Amazon has just switched on a secret update in thousands of Amazon Echo devices across the UK that is designed to improve the Wi-Fi coverage in your home. Several Alexa smart speakers have tech sitting inside them that Amazon has now turned on, which can grab onto your Wi-Fi signal and act as an extender to improve broadband speeds in hard-to-reach areas.

The new feature, called Eero Built-in, is now available in the UK and means less buffering Netflix or dropped FaceTime calls because you’re sitting too far away from the Wi-Fi router. Long distances and thick walls can mean some areas of the home can’t grab onto reliable Wi-Fi, but this update is set to change that for Echo customers.

The update has come to the Amazon Echo Pop, Echo Dot (both fourth and fifth generation models), Echo Dot with clock (fourth and fifth-gen) and the Echo (fourth-gen). If you’re not sure which Echo you have, you can check here.

All these Echo devices support Eero Built-in and can boost Wi-Fi signal. To take advantage, you need to have an Eero Wi-Fi router – Eero is, after all, owned by Amazon. If you have an Eero Wi-Fi setup, you should be good to go, as all Eero systems are compatible with the Echo upgrade, apart from the Eero Home Wi-Fi System first-gen from 2016. You can check out the full guide to Eero Built-in on Eero’s website.

Reviewing the Amazon Echo Show 8

While the clever update doesn’t turn your Echo into a router on its own, it can improve a weak Wi-Fi signal and allow you to use connected devices in parts of your home that you might not have been able to before, such as a baby monitor in a far-flung bedroom or a security camera in every room. But if you need faster speeds for things such as gaming, Eero recommends you buy an additional router instead.

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The update comes just weeks after Amazon announced that Alexa is about to get a whole lot smarter on all Echo devices. After it rolls out soon in the US, UK Echo owners will be able to have full conversations with their Alexa devices thanks to the use of what’s called a large language model (LLM). It’s a kind of artificial intelligence (AI) that can mimic a person, and will allow you to chat to your Echo to get information rather than ask it standalone single questions

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