So now as I approach my garage I’m able to say “Alexa, use Smart Meross to open garage door” and it works like a charm!
I wired up a $3 relay to a $25 Kasa/TPLink outlet and created a 3 line Alexa routine. So now I just say "Alexa, garage" and it works like a charm
The major problem with Echo Auto, which I really want to writeup and post to Amazon, is that the Echo Auto is really NOT an Echo device like Echo Dot or Echo Input. Amazon has been somewhat deceptive about this. It is really not possible for the Echo Auto to give the "full Echo/Alexa" experience. I had really hoped and thought that the Echo Auto would be just like an Echo Input/Dot but use my phone's BT for Internet tethering.
No, the Echo Auto is not an Echo device at all. In fact in the Alexa app it is listed separate from the real Echo devices and is grouped together with the Echo Buds as "on the go accessories". So what is an Echo Auto? It is a fancy BT mike that talks specifically to your phone's Alexa app. EVERYTHING the Echo Auto does is really being done by the phone's Alexa app, which is now running in background consuming 40+% of the battery.
This is why Echo Auto: 1) only recognizes "Alexa" as the wake word, 2) cannot swap Amazon accounts like real Echo devices, 3) ties into services like Spotify and SiriusXM only to the extent that your phone can -- no independence existence of the Echo device cuz it isn't one -- e.g. to get Alexa Spotify, you actually have to run the phone's Spotify app, 4) calls are real phone calls, not Alexa calls.
Its not all bad, but it *is* different from a real Echo device. It does mean that the BT connect-up is alot faster than a WiFi connect-up, and that the power-up is very quick (doesn't have to boot up the Echo OS). It also means that you can set the Alexa account by changing it on your phone, regardless of whose phone it actually is.
I still wonder if it is possible (and would be better) to have a real Echo device like an Echo Input but have it do BT Internet tethering instead of WiFi, but for now, just creating work-arounds for Echo Auto.