I have found a little trick to get dashboards on the echo show devices.
âAlexa, open YouTubeâ
If itâs your first time it will ask you to select a browser, Iâve tried both, for this task I donât see any difference. Navigate the the dashboards page then bookmark this.
Once you are on the YouTube site you can put the IP address of your hub in the location bar, then bookmark this.
Once this is done, itâs simpler, just ask your YouTube and then select the bookmark.
With the size of the location bar itâs not ideal, but I thought Iâd share.
If anybody figures out how to hide the bar or if there is a better way please let me know.
... update: if you go into the browser settings and turn of web scaling it looks better
Itâs even easier than that. Just say âAlexa, open firefoxâ. It will respond âhereâs firefoxâ, and open your browser. You can pin the dashboard and then move it so itâs at the top of the recentâs for easy access.
You can also do this with a routine. Just create an Alexa Routine so that when you say your custom phrase ( mine is Alexa, open dashboard), it will open Firefox. I have my ambient weather dashboard pinned in Firefox too. So this makes an easy to remember phrase for the family that will get them to either dashboard (although to be honest, they use HomeKit for physical control, and Alexa for voice control).
If you pin the full screen dashboard page, then you just flip up on the address bar the next time and it goes away, Until firefox times out (shuts down on the Echo Show to save resources) and has to re-open the next time you call for it.
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I do what @SmartHomePrimer did but I can't figure out a way for browser to stay on top.
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The show will always shut down firefox after a timeout period. It must be a saving resources thing. These devices are cheap, thereâs not much memory in them. You will always need to flip up on the address bar when it reopens. This is a pretty trim down version of firefox. Not many options. Even fewer on the FireTV stick.
Although I just started playing around with the new send tabs to device feature of Firefox. This has some potential to be useful. Itâs come in handy with the FireTV stick. I like the ability to easily open a tab on my phone and then just tapped âSend Tab to FireTVâ and it opens there.
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Thanks that is so much better, and Firefox does hide the address bar.
I wish it was possible to get custom actions to be done silently.
Check out this thread about Alexa's new Custom Actions. It might be solution.
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