Uconnect 5 and Alexa

[greenie95125]

New 2026 Laramie owner here. Is it just me, or does the built in Alexa seem like a waste of electrons in the newer Uconnect systems. First, I learned that Alexa is dumber than a box of hammers unless you pay for a data plan to get the wifi hotspot. I did sign up for the trial plan to test it out, and honestly, she didn't get much smarter

I use Android Auto for music, nav, calls, etc, so I don't see the point of even having Alexa. All I could get Alexa to do was get me directions via the Uconnect map, which is fine, but unnecessary, since Google Maps with Android Auto does it just as well. I tried to get Alexa to play Spotify, and the response is that it's not available on this device. Again, AA does this perfectly.

I also don't see the need for a hot spot at all in my truck when I have a 5G phone with unlimited data. Maybe I didn't give the "girl in the speaker" a fair test, but I went back to Ram Connect and cancelled auto renew. That will be $175 that I will not be spending this year.

Am I missing something that makes spending that money to use Alexa worthwhile? I'm a heavy Alexa user at home, so I like the technology, but it seems useless in my truck when free options seem to be more capable.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[Mpgrimm2]

I have it available on my '22 with uConnect 5c and also find it to be a huge waste of code on my truck as well.

Does your '26 support full screen Android Auto yet?

Other than the lack of wireless AA/Carplay support on my prior '19 with 12" uConnect 4c, I found that system better and actually liked the SXM travelink (not an option on uC 5c)

 

[greenie95125]

Do you mean does AA take up all 14" of screen real estate, no it does not... only the upper 1/2 or so. I'm still learning all of this, so perhaps I haven't found the magic setting yet. LOL

Wireless is the way to go. I've had a wireless adapter in my '17 forever, and immediately put in my '26 not knowing it was wireless already. It was when the connection kept dropping out, and I discovered that the truck had wireless AA, the problem was solved by removing the adapter. I guess the adapter and the truck were wrestling for the connection.