Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This device is extremely buggy. Amazon clearly did not adequately test this device in the field. I am a huge Alexa fan with 6-8 devices and 10s of smarthome accessories, but they completely dropped the ball on this device. Amazon - I'm extremely disappointed. I purchased this to enable my elderly mother to make 911 calls through her Alexa devices. Prior to bringing it to her home, I tested it in my home. Setup was difficult. It took 2-3 Alexa app reloads to see the Echo Connect device. On a new iPhone 8 running iOS 11.2 and the latest available Alexa app, the app hung on a few of the Echo Connect setup pages, and the app's back button froze on several pages (definitely an app and not a phone problem). Search for "Echo Connect" help on the web? Fat chance - there is nothing. The only way to access any help is through the "Learn More" links in the app. The included tiny paper brochure was useless. I finally got Wifi connected and the device worked as advertised. It was easy to call any number from any Alexa device in my home. I would have given it 4 stars, expecting that Amazon will improve the documentation (although this did not say "beta" or "early release" - adequate docs should be online BEFORE SHIPPING) The next day, I de-registered the Echo Connect and took it to my mother's home. I reset the device using a paper clip. I managed to get it online again - although it took me about 30 minutes until the her Alexa app properly recognized the phone. Same page-hanging and app reload issues on her 6s Plus running 11.2 and the latest app - and the back button froze again. I could only do setup with a mobile phone, not an iPad running the Alexa app. I finally got all lights to appear on the Connect device. (But try finding documentation online even for what the indicator lights mean!) Now the big problems started. I tried outbound calls via her Echo Show. It took about 30 seconds for each call to connect. The calls all immediately dropped - without exception, and independent of whom I call. The device receiving the call (e.g. my mobile phone) connects momentarily, displays correct caller ID, and immediately drops the call. This happens consistently, whether I set outbound calling to Alexa service or the Echo Connect / Landline. Alexa tells me that Echo Connect couldn't complete the call. I tried removing the splitter, and plugging the connect device directly into her late-model Ubee router. She has Cox internet service with plenty of bandwidth, and all phones in her home work flawlessly. Despite hours of resets, etc. I could not get it to work. And this is a device that is support to enable 911 calling! Fact is, I could not get it to work for any number. I'll try calling support tomorrow, but I've wasted hours of my time on this. I'll probably return it. This is a huge blemish on Amazon's otherwise fantastic Echo family. The lack of documentation and online support is pathetic. And "Echo" and "Connect" appear together on millions of web pages, so good luck googling for it. Even assuming that it works, it is clearly not ready for prime time. A particularly annoying feature is that Caller ID is announced loudly on every Echo device in the home - even in bedrooms where people are sleeping. There is no way to disable this, or to limit it to specific Echo devices. Setup was difficult. Online documentation is non-existent. And it works on one phone line but not another. Hours of my time wasted. Clearly this device was not adequately tested or prepared for release.