Alexa in Canada

I understand Alexa in Canada will speak with a Canadian accent, eh! So we’ll have: “Play Neil Young in the living room, eh!” It will also respond to the popular Canadian phrase, “Sorry.”

Part of it is accounting for accents and simply getting voice detection working on the Sonos One, another part is making sure all of the servers have good endpoints and the pathing between the Amazon cloud and the Sonos cloud for the region is working correctly.
Ryan, a question since I am also waiting in India, with fully functional official Amazon hardware as you know - are we having to wait longer for the Sonos Skills to be seen in the Alexa India app until Sonos One also works for voice detection? Because that may not be easy in every case, Amazon spent a claimed 12 months doing this for their hardware before selling it here. I can understand the need for the pathing to work well, but I hope that we don't have to wait till you also get Sonos One to understand what Indians are saying. Why not a release in two steps then?

Anyone know if I get the Echo dot here in Canada, will it work with my existing Sonos speakers that is not a Sonos One? Just a wee bit confused

Yes, it will, eventually. With any unit/speaker made since Sonos began. But not before early 2018 is what is the present Sonos statement on the when.

Just follow the instructions I and others have posted in this community. The key is to set it up with an Android phone and a sideloaded Alexa apk (if you’d not have access to the US Google or Amazon app stores) to get the Alexa version from the US with Sonos skills. There is nothing wrong, or illegal, about using apks. They simply provide another way to load legit apps on your Android system.
Since it can be loaded only after turning off the security feature on the phone and reading the consequent warning of dire consequences, it can't be as simple as the last part - how to know if the side load is legit?
And now, since I have the hardware, this becomes more of interest so please bear with me if these questions are a repeat. What I have just now have are two Echo devices, set up and working fine with the Alexa India app. Except for they not being able to control Sonos, the app does not have the Sonos Skills. So, the questions:
1. What is a reliable site for the sideload and can it be accessed and the download done from there directly via Android?
2. I presume the Echo in question will have to be factory reset first.
3. Going on, I guess the newly downloaded app will have to be opened and Echo set up via it. I have a working Amazon US account I use for purchases so that is all that is needed in addition?
4. Once that is done, Sonos Skills will be present in the downloaded app? If yes, the Sonos process steps for setting up both Echo and Sonos for Alexa are to be completed with no change needed to these?
5. Once this is done, that Echo device reset up in the home will control Sonos? With obviously no local content for Echo. With a imaginary US address?
6. Coming to Amazon Prime, my Indian subscribed service will not be available, so there will have to be a workaround for that as well?
7. Once Sonos finally catches up with Amazon and releases the necessary skills in the local Alexa app, all that will be needed is a factory reset and then a set up of the Echo via the local app?

And, most importantly, assuming that the side load is not infected with a virus, what are the downsides apart from the reset Echo not being able to do any locally relevant activity? No risk of bricking any hardware?

Just follow the instructions I and others have posted in this community. The key is to set it up with an Android phone and a sideloaded Alexa apk (if you’d not have access to the US Google or Amazon app stores) to get the Alexa version from the US with Sonos skills. There is nothing wrong, or illegal, about using apks. They simply provide another way to load legit apps on your Android system.
Since it can be loaded only after turning off the security feature on the phone and reading the consequent warning of dire consequences, it can't be as simple as the last part - how to know if the side load is legit?
And now, since I have the hardware, this becomes more of interest so please bear with me if these questions are a repeat. What I have just now have are two Echo devices, set up and working fine with the Alexa India app. Except for they not being able to control Sonos, the app does not have the Sonos Skills. So, the questions:
1. What is a reliable site for the sideload and can it be accessed and the download done from there directly via Android?
2. I presume the Echo in question will have to be factory reset first.
3. Going on, I guess the newly downloaded app will have to be opened and Echo set up via it. I have a working Amazon US account I use for purchases so that is all that is needed in addition?
4. Once that is done, Sonos Skills will be present in the downloaded app? If yes, the Sonos process steps for setting up both Echo and Sonos for Alexa are to be completed with no change needed to these?
5. Once this is done, that Echo device reset up in the home will control Sonos? With obviously no local content for Echo. With a imaginary US address?
6. Coming to Amazon Prime, my Indian subscribed service will not be available, so there will have to be a workaround for that as well?
7. Once Sonos finally catches up with Amazon and releases the necessary skills in the local Alexa app, all that will be needed is a factory reset and then a set up of the Echo via the local app?

And, most importantly, assuming that the side load is not infected with a virus, what are the downsides apart from the reset Echo not being able to do any locally relevant activity? No risk of bricking any hardware?

I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, and based on my experience with installing Alexa and using it on Sonos before it was available to me in the Canadian app store. In other words, sideloaded with an apk.
1) Sideloads of common apps are available from many sites. I am concerned about breaking group rules, so I won't list sites here. However, if you google "trusted apk sites" or look in reddit for a discussion about trusted sites you'll come up with a few that have existed for many years and have good reputations. If you save the download as an apk file on your android device you can install it directly from the device. Most download sites have instructions. If not, a google search will quickly result in a step-by-step procedure. It is extremely simple. As you point out, you must enable unknown sources in the privacy settings of your device. Then you basically launch the apk, and you'll install the app that is packaged in the filel.
2) I have never reset any Echo Dots for any reason. I have Alexa and Sonos working in both Canada and Brasil. In my case, the answer to that question is "no".
3) You should be okay with your US Amazon account. You might want to download the "Amazon Underground" app on the Android, available from Amazon. I seem to recall that it popped up at some point in my installation process. Unfortunately it has been a while since I did this in Canada, so I can't recall its exact involvement. I don't have an Amazon US account, just a Canadian account, and I was able to do this in Canada before Echos were announced for sale there. I purchased my Echo Dots in the U.S. I later configured the Dots in Brasil using the same method. They are not sold in Brasil, and the ones I use in Brasil were also purchased in the US.
4) Yes, the Sonos skills were there, in Alexa the app installed with the apk on Android. Unfortunately when you install an apk it usually won't update itself so you must be sure to continue to install the latest version. I updated with a new apk before configuring Sonos, because Sonos skills were not available in earlier versions. Once you have set this up you should also be able to use the Sonos skills in the iOS version of the Alex app, if you have access to a US or Canadian Apple store and can download it. It works fine. However, I could not set up Alexa/Sonos with iOS, and users other in countries where Echo is not sold have reported the same.
5) It does for me. I used a Canadian address because a few months ago Amazon started allowing Canadian addresses in the Alexa configuration, even though Echo gear was not at the time sold in Canada. I had previously used a fake US address, but at that point Alexa-Sonos capability did not exist. I assume you should be ok with a fake US address.
6) I can't answer that because I am not an Amazon Prime customer, although it is available in Canada and last week it was announced that it now includes the stripped down Amazon Prime Music in Canada. Previously it did not. Most serious music fans are disappointed in Amazon Prime Music, which has a far smaller selection than Amazon Music (not available to me in Canada or Brasil).
7) I have upgraded to the "real" Alexa app through the normal process in Canadian and Android and Apple stores (now that it is available to me) and things continue to work for me. In other words, I am now using the "local app." As far as I can see, it's the same as the US app when you obtain it through the Canadian sources. I don't know what will happen in other countries, because different languages and/or speaking voices may be involved.
Re your final question:
There is malware out there, and can be contained in apk files. I only use apks to try to get legit files that are not available through the country store connected to my phone (Canada). It seems that these are less likely to be affected by malware than apks involving hacks, cracks, freebies of paid software etc. I have never had a problem in about a decade of doing this with many phones and tablets. But I am not a frequent installer of apks, so my risk level is probably low. You might want to look here for some safety tips. https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/features/installing-an-apk-file-how-to-check-if-its-safe-1678081. Another trick is to download the Alexa apk from a number of sources. Check the exact file sizes before you install. if they're all the same, you're probably okay. If file sizes of identically named files are different, there may be something wrong with one or more of the files. Having said that, I have sideloaded the android Alexa app several times through downloaded apks with no problems. I have many friends who have done the same, with no problems.
I hope this helps.

Many thanks for the long reply! I will read it through carefully and proceed cautiously!

Many thanks for the long reply! I will read it through carefully and proceed cautiously!
You’re very welcome. Good luck.

Foxed at the first hurdle! I opened two side loaded downloads from two sites to see if either works, but both opened the Alexa India app. Then I thought it may because I have the same ID/password for Amazon US and India, so I changed the password for the US account. Tried again with the password for the US account while installing Alexa, and exact same results - the Alexa India app is the one that gets installed. Any ideas for next attempts?!