5 Creative Uses For Your Old Amazon Echo

If you have an old Amazon Echo or Echo Dot sitting in the drawer, don’t just give it away or toss it in the trash. That little plastic speaker is still a capable, interconnected computer. Even if the music quality is not great compared to the new one, the voice controls and smart features are perfectly fine for other tasks. 

Whether you want to keep your kids busy without handing them a pricey tablet, keep your dog calm when you are away, or use it as a personal assistant inside your old car, that old Amazon Echo can be put to good use. In this guide, we have compiled five creative ways to repurpose your old Amazon Echo.

People often use their smartphones in the bathroom. Smartphones may be water-resistant, but it’s still risky. Besides, you’ll get better sound quality from a dedicated speaker. This is where you can put your old Amazon Echo to good use. Your Amazon Echo can play your favorite music with easy voice commands instead of wet fingers on a slippery screen. Remember, Amazon Echo isn’t water-resistant, either, but it’s much cheaper than your smartphone.

Beyond just playing your favorite songs in the shower, Echo helps stock up on bathroom supplies. Imagine you’re showering and you find your shampoo bottle is empty. Instead of making a mental note and swiftly forgetting, you can instruct Amazon Echo to add shampoo to your shopping list. Also, if you’re guilty of losing track of time under the warm, relaxing water, get Alexa to add a timer. 

Learning a new language is difficult. Daily practice is necessary, and an Amazon Echo can be your personal language tutor. Using the Alexa app on your phone, you can change the default language on your Echo without changing the rest of the devices in your house. 

For instance, if you want to learn Spanish for your next trip to Mexico, you can set the speaker entirely to Spanish and talk to it at will. You can start with greetings and small talk, ask for the time, or request music. Since the speaker needs clear pronunciation to understand, it will give you instant feedback on the clarity of your accent. Your confidence should grow with everyday conversation, and you can start having longer chats with Alexa. You can also test yourself with language apps. 

Leaving your pets at home can be tough, but the Amazon Echo can act as a digital pet sitter. By using the Alexa app on your phone, you can set the smart speaker to listen to specific sounds in your home, such as barking or whimpering. All you need to do is place the Amazon Echo speaker close to your pet’s bed or crate.

Once set up, turn on the sound detection feature, and it will automatically start as soon as the speaker hears a loud sound. For example, if your nervous dog wakes up from sleep only to find you nowhere in the house, the speaker will hear their barking and react. You can set it to play classical music or whatever calms your dog. 

You can record your own voice saying things like “good boy” or your pet’s name and have the speaker play it back. This trick will help distract your dog from outside noise and calm them down.

Older cars are charming and refreshingly tech-lite. However, even a committed digital detoxer will concede the perks of smartphones and infotainment systems, and that’s where the Amazon Echo can come in. 

If your retro car has a cigarette lighter, you can plug in an AUX adapter to accommodate your Amazon Echo, which will need a USB charger for power. Once you have connected your smartphone to the Echo via a hotspot, you will have transformed your old dashboard into a fully working, hands-free smart assistant. You no longer need to look at your phone screen to play music, call contacts, set up navigation, and much more. 

Finding things for your kids that do not involve a screen can be difficult. You have your work and daily chores to look after, and constantly playing with your kid is not possible. Here is where you can put your old Amazon Echo device to good use. Instead of handing them a tablet, you can hand them the old Amazon device.

But before you do that, make sure to set parental controls, which will block bad words, stop them from buying stuff, and set bedtimes. Once the speaker is locked down, your kids can use their voice to play adventure games where they have to choose to unlock the next clue. They can ask Alexa for bedtime stories or play background noise for their little pirate adventure.

If they feel like dancing, they can easily ask for kid-friendly dancing songs or movie soundtracks. This keeps them away from the flashy colors of a tablet or smartphone screen. The best part is that you do not have to worry about the device breaking. Yes, the speaker can get damaged, but it won’t hurt your pocket as much as fixing a shattered iPad display.