Known Issues when using Alexa (which we’re working on)

Here's a list of the known issues with our Alexa integration that we're currently in the process of resolving, with details and a general description. If you run into anything that's not listed here, please let us know! We want to make the best product possible, and your feedback will help us get there.

We'll update this page with new information on the issues as we have it, or when the fix is available.

Sometimes complex skills may drop out (like Jeopardy or Chat, etc.)

If you're a daily Jeopardy user, we apologize. What happens is the thread seems to be getting lost in the response chain, and when you answer, it will look like Alexa forgot you were in the middle of a conversation and answer you without context. We're working to have this one sorted by the end of the year.

All Fixed!

Kindle books have big gaps between paragraphs

If you ask Alexa to speak your Kindle books, you will find that she may be taking a little long between paragraphs. We know why this is, and have a fix for it, which should be available in late November / early December.

All Fixed!

Can't start new Audible audio books

If you're starting an Audible title for the first time, our little speaker will get all hung up on the first little "This is Audible" one second intro, usually labelled as "Chapter 0". If the speaker gets into this state, just pull power and wait a few seconds, and plug it back in to restart things, and she'll be good as new. To play the book, use any Audible app to skip past that Chapter 0 intro, and it will play as expected (you can even use Play-Fi to play it in every room). We're looking into this issue, and should have something in late November / early December.

It currently takes about 30 extra seconds to start the book if you've not read it before, but it will start. We're working on improving this.

The light ring will occasionally blink blue, even when it's totally silent, or the microphone is muted

Alexa wasn't mysteriously picking up something at these particular times, so don't worry. What's happening is the system is just refreshing in the background, and the system is blinking to say "All Good!" We realize this can be annoying in certain scenarios, so we've got a fix ready to disable this behavior in this particular circumstance so that it's less intrusive, but when you do actually lose Internet or the connection, it will still notify you of it (when necessary, rather than when idle). This fix should be out in late November / early December.

All Fixed!

Rarely, I'll ask to play something, and nothing will play

For some reason we're not getting the start command after the content is cued from whatever your service is, but if you ask Alexa what is playing, or ask her to resume, she will actually start the track. We're investigating this, and hope to have a fix for most instances by the end of the year.

Alexa should respond and give an appropriate response every time now. If you didn't get the response you were expecting, check the alexa.amazon.com webpage to review the activity in your account to see what Alexa thought. If you feel there was still a discrepancy on our part, let us know via e-mail.

I was playing something for a few hours, and suddenly it's not playing anymore

Similar to the above in the issue and the workaround, but after several hours of playback. If you ask what's playing or ask to resume, she will. Keep in mind, some services like Pandora have a natural time limit built-in as part of the service. We're investigating this, and hope to have a fix for most instances by the end of the year.

You should see Alexa play for at least 8 hours now for any track-based service, per their general playback guidlines. If you see otherwise, let us know via e-mail and we'll continue to strive to address the problem.