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alexa why goodbye said ve

Why we've said Goodbye to Alexa!
#1
It all started on Black Friday 2019. We bought 2 Amazon Echo, set them up in different rooms and enjoyed the ease with which we could request particular music, pause and restart it, ask general knowledge questions, Weather forecast, ask for jokes etc. All seemed well.

Fast forward a few weeks. We observed our dog's behaviour changing, she didn't want to be indoors - hiding under the shrubs at  the far end of the garden even through the night, went off her food, had her tail between her legs more often than not. We visited the vet who thoroughly examined her, found nothing else and thought she may have a dental problem. She had an anaesthetic and a teeth clean but no other sign of dental problem was identified. Unfortunately she reacted badly to the anaesthetic and it was about a week before she stopped vomiting all food and water intake. She still was one very unhappy little dog. I started looking online to see if I could find any clues there. I came across a number of articles from people who said that their dogs had been affected by Amazon Echo, all to do with the frequency they operate on apparently. So with nothing to loose and potentially a lot to gain we unplugged Alexa mid March. I'm delighted to say that within 48 hours our dog was starting to be more like her old self again. She is back at my heels 24/7, indoors or out. She is still a little wary of being in the rooms where we had the Echoes plugged in. 


Has anyone else had any experience of something similar? 

Does 5G operate on these same higher frequencies? I seem to remember reading an article about it some time ago, now I'm worried it may create a totally alien environment for some animals when it arrives.

Edit - just realised this is not Fuerte related other than we live on Fuerte! Happy to move it to member's section if you prefer Sam.
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#2
If you mean 5G mobile phones they're using part of the current frequencies and part of the TV frequencies. At least that's my understanding.

From looking around a bit it seems Alexa uses 2.4 Ghz for it's wifi. That's the most common older standard. Just like our laptop likely uses.
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#3
Not an expert but I believe that you're mixing apples with oranges, Tamara. Your doggo wasn't happy about the sound frequency (going out of the speaker) of Alexa. 5G, WiFi, TV are using different kinds of waves, definitely not sound.

To anyone considering Echo/G-home: Are you really happy to buy and keep running a device in your home that is listening to every single word you say?
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#4
Thanks both. Yes. Mixed apples and oranges and got pineapples! 
Whatever the fruit the more we've thought about it the less happy we are with Alexa, so they're banished for both the dog and our privacy's sake.
Living my dream
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#5
I did some searching. There is a mode that has the Alexa chat with your dog or cat. Strange that it bothers your dog. You'd think it would have been tested.

There is also a stop barking mode . In this mode the unit puts out a high frequency sound that dogs are supposed to hate. 

It sounds like you've put it away but any chance you turned on the stop barking mode? Or maybe it's somehow stuck on?
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#6
Didn't know about the stop barking mode! However our dog is not a barker, maybe one quick squeak a week, outside, at the doves if they come to her outside water bowl!
Don't think she has ever barked indoors.
Living my dream
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#7
The thing is if that mode is somehow running it would explain why the dog isn't happy. The dog wouldn't even need to bark if the software is broken. It could be a bug in the software.
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#8
If you have a modern router it's likely 5g as well, have a look if it is you've ruled out one problem.

Or plug Alexa back in again and see the problems with the dog return
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#9
Wink 
5G Phones and 5G Wifi are very different things despite being names similarly.
5G for phones is actually referring to the Generation (fifth in this case) using frequencies between .6 - .7 GHz 2.5-3.7GHz and 25-39GHz
5G wifi is directly referring to the frequency it uses: Approximately 5GHz (5100MHz to 5800MHz)

All devices that connect over your wifi will use the same frequency, so I don't think it would have been its wifi.
All Smart home devices should not be emitting any sound while they are not actively responding to something.
BUT all electrical devices emit an electrical field which is generated by the electronics inside. Some devices have better shielding than others and there are tests that must be conducted before a device is allowed to be sold to the public. (old VCRs used to have thin metal sheets inside the cases)

To me, being an animal lover, I would think that either the power brick is emitting some frequency outside of our hearing range, or that there is a small electrical component within the device which is not operating within the specification.
If this is a common problem with that model, then I would assume that Amazon really was on the limit of getting the devices certified for EMF.

A suggestion: Try a different power brick (if you send me photos etc I can help you find the right one), Or maybe try a different device.

(13-04-2020, 08:05 AM)Sam Wrote: To anyone considering Echo/G-home: Are you really happy to buy and keep running a device in your home that is listening to every single word you say?

Yes I am, but only from Google.
I consider myself to be a fair privacy-focused person - not using Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram for personal stuff, and having a dedicated 2nd privacy-focused phone for business things.

Google, last I checked, is the only assistant ecosystem to allow you to see EVERYTHING that they hear, see, do, check etc...
More importantly, they allow you to delete and erase what you want/need.
Alongside this, google retains your data and will not offer a "user profile" to companies that advertise with them. Whereas FB, Amazon etc... can offer your profile (everything you like/dislike) to anyone who pays for it.

The difference is:
With Google, An advertiser can say "I want to show my add to people who like lemons, live in La Oliva and who frequently watch youtube" - and your anonymous profile will be selected to see the advert.
With FB, A company can say "Show me people who like lemons, live in La Oliva and who frequently watch youtube" then "Ok guy number 23, what else is he into, where else does he go, what pages does he like, whats his financial situation, show me his associations" to the degree where enough meta information can be gathered about a person, to determine the actual identity of the person.

This is an oversimplification, but is sadly the situation.
FB has been criticized over and over about the way they collect information about their users, including reading and analyzing messages on FB messenger or Whatsapp.

So in short, yes I am happy for google to listen in, follow me on google maps, read my emails - because I can see most of what there is, and delete it. And generally, their tracking is used to improve the services or offer me suggestions for things.
Google maps traffic? That's by tracking Google maps users and seeing if they pass through a road in the time expected or if it takes longer, then checks others in the area, if many are taking longer = road has traffic.
Google Maps "store busy hours" same thing.



P.s. sorry this is so long.... I had some time on my hands
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