Is Alexa Useless?

[LightningCanuckNB]

I just got my Lightning yesterday and am still figuring things out.

Today while driving, I figured I would try out the Alexa integration. "Alexa, call <wifes name>" - Alexa happily proceeds to make the call. But when my wife answered, she was hardly understandable. I immediately realized that Alexa was placing the call via VOIP which was happening over the speed-capped LTE connection, and not actually making the call via my phone.

This got me trying other things with Alexa... "Alexa, set the temperature" - nope."Alexa, change the radio..." nope. Alexa seems to not be able to do anything at all to control the car - for all of that, you need to use the crappy "Sync" voice system.

So what is the point of the Alexa integration then? It seems next to useless.

Sponsored

 

[idahospud]

I use "Alexa" regularly at home. I suppose that because I am familiar with the commands I have experienced no issues with responsiveness or sound quality. I use Amazon music regularly. Is your Wifi calling turned on on your phone? Perhaps that is the reason for the VOIP call?

 

[LightningCanuckNB]

I use "Alexa" regularly at home. I suppose that because I am familiar with the commands I have experienced no issues with responsiveness or sound quality. I use Amazon music regularly. Is your Wifi calling turned on on your phone? Perhaps that is the reason for the VOIP call?

I use Alexa at home as well... but I was also expecting it to be able to control the truck since it is in the truck.

 

[idahospud]

I use Alexa at home as well... but I was also expecting it to be able to control the truck since it is in the truck.

Oh, okay I understand. I was focusing on the "useless" reference. I don't think it is useless for those that use the Alexa app to start/lock/unlock the truck, lock their house doors, control their home alarm system, open the garage door, text a contact...

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I just got my Lightning yesterday and am still figuring things out.
...
This got me trying other things with Alexa... "Alexa, set the temperature" - nope."Alexa, change the radio..." nope. Alexa seems to not be able to do anything at all to control the car - for all of that, you need to use the crappy "Sync" voice system.

So what is the point of the Alexa integration then? It seems next to useless.

As a rule of thumb, if you want to do something related to the truck, I say "Ok Ford", or just TAP the voice assistant button and you can talk directly to the Sync system... such as "Ok Ford, set the radio to 104.3 FM" or "OK Ford, directions to the nearest charging station".

For making calls or playing content on my phone, I use "Hey Siri", or HOLD down the voice assistant button. Example "Hey Siri, play the Beatles on Apple Music".

For things like asking for the weather, asking for information, or using Alexa enabled devices in my house, I use Alexa, for example I can say "Alexa, what's the weather this week", or "Alexa turn off the bedroom".

Basically, that means you can use Siri, Google or Alexa as you would on other devices, but it's not fully integrated with the truck settings.

 

[Ford Senior Master]

I use Alexa a lot to lay music from Amazon music. Well I did until the chick quit responding today.

Sponsored