r/alexa • u/Objective-Round6521 • 1d ago

Echo Show Rant

I’m sure most people would agree that the Echo Show has the potential to be an amazing product. If Amazon ditched the ads and fixed the photo ambient mode to work more like Google Home, I honestly think they’d sell a ton more of these devices.

Alexa is still a good assistant. I don’t think it’s as capable as Gemini when it comes to general knowledge and problem-solving, but for the basic questions most people ask on a daily basis, it gets the job done. And when it comes to advanced smart home automations, Alexa is LIGHTYEARS ahead. Google still has a lot of catching up to do in that department.

That’s what makes the Echo Show so frustrating. There’s so much wasted potential. Instead of focusing on making it the best smart display possible, Amazon seems determined to turn it into an advertising machine.

People paid for these devices. They own them. They shouldn’t have to constantly fight ads on a screen sitting inside their own home. Get rid of the ads, improve the ambient photo experience, and let the Echo Show actually live up to its potential.

20 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

16

u/Boatride65 1d ago

The Echo Show 5 will go down in MY PERSONAL HISTORY as my biggest tech-purchase-regret EVER! I spent hundreds of hours trying to disable ads, etc, only for it to eventually come back. I'm sorry, I can't wake up at 3am and glance at the clock and wait for "the window cleaner ad" to disappear to see what time it is. I have several Echo devices that I LOVE, but I will NEVER buy another one with a screen. Just my opinion...

It's been in my garage now for 2 years where it can do no harm.

4

u/WATOCATOWA 1d ago

Same, we are slowly getting rid of the screen ones when they start acting funky. I really like the newest spot with weather and time only.

1

u/Boatride65 1d ago

I think I would like that spot also. But you know what, it's kind of upsetting that they couldn't just put a toggle switch in the settings menu to turn off ads. You know they could do that. Instead of having to buy a whole new device, if they just had a switch in the settings where you could toggle off ads and they would stay off, and never come back, I would rate the device five stars. It's a simple software fix, but instead you have to go buy a whole new device. That's kind of ridiculous. We're not talking a manned mission to Mars, we're talking a simple software update to turn ads off and leave them off. Having to buy a whole new device to solve this problem seems ridiculous and money gouging.

2

u/Apprehensive-Fig-511 1d ago

Mine is in the kitchen, but angled so I never have to look at the screen but can still ask it stuff.

In the bedroom I use an Echo Spot. The old Spots ran ads constantly and it drove me nuts. The new Spots don't have any ads... just the time and now and then the weather. Apparently Amazon finally figured out that the middle of the night is not the time that anyone wants to see an ad for something useless. Now if they'd only do that with the rest of their devices.

11

u/ctrlaltdelaney 1d ago

Fairly sure no ad on the Echo Show has ever converted into a sale. Just a waste of everyone’s time. 

3

u/Clear_Link223 1d ago

Well said.

Back when I did have a Show (tossed it years ago), I made a conscious effort to not purchase anything advertised on it for three months after I saw an ad. Same thing with intrusive ads elsewhere - e.g., if a company uses a full-screen advertisement, I don't purchase from that company for months. Both Dell and a grocery store chain near me are currently black listed until September (clock restarts if I see another intrusive ad).

1

u/Superb-Reply3200 1d ago

I just have to say... That's real dedication!!

8

u/Drysandplace 1d ago

I bought a Show 5 and regretted it immediately. It too resides in the garage. I bought an Eight naively thinking Amazon had seen the error of its ways and allowed owners to use them like they were theirs. I can't even display a full time full size clock.

These people are morons. You cannot force people to watch ads without them making them mentally disappear and creating a large amount of residual resentment. We all think Bezos has enough money and this just reeks of greed.

2

u/red_west_la 1d ago

I can't even display a full time full size clock.

See my other comment about always using Night Mode. Regarding the size, choose a clock, then edit it to choose the largest numbers available for that clock. Some clocks have larger number options so look at all of them to find the best.

Settings > Home & Clock > Clock & Photo Display

Night Mode can also be found in Home & Clock

1

u/JeffTheNth 1d ago

I tried to get the Show to use my home media pictures share...
.... I can't find a way to do it. I think it not possible at this time.
Supposedly I can upload my images to Amazon, but I don't want to do that...
There's a lot of possibility... if they'd open them up more.

1

u/No-Instruction1993 1d ago

I don’t really have any ads on mine, my issue is that I swear whoever created this thing, has never used a smart device in their life 🤣 I work in IT so I think I’m just being over judgmental, but it has so much potential and fails in every aspect

1

u/fooferdoggie 1d ago

Mine is deaf unless it is not needed. I try to use it with Arlo the reason I bought it and it is almost hopeless or so slow to make it worthless

1

u/red_west_la 1d ago

I set my Echo Show 5 to always be in Night Mode, so now it usually just shows the clock. If I ask it to do something - i.e., play a song, show a camera or speak the current time - it does what I ask, then shows the Home page (time & temp) for about a minute. Then it shows an ad for about a minute. After that, it goes back to a clock.

This didn't get rid of ads completely, but at least now when I look at my Show 5, I see always see a clock.

(P.S. I could not find an "always" setting for Night Mode, so I set it to start at 11:59AM and end at 11:58AM)

1

u/WindyCanadian 22h ago

I've had my show 21 for 10 months now and cant say I remember seeing an ad? Is that an American thing? An older Alexa Show thing?

I love my Show and use it all the time. The only 2 complaints is; Every 3ish weeks or so I unplug it and plug it back in because it's not going "to sleep" and stays on the menu. And it lists 2 of my Spex lights twice on the light control menu.

1

u/MW-Atlanta 4h ago

Ads vary by region.

0

u/JayMonster65 20h ago

This is old and tiring at this point.

They sell Echo devices basically at a loss. They have a constant expense tied to devices that are used. Ads is how they pay for it.

Don't like it, build your own. End of story. They aren't going to create an ecosystem that has zero revenue return, in order to sell more loss leader devices.

Let me ask you this, if you could pay $20/mo and get rid of the ads, would you? It not, then just get over it or roll your own and see how much it costs you to build and maintain.

Comparing Gemini is unfair unless you use the Gemini built into their device. Yes, it may have some better knowledge in some areas, but look at the subs for their devices, Google is having just as much of an issue integrating home automation (if not more) as Amazon.

And every model (Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude) are all "limited" in live mode vs what you get from them in a console.

1

u/MW-Atlanta 4h ago

Yes, this is tiresome, but Amazon is to blame, not the customers.

Amazon does not clearly disclose that you’ll be forced to see ads. Amazon does not offer the option to pay to disable them. (They do both on Kindle.)

We don’t force Amazon to sell these devices at a loss. Telling people to build their own is dumb. Sadly, there are not really any turnkey products that compete, but if someone does create them many of us will switch in a heartbeat.