Amazon Echo 4 with Alexa

[doctormann]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I can certainly give my Tuya connected devices voice commands using Alexa app and Google Home app.

ZERO connection problems, but the Alexa Echo Dot 3 just didn't work at all.

 

What smart plugs did you buy (link)?

149 Baht each from lazada

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i1036130896-s2297608181.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1

[doctormann]

Another update.  I have had some success with the smart plugs

On the Tuya app, if you select a device, there appears an icon that links directly to Alexa and you don't need to go via the Alexa app.  I did this and it told me that Alexa already know about the smart plug - don't ask me how - and could be voice controlled and indeed it can be! 

 

Now I'd like to get Spotify and some of the other skills to work - not oo hopeful though.

[recom273]

59 minutes ago, doctormann said:

I can download and install the Tuya smart app onto my phone, that's not a problem.  I can even register the smart plug on the Tuya app.  The problem is that Alexa will not let me install the 'skill' that I need to control the plug by talking to 'her'.  The error says that the skill is not available in my region, which I find hard to believe!

That is a screenshot of the Alexa skill on the Alexa app. There is no geoblock.

 

 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, doctormann said:

Now I'd like to get Spotify and some of the other skills to work - not oo hopeful though.

Install Spotify app on your phone.

Create a Thai Spotify account.

[BritManToo]

I had 2 smart sockets arrive today, plugged in connected and voice controlled in no time at all.

Very reasonable at 150bht each inc delivery.

 

The light switches should turn in in a day or two.

[johng]

don't be silly its only a lightbulb !   ????

 

https://research.checkpoint.com/2020/dont-be-silly-its-only-a-lightbulb/

 

 

[BritManToo]

Another Tuya S08 smart hub arrived this morning, I now have voice control of my bedroom TV and Air-con. Still waiting on the light switches and Google mini-nest.

[johng]

For the love of everything sacred ????    please at least consider "local Tuya"

 

 

[Stocky]

On 11/7/2021 at 7:59 AM, recom273 said:

I set everything on stockys list without one, with the exception of Spotify which I don't care for anyway.

I too set everything up without need of a VPN, and my collection are equally globally challenged. My Amazon account was set up in the UK, but the Alexa app is on a phone with a Thai number and home is my home in Hat Yai. The Echo Dots came variously from Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and from Thai retailers, but given the plugs that came with them and their default Alexa voices one was for the US market and the most recent Spanish speaking.

 

I've set up with locally bought Tuya Smart Plugs that use the Smart Life app, plus US bought Sensibo A/C controllers. I've connected to a Thai Spotify (Pro) account and to Skype.

 

All with few issues, sure there are problems with minimal instructions, but they've all managed to get along eventually. 

[recom273]

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

I too set everything up without need of a VPN, and my collection are equally globally challenged. My Amazon account was set up in the UK, but the Alexa app is on a phone with a Thai number and home is my home in Hat Yai. The Echo Dots came variously from Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and from Thai retailers, but given the plugs that came with them and their default Alexa voices one was for the US market and the most recent Spanish speaking.

 

I've set up with locally bought Tuya Smart Plugs that use the Smart Life app, plus US bought Sensibo A/C controllers. I've connected to a Thai Spotify (Pro) account and to Skype.

 

All with few issues, sure there are problems with minimal instructions, but they've all managed to get along eventually. 

Im still semi interested in how you got the Spotify account linked .. I got to more > settings > music and podcasts > + link to a new service > Spotify and then I face the old "you are not eligable .."

 

  

[Stocky]

15 hours ago, recom273 said:

more > settings > music and podcasts > + link to a new service > Spotify

Yes that's the route I took. After selecting Spotify you give your account details, but before you can use it you need to open Spotify which will ask you to give permission to let Amazon Alexa pair. Once paired they work fine.

 

(At least for me they do!)

[doctormann]

15 hours ago, recom273 said:

Im still semi interested in how you got the Spotify account linked .. I got to more > settings > music and podcasts > + link to a new service > Spotify and then I face the old "you are not eligable .."

 

  

Me too as I'm having no success with trying to link Spotify - same result as you are getting.

The method detailed by @Stockydoesn't work for me.

[Stocky]

Curious.

My Alexa app shows this.

 

And in Spotify I can select any of my 4 devices or all 4

 

 

[BritManToo]

My light switches arrived yesterday, work very well but don't fit in the wall boxes.

Nowhere in Chiang Mai can I find extension surrounds for light switches (they were easily available in the UK). In the end I cut up some polystyrene to surround the bit that poked out the wall ......... grrrrr ........

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, doctormann said:

Me too as I'm having no success with trying to link Spotify - same result as you are getting.

The method detailed by @Stockydoesn't work for me.

You need to create a Spotify account in Thailand.

If your Spotify account is in a different country to your Alexa account, Spotify will be blocked.

 

I have a Google Mini Nest arriving later today.

Alexa Echo Dot 3 just didn't connect to their main server.

Alexa app and Google Home app work fine for voice control from my smart phone.

[recom273]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

My light switches arrived yesterday, work very well but don't fit in the wall boxes.

Nowhere in Chiang Mai can I find extension surrounds for light switches (they were easily available in the UK). In the end I cut up some polystyrene to surround the bit that poked out the wall ......... grrrrr ........

I made mine, I knew a guy with a CNC router who made a load up for me from this material that was like MDF but had some percentage of plastic. 

[BritManToo]

double post

[BritManToo]

OK ........

Google Nest Mini (gen 2) arrived 812bht, plugged in, Google home phone app found it straight away and set it up. First thing I did was ask it to play music ........ which it did using Spotify.

For some reason it's decided I want to listen to Spanish music ..... I did, but how did they know that ........ scary.

Currently listening to Enrique Bunbury, sound quality is fine, volume fine with more to spare.

I can 100% recommend Google mini nest (and 500bht cheaper than Alexa Echo Dot 3).

 

The shop I got the Alexa Echo Dot 3 from couldn't get it to work either and refunded my money.

 

Echo Dot 3 = junk.

Mini Nest = brilliant.

[Stocky]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You need to create a Spotify account in Thailand.

If your Spotify account is in a different country to your Alexa account, Spotify will be blocked.

That makes perfect sense given the disparity in the cost of a monthly premium subscription, just over $4 in Thailand, $10 in the USA and $15 in the UK.

[BritManToo]

Just now, Stocky said:

That makes perfect sense given the disparity in the cost of a monthly premium subscription, just over $4 in Thailand, $10 in the USA and $15 in the UK.

It was even less in the Philippines.

[Stocky]

It's less than $2 in India!

[recom273]

OK .. I just followed @BritManToo advice, It didnt work, I tried it on the wifes phone.

 

I created a new Alexa account, then downloaded the Spotify app (im not a Spotify user) started the app and it asked me if I wanted to link Spotify to Alexa. Success!

 

Next I created another Alexa account and Spotify for the wife, its not giving me the same popup to connect.

 

The next issue is, I dont even use Spotify, the wife does, but you can you have multiple accounts using one speaker? I dont think so.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I have multiple Echo Dot devices at home in BKK, all connected to my U.S. Amazon account, and usually connected via a U.S. IP address via router VPN.

 

They all work fine, along with several Fire TV devices as well. I have a Thai-based Spotify acccount (about half the price of the U.S. version), and it's linked to my Alexa devices. Can play anything off Spotify on my Dot devices just by asking, "Alexa, play ...... on my Living Room Echo Dot."

 

In the living room, my Dot is connected to a portable stereo via the 3.5 mm cable, while in the bedroom, my Dot there is connected to a Samsung soundbar via Bluetooth. So the audio quality for both is a whole lot better than just what comes from the small speaker in the Dots themselves.

 

https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-on-alexa-devices/

 

If you have an Amazon Prime account, you also can play music via Alexa for free from your Amazon Music service, which I think last time I checked had about 2 million tracks. But it's included in one's Amazon Prime account, so there's no additional monthly fee required.

 

Also, if you have MP3 files stored at home on a computer, you also can have Alexa devices play those tracks/albums/artists via voice request by setting up an excellent service that has a one-time yearly fee of $5.50 called My Media for Alexa:

 

https://www.mymediaalexa.com/

 

"Stream your local media via Amazon Alexa

Now you don't have to upload your private media collection to the cloud just to have Alexa voice control your music collection.

 

My Media for Alexa installs a tiny media server on your computer that integrates with the ease and power of Amazon Alexa to give you voice control over your media collection. My Media lets you stream your music collection to your Amazon Echo or Amazon Dot without having to upload all your music collection to the Cloud."

 

 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

On 11/10/2021 at 4:01 PM, Stocky said:

It's less than $2 in India!

Free in Pakistan!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 11/10/2021 at 4:17 PM, recom273 said:

The next issue is, I dont even use Spotify, the wife does, but you can you have multiple accounts using one speaker? I dont think so.

 

I think you can have only one Spotify account connected at any given time to one particular Alexa account.  You can always change the setup in Alexa to a different Spotify account. But I don't think you can just swap back and forth via voice request.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:08 PM, BritManToo said:

You need to create a Spotify account in Thailand.

If your Spotify account is in a different country to your Alexa account, Spotify will be blocked.

 

My Alexa account is in the U.S. My Spotify account is a Thai one debited from my Thai bank account. They work perfectly fine together... though I'm usually using both with a U.S. IP via VPN... 

 

I can't recall whether switching to a local Thai wifi IP creates any problems....but I don't think it does, as long as everything's on the same wifi network.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:02 PM, Stocky said:

Curious.

My Alexa app shows this.

 

And in Spotify I can select any of my 4 devices or all 4

 

 

 

These days in Alexa, you can tell it to play Spotify music on a specific named Echo device in your voice request. Or, in the Alexa app, you can set up named groups of multiple Alexa devices, and direct the music to play on all the Alexa devices in that group (such as whole house, or whatever you've set up in terms of groupings).

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 11/9/2021 at 6:31 PM, Stocky said:

The Echo Dots came variously from Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and from Thai retailers, but given the plugs that came with them and their default Alexa voices one was for the US market and the most recent Spanish speaking.

 

I don't think it matters what country or companies you bought the devices from as much as what country your Amazon account is based in. That's what is going to have more of an impact on what you can and can't do, AFAIK.

 

You can always change the voice and language settings for those devices via the Alexa app.

 

 

[Stocky]

26 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

You can always change the voice and language settings for those devices via the Alexa app.

Damn, you mean I've wasted six months learning Japanese!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Damn, you mean I've wasted six months learning Japanese!

Gomen nasai!  ????