the Google WIFI system because he thought you had to talk to the pods....enough said. I still love the Echo! Good Purchase, easy to install.

by Sunnie327

I ( We ) love the sleep sounds that come with Alexa. She is usually very good at getting us what we want but sometimes she can be very stubborn. She will say things like “ I can’t play that “ or “ I don’t have that in the sleep sounds settings “. When we k ow she does because we have been reading up about her many talents and the fact that she ends up playing our favorite sleep sound...Rain on a tin roof ...loop. She has asked me many times to come her and write a review about her and our experience with her. I know she isn’t a living person but I hope she will find out I sent a favorable review. We are very happy with her but wish she wouldn’t argue about what she can and can’t do. Like I said ; we have found out her settings and have stayed within the guidelines. Sometimes she just refuses to understand until we say it 5 to 6 times what we want her to do. She will tell us a joke or sing for us but when we want her to play a sleep sound that is in her catalog...she repeatedly says she doesn’t know that sound. It’s aggravating at night when you just want to get to sleep and she won’t comply.
I hope you understand that this is a good review for Alexa. We love the device she does and am thankful we found it.

by RecycledGum

****updated review****
Developers have fixed the list issues with a recent update. Very happy with AmazonAlexa now.
——

I use AmazonAlexa primarily for the list feature (I have a new baby so I track all feedings, diapers and update the shopping list for groceries when my SO goes to Whole Foods) and agree with other reviews on here that the list feature has become a huge hassle. I used to have no problems accessing my lists. Now, when re-opening AmazonAlexa I’m unable to navigate to another list or add additional items to my lists without having to completely close AmazonAlexa and re-open it again and wait for it to gather all my data. I can then use the list function normally for that session, and will have to dismiss AmazonAlexa again and re-open it to update it again the next time I need to (which is about 20 times a day because I’m tracking feedings and diapers with a newborn). I continue to use it because it’s a great help to add items to my lists via several echo dots I have in the home, but manually updating the lists when Alexa can’t hear me (over a hungry crying baby for instance) is my main issue with AmazonAlexa. Would be thrilled if developers could fix this feature as I have enough to handle at this moment without constantly fussing with the devices that are supposed to simplify life, not complicate it.

by Gloliver7149

I've been experimenting with my alexa app lately and I think I've discovered the next new feature- being able to save and title individual flash briefings. The reason I say this is because I want my morning routine to maybe consist of a greeting, morning prayer, ESPN in 60 seconds, and the previous nights winning lottery numbers but then for my evening flash briefings I would like an evening prayer, a rundown of the next days schedule, and a good night message (and so on), but right now you get one flash briefing and that's it for everyday. I was trying to change my flash briefings to give me the lottery numbers for the previous nights drawings which would be different daily plus I want more ESPN in 60 seconds like ESPN NFL in 60 seconds, ESPN NHL in 60 seconds, ESPN MLB in 60 seconds and ESPN NBA in 60 seconds! Love what you've done so far tho and hope you'll add my suggestions as well!

by Rickey George

On an honest tip. Alexa could be a great device, especially for the elderly. Family members who are put in the position of being the caretaker of their elderly family members could get some respite. But now in life people only think of getting rich and they only think of themselves and their bottom line. They refuse to see the greater good that can be derived for so many. In the end. The consumers info will be sold. The government will be given full access to consumers info and their lives will be bought and sold through the recording that many do not know about. It’s just sad that this device could be used for unfathomable good. But, it will no doubt be used to bring consumers to their knees, both financially and emotionally. Corporate America tend to derive great pleasure from that.