Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As good as the Echo is, the Echo Voice Remote seems to leave much to be desired. Whereas the Echo Dot recognizes my voice immediately and correctly interprets my commands consistently, the Voice Remote is far less likely to do so. Sometimes I'm not even heard at all. I often have to repeat commands several times before the Echo responds to me. Plus the volume control on the remote is slow to respond. And I don't mean a millisecond slow. The volume won't change for several seconds after the button is pushed. Yes, this is the New Generation Voice Remote. "Aha!" You say. "You must be too far away from the Echo Dot." Granted, I am on the other side of the house when I use the Voice Remote. However, that doesn't explain why the shuffle button works immediately and correctly--every time. Plus doesn't Amazon brag on the device's great range? If it was a distance problem, wouldn't the shuffle button have the same connectivity issue? No, either I have a bad remote or the Voice Remote doesn't work as effectively and effortlessly as the Echo Dot itself. That's too bad. *** UPDATE *** I discovered that there is a trick to being understood when you use the Voice Remote, but it also comes with a gotcha. When you press down and hold the Talk Button on the Voice Remote, it's the equivalent of using the wake word on the Echo itself ("Alexa," for example.) Since you can't see the LEDs on the Echo respond to the wake word, the Echo makes a tone to let you know that it's listening. There is a second a different acknowledgement tone after you release the Talk button. The Echo now knows that you have finished with your command or question. If you wait for that first response tone, then issue a command, the Echo interprets what you've said correctly the majority of the time. But, here comes the gotcha. (Amazon engineering are you listening?) If you are in another room or in another part of the home with your Voice Remote, you can't hear the Echo's tone or see the LEDs on the Echo. What Amazon needs to do to make the Voice Remote really effective is to place either a small speaker in the Voice Remote to relay the tone or, alternatively, add an LED that lights to let you know that the Echo is listening to you. It's this lack of feedback from the Echo that presents the biggest difficulty (for me, at least) in using the remote.