Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The problems with using this device (Echo Dot with Clock) as a bedside alarm clock are: 1. If the power (or WiFi / internet access) goes out, the alarm does not go off. The device does not have an integrated battery backup (like cheap dedicated alarm clocks... or a phone...). You could buy a small UPS power strip to overcome this, though. 2. Even at the lowest 1% adaptive brightness setting, the clock way too bright... about twice as bright as our old-school Sony alarm clock 3. When the alarm goes off, the top ring lights up at full BLINDING brightness (not dim-able or disable-able). And, if you have the escalating sound option turned on, the lights still light up right away, about 10 seconds before any audible-level sound can be heard, defeating the purpose of the escalating sound option. 4. Turning off the alarm requires speech. You can tap the top of the device to "snooze", but there is no physical way to turn off the alarm without speaking to it. Some instructions online say that you can press the "wake button", but pressing the "wake button" and not also saying "stop alarm" only snoozes the alarm.