Unlike some smart speakers, the Amazon Echo, a voice-controlled smart speaker with intelligent personal assistance Alexa, relies on an internet connection to perform most of its functions and features. This usage mode leaves many people wondering how much data does the Amazon Echo use?
The amount of data the Amazon Echo uses is fluid as it depends on how often you use it and how you set up Alexa to function. But on an average usage of 30 minutes per day streaming music, inquiring about the weather, and asking two questions, the Amazon Echo can use up to 36 MB per day, which amounts to about 1.06 GB per month.
The storage and processing power available on the Amazon Echo is very limited. Hence, for Alexa to function adequately, it relies on an internet connection via Wi-Fi. However, this does not mean every activity is network-dependent. You can still do basic things like use it as a Bluetooth speaker, amongst other things.
Find out more about the things that contribute to the data usage of the Amazon Echo below.
What Contributes to the Data Usage of Amazon Echo?
Almost all tasks on Amazon Echo require an internet connection, contributing to the amount of data it uses at the end of the day or month. Below are some common tasks on the Amazon Echo that contribute to its data usage.
Feature #1: Weather, Traffic, and News
It is possible to ask Amazon Echo questions like the weather, traffic, and even what’s on the news, thanks to Alexa on it. However, Alexa can only provide this information by connecting to the internet. When you ask Alexa for an update on these things, it goes to its resources on the Amazon server to fetch the data. Fetching information like this costs anywhere around 138 KB, more or less.
Feature #2: Online Shopping
Another thing you can do with the Amazon Echo that is pretty convenient is shopping online. Whether you want to get a small batch of personal or health care items or groceries, you can say it to the Echo device, and Alexa will take care of adding them to your cart and checkout.
While asking Alexa on the Amazon Echo to get certain items is straightforward, you need an internet connection.
Feature #3: Stream Music
Streaming music with the Amazon Echo is the major cause of high data traffic. While you can use the Amazon Echo as a Bluetooth speaker, where you connect it to your smartphone or any other Bluetooth-enabled device and play music with it without connecting to the internet, however, if you would like to play music off Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc., all from the Amazon Echo, you need an internet connection.
Streaming music on Echo for about 20 to 30 minutes could use as much as 30 MB to 130 MB, depending on the audio quality settings you have enabled.
Feature #4: Alexa Routines
Alexa routine is a shortcut for everything you can do on the Amazon Echo with just one command. These tasks can be anything from simple tasks like turning on your lights or locking the door to more complicated actions like a morning routine. But for it to work, you need a stable internet connection.
Feature #5: Voice Commands
The last thing you may have thought that would require an internet connection on the Amazon Echo could be voice commands, but it does. The reason you need an internet connection for voice commands is that Alexa makes use of natural language processing to interpret human language.
This artificial intelligence tool allows computers like Alexa to understand spoken human language. And with over 7000+ languages worldwide, Amazon Echo cannot store all this information on the speaker; hence it requires the Amazon server to fetch data.
Feature #6: Messages and Calls
Placing a call or sending a message over a carrier network doesn’t require an internet connection. However, if you want to place a call via WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype, etc., you need to ensure your smartphone and Amazon Echo are connected to the internet. Other messaging apps like WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, etc., also require an internet connection.
Feature #7: Sending Announcements to Other Devices
For the Amazon Echo to make an announcement, it works like the voice command feature and requires a stable internet connection. For example, when you want to let everyone in the house know it’s time to eat dinner, you could say, “Alexa, announce Dinner’s ready.” The Amazon Echo will then connect to other Echo around your home or that have been synced together and announces the message.
Alexa is always on standby, so even when it is idle, it still makes use of your bandwidth, although very minimally. Daily usage of the Echo with no commands could consume up to 7.244 MB daily.
Conclusion
A stable internet connection is necessary to use the Echo to its full potential. An internet connection with at least 512 KB per second is sufficient to perform most of your tasks on the Echo without lags. And how much data you use at the end of the day depends on your usage.
