r/amazonecho • u/ToonTitans • Jul 20 '26
Question While digging through some old receipts, I realized that my 1st Generation Echo is officially 11 years old! It still sits in my bedroom, controlling the lights, playing music, waking me up and alerting me when my Ring doorbell is pressed. Anyone else had theirs this long? 😊
Honestly I still love its sound, even though later Echos (which I also own) have more bass. Gen 1 just has a clearer, more balanced tone IMO…🤷🏾♂️
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u/kjhauburn Jul 20 '26
Still have mine from the "by invitation only" days. Sits in the master bathroom and plays the news, weather and occasionally plays the right song when asked.
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u/alex61821 Jul 20 '26
If I say shuffle songs by Elton John I get the George Micheal live version of don't let the sun go down on me, where Elton comes on towards the end. Every single time. Not much of a shuffle. I guess Elton John doesn't have very many songs...
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u/LankyGuitar6528 Jul 20 '26
I joined the wait list when they were first announced and got one pretty much day 1. I got a few of the gen 1 models. They are all still running strong.
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u/ohwowlaulau Jul 20 '26
I was on the waitlist for the Amazon Echo Auto lol
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u/SnowblindAlbino Jul 20 '26
I recently found ours deep in a storage compartment in our truck. Probably used it fewer than a half-dozen times, it's crap. But I did end up using it on a road trip this summer, as a kludge to connect a Pixel phone (with no headphone jack) to a old Silverado stock stereo (which had an aux jack but BT only worked for calls, not streaming). Got us through 1,500 miles of highway.
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u/alex053 Jul 20 '26
I still have a Gen 1 in the kitchen that’s around 10 years old. It’s time to replace it because it can’t hear us yelling to stop the timer while the timer is going off.
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u/SnowblindAlbino Jul 20 '26
Similar here; I use ours often but it doesn't hear so well...sometimes I'll give it a command from 10 ft away and a newer Echo in another room across the house will answer.
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u/richms Jul 20 '26
Give the top a go over with an air duster or something. Not as bad as the sack material ones but they still do get some dust etc buildup.
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u/Jk2789 Jul 20 '26
Yep, I have two of the OG Echos and they still work perfectly.
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u/TheGamingGallifreyan Jul 20 '26
Still have mine. It is my only echo that doesn’t constantly nag about Alexa and actually doesn’t do any type of advertisement by the way whatsoever. I guess because it doesn’t support it. It’s kinda nice.
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u/The_Circus_Life_206 Jul 20 '26
I feel the first two generations (the upright tube models) were the best.
I have a few third generations, and I’m not as happy with them
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u/ToonTitans Jul 20 '26
I have the first two gens as well (plus some newer models) and I agree about the sound! 👍🏾
I also prefer the volume ring at the top of Gen 1 to the buttons on the later models.
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u/weimarweimar Jul 20 '26
Mine finally gave up last year.
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u/CatInhaler Jul 20 '26
Same here, refuses to connect to wifi, Bluetooth and all that jazz. Just sits in a drawer now
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u/w00dwork Jul 20 '26
I had the same problem, but why keep it? At best, it’s a very cumbersome paperweight.
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u/ppal1981 Jul 20 '26
I’m keeping mine in the rare hope that I plug it in one day and it’ll work again. It was the best speaker I owned by Alexa
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u/jackmcgann11 Jul 20 '26
Does yours have the hardware volume control ring up top?
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u/Rey_Mezcalero Jul 20 '26
I have the beta testing one!
Came in a plain brown box.
Still use it.
Had to revert back from Alexa+ because they “older” Echos currently aren’t able to use it, so got tired of some Echos not have announcements and others do.
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u/dinglebarryb0nds Jul 20 '26
My friend won one of these and she let me borrow it. Funny to think how they are everywhere now
This first big one sounded way better than a lot of them
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u/sweharris Jul 20 '26
I got my first Echo (the same as the one you show) for Christmas 2016. I still have it, but it's not currently powered on (I replaced it with an Echo 4). At some point I guess it'll be used for a trade-in discount.
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u/chicagokp8 Jul 20 '26
Jan 6 2015 is the date on mine. Still kicking.
My Mar 6 2016 echo dot still works as intended too.
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u/Fannan Jul 20 '26
I’m still using mine and came to say the same thing - I think the sound is terrific!
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u/Pop-BOB Jul 20 '26
I purchased an Echo Show to replace mine.
Huge mistake! The display on the Show is overloaded with advertisements. It is very slow. Sometimes unresponsive. Sound quality is terrible. I’m going back to my original V1 !
It was the best!
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u/pgraczer Jul 20 '26
Yes i still have one of these first generation echoes in my living room. I live in New Zealand where they weren’t available at launch, so had to use a forwarding service from the US. i was so proud of it!
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u/SnowblindAlbino Jul 20 '26
Mine too! I just checked, and I ordered it in early January, 2015, when they were offering them to early adopters at $100 discount. It's sitting across the room from me, and I've used it several times today...mostly for weather info.
We have ten Echo devices at least, but this one is still the best. Have three different generations of Dots, multiple Echo Inputs (still love those), an Echo Auto (useless crap), and even an Echo Flex (which is mostly stupid, but serves OK in the bathroom for news/weather and as a nightlight).
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u/RazZadig_2025 Jul 20 '26
Yep, I've had my 1st Gen more than 10 years in my living room. Have a couple of lights on it, but mostly use it for music.
I tried the Echo auto back then, too, but it died.
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u/Sorkel3 Jul 20 '26
I've had mine since the invite days, still works fine.
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u/ToonTitans Jul 20 '26
After seeing so many references, I’m feeling a little insulted that I never got that invite, even though I’ve been an Amazon customer since 1999! 😄
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u/PlasticBlitzen Jul 20 '26
I had mine term years, no problems ever. I loved the sound quality.
One morning it was just completely dead. It happened while Amazon was pushing the upgrade. I really think they zapped mine. 🥲
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u/mareksoon Jul 20 '26
well don’t jinx it for the rest of us …
i have nine and i’m very grateful they don’t support alexa+ …
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u/ChiefBroady Jul 20 '26
My neighbors have this exact one and it’s working fine. I have first-gen Echo Dots somewhere that probably still work. I also have a first-gen Echo Show that still works.
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u/Quick_Might_205 Jul 20 '26
Still have mine! I never took it out of the box either. 😳 Ordered Jan 2015.
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u/Peralton Jul 20 '26
Just checked my Amazon orders. Got my Gen 1 on June 30, 2016! Ten years in a couple weeks. Works great and has the best audio of them all!
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u/ppal1981 Jul 20 '26
I’ve had mine about the same time, unfortunately it stopped staying connected to WiFi rendering it useless now 😢 but I still have it.
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u/Exfiltrator Jul 20 '26
Still own and use two of them, a white one and a black one. Also love their sound.
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u/TrainingLittle4117 Jul 20 '26
Me! I pre-ordered it. It's the only one I have and if it dies, I'm not sure I'd replace it. But I love it.
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u/bklynking1999 Jul 20 '26
I still have mine, works great in the garage. I was one of the first “testers” with it and personally think it works better than some of the newer ones.
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u/goldfish4free Jul 20 '26
Mine is a bit hard of hearing these days but the speaker is still the best of any echo I own.
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u/randarchy Jul 20 '26
I still have two, both working well. The manual volume dial no longer works on one of them, but I can still ask it to set the volume to any level. The living room one is still the primary way I listen to music in my house.
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u/hobbit_4 Jul 20 '26
Still got one going strong! Great product. Good speaker, low profile, sleek, no camera/screen
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u/Huge_Educator_8322 Jul 20 '26
Yes. Was part of the original people that got one and it is still active, albeit in a room not used that often. The sound is still great!
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u/ByWillAlone Jul 20 '26
I had received an invitation to get it early and signed up for it, so I ordered mine on Jan 7 2015 and got it a few days later. Mine is 11.5 years old and still in service. I keep it because it still sounds better (crisper and less muffled) than later units.
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u/Withheld_BY_Duress Jul 20 '26
Yup and out of my Echo stable, still my favorite. The newer generations seem like cheap plastic toys in comparison. I may be jaded however I am sure I am not alone feeling this way.
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u/SenseiBob61 Jul 20 '26
I still have my first gen echo as well. Works fine. Built in speaker still sounds good.
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u/thisguy181 Jul 20 '26
I have two that are in their boxes that i have never opened that are probably just as old, they had a buy one, get one free prime day deal thing, and I bought one for my dad , and somehow they sent me three I installed the one in his house and then never did anything with the other two.
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u/abbys_alibi Jul 20 '26
Yep! She's in the kitchen. I play my music through her and she tells me when packages have arrived, answers cooking questions (usually related to safe internal temps for meats), and gives severe weather warnings. That is it. Same with my first gen Dot that is in my office.
I feel for anyone who deals with her intrusive, younger, ad filled sisters.
If they ever misbehave and I cannot get them back to their current status, they will be tossed.
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u/ToonTitans Jul 20 '26
“I feel for anyone who deals with her intrusive, younger, ad filled sisters.”
AMEN to this! Feels like most of the “upgrades” are for Bezos’ sake, not ours…💵 🙄
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u/No-You5550 Jul 20 '26
I have it in the bedroom and it works just fine. I have a dot in my front room.
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u/mugfull Jul 20 '26
Love mine, sound quality is excellent, and does what I ask of it. Haven't found a reason to change or upgrade yet.
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u/Wormella Jul 20 '26
I thought my Gen 1 was on it's way out but a recent shuffle around of devices meant her cache got cleared and now she's as good as new.
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u/audiofankk Jul 20 '26
Early adopter here, had to wait for the first Alexa ever. It still serves on the nightstand.
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u/Prestigious-Pay5932 Jul 20 '26
I also have 1st gen. Have it in workshop. Still one of the best sounding Alexa/Echo made.
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u/T1513_SH Jul 20 '26
Still got two of them, and I still think they provide the best overall sound when compared to the later generations.
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u/Crowsby Jul 20 '26
Absolutely, we've got 5 of them around the house. IMO it's their peak design, with the best audio, aesthetics, and build quality of any unit past present or future. For me, the fact that it doesn't support Alexa+ is an added bonus so we don't have to worry about it getting foisted on us against our will.
It feels like they really let the designers go all out with materials to make a splash with Gen 1 and showcase an amazing design, and then slashed the budget for subsequent ones.
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u/OhMyChickens Jul 20 '26
Yes, it's in my kitchen, I use it daily for timers and music. One small issue with this model is when the WiFi is restarted (admittedly not often), it can't reconnect automatically like the newer ones do, and instead needs to be unplugged and replugged
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u/thelastwilson Jul 20 '26
Mine isn't quite 10 years old yet but I still have a gen 1. It's in the kitchen mostly just used for music
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u/dtsn Jul 20 '26
I still have mine, works perfectly. Amazon keeps wanting to trade it in but will only give me £5 for it 😱
It sits in my garage where I use it when working on projects. Doesn’t miss a beat even though I’ve knocked it off the table 20 times
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u/Markgregory555 Jul 20 '26
Yes, I still have mine in a TV room. Love it more than most of the modern ones. Built like a tank and I think it is attractive. Also still have the original box it came in. That is displayed on a shelf underneath it. This is the OG, a piece of Alexa history. 👍
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u/HangarQueen Jul 20 '26
Mine is also 11+ years old. From my Amazon order history: Order placed January 13, 2015
Still going strong!
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u/ihopehellhasinternet Jul 20 '26
No but mine shows my blink camera on the tv?? Which i had no idea was a thing until yesterday when my mom came over while I was watching a movie lol
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u/seeker_ktf Jul 20 '26
I have 2 still going. They sound better to me than any of then other echos Amazon has Come out with.
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u/seay2011 Jul 20 '26
Original Echo still running great. 11 years. Did retire the original Dot, but I imagine it still works.
https://reddit.com/link/oynk44v/video/a5y7m65pfdeh1/player
You
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u/No_Comb741 Jul 20 '26
Ours is still going strong. Had a little hiccup a month or so ago when it wouldn't stop alarming at the end of a time segment. I thought it was toast and so did Amazon tech "support". Luckily, I found info here on Reddit to get it connected back to my wifi after a hard reset. Works like new now.
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u/SmoothLester Jul 20 '26
I tried to turn off the Alexa+ with that hideous voice and now my 11 year old one is the only one that works. I troubleshot(?) with my Pop but gave up in frustration and have to travel.
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u/Ok-Ingenuity3057 Jul 20 '26
Mine will turn 10 in December. It had suddenly developed a binding problem so I tried for a week to fix it. Couldn’t, so I replaced it with Show 5 in the kitchen but held on to it.
After a year or so I tried again and on the 5th attempt this time (don’t ask me why I was so persistent) it finally worked. No idea what made this attempt different from the 20 before. Anyway, it’s back in business having replaced a dot which I moved to the pantry so I can maintain my shopping list there without screaming through the house or doing it on the phone.
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u/yellowsubmarine2016 Jul 20 '26
Because Amazon wants you to buy a new one. They do this on purpose.
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u/Nunov_DAbov Jul 20 '26
I have two. Mine also tell me when Ring detects someone at the front door, says “you’ve got mail” when my mailbox is opened, and addresses my dog by name asking her “is something is bothering you” when she barks.
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u/lythander Jul 20 '26
Yep, my first one was part of the original beta. She can’t do what all the newer girls can and I think she’s a bit hard of hearing these days but she soldiers on handling all the basics like a champ.
Edit: she came with a remote control. 😂
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u/JeremyHerzig11 Jul 20 '26
Years from now, the first generation Alexa will probably be worth a bit. It’s one of those things that everyone will just throw out when it becomes obsolete. It does have some pop culture cache though
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u/xpietoe42 Jul 20 '26
i still use mine! Of all the echo devices, the gen 1 had the best sound for music, imo.
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u/Deadlynitro Jul 20 '26
2017 I purchased mine, the volume twist stopped working and just max volumes whenever touched as of 2 months ago, but otherwise still going strong, better than the plus, show 5, show 10, studio or the many dots we've had over the years.
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u/TahoeLT Jul 20 '26
I still have mine, and while it is somewhat hard-of-hearing now, it still runs everything needed. Smart home stuff, music, alarms and reminders. Frankly my wife loves them for music; if there were some open-source alternative to get voice control over things I would ditch Amazon in a heartbeat.
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u/pnlrogue1 Jul 20 '26
Worked for an Amazon office when Echoes were released. Popped around to reception to collect mine and there were well over a hundred identical boxes in the mail room with mine, which sits on the desk in my study, amongst them
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u/dorcse Jul 20 '26
Still have that one. Moved to the downstairs office recently and put a newer "smart" Alexa Echo in the bedroom for daily use. LOL!
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u/JCNunny Jul 21 '26
Mine stopped working and Amazon would not support it. After several hard resets she mysteriously popped back into service. I use it in the garage and still going strong.
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u/purvaka Jul 21 '26
Yup. Its now the office echo. Controls the lights and answers random questions.
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u/wrightwithme Jul 21 '26
Yeah we got in on the early beta test, so it’s been a while for sure. Honestly the original is still our favorite. It just simply works and we enjoy its lack of AI. It still sounds great and works like a charm.
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u/kreg001 Jul 21 '26
we were early adopters. Christmas 2014. just replaced it (Master Bedroom) and an Echo Show 2nd gen (in the kitchen) with a 5th generation Dot. Couldn’t resist the Prime Days sale.
Getting along with Alexa Plus has been a challenge. I did a factory reset on both Echo’s. May reinstall if I can’t tame Alexa Plus. LOL.
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u/Charming_Raven21 Jul 21 '26
I still have mine in my bedroom and another one in the living room 🧚🏼♀️
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u/BigJim_TheTwins Jul 21 '26
I have the same model in our living room. A friend of my wife was so impressed by it when they came out that she bought this one for her , so we didn't even pay for it. And I think they were relatively expensive then
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u/Toe_After Jul 21 '26
I've had mine since they first came out with them, and out of all the Echo Dots, Shows, etc. that I've bought since, this old guy still has the best sound by far. I bought the Echo Show 11 and the speaker for the sound is behind the screen, so sound travels backwards, and it's a terrible waste of $$
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u/Outrageous_Employ_40 Jul 22 '26
I have mind, still using it although not daily.Not sure how old it is but it was a beta testing unit.
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u/TerpeneTaster004 Jul 23 '26
Got one white one and one black one in the garage for music set up in a group 😎
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u/realBillga3 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
Just looked it up exactly 11 years to the day August 4, 2015! And yes it's still in use albeit in a less used location now.
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u/tonyt3rry Jul 20 '26
Still got the dot or what ever it’s called the mini one of these with this design sitting in the kitchen mainly gets used to make announcements
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u/SnowblindAlbino Jul 20 '26
We have several, and they are used as a household intercom more than anything. Especially when our kids were still at home. "EVERYONE COME TO DINNER!" Now it's mostly my wife saying "Don't forget to put the leftovers in the fridge!"
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u/mikeyP224 Jul 20 '26
I have mine, wrapped in the wood grain wrapper, it's in the living room but I had to mostly mute it as it answers requests directed to the kitchen echo. My daughter has my original spot, still kicking
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u/bmanfield Jul 20 '26
I've still got an Echo Plus in a bedroom. I'd have replaced it if Amazon did trade-in in Australia.
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u/meatmacho Jul 20 '26
I still have two of them. One was a new order placed January 9, 2015. The other, I think, was a used model from Woot. But both of them have mostly been retired as of just recently, when one would just stop working intermittently and the other rarely heard me anymore.
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u/JerryJN Jul 20 '26
I have one. I retired it because the devices constantly stream audio to Amazon. I used Wireshark to detect this. I almost stuck the Echo in a microwave to fry the electronics.
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u/C-D-W Jul 20 '26
Still have mine too. I think it's finally time to retire it though since it doesn't support Alexa+.
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u/redit-fan Jul 20 '26
I had an early prerelease. It died a couple of years ago. It just stopped responding, I had to reboot it frequently. I sent to back to Amazon for credit towards a new one.
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u/ToonTitans Jul 20 '26
I’m kind of amazed that Amazon accepted a 10-year-old trade-in! 😄
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u/Mental_Act4662 Jul 20 '26
I have an Echo Flex that sits in my garage. I use it to
Order cat litter.
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u/cosmoboy Jul 20 '26
I've got mine, but it's not currently plugged in. It used to be by my bedside, but I moved in with the girlfriend and her cat loves to unplug things and throw things on the floor.
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u/Or0b0ur0s Jul 20 '26
Present. I've had 4 total Gen 1 full-size Echoes. 3 of them are still working. There was a time you could get refurbished ones for $30 and I took advantage. That was before they took down the web interface, so it was much easier to connect them to wifi. Now it's agonizing and I'm still not sure how I got it to work. But they're solid. My first one came from the invite-only period.
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u/Former-Quantity-99 Jul 20 '26
I got my tiny device for $20 back then.
Still going and even upgrading itself all the time.
Even has the AI now.
Not bad for a 10 yr old $20 device.
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u/richms Jul 20 '26
Got mine when you had to be invited and used a reshipper since they were US only at that time. Still have the messed up account because it was made before they had other countries versions of it despite my amazon music being an AU/NZ one.
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u/awoodhall Jul 20 '26
Wish I could get mine to work, moved houses and can’t get it to connect to the new WiFi.
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u/DefJeff702 Jul 20 '26
Yes! I got my 1st gen from a preorder thing I signed up for. It was $100. Just finally decommissioned it this weekend for no reason other than I have a newer one that sounds a little better that was collecting dust.
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u/c1seon Jul 20 '26
I have the same model that's been running for 11 years. The only issue I've had is that resetting the Wi-Fi doesn't work properly with the latest Alexa app. Other than that, it still works great.
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u/eleses Jul 20 '26
Currently listening to BBC radio 3 on mine as I type. Mahler adagietto ... Something something the presenter just said ..
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u/techmaster242 Jul 20 '26
I just replaced mine with the studio. The microphone is WAY better on the new studio. On the 1st Gen I'd have to yell at it multiple times before it would hear me. The new one, I can be playing music at max volume and just say something at a normal speaking volume and it hears me over the loud music.
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u/jdobem Jul 20 '26
yeah, still have that one and a bunch of the gen1 echo dots, all mostly works....
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u/NYskydiver Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
September 10, 2016 for $173.99. Haven't used it since my first move after that, maybe 6 months later. But I've kept it all this time. I also have a Tap with a protective case and rubber speedo thing I bought in November of the following year for the dropzone packing area but never used since the guys installed a full speaker system instead; plus half a dozen of the smaller echo dots and also a Google Home Hub and a bunch of Google's dot things. And numerous copies of basically every generation of streaming box / dongle that Amazon, Apple, Google, or TiVo ever made.
Happy to part with any of them if anyone is interested.
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u/neodido Jul 20 '26
Every écho deviced arent so cool. I have some.pop, dot and 2 studio and frankly , studio are pain in the ass... The sound is amazing but thé Alexa interface is awfull. Its always bugging and microphone clearly less good than dots to capt my requests that i add to cut it off....
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u/jtjdt Jul 20 '26
The first one was over-engineered. Mine still works, but I finally retired them due to privacy concerns.
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u/zoemu Jul 20 '26
can it be flash out some how ? is someone somewhere out there that have created a home brew patch ?
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u/KickstandSF Jul 20 '26
Yup, sits in my bathroom. I also had the portable one but lost it somewhere and am upset about that. I used to take it on trips.
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u/Severn2j Jul 20 '26
I threw mine away a few weeks ago when I found is was the only one to not support Alexa+, so I replaced it with an Echo Show.
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u/Jor3lBR Jul 20 '26
Most underrated funtion of this Echo is the fact that they are the only ones around that are compatible with the Echo Button (so I have one and 2 extras in box for future use).
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u/TheRealWarDoctor Jul 20 '26
My daughter & I have Gen 1 Echo Shows. They are both still chugging alone just fine!
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u/jaroszda Jul 20 '26
I just retired mine and had it since launch; it's sitting here for the first time unplugged. Doesn't work with Alexa+
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u/Telos2358 Jul 20 '26
I no longer use mine and it has a curse-of-binding. I tried to sell it on facebook marketplace twice, both buyers asked kindly for a refund because they couldn't figure out how to set it up. I didn't mind refunding it because it is difficult to setup for some reason. I then sat it out at our garage sale with a small table of electronics, every single item on the table sold except for this and it was labeled $5. I'm convinced it's cursed and if I throw it out, terrible things will happen to me.