EchoMuse v2.18.0

EchoMuse firmware v2.18.0

Bluetooth connections, the Sendspin player, and echo cancelling per microphone. Bluetooth connections, Sendspin, wake word off, response level, the remote volume arc and the wake word microphone need controller 2.26.0 or later; with an older controller the Echo keeps working as it did.

New

• Bluetooth connections (#656). The Echo can hold up to three Bluetooth connections for Home Assistant, alongside the scan. Turned on from the controller, off by default.
• Sendspin player. Music Assistant plays to the Echo directly, in sync with other rooms.
• Echo cancelling per microphone (#814). Each turn listens on the edge microphone that heard you best, and the canceller had a single filter, tuned to the previous turn's microphone. The wake sound at the start of a turn could reach speech to text louder than the command and cost it its first words. Every microphone now keeps its own filter: on a replayed capture the canceller removed 26 dB of the second wake sound, where it had removed 6 dB.
• emOS microphones at FireOS's level (#806). An Echo on emOS captured about 6 dB quieter than one on FireOS 5, because eight input gain switches were left at the kernel's default. The firmware now sets them when it starts, so every emOS Echo's microphones read about 6 dB louder after this update. A FireOS Echo does not change.
• Wake word off (#552). Choosing "No wake word" in Home Assistant's wake word picker stops the Echo answering to it; the button still works. The mute button's state is reported to Home Assistant.
• Response level (#636). Spoken replies can be raised 6 or 12 dB against the Echo's volume, capped so a reply is never louder than full volume. Set from the controller.
• Hardware found by name (#541). The firmware looks up its buttons, LED ring, microphone, speaker and light sensor by name instead of by number, which is what lets one build run on more than one board. On an Echo Dot 2 nothing should change. If a part is not found by name the Echo falls back to the old number and says so in its log on the dashboard, in a line starting [board]. If you see one, please open an issue.

Improved

• A physical volume button plays a short tone at the new level when nothing else is playing (#637).
• The ring can show the level when the volume is changed from Home Assistant; off by default (#713).
• The microphone that listens for the wake word can be chosen, for an Echo whose centre microphone has failed (#705).
• The Echo reports its flash wear and why it last booted (#709).
• server board prints the board and where each part was found.

Fixed

• A muted Echo could come back unmuted after a power cut within a few seconds of the mute press (#849).
• Audio was dropped whenever a signal interrupted a write to the speaker: about 15 clicks an hour on every kind of playback, now none (#707).
• The external jack played 20 to 30 dB quiet on FireOS 5, and on one channel only under emOS on the 32-bit kernel (#566).

Known issues

• An Echo that restarts and rejoins a playing Sendspin group can fall out of sync until the next track.
• Bluetooth devices that need pairing are refused, and a held Bluetooth connection reduces how many adverts the scan catches.
• After unplugging the jack, the internal speaker has not been checked on our own Echoes (#566).
• An emOS Echo on the 32-bit kernel sometimes reconnects without rebooting (#816).

Tested

Acceptance run on three Echoes (FireOS 5, emOS on the 32-bit kernel, emOS on the 64-bit kernel), 2026-10-11: docs/uat-results/2.26.0.md in the repository.

Thanks

@evy0311 (#699, #713, #716), @DaSonOfPoseidon (#552, and asked for Bluetooth connections), @shawnsi (#705, #730), @Kozikodi, who found the jack fault by comparing stock against emOS, @sascha-hemi, who ran the fix on FireOS 6, and @shortgame11, @technotiger, @vithurshanselvarajah, @jcsnider and @imduffy15, whose ports to other Echoes shaped the hardware lookup.