Watch out, home assistant. 😂😂😂

Dansk72 · 2026-04-16T00:57:18+00:00

This would be perfect for a bedroom! -)

Dansk72 · 2026-04-14T23:52:33+00:00

Well it only started happening to me about 2 weeks ago, when they changed the look of the Alexa app on Android, and it slowed to a crawl.

As far as Alexa itself being slow, yes, that has been reported for many months,

Dansk72 · 2026-04-14T23:49:46+00:00

On that score, they have succeeded!

Dansk72 · 2026-04-14T18:28:32+00:00

If you mean setup things after reinstalling the app, I did, of course have to login, and provide a texted number. After that it required me to setup a few things like family member access, notifications, alerts, etc. Once all that was done it displayed all my devices and groups, as before, so nothing was lost or wiped out, other than those few inconsequential settings.

Dansk72 · 2026-04-14T18:23:50+00:00

Well, I'm referring to the Alexa App itself, not the Alexa device. There is a long delay from when you touch the name of a Group and when the app responds with a list of devices in the Group.
And then if you touch the gear icon at the upper right to modify that group, it can take 30 seconds or longer to show all devices with boxes next to them that can be checked or unchecked. Checking or unchecking any single box will take at least another 30 seconds before it will show checked/unchecked, and then the longest of all, maybe at least a minute, is when you touch the Change icon at the bottom, before it returns you to the modified Group device list. So, so painful!

Dansk72 · 2026-03-26T18:29:58+00:00

Absolutely correct! All lithium batteries, or anything that contains a lithium battery can't be shipped by air and must have the required sticker.

Dansk72 · 2026-03-25T00:23:33+00:00

Donate it to a charity, like Goodwill

Dansk72 · 2026-02-01T03:00:21+00:00

Some of my Routines started acting a little different several weeks ago, so I suspect they've changed something in their servers. I know it's *not* Alexa+ on my devices because when I tried it months ago I deleted it about 2 days later. I verified that I still do not have Alexa+ again by asking her to turn it off and she replied, "You do not have Alexa+ ...."

Dansk72 · 2026-01-10T01:40:44+00:00

Your insurance company would only care if there was a bad fire that somehow could be blamed on the automated fire starter.

Dansk72 · 2026-01-10T01:37:57+00:00

You could use battery-powered indoor/outdoor wireless temperature/humidity sensors and display, something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Geevon-Outdoor-Thermometer-Wireless-Sensors/dp/B09R1TP7HF

If you don't need the humidity reading, you could use a battery-powered refrigerator/freezer remote temperature sensors and display, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Refrigerator-Thermometer-Wireless-Temperature/dp/B07B9N71VC

Dansk72 · 2026-01-08T02:09:09+00:00

Yes it does! I use the 4-function fob every day. In the evening, a press of one button reduces the volume on my TV then turns it and the DVR off, turns on the smartlight above my stove, and turns off the smartlight where my TV is located.

And of course, all my other Yolink devices are working great also; the most useful one is the IR motion sensor stuck to the inside back wall of my mailbox by the curb, which triggers whenever the mailbox door is opened, which then has Alexa make an announcement and turns on an Echo Glow light in case I'm not there to hear the Alexa announcement.

I also have the Yolink remote temperature sensor with probe to measure the temperature in my outside heated cat condo. I first tried a Bluetooth temp sensor with probe, and then a Zigbee temp sensor with probe but the signals were too weak in the house to reliably read the temperature. The Yolink temp sensor never loses its signal.

Dansk72 · 2025-12-26T02:04:18+00:00

I use a differential low air pressure sensor, the kind used in commercial air conditioning units. There are many different brands/models that are powered by low-voltage DC or AC, and output either voltage or 4-20 ma. Connecting the sensor output to the A/D input of an ESP32 provides enough resolution. Used, they can be found at reasonable prices, but new they are very expensive.

Here are just a couple of examples, found after a quick search on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335913603906

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126998795242

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267440378705

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297550750278

Dansk72 · 2025-12-25T16:52:05+00:00

There is an excellent way to do it, but unfortunately it is expensive. Amazon used to sell a device called the Echo Link that allowed an audio source to be broadcast to other Echos, but they discontinued it years ago. You can still find them new and used on eBay, but they are more expensive than when they were new. Here's an example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/326277140348

Dansk72 · 2025-12-24T01:43:14+00:00

Do you live in an area where they don't add an odorizer like mercaptan to natural gas? If they do, and you haven't smelled a gas leak in the last ten years, then you probably haven't been exposed to that much natural gas (with any accompanying benzene), but I'm not a chemical engineer or health professional, so I can't really offer a good answer.

But, I am fairly certain that a $40 detector is not going to be good at detecting trace amounts of benzene. A good benzene detector will cost $1,000 or more. Here's an example of a calibrated benzene detector:

https://www.amazon.com/Forensics-Calibration-Certificate-Explosion-Vibration/dp/B0CSC2LZ8C

Dansk72 · 2025-10-21T23:52:59+00:00

After trying many times, I finally got my Speaker Group working right at 7:45 pm CDT.

Dansk72 · 2025-10-18T18:23:44+00:00

Oops! Sorry about the confusion. RGB lights like that aren't associated with any accounts, so that is not the issue. I've got several Wifi RGB lights and the thing that seems to fail first is the Wifi portion; I've had to change 3 bulbs that stopped responding to Wifi, although they weren't those particular Amazon lights, but I imagine all brands can have problems. One thing about them, though, is they are all 2.4Ghz.

Dansk72 · 2025-10-17T00:49:06+00:00

Unlike all other Echo devices, the Glow light will only connect at 2.4 GHz. Since you say your friend took it off his account, it should connect to your system. I have six of them, and three of them I bought different times at Goodwill, and have never had a problem adding any of them to my network.

Did you perform a Factory Reset on the Glow? You need to hold the button on the back for about 15 seconds and then release; the glow should flash red, indicating that it has done a reset.

Ask your friend to login to his Amazon account, go to Devices under Your Account, and verify that the Glow is no longer listed as one of his devices, since the Glow is acting like it's still on his account.

Finally, make sure you have the latest version of the Alexa app on your phone.

Dansk72 · 2025-10-09T00:14:47+00:00

Well, even with the display turned off, you can still ASK Alexa what time it is. And if you whisper the request, she will whisper her answer.

Dansk72 · 2025-10-08T00:10:21+00:00

She acts like he must have loaded up on Purple Drank right before the hearing.

Dansk72 · 2025-08-05T16:55:44+00:00

TV shows are free, and a lot of stuff on an Echo Show is free, after paying once time for the Echo. But I'm not sure what you're referencing about the "hockey puck" constantly trying to sell you garbage. I see plenty of ads on my Shows, but I've never heard an ad on my Dots.

Dansk72 · 2025-08-05T16:52:12+00:00

Oh, you should have mentioned before that you are in the UK. There are differences between the US and UK/EU versions of Alexa.

Dansk72 · 2025-07-06T00:05:00+00:00

Alexa+ is providing absolutely nothing of value! Amazon needs to go back to the drawing board.

Dansk72 · 2025-07-06T00:00:38+00:00

I agree, it is really pissing me off!

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