Amazon Dash Buttons set to stop working by August 31

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon's Dash Buttons will officially cease to function by August 31, following their discontinuation in February this year

The news may come as a surprise to loyal Dash users, who were assured by Amazon that it would continue to service the self-adhesive controls as long as customers continued to buy products through them.

Launched in 2015, the Dash Button was intended to be placed somewhere convenient inside your home, so that you could re-order items from Amazon with a single press. 

This allowed time-pressed customers to order everything from laundry detergent to macaroni cheese, with Amazon charging their accounts and dispatching the items as soon as possible.  

Did Alexa kill the Dash Button?

As the Dash Button doesn't give you any indication of price when you place your order, Amazon has been criticized for the time-saving devices; after all, Amazon's prices fluctuate all the time, and using the Dash Button means you don't have the opportunity to shop around for a better price. 

In fact, German courts ruled that the devices violated the country's consumer protection laws, earlier this year.

The demise of the Dash Button could also be attributed to the rise of smart speakers and connected devices in the home, including Amazon's own Echo smart speakers. 

(Image credit: Amazon)

Speakers like the Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot have made it possible for Amazon customers to order products simply by asking Alexa, somewhat negating the usefulness of the Dash Button.

Of course, for some, the convenience of simply pressing a button every time you run out of cat food can't be beaten, even by the smarts of voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. 

If you count yourself among those hangers-on, you've got a little under a month to make the most of your Dash Button.

Via Android Community

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.