Roav Viva Pro, by Anker, Alexa-Enabled 2-Port USB Car Charger for Navigation and Music Streaming, for Cars with Bluetooth/CarPlay/Android Auto/Aux-in/FM Reception

I use Alexa in my house all the time and when I recently purchased a vintage 1994 Mercedes sl500, I lost my technology. No more Bluetooth, not even an aux port and no cup holders (Yikes!). This car still has a cassette player in the radio. Since I want to keep the car original, I started looking for Bluetooth alternatives. I found lots of cigarette lighter devices that can connect via the FM side of the radio. I found one on a stalk that had decent reviews so I purchased that one. Then I found out it didn't interfaces with the phone assistant. Hoping I could use the Alexa app. No go so I looked again and found one from the same company the did support assistants. Almost bought that one and then found this device with Alexa built in. Yahoo!. Got it it.Got the package and it was very nice. Very easy install, just plug it into the cigarette lighter. Download the Roav Viva app, follow the on screen instructions, set the FM channel and off you go. I was dubious at first. I have had FM transmitters in the past and they never worked very well. This works very well. The quality of playing music over the Bose system in the car is as good as direct FM. But the best thing is, I have my Alexa back. She is the only female I can tell her what to do and she does it. Hey, I have a wife and 6 daughters. The nice thing about having Alexa built in to the device is, I can just talk. The other devices, you have to click and hold the call button for up to 5 seconds to wake up the assistant and then there can be a pause before you can ask your question. This is fast. Just say Alexa, wait a second or two for the boing, state what you want and she does it.Obviously it is not all roses. You are connected to a cell phone and subject to the vagaries of that system. Driving around town there are dead spots and your music will cut off. A few seconds later, it will come back on. In this car, if you turn off the motor, the power goes off to the cigarette lighter leaving static on the radio. Other cars will behave differently. I found out though, if you are listening to Amazon prime or Pandora and just cut the power, you have to tell Alexa to play again when you reconnect. If I tell her to Pause before I turn off, all I have to do is tell Alexa to Resume when I reconnect. BTW, the reconnect is automatic and fast. Only a few seconds and your going again.I have a 60 mile commute to my work which I haven't done yet due to the holidays. When I do that a few times, I will update with a long term use test. So far, this has worked perfectly. I have played local FM radio channels via the Alexa skills, Amazon Prime music and Pandora. The one Major complaint that I have with the Roav Viva is they do not support Spotify. Their booklet says coming soon. It better. I don't know if it is a Spotify thing or a Roav thing, but they need to get their act together.Now, I need to buy another one to put in my wife's Yukon. Well, maybe not. I think she is jealous.

I've only had my Roav Viva Pro for a couple of days, but I absolutely love it. It automatically reconnects to my phone whenever I get in the car, and then it just works. I have an old car stereo so needed the FM transmitter. Unlike my old FM transmitter, the Roav has never disconnected-- both the Bluetooth pairing to my phone and the FM signal just work. Having Alexa in the car is just great. I just say "Alexa resume" once I'm in the car, and my music, the news, or the myPod podcast starts up from where I left it. The only negative is that it takes a few seconds for Alexa to start working after powering up and then the commands take a second or two longer than they do on my home Echo devices. Other than that, it works perfectly and couldn't be more simple and easy to use.

I drive all over and listen to audio books from audible (amazon company) and thought getting this would supplement my drives allowing me to communicate like my dots and plus devices do.Pro- Easy to install, easy to pair and if it works a nice unit. Plus matches the blue leds of everything in my CRV.Cons- Too many words in the audiobooks set this device off which causes audio to reduce while the roav try’s to figure out command.-Way too many “Weather service not available try again later” but if I use my phone with Alexa it works immediately.-Too many service connection poor, try again later.-Not a fast charger for your phone. Just a regular charger. Not a big problem for me since I’m driving for long hours it gets the job done.I’ll go back to my fast charger anker car plug, I’m past the return window so will see if someone else in the office wants it, otherwise I’ll pack this up and forget about it.I did not contact anker because I believe the product is working correctly, it’s just not that good of a product. I wanted to try the amazon version but they will not sell it to our business account.

Worked perfectly until I upgraded to Roav VIVA Pro 1.2.1 software - now it will not connect to my iPhone.I am using an iPhone XR (2018 vintage) running ios 13.1 - everything was fine until I upgraded to 1.2.1.When I start it up the blue circle pulsed for 5 minutes, then a steady orange light comes on for 30 seconds, and then all lights go off. The ALEXA function will not work.Coincidentally this all happened after Amazon released their Auto Echo.I am waiting for feedback from Anker now and will update this review when appropriate.It is working again – but I had to delete the Viva from my phone’s Bluetooth devices and then set it up as a new unit through the Roav VIVA app. (Do not pair your Roav VIVA Pro through your smartphone’s Bluetooth settings in advance) Just to be save I also deleted and reinstalled the app on my phone first.The following steps are for my iPhone XR using ios 13.11. Delete Roav VIVA app on phone2. Reinstall Roav VIVA app from App Store (Apple)a. Log in to appb. Allow all permissions3. Delete Roav VIVA from your Bluetooth Devicesa. Settings > Bluetoothb. Click the “ i “ next to Roav VIVA Pro …..c. Forget This Device > Confirm4. Plug the Roav VIVA Pro into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter socket and then start the engine, the LED ring indicator will shine blue with a circulating cyan ring.5. Open the newly installed Roav VIVA app6. Enable Bluetooth on your smartphone7. The app should now pair the Roav VIVA Pro device with your smartphone.8. An accessory list will pop up – Select Roav VIVA Pro XXXX from the list and then connect.9. Just follow the directions in the app from here.Good LuckUncle Hector

I purchased this as my phone's Google Assistant doesn't always respond well in the car. Since I have Alexa devices in the home, I thought I'd give it a shot. But, it's not as smart as the Alexa devices in the home.They still have not added Spotify support and are blaming Spotify for this - I'm not saying it can't be their fault but my other Alexa devices allow me to play music from Spotify. To add insult to injury, if you request a track available on the paid version, it will inform you of this and play a sample of the track without asking if you want to hear it.I also expected more from the microphones in this - my phone is better at picking up voice commands in the car than this.Don't expect to easily navigate anywhere - you can ask Alexa to take you home or to work. Sweet, I always forget how to navigate the routes I drive daily.Excellent charger, but a dumb smart-device. For this price, you can pick up a Bluetooth receiver and a charger, and have change left over. Hard pass.