Goodbye Echo Shows: I am DONE!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

🔴 You Cannot turn off "Sponsored" cards. For the love of god, please people stop saying ads can be turned off in the settings. Only Amazon's chosen cards can be turned off in the Home Content settings. This is not true for "Sponsored" cards. Companies pay Amazon MONEY to show that sponsored card. They are not going to let you turn them off. Currently Ads are only available in the US and Canada. Just because you may not see "Sponsored" cards yet, doesn't mean you have turned ads off under home content. I am tired of seeing people saying you can turn off ads.

[@katzdark]

Correct. The settings that Amazon's "support" will tell you is that you can turn off the ads by going into settings and changing the preferences. They appear not to have seen the device, so they are using a script. That setting turns off targeted ads, not all ads. There is a trick. The light sensor is used to detect presence. Putting a piece of black electrical tape over it will stop most of the ads. The ads will not stop when you give it a voice command. It knows that you are there, so it shows you the ads. The tape trick will have several limits, including a 15, which I bought two for more than $500. I use it in the kitchen. I tell it to start a timer, and I get it an ad. I ask it to stop, and I get an ad. If I leave the room and come back, I get an ad. These are new on the 15th, so you may not have them yet. The 5s have started running animated commercials. Since I use it when cooking, I cannot see the full-screen timer, making it useless. The text is too small, and the tape trip takes it off altogether. This wasn't part of the deal. Using it for art 6' off the ground shows ads when it detects you. This is new for the 25 but not the 5 or 8. Try the tape.

[@Valehass]

I clicked on a slide on my Echoshow that read recipe for peanut butter cookie and it started playing a 7 minute workout. Not sure what it was trying to tell me with that.

[@keeldat]

For me, this was the straw that broke the camel's back as it were. I got rid of all five of my echo show devices.

[@DebsPhotography]

Sponsored is now a UK "feature" as well. AMAZON ARE SHITE

[@clintong8649]

Can I buy your Echo Show 15? Lol never had one, tempted to get the new Show 21.. but on the fence since I'm not sure if it will be better than my mango subscription of 5.99 per month

[@QueendomCome621]

No lies were told in this video. I use my Echo as an alarm clock and to play music. Otherwise its pretty useless.

[@MarcusGarveysGhost]

Clock+Music+Photo slide of my two little girls, until it insist on displaying ads to enable some random skill. I have disabled every single nano marketing option in the settings, it still won't go away.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you. I appreciate that. I try to keep it real, good and bad. Glad you are getting some use still.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Marcus, it’s so annoying to have to turn off the different screens. The deal breaker are those annoying ones you can’t turn off.

[@1MarkKeller]

Yep ... clock, music, photos, and weather on my Alexa capable Samsung fridge. All the other hubs I have are Nest Max hubs ... and I use them the same way.

[@lopezlopez7132]

Why did you buy an Echo device and not a music player with a built in clock? Could have saved a pretty penny...

[@jackperron5537]

I renamed my Echo Show "Ad Server" about a month or so before finally pulling the plug. It now sleeps with the fishes. When Amazon anounced they would include ads in their Prime videos, THAT was the final straw for me and I ended up dumping Prime altogether.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Good for you. Getting rid of Prime is a big one.

[@rainbowsuspendrs]

Me too! 😢

[@BKeaton]

Finally someone is calling Amazon out on this BS

[@rocraider163]

There’s a hack that I found on Reddit to stop all the ads and it’s worked for me for over a year. Im not sure if I can post a link here but you must change your device’s language in settings from English (US) to English (Canada) and I also changed Alexa voice to American 1, that second part is optional though. Canada has much more strict SPAM laws so no more ads. I’m in the US btw.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you for sharing and watching. That makes sense about the ads.

[@SoCalVipers]

I just tried it. I'll report back to see if it works for me. if not, It'll be in the dump soon.

[@rocraider163]

@@SoCalVipers cool. Let me know if it works for you.

[@speedRacer05]

Yes, please let us know if it still works!

[@SoCalVipers]

It seems to have solved the problem. I have not seen any ads since I made the change. :)

[@b_tang]

I don't even use my Show to see the time and weather anymore because my ecobee thermostat displays it bigger than my Show, which has a larger screen! It's like Amazon never once talked to a real person who uses their devices.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is a great point about the Ecobee display. You nailed it, Amazon isn’t taking input. They are in their own bubble.

[@themarketbarber1893]

It's relatively easy to turn it into a clock. You have to turn off all the options in Settings/Home&Clock/Home Content and then MOST IMPORTANTLY, set the Night Mode to 00:00 - 23:55 Daily. Now go back to home screen and after a minute or less it will switch to clock and stay there. No ads. Each time you interact with it, it will always return to clock after a short (minute or less) time. I have mine next to my PC and the ads were driving me mad and I was going to dump it but now it does it's job. I've had it like this for about the last year.. Thanks for the video though, I agree with the majority of it.

[@calculon68]

sweet lord almighty, thank you for this!

[@MN_Engineer]

Amazon cut much of their development staff for these devices. There's really no point in buying anything new, the devices are very limited in what they can do... Since Amazon makes no profit on these devices/Alexa, I suspect the whole ecosystem will start to decay... There needs to be an open source smart speaker option.

[@janetwoodville3643]

I unplugged my Echo show. I don't know where it was coming from, but someone was harassing me through my Echo show. So I unplugged it. They're Fire TV devices are slow in their performance too. I also put my Chromecast Google TV back action.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

An Open source option would be an interesting option. It doesn’t look good for the future with all their cuts.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is crazy about your echo show. I do like the Google interface better than Fire TVs. Thanks for sharing.

[@grantos8276]

@@CraigsTechTalkdo you remember “Mycroft Mark II” unfortunately I backed this open source device. But in the end they failed to bring to market - they ended up wasting money on all the problems it had, and its interface and AI were just too slow. There version one that used raspberry pi would have done much better

[@JaneTaubman]

Home Assistant is getting there. Hopefully soon Nabu Casa will release a commercial one. I do have an ESPHome based speaker/voice control and it works OK.

[@pitipan]

Still can’t understand the Alexa app, it's AWFUL. echo dot is OK, since it was 10$. I totally agree with Craig...

[@CraigsTechTalk]

It’s crazy after all these years the app is not much better. Thanks for watching.

[@pattyd888]

i’m surprised you didn’t mention how crappy the voice recognition have been, mine may listen to me 50% of the time, and even then it will say it didn’t understand me. i’d rather tap a couple times on my phone than bother asking my echo to do something

[@clintonelliott340]

Basically I went all in on Apple. Google and Amazon - I spent too much money on them - never again, and yep, you pretty much nailed everything wrong with Amazon echo’s, they should be paying us to place billboards in our house…

[@callmeNeno]

You’re absolutely correct Apple’s business model is best for customers no advertising or selling your data to third parties

[@blisteringherb]

I did too. I tried Google Home, Alexa and Homekit, and despite the dearth of products made for Homekit I’m genuinely much happier with it. I run Homebridge on an old laptop to keep my older devices integrated, and I’m reasonably satisfied. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough to get the job done with minimal fuss.

[@nowhereslowband]

1000%

[@garethjones5068]

Amazon have never been about listening to their customers

[@zachmosqueda3344]

I know right like it’s sad

[@zachmosqueda3344]

I’ve had mine for the last 10 years and I was expecting to see more updates get pushed but no they clearly don’t care

[@zachmosqueda3344]

I didn’t buy the echo show 8 to look at ads year after year

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You got that right. It is unfortunate that they create in their own little bubble. Instead of just stealing good ideas from Apple and Samsung. Google does the same thing.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I expected more updates too. Not losing features behind a paywall.

[@spacemanwho]

What's annoying is you turn stuff of and amazon turns crap back on.

[@samcowell5554]

Tell me about it it’s freaking annoying the other week. I turned off some stupid shopping recommendation crap then I go to turn it on today then just showing me stupid shopping crap that I turned off previously. It’s bloody annoying but thankfully in the UK at the moment we’re not getting as many stupid adverts as people in America. So thank God for that saying that I’ve probably just gone jinxed it. It’s probably been jinxed.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

Mines been telling me Lexus ads after doing something not even remotely related to driving or cars, like turning on a light! I wish I went with Google.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

It’s great Amazon keeps adding new screens turned on by default. You get at least 1 or 2 new ones a month. The Lexus one is great since it is a paid sponsored ad. You can’t turn off anything with the word sponsored. Lexus is doing some dumb Alexa theme.

[@davidbutton3500]

Thats not limited to Amazon. Windows users are more than familiar with things that were disabled or removed showing up again without notice.

[@djflook9465]

@@TransitAndTeslas it sure isn’t. Apple pulls the same crap when you do a firmware update. Suddenly things you never asked for; or had set exactly how you want them are back the way they would like. Example- I do not use iCloud for download folder or photos. But they both get switched back to iCloud when I update. I have gotten so I won’t update until crap quits working properly

[@KuryakinIllya]

Ads in my texts. Ads on all my streaming channels - that I pay subscriptions for. Ads on PBS. What happened to making money by giving customers what they want?

[@sarcasticmcspastic8073]

This is what I've been saying!

[@adondriel]

This is what has been pissing me off recently too. My $2000 TV has PUSH NOTIFICATION (text) ADS THAT GO OVERTOP OTHER CONTENT. Let alone their actual smart TV apps that are garbage, the only decent smart TV device is a roku anymore, and they are also starting to push more ads! It's absurd. Knock it off people!

[@teeodee4924]

Samsung tvs. Even work with my echos.

[@speedracer9132]

I appreciate this video Craig. For a while I stopped watching your videos because all these things have frustrated me and it seems all you posted was favorable videos about these devices. We need to come together as a community and find ways to take back our smart homes! Words can never describe how grateful I am for this shift in your channel, THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR THE END USER!

[@DaveB564]

Thanks for this video, Craig. I originally gave my Show5 a glowing review right after I first got it but for awhile now, every time I look at it for the current time or temp, all I keep seeing is ad after ad after ad and it’s pretty frustrating and I thought it was just me being fickle. But now I see I’m in good company. What a shame too because it really is (was?) a pretty cool device.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I appreciate your honesty and letting me know that you had stopped watching. I do try to be positive and share what a device can do. But I need to be better about coming back around to these features and let you know if they are worth keeping. I love the coming together as a community and putting out the frustrations. I appreciate the kind words. I don’t want to go negative, but I do think we need to raise the bar, not go backwards. I think we need to ask if these things are really worth spending more money on for upgrades. Thank you again. Have a great day.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Dave, in my livestreams I kept hearing more frustration. That combined with my own and it was time to talk about it. You are not alone my friend. Like many others, we bought into something that was growing and positive for the user. Now it has become something that we didn’t sign up for. Amazon should give us users a kickback for the ad space they are using on my device.

[@lilditty2172]

You nailed every frustration I have with mine. Truely use it for time,date,temp, music, timer and ccasional spelling assist or dictionary. It used to show my ring doorbell camera when someone showed up but it stopped showing that months ago. The random resetting and ads is rediculous

[@730Frankr]

As an Echo user who has 9 echo's throughout my home and car....I agree 110% - The only thing that has kept me from boxing up my echo's is that I need a good product to replace them...The echo's do provide an option to control my lighting throughout the house. Hoping your video on Apple products provides a greater insight to use SIRI. By the way I too am frustrated by the ads they are senseless and not in tune with the products I am most interested in. Amazon does ask for feedback from customers via their memberships- but still waiting for some of my feedback to take traction. Keep up the great videos and DON"T HOLD BACK...The only way Amazon is going to change is from video's like this one!!

[@FriedChairs]

Maybe a video on how to move from Amazon or Google to Apple Home and Siri would help a lot of people. I’ve put away all of my Amazon and Google assistant devices and I’m just using my iPhone instead since I always have it with me.

[@skycastle54]

100% agree with everything you've said. If I buy any echo devices going forward, none will have a screen because never once have I looked at their advertisements and said, "hey, I need that!" NOT ONCE. Why can't someone figure out a way to jail break these devices and let the end user decide what to put on the screen? Thanks for saying what everyone else is thinking. More smart home tech channels need to do the same.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much 🙏 I have to keep it real with you all. I am glad to help be a voice for frustrated users. You have a Great point, I have never taken action after seeing one of the ads or their recommendation screens. I like the jailbreak idea.

[@Kulyk82]

Thank you, your video changed my mind. I was thinking of buying an echo show 10, but because of aggressive marketing, I changed my mind, I don't want to see ads on my device.

[@paul454]

I'm frustrated beyond belief with mine. I agree with everything you said, but I must add one thing: I have EVERYTHING turned off on my home screen, and about once a month Amazon either adds something new, or turns things back on that I previously turned off. I'll be sitting on my couch and see something flash in the corner of my eye, and sure enough, it's showing ads again. Infuriating. I finally bought a tablet with a stand that I plan on using in its place. I am also done with these pieces of garbage.

[@Daniele-D-Amico]

I did just that, I used a Tablet with an app that has smart functions such as alexa / google home, never made a better choice. I have any video and music app, without any restrictions ❣️

[@sfoldy]

Just seeing this video today and I really could not believe how common the sentiment is with mine. The commenter who mentions renaming the device to “Ad Server” made me chuckle but was completely accurate. The one thing I would add to these frustrations is the news articles that pop up. Every once in a while I will see one about a national or international news event. Otherwise, it’s sports and celebrity news, topics that you couldn’t pay me to be interested in. The fact that I can’t curate news topics to things I care about adds to the paperweight status of mine.

[@davidfarrell1062]

Have 8 inch echo show in kitchen and used for years to show me my next appointment from google calendar. Cant get it to do that anymore and cant find a way to fix it. The updates do go into calendar but no reminders when they are nearly due. Bloody useless.

[@terryashford5755]

Packed mine away a year or so ago. I got tired of constantly having to change settings to block the ads and suggestions. I just wanted a display of the time and temperature. Instead, I paid for a device that allowed Amazon to advertise to me. I disconnected all echo devices in my home except for one. It sits in a remote bedroom and is only used as a hub to control my smart devices.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you for sharing Terry. It makes sense to keep the one for the hubs. No reason to spend more money.

[@4craigmetz]

Craig, Craig here! I am glad you made this video. I couldn't agree more. I was a beta tester for the first Alexa and have had several in my home with "upgrades" to Shows ever since. I now despise their intrusion in my home. The one feature I really wanted is the weather and time overlayed on my photos but oh, no all I get is ad's. Not just ad's, it is stupid stuff that most 5-year olds wouldn't want. I have replaced two Show's in my heavy use areas with Pixel Tablets, which to your point, do more useful things. I plan to add one more to replace all of my Show's which are now in Closets to turn on lights. It is hard to understand how tone def Amazon has become on this or how they have taken something with so much promised and squander it. Well I vented and thank you for your great channel and all of the hard work it takes to make such useful content.

[@margaretevans1662]

Amazon could care less about what the customer says, because Jeff has made SO MUCH MONEY now he doesn't give a rat's ass!

[@benh8199]

Glad I held off on ever getting one. Sounds like my Echo dot with clock does everything any of the Show's do.

[@Richiecandylover]

I'm getting annoyed with Alexa in general - just turning the light on and she starts waffling on about finding a skill or turning the light automatically, keep getting Amazon Music notifications for new music from random artists and I've checked no favourites as I'm an Apple Music user! When I Wang my light on I often have to say "ALEXA ^£^#&# SHUT UP" and then she doesn't because you swore at her and hurt her feelings 🙄🙄🙄

[@janetwoodville3643]

Remember what a Prime Membership included? 1. 2 day shipping if they don't delay your orders. They've done that too me a lot 2. Prime video (no. Ads) to name a few. Now their employees in the packing and shipping department are stealing from customer's food orders. I've seen some of these videos. It's diccusting. My heart goes out to the customer's that have too put up with Amazon rotten conduct. They also have a mandatory return policy. A customer has to return a product that they don't want or is defective back to Amazon in order to get a refund. The bad part about this is, their return department is putting bad products back on the shelf. The reason I suspect this is because I've received damaged products from Amazon. It gets a lot worse. Amazon is not the company they used to be.

[@goozebump]

Yes I’ve gotten a bunch of products recently you can immediately tell was a return/refurbished but they charge full price

[@cjrodcol3266]

@@goozebump Returned food should never be re-stocked. I've worked as a shopper and seen management tell employees to put food items back ( fridge/freezer; fresh food;) It's all about making money!!

[@eldkir]

Totally agree with the ads rant! The only thing I use the Shows for (once in a blue moon) is to see what's going on with my cameras. What ever happened to the development of the echos being able to communicate with other apps? Like... "Alexa, order my favorite coffee from Dunkin Donuts." Or more of the conversational features in general?

[@lilliansanders520]

my show acts up !! i ask alexa the weather and she shows me the front door camera! smh any one else having this problem

[@LorienDrechsler]

This is exactly why I'm replacing my Echo Show as well. It's useless for me, but hey, at least Amazon can show me ads for things I don't need. Because we all need to see more ads, right? Ads in email, ads on phones, ads on billboards, ads on the radio, ads, ads, ads. Enough already.

[@davidflorence3510]

Hi Craig, I used to live in Agoura Hills and had a home computer/home theater company. I have stopped using my Echo Shows - have on in every room of my house. I have moved to using my Google devices. I get KZbin TV native, better searches, faster integration with doorbells, cameras, thermostats, etc. I just used the Echos Shows for an OK Clock - so I wasted about $1000 on all of these shows.... And, don't get me started about stereo paired Echo Studios and Echos playing music filled with dropouts - pretty much stopped using those as well. I now use the Google Nest Speakers for three stereo pairs in some of my rooms. Since I am an audiophile snob, I use Sonos as background music in my two offices. Thanks for being real about the Echo Shows

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool David. I can understand having a home theater company, you need some good sound. Sonos are great. I can appreciate the switch to Google. The Nest hub has such a better interface.

[@_w_w_]

Are you sure about Google being better? I have a houseful of Google products, they are getting dumber and dumber to a point that I just unplug them to save power. I also installed Google-based smart devices for my senior-aged mom at her home, to control lights, fan, thermostats, security camera, and so on... I've lost count of times she called me to go over and fix Google home products. Heck, I work on these technologies for a living and even I am embarrassed how bad things have gotten.

[@eyefly001]

I removed all amazon dots and echo and everything. I got tired of the in house advertisements, the stupid attempts at conversation with me. The final straw was when I told it to shut off the white noise and it replied back something about " you really seemed like you needed sleep".

[@KankukanAiki]

Great video! The problem are also the Ads on Amazon Prime.. in 40 minutes video 3 or 4 ads long nearly 2 minutes (in Italy(... please !

[@KiyoshiKen]

me and my wife just bought our first house. she wants an alexa and i want a family calendar so we were going to get a Show 15. literally waiting for the store to open and just watched your video and now i wont be buying lol. powerful video, thank you.

[@rohittkrr]

just get a tablet tied to your ecosystem at this point. echo is is beyond frustrating

[@TroySchuler]

My biggest use for our Echo Show 10 is music (Apple Music) and watching TV with the Fire TV Recast. It’s placed in our kitchen. Music is usually playing all day so we don’t see the Home Screen all that much. I’ve considered an Echo Studio instead. But with TV playability on it, that’s the only thing holding me back.

[@king112ify]

Thanks - was considering replacing my Google Nest Max with an Echo Show, helped me make up my mind.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Glad to help. Nest Hub Max is a much better screen interface.

[@sunshinelady7971]

I hate the ads! I don't like being tracked... I got it mainly for my ring doorbell so i can see who's at my door.. sometimes the ring on the phone is delayed and I don't know who's there until I get to the door. My echo show 5 does react much quicker.

[@talesofthetaylors]

Enough said... I will not be purchasing an Echo Show!

[@carrolllaw]

I originally used my Echo products for many features. The one I really liked was it would listen in while I was away and would alert me to sounds of entry, or my smoke detector going off. All of a sudden, with an update, that feature no longer worked. For well over a year, I’d get messages that they were still working on it. I have also since packed up my echos.

[@rhosk]

I have Home Assistant fire a routine every 3 hours to show photos. That's ALL I use them for now.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I love that you have Home Assistant keeping them in check.

[@eleegs]

Agree 100%. The old echo spot worked best as a clock. It was small, round and looked ok on furniture. Amazon realized this and quickly cancelled the spot to replace it with the show .

[@albertballanger5611]

As an older person I depend on my echo show to call for emergency should I not be able to reach a telephone. It much easier to say Alexa call my person for help if I can’t reach my telephone because of a fall for example my 911 alternative

[@djflook9465]

I agree totally with your rant! Thank you; I hope you are heard! I use mine for - time, weather, timer when cooking, FaceTiming family members. I use my Google mini to get answers to questions because the shows never seemed to answer the question asked.

[@sd30001]

FaceTime is an Apple video conference app on Apple devices. You can't use that on Amazon hardware devices. I think you mean just using the Amazon video calls feature.

[@dob8012]

I make a point of not buying anything I see on an ad that is shoved in my face for. I think if everyone did that then these companies would wake up.

[@margaretevans1662]

Most ads on TV, Alexa, web browsers, etc. I "zone out" when they're on, as I could care less about what they're selling. Some ads are continually ran, and it drives me NUTS!!! I've started muting ads when they come on!

[@StarshipAlves]

Yup. Just swapped out a Show for the new spot alarm clock. Just because I wanted the time , date and temp on the screen at all times. Even with the spot it's annoying that there are little customization controls. If I set an alarm, for example then the temp and date dissapear, so I just dont use it for alarms anymore.

[@UltimateBrownie]

You get faster load times with their tablets?! Those things are worse than the echo shows.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

😂 That’s funny. Maybe it feels like the payoff is better with the tablets. Thanks for watching.

[@debraleecarlin]

I have an Echo Show on my home office desk. I had hoped to use it to check the ring camera at the front door, but it is too slow to respond to be useful. The constant ads make me crazy. I listen to music on it, but the speaker is pretty crappy. I was just wondering if there was an alternative when I came across you channel. I am looking forward to what you have to say about HomePod.

[@JediLMS520]

Which model do you have?

[@dnoland77]

I can't believe that no one commenting has mentioned the Ring doorbell integration. I will have to keep 1 show just for that. When you switch back to a non screen echo you quickly realize how much better it is to just press the action button seeing as the shows never had one.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I can appreciate that. I am so used to grabbing my phone. Thanks for mentioning this.

[@Chris-il9mf]

Screw the shows…..put it on a tv with a fire stick….I got rid of my shows. Usless. I am just getting sick of Amazon itself. Next step to cancel the yearly subscription and just be done.

[@fus149hammer5]

Not that it's even that good! Poor resolution especially at night and the delay???? The times I'm out, get a message that someone's rung my doorbell and by the time I've answered they're gone!

[@HFox-zn1jg]

Great video and great comments, folks. The ads are just over the top annoying. I am finding the speakers are the best options...the screens just don't add enough value for the price. I actually think the Echo Dot with clock is the most useful in the line up. But I agree with a previous comment, the screen is convenient for checking on cameras and checking on the house while away. Bravo to the video, Craig. What is your thought on Goggle Hub Max? I have one and like it better. Very few ads.

[@spkelly9090]

Amen brother! I bought an echo show 10 with the sub wolfer for my kitchen. I wanted it for 5 functions: A clock and timer, to scroll family photos as a photo frame, show me the weather, play music, display cooking recipes. I did not buy it to see advertisements, I do not want to see advertisements, I will never buy a product using it. Numbers need to be bigger so I don't have to put on reading glasses to read them. Recipes are available in apps but those a limited, the web browser function to see non-app recipes is horrible. The subwoofer is constantly loosing it's connection as it's not a Bluetooth subwoofer, it connects as part of a music group. The screen follow function get's lost and typically points to the far left or right and stays there, so I've turned it off. I've turned Ads off multiple times, but it seems like every update, they default back to on. A cheap Android tablet would have been a better choice for my needs combined with a cheap echo device for music and voice commands. I've been very disappointed by the product and like I you said, a cheap tablet is better. Why can't this device work like a cheap tablet? Amazon should take an echo and glue a cheap tablet to it. Then I'll be able to do everything I want to do with it.

[@dominicdechangy8365]

I am surprised most of you get ads ?! Maybe an issue in USA only ? I live in Belgium, turned off ads in the settings 2 years ago and never see any of them. Use the device showings all my photos and for timers and reminders. All voice interactions are controlling my Home Assistant entities and it works perfectly fine. I can only agree on one thing: it is often too slow.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I believe it is US only and is expanding to Canada soon. I have been turning off the suggestion screens as they pop up. But in the US when it says Sponsored in the bottom right corner, it is an ad.

[@Murbz]

It does feel like the ads have become worse and worse. I feel like most of the time when i look at it, it is either playing an ad or asking me whether i like the ad it just played.

[@obijuan-]

Well, I cheat. I use them for the screen. I have 6 shows. I have 12 Wyze cheap camera around my property. I have Alexa routines rotating the view of the camera every 15 minutes for a three hour session, then another routine starts. I crammed 6 camera "show cam x for each camera 15 minute apart to the point that I can't add another line to any one of the routines. But it works. It works for me. Oh yes, there is one catch. All of these Shows are 1st gen. The 2nd gen won't work. Craig probably knows why. I don't.. But I had to sell two 2nd gens on eBay and buy two used 1st gens to get them to work. But this way it does work. This is the only thing I use them for. AND I hate hearing her report status, so I took an Echo Dot, named it "muted", turned the sound down to zero, and plugged power into it, put it in a cabinet, in a room that I seldom use, and set that Dot as the "Hear Alexa from", so I don't hear her talking back to me.

[@lynnmitch]

I still use the 15 in my kitchen for Fire TV, and all the rest are still around the house because I have them linked and I can play music house-wide via Spotify. I'm not particularly attached to them though, and agree with all your points.

[@abutler625]

I’m about a year and a half or so into smart home life. Started off with Alexa integrated products. Seemed like more products worked with Alexa than anything else at the time so I went with it. Got sick of the interface on the echo shows. The ads. The useless info popping up. I had several shows in my house at one point. 5, 8, 10, 15 you name it. Blink cameras. Ring doorbell. All owned by Amazon. Started converting to HomeKit and will never look back. I have one device left from Amazon, the show 15 because it looks nice on my wall and I use it to control my roomba. All other Alexa/amazon owned devices are retired. good riddance

[@chuckldunn]

I agree with everything you said, which is why I JUST unplugged and put away my five Show 5’s. Like you said…. “Enough Is Enough”!

[@reggie2803]

Oh no, say it ain’t so. I agree, but I primarily use my show 5 and 10 as an alarm clock to play music.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Sorry Reggie, it must be done. But I will check out whatever is next with them. Thanks for watching.

[@19king14]

Yep. My echo is off too, because of ads you can't turn off unless you unplug it. Too many billboards along the roads while driving. Now I got one inside my house? Nope!

[@janetwoodville3643]

Home Pods don't have Bluetooth. This didn't cross my mind until I had cut my internet provider back in April. The last software update that Apple put out is causing battery drain on the watches and the phones.

[@AS-wd5hb]

Also for me I think my echo dot 4th gen has better microphone compared to my echo show 2nd gen. Sometimes my Echo show does not listens to my commands while my echo dot in other room fulfils my command.

[@rosemarythyme8595]

Same for me!

[@curtispazarjr4985]

I have the original and I use it for a clock as well!!!😢

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Nice that you have the original. It would be nicer if it could do a full screen clock now. Thanks for watching.

[@Khesrawsx]

I was researching to figure out which one to get. But I had no IDEA there were ads being displayed on these devices. I can’t stand it and not getting it. Thank you.

[@tremelo8508]

If you go to home and clock settings/home content you can basically shut off every option for the Echo to advertise to you and rotate screens. Granted there seems to be 40 options to check off though. LOL!!! My Echoes just serve as clocks and I see nothing else.

[@dnoland77]

You must be new here. No, the ads can't be disabled.

[@tremelo8508]

I see no adds. If you disable those 40 or so options its just a pretty great internet clock. Not having to worry about fixing the time or DST is great. On the downside if you depend on the alarm and you lose power you are screwed if the power does not come back in time. Many videos about disabling ads: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4W7oJl6h7iUg6s

[@stuartdcrane]

@@dnoland77 Yes the ads can be disabled. Go into Settings, Home & Clock, Home Content, and shut off everything, particularly "Shopping Recommendations", and you will not see ads. I did this many months ago and have not seen a single ad since.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello, I don't know where you are located, or if you are just fortunate to not get them yet, but you can't turn them off if they are sponsored. All the examples that I show that say "Sponsored" in the lower right hand corner cannot be turned off. As for the Home Content, I turn those off all the time. I left them running during my video to show examples running across the screen. Supposedly Canada gets ads next.

[@tremelo8508]

That is strange, I have 3 Echo Show 5's running (gen 1, 2, 3) for at least a year and nothing shows up on any device after I disabled all those settings. Maybe it is a regional thing and its making its way to the East Coast sooner or later. I put off getting an Echo Hub for this reason. But I may have to get one now. LOL!!!

[@TheLexikitty]

All 4 of mine went in a box the day ads showed up on them. The Fire Stick lasted three months before a banner ad showed up and I just put it in a bag for hacking later or something.

[@pythonantole9892]

It's just the entire smart home ecosystem. Even Google home has gone to s***t.

[@robertclark8546]

My Google home's aren't showing me forced ads... Yet

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I think Google and Amazon wanted to grow the smart home and hope they would find a business in the process. Glad to hear you have no ads on Google.

[@cgomfam]

@@robertclark8546 exactly why I don't have Amazon screens.

[@courtenaybournon4167]

I agree. It was a fad. Some smart home KZbin presenters are now talking about ripping everything out, but techies love complexity, and need to.pay more attention to simplicity. My Echo Dots still provide plenty of useful functions using their built in temperature and presence sensors. And routines are very useful for alarms and reminders and keeping me up to date with the stock market and the weather. I almost never use the Show screens, but find the Dots incredible useful, and they are inexpensive and can't bother you with ads.

[@sharonb.9128]

Great video. I feel your pain. Looonngg time Amazon Prime member here. Bought the Kindle when they had keyboards and cost $379. Long enough to remember if the unreleased iPad was rumored to be the “Kindle killer”! I had the invite to purchase first Echo speaker for $99. Imo, Amazon might have the best customer service in tech. I had it with Amazon years ago anyway. I tolerated the slow or nonexistent device upgrades because Amazon was unique and no one could offer the services they provided better. I got sick of their privacy violations and intrusive business model. No matter what I wanted, Amazon violated that trust repeatedly. I still read, but Amazon is barely welcome in my home. They may not sell my data like Facebook but I find them equally repugnant.

[@zzbeasley]

I use the Echo to check the temperature before walking the dog. I ask it to play music in the kitchen while cooking. These are good features but your points about the waste of such a great resource are valid. Amazon could offer a video tour of Bezo's mansions and boats. That would incentivize us to work harder or not.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

😂 I love the Bezos tours. I like if they used resources to implement customer suggestions, people may use them more.

[@zzbeasley]

@@CraigsTechTalk I missed out on his tours. You should cover what you love.

[@artadmir]

True, and it is very annoying especially when there is an ad instead of the time being there. A very limited product. I'm also going to shop for a clock that is more reliable without the interruptions. Great video.

[@FrioRocks]

I agree! I keep checking my settings thinking I can turn off the ads but I cannot. So annoying. You nailed it on this.

[@SanaaImages]

I agree 1K % ..... we should be able to customize to show what the users want to "SHOW" not what Amazon wants as a play/display list.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

They don't care what we want to see. It is disappointing. Thanks for watching.

[@TecTimmy]

Thanks for the honest review. I’m not ready to put my six Shows away just yet. I have also owned them all first gen through current. My biggest problem is the voice response sensitivity is just not really any better from generation to generation. I have to constantly repeat myself. And that stupid white cord on the darker devices! Amazon please take note and please please please improve these devices once and for all.

[@mikeoreilly4020]

I've had the same frustrations for quite a while now, especially about the ads. Great video.

[@oliverstemp9132]

You’re so right. The Echo Show is missing so many obvious features. Like being able to scroll through Spotify playlists on the screen and seeing updates about things I’m interested in rather than ‘trending’ gossip.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you. People would use the Echo Show more if it showed what you want and was easy to use with services like Spotify

[@oliverstemp9132]

@@CraigsTechTalk I would really love proper music controls, including search, on that screen.

[@inezrosario226]

Have 7 echo dots and older pucks. Never found any reason to have the show versions. One of my pucks has a digital clock which I use in the kitchen as a cooking timer. I love it because it shows remaining time left. Primarily, I use them all as speakers for playing music simultaneously throughout the house, asking various questions, reminders, etc. I absolutely love having them. I keep a 9" Chromebook touchscreen tablet on my kitchen island for playing movies, tv shows, YT, Netflix, recipes, etc. Not a perfect solution, but I can honestly say I never get interrupting ads when using the pucks,dots, and Chromebook. I also have a monthly Amazon music subscription, ad free. Again, not perfect, but it works for me.

[@firemanjoe9491]

This is funny given how Amazon just discontinued their Echo Dot Clock this July… 😫

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I was looking for the Dot with Clock and noticed that too. Thanks for watching.

[@mjordan812]

Echo Show 5 in the bedroom. Full screen clock and turning lights on and off via voice command. That's it. And it does it nicely. I don't remember seeing ads, but then I'm usually either asleep or not in the room. It does precisely what I want it to do - no more, no less. I'll take that as a win.

[@JC-sr3zt]

I agree! I loved the idea of having an alarm clock that I could see the time, see the weather, see the time for my alarm the next day. But lately they have made updates that make the time smaller, eliminated the ability to see the next alarm time, and sometimes the screen goes black and comes back on. Every few months I have to figure out a way to remove the latest home content or change the setting to “night mode” in order to get rid of the ads. It is frustrating so much that I doubt I will buy any more of these devices. I hope other companies will see this as an opportunity to make something that actually works and they make a ton of money, while Amazon loses. :)

[@MYJ61]

In addition to your well made points, I heard one of Amazon’s big wigs say that he fully expects that at some time Amazon WILL start charging for the Alexa services. I WILL get rid of ALL of my Echo devices at that point.

[@mpetrides]

You had more patience than I did. I dumped all of my Echos, including the Echo Show 5s I had in every room, years ago because I was tired of the incessant ads . The only ones I kept plugged in were the one in the kitchen (sole use: kitchen timers) and the one in the main bathroom (sole use: ability to check time and weather via voice command when I get out of the shower). If AAPL were ever to come out with a HomePod with a screen capable of controlling my HomeKit devices and displaying multiple timers at the same time, I’d be completely done with Echos. One can hope Siri finally grows a brain at DubDub tomorrow. Not that I’m holding my breath.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I was able to stick with the Echos because you could chase the screens away in the Home Content settings. But these new “Sponsored” ones are nonsense. I am with you on a HomePod with a screen. I do love being able to control my Apple Home from any apple device in the Home App. It would be nice to have a smart display with the same thing.

[@xcrosswordsx2252]

Thank you for finally putting out a video about the ads!!!!! Sick of seeing them!

[@elainemiller5018]

The reason I stopped using my Fire Tv is that the ads were ridiculous. I can watch regular TV and see fewer ads. I totally understand where you are coming from. I never bought into the Echo Show, thank goodness. Fire TV is bad enough.

[@justinmartin845]

Don’t buy these products, they force ads through even if you turn them all off. It’s just an ad machine that shows the time and clock and plays music through its crappy speaker. I just threw two of mine away because forced ads are bs on a product I payed for.

[@artallmon3773]

I appreciate seeing your presentation while evaluating purchasing a Show. We will not venture into the Show arena. Thanks.

[@lachlanm628]

Great video, thanks for this! I was about to buy an Echo Show 15 but won't now, especially knowing about the ads - that's ridiculous.

[@KenShew325]

Things I use. Turn on smart devices. Timers, reminders, and alarms. Playing streaming music in multiple rooms. Sometimes use as calculator or for unit conversions. Looking at ring camera when it works. I would like a weather radar screen, weather alerts, security system monitoring, fire alarm monitoring. I would also like as a medical alert for older people or people living alone so you can call for help.

[@AshtonSinghDaGuardian]

Thank you for creating this video. I was considering purchasing an Echo Show for my father, but your review reminded me that it may not be the most suitable bedside clock.

[@studiotwo]

I have an Echo Show 8 (still) , and "assumed" it had a Zigbee hub built into it, until I tried to add a smart device (some months later), and it wouldn't register. In addition, it would have made a terrific weather station if it were possible to customise the home screen - but there is very limited scope for doing so. I wonder how many of these things will finish up in landfill?

[@thibDave]

Love, love the rant. Spot on! Finally. More of this needed. 👍🏼 !

[@donbullock-techihound]

I fully agree about the ads. Unfortunately there’s no way to get rid of them. My other problem with all my Echos is that they keep trying me to set up routines. I’m retired and don’t have ANY routines for turning on or off devices. My schedule is different every day but out of nowhere I get this long dissertation on how I can create a schedule using my Echo. As soon as I can afford to make a change I’m switching everything over to Apple Home Kit.

[@josuejauregui8656]

I feel you I was just talking to my wife about that I hate all the ads and want to get rid of them because you can't personalize it to your liking. Do a video on one that you would change to or recommend please

[@MattN06]

Definitely agree with everything you’ve stated. One thing that drives me mad is the usability of others services. Amazon music - all works perfectly, wanna use Apple Music instead? No lyrics, won’t play the specific song asked for, lags terribly etc. I feel forced into using their services with their devices but even those aren’t reliable and being plagued with more advertising.

[@ARSJ116]

Hey Craig, I agree 100% with why you are getting rid of the echo show. I only have 1 in our kitchen and my wife and I just enjoy the photos and the timer lol, but those ADS are overwhelming. So what device are you going to replace the echo with?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I can appreciate the photos and timers. I am missing timers and the clock. As for what I will be using, it will be HomePods. I have been running my smart home with HomePods for a while. I made a video a year or so back on why I switched. I may need to revisit that to let people know what I am doing. Thanks for watching.

[@jk330ci]

I’m with you on this Craig. I have slowly been moving to HomeKit and as you say voice requests are becoming less and less. I find the Alexa app frustrating and confusing now. I asked Alexa for a spelling of something to do with my wife’s death and it followed up with an advert right in my face. That was the point it almost got tore off the wall.

[@arwenwestrop5404]

I couldn't agree more with you. I HATE all those ads for things I don't wnt. And I can't remember how ofter I've clicked on the 'no sports' button, it makes no difference, they are there all the time. It may stay till I move but then it's gone...

[@RobStevens64]

The genius of the standard Echo was that it was ambient computing ... it didn't require your attention or even your hands. You could just work with it while doing other things. The minute you put a screen on it, you undermine the core value prop, doubly so if you have to touch it to do things. The problem is Echo was always intended to get you to buy more, not be actually useful. That's why they went to screens so quickly ... so they could advertise to you. They (rightly) figured that the device speaking an ad to you was awkward and creepy. It's why the screen is such an afterthought. I'm actually considering getting rid of mine and moving to HomePods, but only if Apple does replace Siri with a ChatGPT-based replacement. It might actually be worth working with, and I'll stop getting all these stupid Amazon notifications and ads.

[@Shundave]

I have an Echo Dot or an Echo in every room in my house. The Echo in my office (the big one) is a great speaker for music and Podcasts. The Echo Dot with a clock in my bedroom is my alarm clock. The others are used for home automation, information requests, or for playing music while I putter. I have wanted to get an Echo Show or two several times over the past couple years, but have run into the issues you described so well in this video. There is not a single Echo Show that does everything that I needed. The combination of features I want would require buying multiple devices. And there just wasn’t enough value in any one of them to justify the cost. I’ll keep using my Echos, but the Show is not something I’ll be getting into.

[@sd30001]

I love how you called it as you saw it! I really can't see much value in the dud screen. Way too many devices with overlapping limited features.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you very much 🙏 They need to focus on new features instead of new devices.

[@dab42bridges80]

I use an echo show to view my Ring camera and for voice requests and announcements. Other than that it's useless to me. If you want real functionality get a tablet and set up home assistant's interface on it - far more versatile, and gets constant updates/new features that don't require hardware changes.

[@kellorenz]

You can fix the ad thing by setting your region to Canada and changing the voice back to whatever you normally use, I haven't seen an ad since. Still, there are many things bad about the echo shows and the Google Nest Hub hasn't been great either since they announced they were taking away a lot of the useful features (also its way slower than the echo shows). APPLE PLEASE MAKE A HOMEPOD WITH A SCREEN.

[@hmpatten]

Amen! You can start photo frame mode but that is only good for a couple hours.

[@kneel1]

I totally agree I was going to replace mine in the bedroom with an old plain digital clock just like you did. Can see it better. The ONLY thing I found echo Shows useful for is quickly bringing up camera views from different points inside or outside of my house (via voice) i.e. checking my front door while I'm sitting in the office

[@Xedhadeaus]

I wonder if changing the DNS to like adguard will block some of the Amazon stuff... But the fact of the matter is that office PCs and NUCs have gotten so cheap that if you care to get a touch monitor and plug it into it, you could probably make a similar device with rainmeter or what not, never get ads, and have full control over what the device does. Obviously that isn't what most people want to do, and if you're a devout Amazon customer you probably like screaming at your screen to reorder items and have it on the way. But if all you wanted was functionality, it wouldn't be too far off getting it that way in my opinion.