Echo Dot and Blue tooth

[BUGLEBOB]

I spoke to Amazon today about the Dot and BT. this is my understanding. correct me if I'm wrong.
There is a device that sends BT  signal, And a device that receives BT signal.
you can hook your Ipod / phone to a BT enabled  stereo / Echo / Dot / BT speaker
But you can't hook your Echo / Dot to your stereo via BT.
In other words. Echo / Dot is a BT speaker and only receives.
Any Knowledgeable feedback would be greatly appreciated.
And Dparker can rant for no apparent reason if he'd like...

   Thanks

[DParker]

I'm not really sure what all you tried to say there.  Between the random capitalization and all the ridiculous runs of "<<<" and ">>>" for no apparent reason your post was too much of a pain to try to decipher.  But I will say that you can stream audio from the Dot to any speaker/receiver/etc that implements Bluetooth v2.1 or greater...assuming that's what you were talking about.

[mike27oct]

In other words. Echo / Dot is a BT speaker and only receives

You're Confused:  The Echo is a BT receiver, but the Dot is a BT transmitter and can send to a BT speaker (or other BT receiver.).

This Help link can help you figure things out, now and in the future:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_bc_nav?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200127470

[BUGLEBOB]

I originally contacted Amazon echo / dot tech support to answer the bt question knowing you can't always trust the info you get from the so called experts. After searching I found this under specs. for the dot on the Amazon web site.

 Bluetooth Connectivity   Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) support for audio streaming from your mobile device to Echo Dot or from Echo Dot to your Bluetooth speaker.
 
So apparently the dot will both send and receive.

Thanks for the help mike27

[mike27oct]

YES, YOU ARE CORRECT:  the Dot can send AND receive via BT.  I should have checked my own reference link in my previous post.  Here is the direct link for DOT help in case you have not got it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_bc_nav?ie=UTF8&nodeId=202010090

I wondered after I sent that reply to you if I had it wrong, because I hardly ever use my two Dots with BT.  The only time I did was when I set them both up months ago.  Both my Dots are using the audio out wires -- one into the stereo's aux in, and the other has a small, self-powered iPod-use sort of speaker plugged in the Dot's speaker output.

So, just a few minutes ago I gave myself a refresher course on the Dot's BT sending and receiving features.  It all worked fine. Here is what went on.

With my having two Dots, I disconnected one from power as I checked out the other to minimize the Dots, BT speaker, (and me) from getting confused.  I used a BT speaker I had previously paired with both Dots.  Both Dots currently had their output already wired to either the stereo or the speaker.  I told the Dot to play a TuneIn radio station, then I turned on the BT speaker and it immediately auto-connected to the Dot and the Dot audio was coming through the BT speaker only.  I then turned off the BT speaker and Dot audio want back to the external speaker or stereo.  Dot BT transmitting worked fine.

Then, I started playing music on my iPhone from my file-serving NAS, and connected the Phone BT to the Dot BT signal, and Dot began playing the song I had selected until I stopped it playing on my iPhone.  BT receiving of the Dot also worked great.

At this moment, one Dot is playing a TuneIn station to the BT speaker, and the other Dot is playing another T/In station into the stereo.

Again, Dot is both a BT receiver and transmitter as I had previously set up -- but I forgot it did both, because "if you don't use it you lose it"!

Thanks for correcting me (and in a very polite way, as well)!

(Too many gadgets to keep up with anymore!)

[renegade600]

YES, YOU ARE CORRECT:  the Dot can send AND receive via BT.  I should have checked my own reference link in my previous post.  Here is the direct link for DOT help in case you have not got it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_bc_nav?ie=UTF8&nodeId=202010090

I wondered after I sent that reply to you if I had it wrong, because I hardly ever use my two Dots with BT.  The only time I did was when I set them both up months ago.  Both my Dots are using the audio out wires -- one into the stereo's aux in, and the other has a small, self-powered iPod-use sort of speaker plugged in the Dot's speaker output.

So, just a few minutes ago I gave myself a refresher course on the Dot's BT sending and receiving features.  It all worked fine. Here is what went on.

With my having two Dots, I disconnected one from power as I checked out the other to minimize the Dots, BT speaker, (and me) from getting confused.  I used a BT speaker I had previously paired with both Dots.  Both Dots currently had their output already wired to either the stereo or the speaker.  I told the Dot to play a TuneIn radio station, then I turned on the BT speaker and it immediately auto-connected to the Dot and the Dot audio was coming through the BT speaker only.  I then turned off the BT speaker and Dot audio want back to the external speaker or stereo.  Dot BT transmitting worked fine.

Then, I started playing music on my iPhone from my file-serving NAS, and connected the Phone BT to the Dot BT signal, and Dot began playing the song I had selected until I stopped it playing on my iPhone.  BT receiving of the Dot also worked great.

At this moment, one Dot is playing a TuneIn station to the BT speaker, and the other Dot is playing another T/In station into the stereo.

Again, Dot is both a BT receiver and transmitter as I had previously set up -- but I forgot it did both, because "if you don't use it you lose it"!

Thanks for correcting me (and in a very polite way, as well)!

(Too many gadgets to keep up with anymore!)

I think a lot of users assumed the dot only send.  besides who would want to send audio from their device to the 1st gen Dot?  The sound would most likely be better on the device. 

[DParker]

besides who would want to send audio from their device to the 1st gen Dot?

Anyone using the Dot as an audio output device for voice notifications from their home automation ecosystem.

[mike27oct]

Agree, and for those who play music, this is what I said above:

Then, I started playing music on my iPhone from my file-serving NAS, and connected the Phone BT to the Dot BT signal, and Dot began playing the song I had selected until I stopped it playing on my iPhone.  BT receiving of the Dot also worked great.

BTW, I was not listening to the (crummy) Dot speaker. Dot was playing my music via phone BT to a stereo aux input (OR a non-BT speaker connected to the Dot) so I could hear the music AND control Dot via voice and hear it's reply through the stereo or an external speaker!

When you turn things off, remember to first tell Dot "disconnect Bluetooth", when it turns off then you can turn off the BT speaker.  If BT speaker is turned off first, it kind of confuses the Dot, and you may have to wait a while before things get back to normal with the Dot, or even unplug and restart Dot.  Bottom line, the Dot can do a lot of tricks.  I learned a lot just by messing with the Dot today, more that I ever did.  For example, when in the bedroom with the Dot with external speaker, I can easily switch off that speaker (which is barely better than the Dot's) turn on a nice BT speaker and listen to BT speaker -- easily, and without disconnecting the other speaker.  Cool.

[TheFallenAngel]

besides who would want to send audio from their device to the 1st gen Dot?

Anyone using the Dot as an audio output device for voice notifications from their home automation ecosystem.

Not yet possible, still waiting for the push notifications - allegedly coming "soon" in a new firmware and API,  but when Amazon says "soon" I doze off..

Cheers,
Alex