Amazon is pushing the Echo and Echo Dot hard in a bid to dominate the connected home market before too many players – like Google – can catch up.
The Amazon Echo got off to a flying start, establishing itself as one of the hottest smart home devices, assisted by the smaller Echo Dot, a capable sidekick that brings its connected skills to existing speakers you might have.
We're diving into what it's like living with Alexa on numerous devices, with multiple Echo or multiple Dots spread around your home and whether there's any great benefit.
- View Amazon Echo on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- View Amazon Echo Dot on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Setting up multiple Amazon Echo devices
Adding a new Echo or Dot to your home is straightforward, following the same steps as when you setup your first device. Open the Alexa app, go to settings and choose "setup a new device" then follow the process as you did before. (You can achieve the same result with your Alexa account on a desktop PC if you prefer.)
It's really as simple as that. As it links to an existing account, it adopts the skills of the existing device, so there's no need to setup all the individual elements again.
The next decision is where to place the new device. Amazon built the Echo to be smart enough to respond to your commands across the room. The devices make use of "Echo Spatial Perception" which means the Echo that is closest to you should be the one that responds.
We found that if you stood somewhere between two devices then it could cause a problem. With one in the kitchen and one in the lounge, standing roughly halfway between the two confused the system, leading to neither responding, or one responding but not understanding correctly, or both attempting to respond.
You'll need to experiment with placement to get this balance right and it will also depend on your intended usage. If one is upstairs and one downstairs, you've effectively added the convenience of Alexa in multiple places in your house and there'll be no conflict.
Setup is easy, so what can and can't you do with multiple Amazon Echos?
Multiple Echo functions and features
In reality, there isn't that much that changes by having more Echo devices. The core functionality of Alexa and the Echo (whether that's the Dot or not) doesn't really change when it's doubled up, with minimal syncing between the two.
There are a few areas with all the Echos will sing in harmony, but for the most part, each works as an individual.
Synced calendars, shopping lists and to-do lists
Some things are synced to your Alexa account and those are therefore accessible on the various Echo devices you might have scattered around the house. Add something to your to-do list or shopping list and it's immediately available elsewhere too.
The shopping list is handy because it's stored within the app, so you can verbally add things to list through any Echo device to check on your phone when you're next out shopping.
Of course, things like synced calendars or information from skills you have setup are available on all your Echo devices.
Music in multiple locations
Amazon has added the ability setup "groups" of devices within the Alexa App which allow you to play music across multiple Echo devices in your home. We've covered how to set up this multi-room music option before, but what this means is you can easily get tunes thumping throughout your house, without having to invest in a system like Sonos.
You can play music from Spotify, Amazon Music or TuneIn radio on multiple Echos, so you can very easily have synchronised audio in a number of locations.
Unfortunately, you cannot use an Echo Dot to connect to another Bluetooth speaker while playing on a multi-room group. If you had an Echo Dot in the living room that connected to an amplifier, for example, you couldn't maintain that connection while also playing on the larger Amazon Echo in the kitchen or bedroom. If you're looking for a good quality multi-room experience, you'd be better off with multiple full-size Amazon Echos than several Dots or a combination of both.
It also appears that you can't have a group that includes the Echo Show based on our testing.
You can also play music from different sources on different Echos in different rooms. For example, you can play TuneIn Radio in the bedroom and Spotify in the kitchen. Which is a handy way to keep the family happy.
- How to set up and play music on multiple Amazon Echo devices
But you can also ask any of your Echos to play some music on other Echos you have. For example, you can ask your Echo Show in the kitchen to play Spotify music on your Echo Plus.
Setting timers and alarms
The Echo is great for setting timers and alarms, whether that's for waking you up in the morning or as a reminder for when food will be finished cooking or the washing machine needs emptying.
Now, timers and alarms are specific to the device they're set on. If you set a timer using an Echo Dot in the kitchen, it shouldn't carry through to the Echo or Echo Dot in the lounge or bedroom.
Bluetooth connections are separate
Bluetooth connections are treated separately and not common between your Echo devices, which makes sense as you might not want the devices interfering with each other or connecting to a Bluetooth speaker in a different room.
We've found Bluetooth connectivity on the Echo Dot to be seamless and once it's initially setup it is easy to tell Alexa to "connect to my speaker" to re-establish the connection – although as we said, it doesn't support multiroom in that guise.
Household Profiles and multiple accounts
Within the app you can add another Amazon user to your Household Profile. This is beneficial in several ways, first and foremost in that it gives that person access to their own content (music, audio books and Google Calendar).
It's also worth doing if you have an Amazon Prime account but the other person doesn't, as adding them to the Household Profile allows them to take advantages of Prime benefits too. You can find out more about the benefits here and manage yours here.
You can also use this to choose who sets up the Echo devices and which account they are assigned to. You need to get the other people in the house to download the Alexa app and sign the terms of agreement, then once accounts are connected you can tell Alexa to switch between the profiles which is handy for managing content, placing orders and more.
Using multiple Echo devices as intercoms
Having multiple Amazon Echo devices in your home also gives you the ability to use them as intercoms around the house. If you go into settings in the browser or Alexa App, all you have to do is name your devices according to the room they're in then you can "drop in" on that room from afar. This drop in ability lets you use the Echos as a loudspeaker to broadcast your message.
You can do this from your phone by opening the app and clicking the "drop in" button then selecting the relevant Echo you want to talk to. This then essentially calls that device from your phone and allows you to speak to whoever is on the other end. The same ability is as simple as saying "Alexa, drop in on the bedroom" to another Echo elsewhere in the house.
You can already see the possibilities with this system – whether it's buzzing the kitchen to ask if dinner is ready or calling up to your children without having to shout up the stairs. It works really well too.
It's worth noting that you can also place calls to Echo owners in your contact list using your Echo device. This will allow you to place calls for free to people in other households, which is handy too.
- Amazon Alexa calling and messaging: What is it, how does it work, and where can you use it?
Distinguishing between users
Despite having the ability to add multiple users to the account, Alexa is not yet capable of distinguishing between users based on their voice, so you need to physically tell an Echo device to switch accounts before it will do so. This is especially relevant if you're placing an Echo device in someone's bedroom and you want it connecting to that person's content.
Unfortunately, if you tell Alexa to switch accounts and then request a song on Spotify you'll currently find her returning a message about how Spotify playback is only available through the primary user's account. You cannot, therefore, prevent household use from ruining your Discover Weekly or allow family members access to their own playlists.
The alternative might be having each user purchase their own Echo device and thereby being the primary user.
Are multiple Echos worth it?
The advantage of having access to Alexa's features doesn't hinge on building some sort of super Echo network in your house. Being able to use the Echo's smart voice controls across your home is the real advantage: you can control your lights or heating via voice from upstairs or downstairs. If you have a loft room, the Dot will bring voice control that's outside the range of your Echo downstairs and so on.
With multi-room audio support there's certainly something to be said for owning multiple Amazon Echo devices in close proximity. As long as you're aware of the lack of Bluetooth connectivity in this setup for now.
With the Dot being so affordable, if you're a fan of the Echo then it's certainly worth the expansion, even if that's just to give you voice control over your smart lights or heating from more rooms in the house.
- View Amazon Echo on Amazon for £89.99
- View Amazon Echo Dot on Amazon for £49.99
