Echo Auto In Model 3

[JJOhio]

I just got my Amazon Echo Auto finally and installed it into my model 3!
It seems to work. How well it integrates with the car is what I want to discover.
It connects to your phone via Bluetooth and your phone connects to the car via Bluetooth.
The audio sounds OK and and I was able to get : "Alexa play channel 6 on SiriusXM" to work.
Of course, you need the internet subscription to Sirius.
There is no speaker in the echo, so you have to select "phone" on the car to hear her.

It comes with a base a base that is adhesively attached to the car and magnetically attached to the Echo.
So I attached it to the underside of the phone storage area and ran the USB cable down the hole to a USB power strip that I had previously installed.

You can also see my scanner and my IC-7100 Ham radio down in the bottom.
I have a single wireless charging pad for the cell.

JJ

 

[355rockit]

How long ago did you receive your invite from Amazon to purchase? I am still awaiting the invite. At $24.00 for the invite order price, worth trying out. Is the mic able to pickup okay where you have it mounted?

 

[JJOhio]

Toward the end of last year. I just got it today. I never got a notice. I just saw that I could order it. Go here in 1 day.

 

[sodakar]

Technically, it does have a tiny speaker just for initial setup, which was an interesting surprise -- it made me wonder if there's another use for it other that initial setup. I, too, have it stowed away out of sight, but when doing so, the front-facing, animated LED is not visible, which is too bad, as it has the same color-based feedback that the home device has. Unfortunately, I'm unwilling to put it on the dash. Fortunately, mic pickup seems excellent regardless of where I put it.

I haven't played with it extensively, but I've so far noticed:
- The response time to the Alexa call is slower than the home echo -- I haven't timed it, but it feels like ~0.5 seconds vs ~2.0 seconds
- I have yet to be able to request a specific song; every time I do so, it acknowledges the exact title, and seems to insist on playing a category playlist based on that song instead -- not sure if that was intentional, and I openly admit to not having RTFM
- When I park the car in the garage, and if the Model 3 hasn't slept yet, and I'm in the living room directly over it, using the Alexa app on iPhone can be slightly annoying, as it gives me an extra prompt along the lines of "Don't use this while driving, etc, etc, - press below button to say you are a passenger," and then I have to click on "I am a passenger" before I'm allowed to use the app. I suppose this is not a problem for most ICE vehicles that shut down after the engine shuts down, but for Teslas that stay awake long after the vehicle comes to a stop, this could be slightly annoying

As for when I requested a reservation, probably some time around the week when it was announced, whenever it was... I got a follow-up e-mail telling me I could order it on 6/10, and I got it on 6/11. Overall, it works just as expected, so it makes me wonder why they are being overly conservative with general launch. My only wish is that the Alexa hail response time be improved...

 

[JJOhio]

I can see the light when installed on the phone compartment lid. I also did notice the additional delay.
When I get in the car, I can hear audio I think from my phone in my pocket for a few seconds before it comes through the car.
My phone also has a hiccup when it starts on wifi and then transitions to cell service.

 

[Luudcrs]

I received mine over a month ago, but haven't gotten around to installing it as I haven't found an ideal spot for it. Is your docking station cover still able to close, or do you leave it open at all times?

 

[JJOhio]

I leave it open because of the scanner, but I tested it and it will close easily

 

[JJOhio]

Followup: The adhesive on the holder is not strong enough to hold it upside down on the lid. A few drops of epoxy will be needed.

 

[JJOhio]

Here's a video that shows it working. I used super velcro from Lowes instead of the adhesive mount that it came with.

 

[sodakar]

FYI: If you leave your Amazon Echo Auto connected, but muted, there is an interesting side effect where your outgoing, Bluetooth-based calls that were initiated from your car will dial, connect, and immediately MUTE your iPhone (12.3.1).

I've now left multiple, silent voicemails to friends and colleagues.

So... if I'm not using the Echo Auto, I'm having to unplug it. Oh well, I guess I'll just use it when I'm on longer road trips to entertain the kids.

 

[JJOhio]

Why would you mute your Echo? I assume you are talking about the button on the echo. I guess if your on a phone call and said "alexa", she might but in!

 

[sodakar]

I leave it muted normally; otherwise, it would be too distracting for the kids.
I suppose most folks wouldn't leave it on mute, but it's just worth noting the strange behavior for those that might...

 

[dmurphy]

Thank you!!! I forgot all about Echo Auto. For $24, this solves my biggest challenge - playing SiriusXM in Model 3.

Sure, it streams fine on my iPhone, but their app doesn’t support Siri shortcuts, so no voice control. I want to say “Tune to Pop Rocks on siriusxm” and have it tune.

This could make Model 3 pretty much perfect for me!

 

[JJOhio]

It's been working good except that the phone will lose it's internet connection occasionally. I have to take it out of my pocket and leave it on the charging pad or the cup holder for a better connection to the internet.

 

[JJOhio]

You can add "Total Traffic" to your flash briefing and get a traffic report for the city you have selected.
It seems to be a statically selected city, rather than based on GPS. Maybe that can be fixed.
Post if you try it.

 

[Palomino2]

I like the way you have mounted it, I'll try that.
Now for a question:
Can I get Alexa to play a particular track or playlist on my iphone? I mean play using the Apple music app from my library of songs stored on my iphone? Every time I try, it wants to play from Amazon Music. Is this one of those things that only works within it's own ecosystem? If so, I'll just return it.

 

[JJOhio]

I don't have an Iphone, but it will play specific songs from Amazon music. I'll fool around and see what will work on my phone.

 

[JJOhio]

I wasn't able to ask Alexa to do it but I was able to do it direct to the phone.
e.g. "OK Google open rocket player" then "Play Poker Face" (Rocket Play is an app to play music on android)
I assume Siri can do it too.
Also, if you copy your music from the phone to a flash drive in mp3 format and insert in one of the front USB sockets, you can hit the right steering wheel button to select songs by voice, the screen or the left steering wheel button, left-right.
Sometimes, it will try to stream it, if it can't find it on USB.
Play with it!
Also if you have a SiriusXM account, you can say "Alexa, play channel 6 on siriusxm"

 

[355rockit]

Received my Echo Auto yesterday. Placed it in the front bin on the 3rd party tray. I can have the bin closed and Alexa still hears me. I am very happy with the XM Radio streaming sound quality. It sounds better than my XM Radio receiver in my F-Type and portable one in the Highlander. Once I leave the Model 3, it seems USB ports are on for quite a while before car goes to sleep so the Amazon app shows it as a Bluetooth device still connected.

 

[Az_Rael]

Got mine today. I am a heathen so I just stuck the mount right on the wood dash behind the screen. I figure if it doesn’t come off clean or damages it I can replace the dash piece later.

I have an Android phone, but haven’t gotten texting working with it yet. That would be a nice upgrade for me. XM station tuning seems to work fine, haven’t tried the on demand programs yet.

I am not an OK Google user and have Echos at home, so I am hoping this will be nice integration with our existing Echos. It will be cool to pull up in the driveway and tell Alexa to turn on the kitchen lights and stuff. I can also now add stuff to my shopping list while on the road or set reminders.