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Orbi with Alexa missing basic Alexa features
I couldn't believe the Orbi with Alexa couldn't "drop in" or "announce". Those are very basic Alexa functionalities.
In this post from 2018, a Netgear employee says "It's coming via software update."
Well, here we are in 2022...
Honestly, I'm shocked Netgear would release such an unfinished product. If it were mine, I would've returned it immediately but I was helping a friend troubleshoot their unit regarding "drop-in not working".
Is this software update still coming or has this product been abandoned?
Even adding a real Alexa device nearby isn't a good workaround because they both start responding.
parmenion wrote:
Is this software update still coming or has this product been abandoned?
Let's see.
- The most recent firmware release was 7/30/2021, which was three years after that 'promise'
- AX versions of the speaker-enabled Orbi satellite have not been announced
- in 2020, Amazon dropped the price to $99, perhaps as a "close out" special.
(Today's price is about $250, maybe for those who have to get one.)
I would not pin my hopes on new firmware.
4 Replies
parmenion wrote:
Is this software update still coming or has this product been abandoned?
Let's see.
- The most recent firmware release was 7/30/2021, which was three years after that 'promise'
- AX versions of the speaker-enabled Orbi satellite have not been announced
- in 2020, Amazon dropped the price to $99, perhaps as a "close out" special.
(Today's price is about $250, maybe for those who have to get one.)
I would not pin my hopes on new firmware.
Yup. Netgear, I'm surprised you released such a product that doesn't even match a contemporary ~$25 Echo Dot. And called it Alexa.
Would make me suspicious for my own purchase decisions.
Adding support for the announce function would be great. I didn't realize it didn't support that when I purchased mine and I was hoping to use it for Ring announcements in an area that also needed additional WiFi coverage. I was disappointed when I found out it couldn't be used for that.
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