Amazon Dot

What ho one and all,

Have the opportunity to buy a Gen2 Amazon Dot. I know it is behind the curve but I don't really need (or want) the very latest c**p.)

The only reason to buy it is to hopefully get a better radio reception via the internet than we currently have with a regular FM or DAB radios. For some reason, there are only a few areas of some rooms were we get reasonable reception.

But I have some questions.

When we are not listening to the radio, we just hit the off button. Does one do this with an Dot or does one ask it to turn off?

Presumably, when it is powered up, it is listening to everything, all the time, or not?

If it is turned off at the mains, does it just boot up or does it need to be reset again?

Thanks and toodle pip

Yes, it is listening to you all the time ... as long as it has power and is connected to the internet of course.

No, I do not believe it has to be setup again once it loses power. We use a Kasa Smart Plugs to toggle power on our Alexa ... and anything else I want to power down (for privacy) from our phone's KASA app.

Thanks. Not overly paranoid about privacy, but not so happy that it would be listening all the time.

A neighbour has recently been given a company car, one of the large Audi SUV EV models. She was driving somewhere with her teenage daughter and due to a major rape case that had been all over the news, they were talking about it.

Ten minutes later, she is pulled over by the police for a 'random' check. Her first time ever being stopped adn can only conclude that the car was 'listening' and reporting. Sounds like China!!!

Spooky for sure. <grrr>

If "they" were listening to what's being said/done in cars then half the cars on the road would be liable to be pulled over for random checks every day. Radios tuned to news, podcasts, live sports, people's conversations, kids watching movies in the back seat or play fighting, arguing etc etc would constantly raise false alarms of potential violence. It would be a HUGE waste of resources.

Indeed. You're right Fink, it would. Way too much "noise".

Echo devices are simple and easy to connect to the Alex Networks via the Internet, and I've used them for a variety of tasks such as setting alarms, playing music, checking status, and managing home runs. The setup process is simple and easy.