Echo Dot 3rd Gen Smart speaker Teardown

Teardown of the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation Smart speaker

Date 21 July 2019
Views 111,645
Time to read 5 minutes read

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Teardown

In the summer prime sale at Amazon, we purchased a third-generation Amazon Echo Dot which is a small voice-controlled speaker using Amazon’s Alexa voice command service. Part Two of this post is on Echo Dot 3rd Gen Digging Deeper.

As this is the first Amazon echo dot device we have purchased, we decided to take it apart to see what you get for your £22.00.

In the Box

  • The echo dot
  • 240V UK power supply
  • Things to try leaflet
  • Setup instructions
  • echo dot terms of use.

Box Contents


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Top of the Echo

The top of the echo dot has four buttons, four microphones and an LED ring.  The + and – buttons control the volume, the white circle activates Alexa and the circle with a line through it enables or disables the microphones.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Teardown

Case Base

The base has the serial number, product logos and certification marks.

On the side are a power input socket and headphone/audio out 3.5mm stereo socket.

Case Base

Case Base with sticky foot removed

The cover is held in place using adhesive tape and four plastic locator pins. 

To open the case first you need to remove the non-slip cover on the base of the echo dot, using a thin knife or some other flat-bladed tool. 

Under the cover, you will find four Torx bolts and a recessed six-pin header which appears to be a debug or programming port. 

Removing the four Torx bolts allows you to remove the plastic base.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Case Base with sticky foot removed

Metal Chassis with Processor PCB and speaker

Inside you will find a circuit board and an internal speaker.

The underside of the PCB contains discrete components and several test points.

The base PCB is removed using three Torx bolts and the removal of a small flat-flex cable.  The four bolts that hold the power and headphone connectors down do not need to be removed.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Metal Chassis with base PCB and speaker

Metal Chassis with Speaker

The Metal chassis contains the speaker and plastic moulding for the speaker.  The plastic is glued to the metal chassis, so we did not try to remove this.

There are four recessed Torx bolts which hold the top panel to the metal chassis.

Removing these allows you to remove the top PCB and button panel.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Metal Chassis with Speaker

Processor PCB

The processor PCB houses the power input jack and a headphone/audio out port via a 3.5mm stereo headphone plug. There is a shielded section which houses the main processor and memory ICs.

The board also contains power regulation and the audio driver for the internal speaker which is a TAS2770 from Texas Instruments.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Base PCB

Processor PCB with shielding removed

The metal shield can be removed using a small screwdriver.  Under the shield, you will find the Echo Dot's main CPU and Flash memory.

The Echo Dot uses a Mediatek MT8516BAAA Quad-core, 64-bit ARM® Cortex-A35 MPCore processor.

Next to the processor is a Samsung KMFN60012M-B214 8GB eMMC memory chip.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Base PCB with shielding removed

Top PCB with White Plastic surround

The top PCB can be removed from the white plastic ring and top cover by removing the four silver Torx bolts.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Top PCB with White Plastic surround

Top PCB with buttons

The top of the PCB contains four buttons, two LEDs and a light sensor. 

The LEDs are placed on either side of the button which toggles the microphones on and off.  The light sensor controls the brightness of the LED ring array.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Top PCB with buttons

Top PCB with Shielding removed

The underside of the top PCB contains most of the components found inside the Echo Dot.  An array of 12 RGB LEDs is located around the edge of the board.  The LEDs are driven using an ISSI IS31FL3236 36-channel LED driver.

Four microphones are placed next to the buttons and these feed into two TLV320ADC3101 chips from Texas Instruments.  The TLV320ADC3101 is a Stereo ADC with an embedded mini digital signal processor.  The Echo dot uses four microphones to locate the direction the voice is coming from and filter out background noise.

In the centre of the PCB is a metal shield.  Under the shield, you will find a MediaTek MT7658CSN dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controller with an ARM Cortex-R4 CPU.  The MT7658CSN manages communication to wi-fi and Bluetooth devices and connects to two PCB antennas located on the outer edges of the board.

There is also a Fairchild 74LCX74 dual D-Type flip-flop which appears to switch the microphones on and off.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Top PCB with Shielding removed

Metal Chassis

The top of the metal chassis.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Metal Chassis

All internal parts

All of the internal parts that make up the echo dot.

Amazon Echo Dot Rev 3 Internal parts

78 Comments

  • User Image

    Joe

    29 July 2019 at 1:38 pm

    Nice teardown. Is there a part number for the speaker driver?

    • User Image

      Brian

      29 July 2019 at 2:00 pm

      Joe, the speaker driver is a TAS2770 from Texas Instruments. I have updated the post with the driver info

  • User Image

    Ricardo

    30 July 2019 at 7:33 pm

    Very interesting, awesome pics btw!

  • User Image

    Andrew

    31 July 2019 at 4:55 pm

    Is there a part number for the microphone? This is some great work with the teardown; I want to copy the "light up where the sound is coming from" direction-finding functionality of the Echo

    • User Image

      Brian

      31 July 2019 at 5:19 pm

      Andrew, the number on the microphones is UY19 2WO7. I haven't been able to find anything online for this part number.

  • User Image

    rahul

    02 August 2019 at 7:38 am

    What’s the WiFi and Bluetooth chip used? Is it from marvel ?

  • User Image

    Anony

    09 August 2019 at 5:50 pm

    I hope the flip flop proves that if we switch off the mics, the software can not switch it on by itself, even after a reboot and it remains true that if muted, it will not feed mic data to anybody(amazon or a hacker).

  • User Image

    Gagan

    10 November 2019 at 7:04 pm

    My Echo dot 3rd gen is not searching my "My Air Purifier 2s" of Xiaomi through"Mi Home" app. It says device is not found, whereas Mi Home app is working properly with my device.

  • User Image

    Some random guy

    19 November 2019 at 7:41 pm

    Speaker driver : Fg-4040E1-3B

  • User Image

    jimmy

    26 November 2019 at 10:12 pm

    Has anyone measured the voltage of the LED lights?

  • User Image

    Dave Bailey

    29 November 2019 at 11:33 pm

    If I removed the 4 microphones would it still function? ie. play music from another echo which is controlling it from another room. I'm trying to TOTALLY remove listening possibility for a few of my networked units.

  • User Image

    Simone

    30 November 2019 at 10:58 pm

    I think not... probably at boot the device checks for hardware integrity... What are you doing that no one can have a chance to hear?

  • User Image

    Mäx

    04 December 2019 at 1:53 pm

    Dave, I came here to ask that exact question. Looks like it’s impossible, though I’m thinking it might be possible to fill them with superglue - that way electronic checks might still work but they won’t be able to “hear”

  • User Image

    Jay

    16 December 2019 at 10:58 am

    Doesn't look like it's using digital microphones (could be wrong, it's not easy to tell from the pictures) they look like fairly 'standard' electret elements which should be fairly simple to disconnect (might need a track cutting per element) and the disconnection would be undetectable (unless Alexa is constantly listening for background noise to ensure hardware integrity which is rather disturbing)

  • User Image

    Paul D Williams

    24 December 2019 at 11:51 pm

    Do you happen to know the part number for the tweeter for the 3rd gen Echo Dot? Having a hard time finding any information online. Trying to buy replacement part

    • User Image

      Brian

      25 December 2019 at 11:06 am

      Paul D Williams, I am sorry but i don't know the part number

  • User Image

    mbip

    16 January 2020 at 11:45 pm

    I wish in future echo dot will have internal battery.

  • User Image

    Anthony

    18 January 2020 at 6:06 pm

    My speaker is distorted. Amazon won't take it back, I want to replace the speaker what do I order?

  • User Image

    kat

    22 January 2020 at 12:58 am

    is there any resources I could find to get a replacement board with the aux and power in?

  • User Image

    Liam

    13 February 2020 at 10:10 pm

    Can all components on the boards be colour coded to identify where each one is? Thanks

  • User Image

    Paul F Brown

    22 February 2020 at 11:46 am

    I have vision limitations. Can anyone tell me the size of the led clock on echo dot 3 please

  • User Image

    Carl

    23 February 2020 at 5:35 am

    Hello: I have a big problem, my amazon echo is dead, i followed your teardown and inspected the processor board, I found burned the component U23, do you have idea what kind of component is? MOSFET, Regulator, driver, or something else?, I really need your help.

    • User Image

      Brian

      23 February 2020 at 10:24 am

      Carl, U23 part number is 02=45R It looks like some sort of voltage regulator but we don't know the output voltage.

  • User Image

    Larry

    07 March 2020 at 3:32 am

    Thank you for the pictorial tour of the echo dot. Does it appear to be possible to add a line in port?

  • User Image

    EJH

    09 March 2020 at 4:02 pm

    Echo dot speaker is very distorted, anyone know where to get a replacement? Thank you.

  • User Image

    Edi

    17 March 2020 at 10:17 am

    @EJH: If you're lucky, the distortion is just because of some mechanical issues in the loudspeaker (for instance there's a metal part which entered the housing and is being hold by the loudspeaker magnet and which presses on the membrane of the speaker itself). Good luck!

  • User Image

    Steve

    28 March 2020 at 2:23 pm

    There does not appear to be a battery. I am quite surprised as I would think Amazon would like to continue listening even when the device is unplugged. For their product development of course. Can anyone confirm that there is no battery.

  • User Image

    YSR

    13 April 2020 at 2:57 pm

    What type of microphone is used? Analog or Digital? From numbers on microphone, unable to get microphone details.

  • User Image

    Ian

    20 April 2020 at 5:55 am

    I've searched a many of forums with ZERO answer besides exchange/purchasing a new device - I'm wondering if there is an answer before taking apart or what to look for when I do. Echo dot 3rd gen will not enter setup mode. Tried everything under the sun including trying my roommates cord for theirs, waiting 5 minutes, rebooting router, de/re- registering, and obviously holding action button for at least 25 seconds, etc. Instead of turning orange it turns solid blue indefinitely. I promise I've tried all troubleshooting techniques given, and then some. Thank you in advance for your time!

  • User Image

    Happy

    01 May 2020 at 3:37 am

    can you see how the audio out jack is wired for stereo and the speaker for both L & R channels? Is it the same audio feeding both or is it separated in chip? Is the speaker cutoff a mechanical contact in the audio jack or is that on chip? I am looking for a way to have both speaker and headphones simultaneously.

  • User Image

    freakqnc

    11 May 2020 at 6:39 am

    What's the speaker part number and where can I get a replacement one? As EJH stated earlier "Echo dot speaker is very distorted". Thank you.

  • User Image

    Mark E Wright

    17 May 2020 at 10:23 pm

    Can you confirm on the size of the torx screws? thanks

    • User Image

      Brian

      18 May 2020 at 9:46 am

      Mark E Wright, I am sorry but I don't remember the size of the torx screws. Our driver set has had a lot of use and the sizes have all worn away from the handles.

  • User Image

    Je'Mari

    31 May 2020 at 8:44 am

    what's the top part called? the one with the buttons and top cover

  • User Image

    Monem Alyaser

    11 June 2020 at 9:29 pm

    Anyone knows the power dissipation of of the Mediatek MT8516BAAA Quad-core, 64-bit ARM® Cortex-A35 MPCore processor

  • User Image

    halooie1

    16 July 2020 at 5:46 pm

    Where is the DAC? Integrated into the TAS2770?

  • User Image

    Sam

    24 August 2020 at 2:57 pm

    Do you know a part number to replace the top ribbon?

  • User Image

    Gerry Teldon

    02 September 2020 at 2:26 am

    What is the purpose of the dot and diagonal line button. I have a problem hearing Alexa

  • User Image

    Scott Petersen

    21 September 2020 at 8:57 pm

    The circle with the diagonal line is to mute the microphone, when active the coloured leds turn red

  • User Image

    Dharmesh

    21 October 2020 at 2:11 pm

    Does anyone know what the music power in watts is the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd gen

  • User Image

    Julio Lopez

    17 November 2020 at 1:03 am

    Does anyone know where to buy the speaker driver

  • User Image

    Hank

    26 November 2020 at 10:08 am

    Torx screw size is T6

  • User Image

    Arvind

    02 December 2020 at 7:33 am

    Thanks for excellent review. Could you let me know which DAC chip is used

  • User Image

    Martin ALCARAZ

    27 December 2020 at 4:10 pm

    Thanks for excellent review. Could you show led plastic ring back side .

  • User Image

    Glenn

    21 January 2021 at 5:29 pm

    Hi, if one of these is getting hot and non-functional, do you think a Raspberry PI could be put in and use the speaker and power port for a headless RPI?

  • User Image

    Daniel

    26 January 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Hello, is it possible to replace the flat cable holder on the first board? It seems mine is broken, as the cable doesn't hold good anymore and Alexa won't turn on. Thanks!

  • User Image

    Dave

    28 January 2021 at 1:43 pm

    Can you fit a raspberry pi 4 inside the case whilst retaining the speaker

  • User Image

    Steve

    05 February 2021 at 9:33 am

    Everything is here apart from what are the buttons for ?

  • User Image

    Luis alberto

    08 February 2021 at 5:21 am

    Donde puedo comprar la placa del centro de carga y audio al parecer la de mi E3 se quemo debido a una variación de voltaje, o creen q sea posible q se haya protejido debido a q recibió una variacion de voltaje. Por favor que alguien me ayude.
    Google translation: Where can I buy the charging and audio center board? Apparently the one in my E3 burned out due to a voltage variation, or they think it may have been protected due to a voltage variation. Please someone help me.

  • User Image

    Ra

    02 March 2021 at 3:01 pm

    Nice Breakdown!
    Where can I find a DC Output Power Plug for the 3rd Gen. The device does NOT have a Standard DC Plug-in port, (it’s close but not close enough) I would like to make a 12 V mobile power cord.

  • User Image

    Francesco

    11 March 2021 at 12:00 pm

    Hello, I was looking to replace the small flat-flex cable with a longer one. Do you know where can I find it and what is the name?

  • User Image

    Luiz Gustavo juk

    17 March 2021 at 10:05 pm

    Onde eu posso encontrar o alto-falante da lexa geração 3
    Where can I find the alexa generation 3 speaker

  • User Image

    Jack Fraser

    24 March 2021 at 8:37 pm

    Hi Brian, my gen 3 dot is "stuck with blue ring and will not factory reset using various reset instructions. It never goes orange, I've tried all the tricks and tips. So I am wondering if I tear it open like you have do you think that could help in some crazy way? Other than a bad chip on the pcb I wasn't sure if I could try something at that level that might work. Any thoughts?

  • User Image

    Tim

    13 August 2021 at 1:46 pm

    I am looking for a replacement ribbon cable. Any ideas where I could get that part?

  • User Image

    Ian Lewis

    15 August 2021 at 8:34 pm

    I want to mount on the ceiling, therefore do you think I should be able to re-route the power cable/socket?

    • User Image

      Brian

      15 August 2021 at 8:50 pm

      Ian, it should be possible to attach power cables inside the case and drill a hole in the base to have the cable exit for mounting on the ceiling

  • User Image

    Claudio

    28 September 2021 at 11:20 am

    I've the same issue Ian Lewis has. any hints?

  • User Image

    Hussain

    02 November 2021 at 6:31 pm

    Where i can find that internal speaker of dot 3, any part number

  • User Image

    Stefan Wulph

    06 December 2021 at 10:52 pm

    Great tare down and LOTS of good info.

    My questions are:
    What kind of LEDs does the 'ring' use? IE WS2818 IA RGB LEDs?
    How big is the internal speaker? WATT and actual size in/cm?
    Many Thanks :)

  • User Image

    David Clarke

    13 December 2021 at 8:11 am

    Great teardown, mine keeps losing WiFi, I can now check the WiFi aerial, thank you

  • User Image

    Pete

    13 January 2022 at 3:03 pm

    Looking for RGB LED manufacturer and part number so I can replace bad part. Want to use same so color matches others. Anyone know answer?

  • User Image

    Arek

    15 January 2022 at 10:41 am

    Hello, does anyone know what the converter marked on the PCB as U23, the marking on it is 02 = 45t, this element is burnt for me. I will be grateful for any help.

  • User Image

    Mickey

    21 February 2022 at 9:58 am

    Hi,
    Any information on the LED ring diffuser material and how it is mounted/ integrated on casing?

  • User Image

    TinkyWinky

    02 July 2022 at 2:31 am

    My echo Dot speaker has a tear in it. Needs to be replaced, still has sound but it is muted. Found the speakers on ebay but they come from China. 1.6 inch 40MM Amazon Amazon Echo dot3 smart speaker original neodymium magnetic full frequency speaker 4 Euro 8W Located in: shenzhenshi, China. :(

  • User Image

    Jijoy

    04 July 2022 at 7:19 pm

    Can we buy speaker parts?

  • User Image

    BionicTim

    07 September 2022 at 12:59 am

    I also found this in Amazon...
    40MM 4ohm 8W Neodymium full frequency speaker Loudspeaker.

  • User Image

    Faraday

    12 December 2022 at 1:20 pm

    @Anthony you order another, change the speaker and send it back

  • User Image

    Shree

    31 March 2023 at 8:10 pm

    What is that connecting orange strip called?

    • User Image

      Brian

      31 March 2023 at 8:10 pm

      The orange strips are called flat-flex cables.

  • User Image

    Isac

    25 April 2023 at 8:14 pm

    Is the same mic used on the echo dot 4th and 5th gen?

    • User Image

      Brian

      25 April 2023 at 8:14 pm

      They appear to be the same microphone modules

  • User Image

    José

    06 July 2023 at 9:13 am

    do you know the part number of the power input jack? The one that is marked as L2U

    • User Image

      Brian

      06 July 2023 at 9:13 am

      I am sorry but I do not know the part number for the power jack.

  • User Image

    Mark M

    07 August 2023 at 10:05 pm

    Great teardown! Saw someone has an identical problem with no answer, the unit only has a circling blue light, no reset function works. Is the an internal point of reset made available by teardown?

  • User Image

    Pratyush

    12 August 2023 at 8:28 am

    Can that Alexa echo dot 3 work without the body i.e. with only the pcbs?

    • User Image

      Brian

      12 August 2023 at 8:28 am

      It should work ok without the body

  • User Image

    Pallav Aggarwal

    18 August 2023 at 4:08 pm

    Great Teardown and details. Recently I have also started doing teardowns (pallavaggarwal.in) to learn how consumer electronics are designed for mass manufacturing and low cost. very interesting to learn so much in the process.

  • User Image

    Rajesh Kumar

    29 December 2024 at 9:20 am

    Hamare device Alexa per sound fatafat a raha hai to mujhe lag raha hai voltage to theek hai speaker change karna padega kya speaker mil jaega aur uska price kya rahega mujhe bataiye dhanyvad

    From Google Translate: Please tell me what speaker will be available and what will be its price. Please tell me what is the problem with our device Alexa per sound.


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