Echo Dot (5th generation, 2022 release), Charcoal + Meross Smart Plug, Works with Alexa - Smart Home Starter Kit

I bought this, in all fairness, because I wanted a cheap little speaker for the kitchen.Tye sound quality is ok, nothing special, the bass is lacking, and cannot find a graphic equaliser anywhere in the settings.The logic behind what is displayed as standard in the app and what you have to go searching for, and then end up googling where it is, baffles me.During the setup it asks you to select your preferred music streaming service, obviously Amazon prime music is the default, but in that section you can also set up pod adts and radio stations you prefer, ... however.... It only lets you select one, before the setup kicks you onto the next topic, and when you go back in, after setup is completed, you cannot find podcasts, radio or even music anywhere in the many icons, so I googled, and it is hidden behind 3 layers of other, unrelated options.Why??It will s first and foremost a speaker and yet anything you want to listen to is hidden away in the bowels of unrelated options??However, once set up, favourite providers selected, all you have to do is say "Alexa...play my " insert name of music provider" + " insert name of playlist" and it does.You can say Alexa pause music, Alex continue playing, in fact I am not sure that one is an official command, it is simply what I said, when whilst finalising where exactly in the kitchen thedpeaker would sound best and not be in the way, I accidentally pushed something that made the music stop, so in a panic I thought oops I have messed up some important setting, so blurted out Alexa, please continue playing music, and it did, so I have stuck with that command .If you are young or have other Alexa things, this might all be second nature, but as my home set up was set up by my son, and is mainly Google, I was actually really pleased I managed to get so far, all on my own.Things you need to know: 1: your broadband/ network password, it needs it to set up.2: your music service, podcast service, radio service passwords, it asks for these during setup, something my Google system didn't as far as I remember.3: it is a plug in speaker, however, Amazon sell seperately a base for it that is rechargeable, I think it is designed so that you take the speaker and the base with you outside. Personally I am waiting for that to be on sale as currently the base aline costs £20 more than the 5th gen speaker.Problems...It has the option of adding items to a shopping list.I thought I would try it out on getting the Alexa 5th gen speaker to shop on Amazon, made sense to me, first so that the minimum amount of issues should arise....I learnt the command " Alexa buy " whatever" on amazon.co UK, and it came back with the item i had previously bought, which is what I actually wanted, it told me the price and Said it had popped it in my Amazon shopping basket, it then said if I wanted to buy it now I should say " buy it now", which I did, and then it made it's little action beep sound and i pootled along. I then did it again for another item.Later that day, I happened to be checking the delivery time for something I had bought on Amazon on my computer, and I noticed the basket showed I had two items in it.I checked the basket and it was the two items that i had asked Alexa to" buy it now".I checked my order history and , nope, Alexa had not bought it now, it had just popped them into the basket.If I hadn't logged in to check a previous order, I wouldn't have received the items that I had asked Alexa to " buy it now".So, perhaps teething issues or mayhap I should have said " Alexa... buy it now" but each time it made that little beep sound it makes when it carries out a command so I thought I had achieved my goal, that the Alexa had understood and carried out the command, so that is why I mention it here, in case anyone else has the same issues.I have some smart home devices that, at the time of setting up this little speaker, I didn't want to get into, so skipped that bit of the setup, however....I recently added two new devices , a smart lightbulb and another item from the same company.During these set ups of these devices using that manufacturers app, it asked to link to my Google and my Alexa, and it went well.The second setup was even quicker as that manufacturers app just linked all by itself after the first item, and Alexa spoke and said it had linked with this new smart home device from a completely different company, however..It did this, when I had turned the mic off / privacy mode on ( there is a privacy button on the top of the speaker, well there are 4 buttons, all odd shapes, certainly not industry standard logos accepted for things like on/ off or up/ down.)This is touted in the 5 th gen as the privacy button, which ensures you privacy and makes the light at the bottom of the speaker turn red, however as I mentioned, it linked and spoke to me whilst in this privacy mode.Also, the red light changes colour all by itself if I am having a conversation with someone in the kitchen, it goes yellow, blue and back to red whilst we talk, and then settles to red again if we stop, my friend noticed it so we played a game to see if indeed it was us speaking that made the colours change, and it was, which it shouldn't, because Amazon state that with the privacy button pressed, and the speaker light is red, the microphone should be completely off, so... How did the speaker hear we were talking to change colour when we talked and go red every time we stopped???I really only caved into buying an Alexa when they adversed the privacy features, as I really don't want anyone or anything listening in on my conversations.Google use a secrecy, local processing ( i.e. what you say never leaves your device to be processed/ listened to elsewhere, it gets privately processed on your device only.Amazon Alexa doesn't.All requests go via the web, through their cloud farms, and may or may not go to various government bodies, listened to by actual people.I don't like this.So I popped it in a cupboard.It only comes out and switched on when I want it on.It is vaguely possible that there is something wrong with mine, however if you do buy one, try the " secret whispers " game my friend and I played...1. Press tye privacy button to on, wait for the speaker to go red.2. Wait 5 minutes just to be sure.3. Start talking and watch the lights change.4. Stop talking and watch it go back to red.Repeat 3 & 4 , getting quieter and quieter until you are just whispering.If you get the same result, i.e. the speaker colour changes in privacy mode, when you talk .. I can highly recommend the cupboard technique.Hope some of this waffle is useful to someone.

The media could not be loaded.  Two years have passed since I reviewed the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 and now we have the new Echo Dot Gen 5 so it’s time to revisit the world of Alexa.If you’re familiar with Echo and Alexa, you’ll only be interested in the first part of this review and you can ignore everything after my device appraisal. I’m sure, though, that many people may be new to smart speakers so I’ve also added sections on how to install the Alexa app, how to set up your new speaker and what you can subsequently do with the Echo Dot. My apologies for going over things that you might already know and a lot of this repeats from my previous review, but there will be for which this is new territory.The Device:The Echo speakers have been around for many years now, and despite the best efforts of Google and Apple, Amazon’s Alexa still remains the smart assistant of choice. The most popular of all smart speakers is the Echo Dot. Other bigger and better sounding speakers are available including Amazon’s own larger Echo, but the Echo Dot has always hit a nice sweet spot of performance and affordability. The first couple of generations of Echo Dots were clearly toes in the water to see if we were ready for smart assistants. They gave us a glimpse of what could be achievable, but they didn’t sound particularly good. We’ve still got a couple of Generation 2 Echo Dots that live in the garage and shed, and they really do sound tinny and weak. That changed with the Generation 3 Echo Dot, of which we have seven around the house, as they sounded so much better. The sound was deeper and the volume could go much higher before losing fidelity. The microphone was also improved, and the entire experience with using Alexa made a big step forward.Two years ago I bought an Echo Dot Generation 4 on release day, and shortly afterwards followed that up with the larger Echo. And today, the Generation 5 arrived. I’ve spent several hours since then playing with it, testing it out alongside my existing speakers and the very similar Generation 4.So, what’s different between the Gen 4 and 5? Well, visually, not very much. The only real difference I could spot was the loss of an auxiliary port from the rear of the new device. Beyond that, no difference at all. I read from the press releases that the 5 is sonically much improved over the 4, but in side-by-side testing I struggled to see much difference between the two. If anything, I felt that Alexa’s voice when she’s talking to you seems like she’s stood a little further away. But it still sounds great. Not just great for the money, but great in general.We have much bigger and better speakers in our house, but when listening to music we almost always play it through the Echo Dots. I’ve got a Bose speaker right next to the Dot in my office, but always use the Dot for music. I work from home and I’m in my office 9-16 hours per day, and the Echo Dot is on for most of that time. If you want the absolute best sound, you’re likely to want to spend much more on a dedicated sound system, but for general, everyday use, the Echo Dot is brilliant. Sound remained stable even at maximum volume, and just as good I found Alexa was able to hear my commands despite cranking the volume up.Something new to the Generation 5 is the introduction of “tap to pause”. A quick tap on the dome of the Echo will pause your music. A simple addition, but so welcome. When someone rings me when I’m working a quick tap is so much better than yelling at Alexa to shut up before I can accept the call. Another tap will resume the music.I have to say, even two years down the line, I still prefer the shape of the Echo Dot Gen 3. I just preferred the puck-shape, and it sat lower to the ground so didn’t obstruct the view of the monitors on my desk. The buttons for volume, action and turning off the microphone are on top of the globe are raised characters resembling a games controller. The status light is around the base of the speaker rather than the top on Gen 3 and earlier devices.Setting up the Echo is, as usual, very simple. If you have a previous Alexa system them it connects straight to your existing network with no input at all. If it’s your first Echo device and assuming you have the Alexa app you go to Devices, Add, Amazon Echo, and wait for it to connect. The work of moments, and then it’s ready to go. Like the Gen 3 and 4 it uses its own power cable rather than a USB cable as the Gen 1 & 2 used.So, the verdict? The RRP, and reviewed price, is £54.99 which is £5 more than the outgoing Gen 4. The tap to pause feature almost makes up that £5 for me. I read in early press releases that the new Gen 5 can also be used as a Wi-fi repeater in compatible mesh systems such as the Eero range, but I didn’t see anything further mention that in the Amazon sales page and I’ve not been able to test that out. Just like the Gen 4 before it, the Gen 5 will almost certainly become the biggest selling smart speaker on the market. I’ve been more than happy with it in my early time with it and find it to be a great albeit minor evolution of the previous Dot.Once again though, the only real competition to Echo Dot is its own predecessors. The Gen 3 Echo Dot is still available at the time of writing. It’s almost as good to listen to, and I think looks nicer. It’s also quite a bit cheaper. Is the Gen 5 that much better than the Gen 3 to warrant the price premium? I’m not so sure, but I do like to keep up with the latest releases where possible.Taken in isolation, the Gen 5 Amazon Echo Dot is an excellent smart speaker. I gave the Gen 3 and Gen 4 a five-star review, and the Gen 5 gets the same accolade. It will undoubtedly go on to be the best-selling product of its type.How to set it up you Echo device:If you’re new to the world of Alexa then you may be wondering how easy it is to set up an Echo device. If you’ve ordered from Amazon, they’ll helpfully email you a guide to setting it up. You’ll need the Amazon Alexa app, available from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Download and wait for it to install, and then open it up. The app gives help on various subjects if you tap the question mark in the top right corner of the home screen. The guide on setting up your new Echo Dot is found in this area by selecting Alexa Devices, then Echo Dot, and Set Up Your Echo Dot.As a quick overview though, plug in your Echo Dot (after a short period the status light will turn orange to show it is in Setup mode) and then open the Alexa app. On the bottom menus select “Devices”. On the Devices screen, tap the “+” button in the top right and choose “Add Device”. Select “Amazon Echo” and then “Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus and more”. Assuming your Echo is plugged in and the status light is orange, select “Yes”. The app will then search for your new Echo Dot and complete the setup. The whole process takes only a few moments, and then you’re ready to get creative with Skills and Routines.What you can do with Alexa:A smart speaker is actually quite dumb to start with. It’s when you start adding things that it becomes truly smart in my view. On its own, you’ll be able to ask Alexa questions, play a few games, set up alarms and reminders and get a weather forecast; the general things you’d expect from a home assistant. Remember to always begin every command with the wake word, “Alexa…”, which can be altered to “Amazon”, “Echo” or “Computer” if you wish. To do certain things and play games you need to enable “Skills & Games”, which is found in the “More” menu at the bottom of the app. In there, you’ll find hundreds of things you can do with Alexa. For example, I regularly play the BBC quiz shows Pointless and Tenable. “Alexa, what is the weather forecast” or “Alexa, give me a ten-minute countdown” are examples of simple commands.As I say though, the Echo is just the gateway to a vast array of smart applications. How smart it goes depends on how far you want to go and how much to spend. What starts out as a single Echo device can quickly expand to a device in every room, attached to smart devices such as light bulbs, sockets, central heating and cameras. The first thing you may wish to use your speaker for is playing music. Echo is compatible with most of the main music streaming services such as Apple and Spotify, and of course Amazon Music. With your Echo you get access to Amazon Music’s free service, which is actually pretty good. It is limited, and you won’t find all of your favourite artists, but I recommend you try it out for a week or two as it might be good enough for your requirements. If not, I do highly recommend upgrading to Amazon Music Unlimited, or better still Amazon Music Unlimited Family which can be shared with multiple family members (not necessarily in the same household). I’ve not encountered many songs that aren’t on there. I used to have my iPhone full of mp3 music, but now I stream everything. “Alexa, play some 80’s rock” and I’m good for hours. If you have multiple speakers you can have the music played to one, many or all of them for house-wide coverage.Philips Hue lightbulbs are fantastic devices. They’re very expensive compared to a standard LED bulb, but once you buy one and use it in conjunction with Alexa voice control you soon become hooked. We’re up to 30 Hue bulbs now, and I don’t regret a single purchase.Smart sockets, such as Amazon’s own models or the TP-Link Kasa models, that I recommend, are great for controlling things like Christmas lights and lamps.Your central heating can be controlled by Alexa if you have a suitable smart thermostat. I can ask “Alexa, what’s the temperature in the house?”, and having determined that it’s too cold, if my wife not wrapped head to toe in fleece blankets wasn’t enough, I can then say “Alexa, set the house to 20 degrees”.Some door bells and cameras, such as Ring products, work with Alexa voice control also. “Alexa, show me the front door” and she’ll bring up live video on a suitable device like a Fire tablet or an Echo Show.Many televisions also have Alexa integration too. Our LG OLED can be controlled by its built in Alexa.A comprehensive smart home/automation is expensive, I’m not going to sugar that pill, but if it’s something that interests you then look out for these extra products on Black Friday deals would be my tip. All the devices I’ve mentioned and shown on my reviews were purchased from Amazon.I’ll leave it there though as I’ve waffled long enough. I hope you consider giving the Echo Dot a try. I’m of the opinion that the worth of a gadget is in how much you use it, and we use our Echoes and Alexa frequently every day.

I bought a pair of these to use with the new 4k firestick to form a cheapo home theatre setup as the sound on my ageing tv is thin. I have a couple of dot3s and have always been impressed by the sound quality. Listening side by side, these have slightly more bass and better definition across the scale. The dot3s sound slightly flat in comparison.Setup was very easy, the onscreen instructions clear and easy to follow.The resulting stereo home theatre output is impressive. Immersive and detailed. I find the bass from modern blockbuster action movies overpowering, so turned the bass down a notch. The clarity of the dot5 means speech is intelligible, which is not always the case.At full volume they do distort slightly, but for me that is way too loud anyway, certainly with the pair.In fact the sound is good enough to use as a very decent stereo streaming setup, which I now use for most of my listening via those nice people at spot iffy.Voice commands are quite an improvement over the dot3. Much more responsive, and improved accuracy.On top of all that, they look pretty good, especially in blue. They are keenly priced, all the more so as I bought in the black friday greedfest.