Is me or has Alexa become hard of hearing?

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#1

Maybe it's me but Alexa used to be pretty responsive to commands when music was playing. Now she ignores me 50% of the time and in find myself shouting like a mad man: "Alexxxxxxa! next SONG!!!

There have been no changes to the room and the Dot is in the same location as before. Also, my receiver defaults to a specific volume level on power up and I generally don't change it. Alexa never seemed to have issue hearing me but now see seems a little deeef and has begun ignoring me. Either that or I've pissed her off and she's trying to irritate me.

To add insult to injury, the Echo Dots in adjacent rooms rooms hear me just fine and keep prompting me to order the music "Family Plan" if I want to listen to music in multiple locations.

I've had this Dot for nearly 3 years--I wonder how old that is in human years :crazy_face:

Anyone else experiencing the same thing?

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#2

Is me or has Alexa become hard of hearing?

Pardon??? :wink:

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#3

You have obviously been married to the Dot. :wink:

2 Likes
#4

It's been a rocky relationship but we love each other :slight_smile:

#5

You may think you love each other but it is obviously a one way relationship.

#7

That's what I keep telling her but she just says: "Hmm, I'm not sure" or "I don't know that", or "I don't have no opinion on that".

Bitch!

1 Like
#8

You guys using Alexa, be afraid...be very afraid.

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#9

Yes, same for me. We have an Echo that, when it's playing music, can't hear "Alexa". Thought it was just mine. The Echo can play music pretty loud, louder than our Dots, and that's when I particularly notice it's loss of hearing.

#10

Everybody that uses Alexa reports this eventually. Must have something to do with them trying to limit false positives. Not sure if it's possible to fix without deleting everything and factory resetting. I did that once long time ago and it seemed to help, but that was before I had so much setup with it.

Just had to fix all my routines the other day in order to fix Harmony. Hate that I can't setup or repair the routines via web browser, and cannot back them up. The whole Alexa setup is a fragile thing. You get it working and try not to look at it wrong for fear of it breaking again.

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#11

Try resetting the voice parameter. Same general complaint here.

BTW, my Alexa has filed for divorce. Says I can't communicate. I found out she was having an affair with my thermostat and their children (plugs and bulbs) are all over the house.

8 Likes
#12

Yes. The thermostat refers to her as "Alive Girl".

#13

On a side note, Google is listening for Alexa phrases and sending notifications in response. This notification comes up every time I say "Alexa, Goodnight". Just tested during the day and it happens same as in the evening.

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#14

If true, This is a blantant violation of your privacy!!!!!!! Scream, Holler, Yell. Find out how to turn off this "feature".

#15

!00% repeatable. And I already have devices setup in Google Assistant/Home, so there is no excuse for this.

1 Like
#16

Can confirm that Alexa is becoming "deaf" when music is playing. I glad it is just not me that noticed this.

#17

I've noticed that performance has deteriorated as I have acquired more Alexa devices; having multiple within earshot of each other makes the problem worse. They are supposed to be able to negotiate among themselves to determine which one is closest to the voice but they aren't infallible. Sometimes a command that I've given to a device nearby is being picked up by one farther away (which I can't even hear) so it appears that I am being ignored.

This became especially bad when I got one of the 2nd gen Echo Show devices a few months ago. I suspect its mic placement just isn't as good as the original Echo tower (or even the Spot). Trying to make a video call on the newer Show a foot from my chair would often result in the Spot in the kitchen (about 15 feet away, through a doorway no less) intercepting the command and initiating the call. I solved this problem by changing to different wake words on nearby devices. I just have to remember which ones are Echo, Alexa, and Amazon...

#18

You can setup which speaker is the default speaker in each room. Then when you are in that room and you ask Alexa something, she will lower the speakers in that room to hear what you are saying.

#19

It's not hearing "Alexa".. so the lowering ofvolume doesn't occur. When I do 'shouting like a mad man: "Alexxxxxxa!" '.. and she does hear.. yep, she lowers the volume. But I don't get the blue circle light unless screaming.

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#20

Have you force updated your firmware? I found that on my 1st gen Shows and Spots, I had to force update the firmware and then they started listening better.

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#21

I sort of cheat. I got rid of my two alexa devices. But I use the Fire Tablet in show mode for bedside (also reading app) and the Fire TV Cube in Living Room. I also use the different names for each device (there are four keywords that can be individually assigned to each Echo/tablet).

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Download the Hubitat app