Features:

  • Echo Buttons are an interactive way to play games and control smart home routines through your compatible Echo device.
  • Choose from a catalog of 100+ compatible Alexa skills.
  • Activate an Alexa smart home routine with the press of a button.
  • Customize your own trivia game skill with Alexa Skill Blueprints.
  • Easy setup with an Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus, or Echo Spot. Just ask, "Alexa, setup my Echo Buttons".
  • Connect up to 4 buttons with compatible Echo devices using bluetooth
  • Each Echo Button requires 2 AAA batteries. Includes 4 AAA batteries.
SOLUTIONS to pairing problems, SETUP ADVICE to save time if problems occur, tips to improve TROUBLE SHOOTING skills

Update 3/4/18: Great fun, better than expected, but some quirks I didn’t expect! PROS: - Great for game nights, sleep overs, etc - no setup, no cleanup (after initial setup) - Fun for two, couples or teams (supports 4 buttons) - Alexa acts as facilitator - keeps score, manages tempo and when possible enforces rules (can lock buttons out, etc) - Expect lots of new games as developers get access to Gadget skill development tools CONS: - Initial setup: problems with Bluetooth pairing (see SETUP ADVICE below) - It’s not perfect - she will misinterpret and/or use someone talking in the background for an answer - Buttons don’t register the ‘quick push’ consistently. This leads answering a question meant for another team and skews the score (pay attention to the answer prompts - both voice and visual) - No easy way to clean up a scoring error. Trivial pursuit can close a category, offer bonus question, all tied to someone yelling an answer out of turn etc. Things we stress: - Before answering, make sure your team’s button ‘Active’ and the one to receive credit with a correct answer. - Press the button firmly. Sometimes a quick tap doesn’t register and you may end up answering for another team - Allow one player to speak when Alexa prompts for the answer. It can be hard, but try and be quiet - (Alexa will pick up anyone’s voice who yells) - Keep it light hearted, no wagering :) It’s not perfect and Alexa will occasionally misinterpret an answer (just like when I ask her to ‘turn the heat up’). The one thing we found frustrating was when one of the above items occurred, and they will, there is no easy way to correct the scoring (hint - Amazon, allow developers to build real time game interface to Alexa app, and allow scoring adjustments to games currently in play). These are a lot of fun, but manage expectations. Great platform to work with for the App/skill developers - I can’t wait to see what they come up with ======================== TROUBLE SHOOTING, SETUP ADVICE (save time and frustration): - Each button has a unique ID viewable in the Alexa App (after pairing): Settings>your Echo device name>(either Bluetooth or Echo Buttons) - LABEL BUTTONS as each one pairs with last 2 characters of Bluetooth connect name. ***This is critical for troubleshooting (a must do if you have 4 buttons) >>>TROUBLESHOOTING: Like all Bluetooth devices, these will have disconnects. Problem is they don’t always recover and reconnect. The GOOD NEWS is with the BUTTONS LABELED you won’t have to unpair, forget and re-pair all buttons. Without the labels it’s impossible to know which button to remove from Bluetooth/Echo Button and re-pair. - SYMPTOM: Button disconnects from Bluetooth and will not re-pair (will not light ‘orange’ indicating ‘ready to pair’). Most likely the Button is still partially connected to last device. - PROBLEM: Under settings a paired BUTTON’s unique name appears in TWO places. When a Button is disconnected (manual or dropped Bluetooth), it often fails to disconnect from both places (‘Bluetooth’ or ‘Echo Buttons’). To verify see: Settings>your Echo device name>(either Bluetooth and/}or Echo Buttons) - FIX: To complete the removal, and allow re-pairing, do the following: Under ‘Echo Buttons’ select ‘UNPAIR’ and under ‘Bluetooth’ select ‘FORGET DEVICE - SYMPTOM: followed steps above but still won’t pair/re-pair - FIX: When you have a button that’s still giving you problems, it can usually be resolved using the steps below. They all aren’t needed everytime, but you’ll save a lot of time in the long run. Using the Alexa App do the following: FORGET DEVICE under ‘Bluetooth’ and UNPAIR under ‘Echo Button’ >Shut down Alexa App on all mobile devices (a second device trying to pair could issue) >Reboot Echo device by unplugging for 10 seconds >Remove batteries from problem button for 10 seconds, then reinstall >NOW ATTEMPT TO RE-PAIR ***With multiple problem buttons, consider repeating steps after each successful pairing. I paired, unpaired, and forgot Devices (Bluetooth) many, many times trying to recreate and debug the issues identified by myself and others. I then tested various solutions in an attempt to resolve as many issues as possible. The fix’s above resolved every issue I encountered, and the labeling really helped save time by making it easy to identify the failing button in the Alexa app. Of course this won’t fix a dead button, but you might find your button isn’t actually dead. Hopefully this helps you get your Echo Buttons up and RUNNING! HAPPY HOLIDAY’S **This is an in process review. I really like the buttons and I’ll share more later :) Update 2/5/18 Product seems to be stabilizing. I have not had a dropped connection since December that required intervention. ***ADDITIONAL/TIP: Verify and ensure Alexa/echo device is on latest software. (See comments at bottom of review for latest echo device software as of 2/6/18)

Easy to set, fun games, but some are not for younger players

My family and I really enjoyed these buttons and had fun with the games. Set up was also very easy, however I disliked needing a screw driver to put the batteries in. Most games were a lot of fun, however Trivia Pursuit will give you an incorrect answer if you pronounce a word different. The Sounds Game, with Epps, I believe is very hard and doesn't make alot of sense and not suitable for young players. One answer to the sound was "what is a virgin trying kama sutra for the first time", sound was weird and nobody is ever going to guess that, nor explain it to a young child. You also have to say the phrase exactly for Alexa to recognize that you want to play a game, which can be tedious if you say, the echo buttons instead of my echo buttons. Until it can be started by pressing one of the buttons, it might be best to write the launch phrases down. Other than that though my family and I had a lot fun playing the games.

UPDATED FROM A 2 STAR REVIEW: Went from “So far these have been a let down.” to these are great!

I purchased these guys when they came out. I have the original Amazon Echo and so far these are about as function as a bump on a log. Every time I attempt to launch one of the games it won’t register one of the buttons and or it cause my Echo to disconnect from the internet. I gave this product a two star rating instead of a one because I fully expect these to get better in time, at least I hope so. If that is in fact the case, I will update my review accordingly. As of now, I would not recommend this product with its current level of functionality. At least they weren’t that expensive. UPDATE: I got an unsolicited call from Amazon technical assistance to help solve the problem. We went through some trouble shooting on both the Echo Buttons and Echo and had this going correctly in no time. Turns out I just needed to reset everything and it’s been working perfectly since. So far we’ve played Trivial Pursuit Tap and the buttons worked exactly as they were designed. These are going to be a blast with just me and my wife as well as small gatherings. I would definitely recommend these products and am very grateful to the good people at Amazon who go out of their way to make sure that new devices like this do in fact launch successfully. You can rest assured that when buying this and other amazon devices that if you do stumble the way I did, they will be there to help. Way to go Amazon on another successful gadget!

Push the button Max!

When the Echo Buttons first came out, I never thought I'd end up using them... until it became apparent to me, that my wife simply did not like talking to Alexa. Oh sure, she'd ask her for simple stuff... like playing music or finding out things from Wikipedia. But somehow, verbally asking Alexa to turn things on & off, just didn't resonate with her. So, I purchased the buttons, so that I could setup routines for exiting & entering our residence. The 2 AAA batteries for each button come pre-installed. You only need to pull out the paper tab, before using them for the first time. Pressing a button causes the it to briefly flash blue; as button press acknowledgement. Holding down the button for about 10 seconds, after the initial blue flash, causes the button to turn orange; as it enters Bluetooth pairing mode. Like an Echo remote, each Echo Button can only be paired to 1 Echo device at a time. The easiest way to pair a button is to say "Alexa, setup my Echo Button" to the Echo device you want to pair the button with. To ensure pairing success, do not put the button into pairing mode, until Alexa gets to the part of the directions telling you to. And if you wait until the directions finish, a pairing failure is likely to occur. You can also manually pair the buttons, using the Alexa app. Once a button is paired; you might notice something "strange" in the Bluetooth section of your Echo device's settings. Specifically, if you used the Alexa voice command to pair a button; it will show up in the list of paired devices ONLY if it is attached to an Alexa Routine, or if you manually paired it using the Alexa app. Otherwise it will not be listed, but will show up in the total number of paired devices count. In my particular use for the buttons, I used Velcro to attach the buttons to the wall; near our front door, and used a P-touch label maker to label them as "Away" and "Home" (see pictures). I then created Alexa Routines to perform the necessary ingress & egress actions required. When each button is pressed, they briefly flash blue to acknowledge the local button press. And once the Alexa Routine starts, they then flash a "long green" to acknowledge the routine is starting. Overall, the ability to use the buttons to initiate the start of a routine is probably going to be the killer application for the Echo Buttons.

“Alexa, set up my echo buttons”

“Alexa, set up my echo buttons”. Maybe they should just put this on the outside of the box for how to set up, because I had to search YouTube to find a video on how to do it. Maybe it’s in the manual? Anyway, they are cool once you get them going.

Lots of fun ...

Got these as Christmas gifts for a few people. Played a few games on Christmas Eve. They're lots of fun and super simple to set up. I certainly hope to see more games (and potentially other applications) introduced to work with these in the near future. And at $20 for a two-pack, how can you go wrong?

These are so much FUN!

Played Party Foul with a friend last night and it was so much fun! Going to start an Alexa game night! I highly recommed the Buttons for hours of fun and games. I just ordered another set. Really easy to set up, just put the batteries in, tell Alexa to pair them, she will tell you to hold each button down for 10 seconds and then she will tell you they are paired!

1-4 Player Games that are Engaging

This was super easy to pair with my echo dot that had been previously set up. I only had to press one button and bam, they were activated. I have had no issues with the buttons needing to be re-paired or disconnecting during games. The buttons were a little smaller than my echo dot which is great for easy storage. One thing I love about these is that there are quite a few games only requiring 1 player or 2 players. I find it hard to get a large group together frequently for gaming so these buttons are an excellent alternative for a small group or individual games. I can see how this would also be a lot of fun for people who live alone. Here is a list of games you can play with Alexa and the buttons: Buzzer Beater Basketball Trivia Sounds Fun Trivial Pursuit Tap- 2-4 players Button Monte- 2 buttons required, 2 player Button Button GG Button 4th Down Football Trivia Party Foul- 2-4 players Don’t Cut that Wire Hanagram- 2-4 players Trivial Pursuit Tap- 2-4 players Anything above without the number of players can be a 1-player game. Here is a list of games Alexa will play without requiring buttons: World Detective (no buttons needed) Classic Rock Music History Quiz (no buttons needed) Teen Jeopardy (no buttons needed) Jeopardy (no buttons needed) Spelling Game for Kids (no buttons needed) I will add that during trivia, unless you give the exact wording then your answer will be counted incorrect (ex. I said “lifting patients out of bed” and Alexa was looking for “lifting”) and there was no override for the scoring system that I could find. Even with that flaw, I highly recommend this.

Great item! Ordered a 2 pack and they came ...

Great item! Ordered a 2 pack and they came this afternoon. The daughter and I paired them up with the echo show flawlessly without any issues according to the instructions and were playing in no time at all. Highly recommended! Great all around family game. MY 14yr old daughter and I were laughing within 5 min of getting going after we got the instructions learned rather quickly. NOTE!!!!! They do come with 2-AAA Batteries for each button. You will need a small screwdriver, phillips head to install the batteries before use. Also you once you have Alexa cued up you'll gold the button down on the echo button until it turns yellow for pairing. Took all of 15 seconds to pair both push buttons.

Works well, responsive and easy to set up... may be a little fragile, so take care not to crush them in all the excitement.

Echo Buttons are a great addition to the echo base unit, and provide a number of useful and entertaining options for developers to create interactive experiences around. The buttons come two to a package, are Bluetooth enabled, easy to set up one at a time with a long press, and a word or two with Alexa, after inserting the required AAA batteries (included). It will take a fair minute to pair, as Alexa apparently needs to do a little housekeeping with each attached button. Once connected they are very quickly and colorfully switched by Alexa, and animated faster than you could realistically multi-tap. They don’t seem all that durable, and I’m guessing they won’t take too many heavy fists before complications set in, but I’ll give these the benefit of the doubt and be as careful as I can not to really beat them when I chime in for that lightning round of trivia. Very fun, and strangely, it doesn’t seem to fade too quickly. I bet these gadgets really differentiate Alexa as it puts some more distance between itself and other appliances that aren’t as practical and fun. A good buy, and recommended to give Echo some added charm and pizazz for not much extra $$.

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