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Last month Amazon started shipping the new Amazon Fire TV Cube and my review of it will be live shortly. In short, this is an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K combined with an Echo Dot shoved inside a cube.
You pay more than double the price of last years Fire TV but you get more performance, and full voice control over your TV, as well as all the benefits an Echo dot has.
It is still one of the best options on the market, but with the increased price and the new lower-priced Nvidia Shield, it is much less impressive than last years model.
Unfortunately, over the course of the month, I have become increasingly frustrated with the Cube due to one issue that should be easy to fix.
Like other Echo devices, it works with Ring. I have ring push motion alerts to Echo so I rarely miss the door. This works perfectly well when the TV is off, but with the TV on you get a full-screen notification overlay, it pauses what you are watching and sends the notification through the AV system. In my case, I have run a 7.1 Monitor Audio Silver set up which makes the notification sound unpleasant at best.
You would think it would be easy to disable this, either excluding the Cube from within the Alexa Skills app or preventing Alexa push notifications to come through to the TV. Sadly not. I assumed it was me being dumb and not seeing the setting,
However, someone else highlighted this issue over at the Amazon device forum and one of the useful members of staff says you can do this by disable notifications on ALL devices.
So for now, it appears if you have an Amazon Fire TV Cube and Ring doorbell you have to put up with the awful notifications or disable them on all Echo devices.
Hopefully, someone smarter than me will come along and tell me about a setting I have missed which can fix this, and I will update the post accordingly.
For now, I will be switching to the Nvidia Shield and potentially I will just go back to the superb Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K.
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I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
