I'm a quadriplegic. I can't move below my shoulders. Someone has to do everything for me — except request my wants and chew my food. My spinal cord injury partially paralyzed my diaphragm, so my voice isn't the strongest either. I say all that so you understand what "independence" means to me when I'm talking about a $50 speaker.

The Echo Dot gives me some of it back.

Why I Got It

My parents are in their upper 70s. Most of the time they're in another room watching TV. Getting up from their chairs looks like a lot of effort. I didn't want to be the reason they were doing it constantly.

I ordered two 4th Gen Echo Dots and an Amazon Fire Stick on May 6, 2022. The goal: control my streaming TV without having to call for help every time I wanted to change something.

Setup was a pain. My buddy managed to get both Dots configured as right and left speakers for my Samsung TV. And then we turned on a movie.

The Big Complaint: Volume

"That's volume 10, really!?"

It doesn't fill the room. At all. Captions are always on at my place because of it. I called Amazon support — they tried, but there was nothing they could do. I still run the Dots as speakers and I'm still disappointed every time I watch a movie.

That's the honest truth. Don't buy two Echo Dots expecting them to replace real TV speakers.

What Actually Works

Paired with the Fire Stick, I can open and control streaming apps by voice — YouTube TV, YouTube, Discovery+, Prime Video, Plex. I say "the magic word" followed by a command like "tune into Animal Planet on Fire TV" and it goes there. "Move right. Play." It works.

That's not nothing.

My 2nd Gen Alexa is actually the one I'm more impressed with day-to-day. She controls several lights in my room and bathroom — on and off when someone enters, mostly flawlessly.

I also bought a fan from Costco that Alexa controls. On, off, low, medium, high. Being able to change the fan speed in the middle of the night without waking my parents — that's an anxiety reliever. The one thing hardest for me to do is ask for help. Anything that reduces how often I have to do that matters more than I can explain.

I also have motorized cellular shades on my two doors and two large windows. Alexa handles those too.

Would I Buy Again?

Doubtful. There'll be another generation eventually — there always is. But honestly, I need to cut screen time anyway. And for where I am right now, what I have works well enough.

If you're disabled and looking for voice-controlled independence on a budget, the Echo ecosystem is worth exploring. Just go in knowing the Dots aren't speakers. Use them for control, not audio.

Purchased May 6, 2022. Review written December 4, 2023.