r/alexa • u/bogusostrich • 3d ago
Tried Alexa+ and downgraded - couldn't do the most basic thing!
My main use for my Echo is to ask Alexa to play one particular Pandora station. I tried upgrading to Alexa+, and no matter what I said it kept playing a different station. thankfully downgraded, lets hope they never force Alexa+ on these devices.
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u/ImJustHereForTheCats 3d ago
And here I am, chemical engineer, getting Claude level responses from Alexa+. And yes, she also still turns my lights on and off and is my morning alarm.
On a serious note - they do bucket testing and if you're in a shitty bucket you get a shitty experience. I just happen to always be in the nice buckets I guess.
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u/bogusostrich 3d ago
What does that mean … bucket testing??
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u/PredaPops 3d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A/B_testing
Another name for A/B testing. Given that its a chem-e, probably works with liquids.
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u/Important-Comfort 2d ago
I downgraded about nine months ago mainly because she couldn't play music directly on my receiver. Alexa+ recently showed up again, and they fixed that issue, so I'll keep it for now.
She still has a fundamental problem accepting that what I say is what I mean. She repeatedly changed words I say to what she wants to answer. I know it's not a problem of her not understanding, because she has no problem with the same words in different contexts.
She also pulls bad information from Web site and keeps insisting she's right and I'm wrong. When I ask for details she may finally correct herself but insist she was right all along. Later she'll forget and give the same bag info again.
I had also ditched Gemini because it couldn't play music from Amazon Music the way regular Google Assistant can. Unfortunately, Google Assistant has gotten very dumb, unable to answer simple question.
So I tried Gemini again, and they fixed that. They've also improved Gemini a lot. It's really useful for answering all kinds of questions, and it's not trying to be my friend like Alexa+ is.
So I'll use Alexa for home automation and playing lossless music through my receiver, but I'll just Gemini when I want a question answered.
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u/bogusostrich 2d ago
its crazy, seems like simple amount of QA should have uncovered these issues for users. this shouldn't be a "beta" experience.
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u/Dr_0ctogon 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah, I downgraded as well after Alexa+ asked me for the 50th+ time for my name after I told her to never ask me that question again for the 50th+ time ... But it seems Amazon devs have purposely hobbled original Alexa functions so the original is now functionally compromised. I had similar Pandora station selection problems but with original Alexa when I downgraded (couldn't recognize/pull up one of my frequently-used Pandora stations by name)...as well display problems with my echo dot clock screen, etc in original Alexa... I begrudgingly had to switch back to Alexa+... She immediately asked who she was talking to and asked for my name numerous times since. I did tell her to report the issue to Amazon devs in an official bug report (which she confirmed she did), but the repeated question "who am I speaking to?" seems to be an directive repeated question from the dev platform you can't turn off.
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u/helcat 3d ago
I'm having no troubles with my original Alexa. It won't have chummy conversations with me about the meaning of life, but it turns my lights on and off and tells me what the temperature is and sets all the timers I want.
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u/PuzzleheadedGrand469 3d ago
This. I don't need to be friends with my light switch
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u/helcat 3d ago
And I certainly don't need a sassy light switch.
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u/bogusostrich 2d ago
you may have a multi million dollar idea... I see the clapper, and shark tank in your future.
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u/bogusostrich 3d ago
Kind of odd, since I really like the Alexa+ in the shopping Side bar on amazon's website, but then again, I'm typing not speaking to it.
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u/n8mahr81 3d ago
i feel you. music is hit and miss sometimes, old commands would result in different music / stations being played. but the weirdest thing to me is Alexa+s tendency to take things by the letter sometimes .. and sometimes interpret them loosely.
Like with "switch off kitchen". old alexa would ALWAYS switch off the kitchen light(s). Alexa+ sometimes tells me "kitchen" can´t be switched off, sometimes it switches off the lights and sometimes does something else entirely.
this is years back in voice and intent recognition, full of errors. weird.
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u/majorpaynedof 3d ago
Just be prepared when it wont allow you to downgrade.. im stuck on that.. and before you tell me to do exit alrxa plus it tells me I cant
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u/freakingmayhem 3d ago
Certain devices, I believe it's impossible to turn Alexa+ off. The phone app and web site for sure, and I think Echo Auto, and maybe Fire TV devices?
For devices where it can be turned off, you should be able to do it here.
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u/Wildfirehorse 3d ago
When they discontinue the classic we are done with our dots