Gamer92000 / echo-dot-assist

# echo-dot-assist
**Turn an old Amazon Echo into a Home Assistant voice satellite that never talks to Amazon.**
The Echo keeps what it is good at: Amazon's microphone processing and wake word engine, so it still hears you across
the room and over its own music. Only Alexa goes. In its place runs `hassmic`, a small daemon that Home Assistant finds
as an ESPHome device, with no YAML and no add-on.
> [!CAUTION]
> **Vibecoded, unaudited, your risk.** Code, notes and docs were written by an AI (Claude) in conversation with the
> author, and tried on one Echo of each model. The install unlocks the bootloader and writes the system partition: it
> can brick the Echo. A mistake in the firewall or the updates could leave it online or open on your network. Read
> what you run. No warranty, no support.
## Supported Echos
| | Echo | Model | Codename | Way in |
|----|------------------------------|--------|----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| ✅ | Echo Dot 3rd gen (2018) | D9N29T | `donut` | open the case, wires on test pads |
| ✅ | Echo Dot 2nd gen (2016) | RS03QR | `biscuit` | micro-USB, no soldering |
| ✅ | Echo 2nd gen (2017) | XC56PY | `radar` | open the case, solder USB to the amplifier board |
| ❌ | Echo Dot 3rd gen (2019–2020) | C78MP8 | `crumpet` | the Dot 3 unlock does not work on it |
| ❌ | Echo Dot 3rd gen with clock | 36EBT3 | `doebrite` | thought to be `crumpet` hardware |
Each model needs exactly the firmware its page names (`donut`: Fire OS 6574.1 only). Another model? What is known and
how to add one: `devices/`.
## What you get
| | Stock Alexa | With hassmic |
|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| Voice assistant | Alexa, in Amazon's cloud | Home Assistant Assist |
| Hears you across the room, over music | ✅ | ✅ the same front end |
| Wake words | Alexa, Echo, Computer, … | the same, or any microWakeWord or openWakeWord model |
| Only the nearest Echo answers | ✅ decided in the cloud | ✅ decided on your network |
| Timers, announcements, follow-ups | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drop In between Echos | ✅ through Amazon | ✅ on your network |
| Multiroom music | Amazon speaker groups | Music Assistant (Sendspin) |
| Bluetooth speaker for your phone | SBC | SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD |
| Plays on a Bluetooth speaker | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bluetooth proxy for Home Assistant | – | ✅ |
| Do not disturb, equalizer, ring brightness | Alexa app | entities in Home Assistant |
| Buttons and light ring in automations | – | an event and a light in Home Assistant |
| Light ring animations of your own | – | drawn on the settings page, for each of the Echo's |
| Louder speaker (Echo Dot 2, Echo 2, Echo Dot 3) | – | up to +12 dB on the settings page (Echo Dot 3: +2 dB) |
| Sound detection (smoke alarm, glass, …) | Alexa Guard, checked in the cloud | on the Echo, less reliable |
| Whisper detection | answers in a whisper | a sensor for your