Amazon has removed voice-command control of the 3.5 mm aux input on its Echo smart speakers. Newer models already lacked this input; however, on older devices users could switch to an external audio source by giving Alexa a voice command.
The change was first reported by Reddit user n8-sd. The physical input will continue to work, but those who want to turn down the volume coming from an external device will have to do so through the Alexa smartphone app.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that voice control for the aux input was removed with the latest software version, noting that analytics showed very few people used the feature. The spokesperson added that there has been no change to voice control for Bluetooth devices.
Some commentators suggest that the real reason may be Amazon’s inability to track content played over aux.
Background
Alexa is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published one story mentioning this name in the last 90 days; that article is dated September 2, 2026.