Don’t buy it. Amazon released a software update over a month ago that broke the ability to connect to a hidden network. No fix has been released.
So…only a “don’t buy” if you use hidden networks then, eh?
Yes, unless you have a door you need to keep open.
“Hiding” your wifi doesn’t really help secure it.
Not the point, but thanks anyway.
Amazon responded with this in their support forum 7 days ago:
Note from the Moderators: We’ve reported this to our technical team and hope to update you soon with a resolution to the problem. Thanks for your patience while we look into this.”
It’s been a month, I’m sure they really appreciate our patience.
An open ticket doesn’t mean it’s being worked on.
Forgive me, but I don’t understand the comment about keeping a door open. Why does the network need to be hidden?
To be clear…if you are someone who’s home network is hidden, this will not work at this time or maybe never. This is not a debate about whether a hidden network is more secure.
If you need to keep a door open…
You can use it as a doorstop.
The whole open door/doorstop analogy makes it seem like the reason it is a hidden network is in the attempt to make it more secure and/or to use it as an open (no password) network. (edit: now I see you’re just saying you could buy this to use as a literal doorstop, but there are cheaper, more effective things you could buy) It’s your network, you can do whatever you like, but I don’t understand why that would be consideration for others.
Telling people to not buy this because it may not work for a very specific use case is my main contention with your post. I’m just struggling to rationalize the scenario where your “don’t buy it” warning would even be relevant.
Simple…
Don’t buy it if you use a hidden network.
There is no guarantee of a software fix.
Thank you for sharing that info with others. I’d never heard of a hidden network until this.
Ok. Agreed.
You might say the knowledge was HIDDEN from you.
Rule #1 of hidden networks… don’t talk about hidden networks.
There was a big trend during the 90s of security through obscurity, which doesn’t actually work. Still, there are legitimate reasons to hide your SSID. If I absolutely had to hide my SSID and still wanted to use the Echo, I would just add it to a guest network… or create a public password protected network if it really needed to access things on my LAN (like smart devices).
We call that the ignorance firewall.
Since I have a PhD in the Bleeding Obvious, I am required to ask if it would be possible to make your network visible, connect your Echo, then go back to your router settings and make the network hidden? Wouldn’t the Echo still remain connected since it already knows the network’s credentials?
I’m not trying to stir the debate as to the necessity or benefit of hidden networks, just asking a reasonable question from the point of view of never having to deal with them.
Addendum - I perused the Amazon forums and here is a potential work-around for this issue:
"With some trial and error I got this to work:
Login to your actual Amazon.com account online - go to “Your Content and Devices”.
Click “Preferences” tab.
Click “Saved Wi-Fi Passwords”.
Disable “Wi-Fi simple setup”.
Now, go through the normal setup of the device in the Alexa app and it should allow you to manually type in the SSID and password for the hidden network. "
I don’t know if this is a permanent solution; I’m just posting it hoping to help.
Devices that were connected since setup lost the ability to continue to connect to the hidden network. Unhiding allows connection, but hinding again losses the connection again. Redoing the whole setup and manually entering info does not fix the issue.
Can’t believe you all had this many comments about Not buying it because it doesn’t connect to a hidden network. LOL It is not by any means a deal breaker for the vast majority of people to not have a hidden SSID. Big Woop. Unless you still use TKIP or WEP and your password is “password” you’re pretty safe and don’t need to have tin foil on your head. lol