GoKawiilLast week, we rounded up some reports from users saying their first-generation Amazon Echo speakers weren’t working. Most problems being reported were similar: owners say that their speakers newly can’t understand their speech or fail to respond to commands that had always worked before. We asked you, our readers, if you’ve been having problems with your own speakers — and it turns out most of you are.
About a thousand people responded to a poll about first-gen Echo speakers that’s been running on Android Authority for the past week. The poll asked respondents whether their original Amazon Echo speakers were still working correctly, presenting options for one of three answers: still working right, partially working with some issues, or not working at all. Very few respondents indicated their speakers were still working like new.
The most popular option — “Some issues, but it’s mostly working” — nabbed more than half the votes with a total share of 54%. Given the speaker we’re talking about was initially released more than a decade ago, partial functionality is better than you might hope for by now.
The second-most popular response is more troubling. More than a third of readers polled indicated that their “first-gen Echo is no longer functional.” Amazon hasn’t been supporting the original Echo with regular software updates for some time now, but it’s continued to work for basic functionality like controlling smart home gadgets and playing music — users love the audio quality. It’d be a shame to see it fade out of usability solely due to a lack of software support.
A lucky 11% of respondents say that their original Amazon Echo speakers are “working fine,” giving them few or no issues. If you’re in that camp, enjoy it while it lasts.
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