Sonos One alternate Alexa "wake word" change

  • 26 December 2017
  • 68 replies
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I was going to buy a pair of Sonos ones when they first came out but the inability to change the "wake word" from Alexa was a deal breaker for me as I already have a multi-room Sonos/Echo/Alexa Home autmation setup in which I use the "wake word" "computer". Therefore any expansion to my existing setup has to also have the abilty to alter the "wake word" to "Computer" as with the Echo/Echo dot. Has this issue now been addressed? If not, can this issue please be addressed in a future update to allow the Alexa Wake word on the Sonos One's to be changed from "Alexa" to "Computer"?

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68 replies

Well, there's always "OK, Google!". 😉
I too have a human Alexa in my household. Not being able to use one of the alternate Amazon supported wake words leaves me disappointed with my new Sonos One speaker. I will not be purchasing other Sonos devices with Amazon integration built in until this is addressed.
Same situation here, purchased Sonos One for the bedroom thinking would get rid of the dot, since we use key word Echo, this will not work for us. We were going to buy multiple more units to replace all our existing dots and Alex devices. So frustrating that all is needed is a software change, yet this product is a step backward.

I agree completely. I bought 2 Sonos One Gen 2 speakers and planned to add more to replace older Alexa units. I really do NOT want to have to rename all existing devices back to "Alexa" when I've used "Echo" for years.

PLEASE Sonos - it sounds like this is technically feasible now based on documentation from Amazon. Allow us to change the wake word to one of the currently accepted names.
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As my daughter is named Alexa we had to turn the voice services off. Would really love to change the wake word as I’ve already got around $4k worth of Sonos gear and plan to get more. Having the voice activation working would just be the icing in the cake.
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I agree with all the others. It is a major omission from the integration and ridiculous that it has not been addressed after all this time.
Same situation here, purchased Sonos One for the bedroom thinking would get rid of the dot, since we use key word Echo, this will not work for us. We were going to buy multiple more units to replace all our existing dots and Alex devices. So frustrating that all is needed is a software change, yet this product is a step backward.
Please add ability to change wake word. My son and his girlfriend Alexa thank you.
This is the first time, in the 33 years that I have been alive, that I have ever posted a comment on a forum. However after receiving a brand new pair of Sonos One speakers in the post yesterday and setting them up, I cannot believe that it is not yet possible to change the wake word from "Alexa" to something else. My daughter is called Lexie and after only one day it is already getting rather frustrating that the speakers wake up every time I say her name. Sonos please can you sort out this problem, I don't want to have to return my lovely new speakers!
Userlevel 5
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Just got a sonos beam, hoping Sonos read these forums and get this implemented soon, key feature for me.
What an incredibly stupid thing to have not implemented! Come on Sonos...get with the program. I just took mine out of the box and got it going. This is the first thing I tried to change. The problem with using "Alexa" as the wake word is every damn Amazon commercial that comes on either the TV or radio will wake a device up. We need a least one other good option. I use "echo" on all my Dots. I'm not sure why Amazon is so restrictive on wake up words to begin with, but to limit us to the one and only default is inexcusable!
Has Amazon allowed non-Echo products to use different wake words yet? As far as I know, that's still the case.

In this quote from nine months ago earlier in this thread, yes they have. Of course, Sonos has done nothing about it. Stilll a problem when my niece Alex comes to visit or calls.


In a promising development, the requirement now says this:

“2.1. Your product SHALL only use approved Amazon Alexa wake words, such as "Alexa".”

So it sounds like any of the standard wake words should work now! Sonos..... your move?
I think this may be a deal-breaker for me as well. There is no good reason for Amazon not to allow all Alexa-enabled devices to have the same functionality through the app that its own devices have. Reasons like these made me decide to cancel my Prime membership as well and I haven't regretted that one bit. Sonos should demand more from its business partners.
Has Amazon allowed non-Echo products to use different wake words yet? As far as I know, that's still the case.
Hey Sonos, why can't we do this? I have lots of relatives/friends with the name Alex (and variants). Please let me call it "Computer" on my One!
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I finally figured out how to change the wake word- When Google Assistant support is released, we'll finally get "OK, Google" as a new wake-word! \o/

Can't wait!
Welp, looks like Amazon will be releasing a high-fidelity speaker soon, and I bet it can wake with words other than "Alexa": https://www.amazon.com/All-new-Echo-Plus-Bundle-Philips/dp/B07H1D6821/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=ods_gw_dg4_ha_lr_092018
Very frustrated with everybody else that this was not thought through before launch of this product. I essentially have a device that is unusable, since my wake word though the house is echo
It’s a deal breaker for me. If you want people to pay an extra $100 for alexa integration then it better be feature-compareable with a $29 echo dot. Two Sonos One’s getting returned tonight.
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Should not have been released? So the rest of us who prefer 'Alexa' should have not been able to purchase Sonos Ones until after you were satisfied? I agree this needs to be changed and soon, but come on ... it's not a 'deal-breaker' for the vast majority of users.
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Several months ago I purchased 2 of these never even thinking I could not change the name. Imagine the surprise I got when I went to go and do so. I thought it was me, that I was missing something so coming here to find out this is not even possible makes me want to give these back but I waited to long. What is the point of having these if they do not work the way the rest of my system works. BAD BAD BAD Sonos. Very disappointed. I don't care who is to blame for this, Amazon or Sonos. The bottom line is the product should really not have been released with this deal breaking caveat.
I’d like to add my support for this feature please. My son is called Alex and the amount of times Alexa goes off unintentionally is driving everyone mad. Whilst Sonos don’t give away product release information it would be nice to know if they are aware of the demand and are at least looking into it
I recently purchased the Sonos beam and really like the device. I have 3 echo dots and a Fire TV cube which is next to the beam. I don't want to have to call the cube Amazon and the rest of the Echo devices Alexia which can be confusing for the kids and adults. Please provide a simple way to change the Sonos wake word - How about calling is "Sonos".
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Agreed. I usually do research, but I never expected this to be a problem. My hubby just picked up a Sonos One for our bedroom. We were going to move our Play:1 to bedroom and also move an Dot and setup a new pair in living room. I'm glad we didn't! The wake word is a total non-sequitur for me. Sonos speakers need to support changing wake word (and specifically, Amazon supported "computer") before I buy any more units. It is a bummer because we almost picked up the newer smaller sound bar for our secondary living room. For now, we're looking at just expanding use of dots/spots. We already have half a dozen. We just thought it would be nice to introduce some real music speakers (not keen on Amazon "quality" Echo units) in addition to the other one we bought for use as a SmartThings integrated announcement device.
I just plugged in my two Sonos Ones as surrounds to my playbar. I love being able to just say Play “artist” and it woks. Rather than play “artist” on family speakers.

But I need a different wake word. I have a Alexander, so it confuses it sometimes.

Please fix this Sonos.
My Beam arrived today and sadly the same issue