Echo & Alexa Forums
General Category => Echo Technical Support => Topic started by: Bo3b on June 15, 2017, 07:12:34 am
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New to Tap and trying to learn practical capabilities before return period ends.
One feature that would seem very promising is the "Calling & Messaging" option. Although I completely understand currently only available between registered Echo devices and my Contacts list is currently empty so Alexa would not be able to report any Calls or Messages I did expect expect a different response - When I ask "Play my messages" she responds with "Messaging with Alexa is not supported on this device".
Reading the Official Amazon "Calling & Messaging" info webPage indicates;
Who can I call and message?
You can call or message any contact who also has the free Alexa App on their phone, an Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show and has enabled Alexa calling and messaging. Once you update the app, you can see which contacts have also enabled Alexa calling and messaging. Don’t see your friends or family in the app? Just send them a link to this page to help them get started.
Not encouraging and raises a few questions;
First and foremost, Why would the Tap be excluded?
Why is my Alexa App Contacts list empty? (Are phone Contacts made available ONLY when Alexa finds an address match to other Echo, "Calling& Messaging: capable, registered Users?)
What is the probability that "Calling & Messaging" will be extended beyond the Echo ecosystem to cellphones, etc?
Thanks,
Bob
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Most of us here have not found this calling feature to be very useful or necessary, so you are not missing much. In fact, Amazon has already enabled a feature to block these incoming calls!
As to why the Tap does not have this feature, best to ask Amazon, although perhaps because it is quite different tha Echo and Dot in that it is not in an always on status and may not even be near the home wi-fi signal. If you want this feature buy an inexpensive Dot.
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Thanks for the reply.
I believe that "Calling & Messaging" via Tap could be very useful, especially if expanded outside of the Echo ecosystem. And "Blocking" should be enhanced beyond the currently offered option to include "Allow Only Contacts" - Clean and straightforward.
But the question of "Why is Tap excluded from the C&M feature? -or maybe more directly- Can the Tap be made C&M capable with a firmware update?" is the critically important real issue. Originally the Tap was "different" from Dot and Echo in lack of hands-free support but that is no longer true...
IMHO, the answer is very significant, not only for this feature, but if the Tap is for some reason not hardware capable of C&M then it potentially suggests that the Tap will also be "different (excluded)" for other future features that might appear. Not good if the Tap becomes the ugly step-sister of the Echo family left out of ongoing new development. Or worse, the current Tap is discontinued, replaced w/Tap 2, as the latest price reduction might suggest...
Bob
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I believe that Echo devices (such as Tap, Show, Dash Wand, Look, Fire TV & Fire Stick) are designed for specialized products to serve a specific purpose. Only the Echo and Dot are designed as general products. One could ask why the currently talked about Dash Wand can't play music? Well, it wasn't designed for that, even though it could. If Amazon enabled music playback on the Dash Wand, it would sound terrible and the AA battery will last about 30 minutes before you have to replace it. So it's not exactly a good customer experience. Other Echo devices have their own reasons why certain features are disabled. As for the Tap, I can only surmise that the big issue would probably be echo cancellation due to the fact that the Tap does not have a microphone array (like the Echo & Dot). It has one microphone and the speaker is right next to it. Not really a good combination for a speaker phone. Its original design was push to talk. Amazon already budged and enabled hands-free operation. But anyone with a Tap will tell you that it doesn't work as well as a regular Echo.
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I believe that Echo devices (such as Tap, Show, Dash Wand, Look, Fire TV & Fire Stick) are designed for specialized products to serve a specific purpose.
Respectfully I somewhat disagree, in my opinion the various Echo family models should have value differentiation based on hardware design not software compatibility.
The Original Echo has the best speakers for music, the Dot is small for easy placement, the Tap has a battery for flexible portability, the Wand a scanner for ease of shopping, etc. BUT if the device accepts voice commands, and/or has common hardware, then it should support all related available software features - It just makes good long term sense. For instance, and in particular for the "Calling & Messaging" feature, the larger the device community base the better for everyone. In the case of common hardware - Want to play music on the Wand, if it has a speaker, let the Customer decide with understanding of the trade-offs.
FWIW, I waited to purchase the Tap until the firmware allowed hands-free same as the other models. But most likely will return Tap if precluded from "Calling & Messaging". (And also worth noting, after a few days experimenting I'd say the Tap recognizes hands-free just fine, well across a room and multiple family voices without issue so I would think the microphone is entirely capable...)
Thanks for the reply,
Bob
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Official 16-Jun-17 word from Amazon Technical Support-
Please be informed that our team is currently planning to include this Calling and Messaging Feature in the next update of the Alexa on Echo Tap devices. Once this feature is rolled out, it will be directly installed on your Echo Tap.
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Thanks for the update info. I can hardly wait for the feature to show up in my Taps. ;)
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Anyone know the status of Amazon promised Tap firmware update to support Calling & Messaging?
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Still waiting for Calling & Messaging support on the Tap - Especially now that, as I projected, the feature allows communications outside the Echo ecosystem...
Are you listening Amazon? Tap Users want this feature and no real reason not to offer it. Why the delay?
Other Tap owners and readers of this thread - If you would like C&M, voice your opinion to Amazon. Don't let the Tap become an unsupported orphan with enhancements passing it by!
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Last night I had a chat with an amazon rep and I asked about the firmware update on the Tap. This was his response:
'To be honest as of now we are not sure with the exact information .
If the features are available in the near future the specs will be displayed in the Amazon website.'
I am still hoping for the call, messaging and drop-in feature....I sure hope it happens
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Amazon not upgrading the Tap to keep pace with the other models would be very disappointing.
Thanks for the update and voicing your Tap concerns to Amazon...
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I'm yet another user who will be returning a Tap due to the lack of calling and messaging. Even my car allows hands free calling and messaging (reads messages for me). Surely an "intelligent" device like Tap should allow it. It also doesn't allow unlocking doors through my Samsung SmartThing, just locking. When I want to change the temp on my thermostat, it tells me the current temp after I tell it the new temp I want. It never confirms changing to the temp I requested. I have to look at my phone to find the new target temp.
Can't find a skill to play my Pandora or Spotify stations. I've already configured numerous stations there. I don't want to have to establish more stations elsewhere when I already have what I want.
I'm not impressed with its functionality. Everything it can do, I can do with my phone and/or with my phone and a good quality speaker (which I already have) - plus I can do even more with the phone.
Weak product.
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Actually I like the Tap, for my needs it seems a good blend of functionality and portability.
BUT Amazon definitely needs to propagate the "Calling and Messaging" feature across ALL products in the line. Makes good business sense for all parties.
If you know of channels and/or forums (tech support, social media, etc) to raise this Tap omission and related feature request please take the time to voice your opinion.
Thanks!
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The only reason I bought a Tap was to augment the echo and three dots that I have. I want a portable device to use when working on my vehicles in my driveway. As of now the Tap is pretty much useless to me and sit in a drawer waiting for the mythic update.
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Let Amazon know you expect the Tap to support Calling & Messaging.
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I also REALLY look forward to the calling and messaging feature being supported on the echo tap. I was actually surprised that it wasn't. This feature is very important to me because my elderly mom, 83 years old, lives alone and I've been using the echo devices to enable her to call out if she needs help. I bought her an echo tap expecting this feature to be supported since she loves to take it with her so she can listen to music throughout the house and the backyard.
I also really hope that emergency services, 911, can be called in the future with this feature.
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Again, and I can't emphasize enough, voice your desire for full Tap feature support - Speak out in other high visibility forums, the Alexa App Feedback mechanism, official Amazon support page and more. This is about more than the Calling & Messaging feature - It's about Amazon fully integrating the Tap into the Echo family with complete feature set support.
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It's been since June 2017 since the message about the tap supporting messaging with the "next version." When is that? I've got two of these, and want to use the messaging feature with my kids.
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It's an ongoing mystery why Amazon continues to ignore supporting the Tap with full Echo feature set. And as the Alexa App continues to evolve the lack of Tap support becomes more obvious and annoying. Very disappointing.
Make the effort to send Alexa App -> Feedback voicing your concern/request - Ask others with the Tap to do the same...
Bob
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I'm guessing that the tap will be phased out soon. In the last few sales where all echo devices were discounted the tap wasn't even mentioned.
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That would be unfortunate and in my opinion a mistake by Amazon. Tap is the best of Echo family - Decent audio, excellent microphone (easily and accurately recognizes voice commands from a great distance), small size AND very good battery life power portable. No obvious Tap negatives and no reason to abandon the model...
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I sent a message into Amazon yesterday and got this response:
I understand that you like to have a "calling and messaging" and "multi room" music feature to get enabled for Amazon Tap.
I can understand your concern in this matter and can understand how convenient it would become when Amazon Tap will become fully fledged like other Amazon Echo devices.
I'd like to inform you that our development team is still working for this feature. Once the feature will get available we will notify you via the best medium.
To make things better, I've taken it as an improvement factor and forwarded your comments as feedback to our Alexa development team. I know they'll want to hear about your experience so that they can look into this and may come up with the best possible options in the nearest future.
As you might have noticed, we are carefully reviewing potential features to add to the Echo in the upcoming months
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zooropean,
At this point I'll believe it when I actually see it...
But thanks for contacting Amazon with another voice of support for the Tap - Still the most versatile Echo. And keeping this thread alive with hope...
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zooropean,
At this point I'll believe it when I actually see it...
But thanks for contacting Amazon with another voice of support for the Tap - Still the most versatile Echo. And keeping this thread alive with hope...
Yeah I am not optimistic at this point either.
I bought the Tap immediately after hands-free mode became available. I liked the portability factor and the fact it still put out pretty decent sound.
I later bought 2 Dots so I could have Alexa on all floors of the house. But when calling came about (and hence intercom) and multi-room music I was disappointed that the Tap was left behind. The Tap gets a lot of use since it's on the main level of the house.
What I have done for my Dots is to put them in the Vaux speakers, which makes them portable. While the sound quality isn't quite as good as the Tap and there's no charge dock (which is super handy with the Tap as you know) it's nice to have another portable Alexa device.
All that being said I think Amazon will probably never make the Tap a true Echo device (remember it's sold as a Bluetooth speaker with Alexa-which I honestly didn't realize the distinction at the time I bought it).
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Yeah I am not optimistic at this point either.
I bought the Tap immediately after hands-free mode became available. I liked the portability factor and the fact it still put out pretty decent sound.
All that being said I think Amazon will probably never make the Tap a true Echo device (remember it's sold as a Bluetooth speaker with Alexa-which I honestly didn't realize the distinction at the time I bought it).
The puzzling part is that AFAIK there is no technical reason NOT to add full Echo features to the Tap - The speech recognition is excellent, volume more than adequate, stable/reliable WiFi connection, etc.
I watched and waited patiently for the Tap to support "Hands Free" and like you purchased as soon as available. And as I recall, originally the Tap was not marketed, or distinguished, as a "Bluetooth speaker with Alexa", simply as an extension of the Echo family with battery portability.
If Amazon is smart they will continue the Tap model and bring it fully into full Echo features support.