I will miss Amazon’s Dash buttons

Amazon revealed earlier this year that it was discontinuing its Dash buttons, the stick-on buttons that let you quickly reorder household items like trash bags, detergent, and much more. While Amazon said existing devices would continue to work “so long as the public keeps using them,” the company reversed course yesterday and now plans to kill them all off at the end of the month. I own and regularly use six Dash buttons, so I’m disappointed. I’m going to miss these buttons.

I first realized I had become reliant on using Amazon for almost all of my purchases after I moved into a new apartment closer to London a few years ago. Amazon took over my home, and I purchased a bunch of Dash buttons to make it easier for my partner and I to order dishwasher tablets, trash bags, and even toilet paper.

Dash buttons were incredibly easy to set up, and you could hook them onto things or use the sticky tape at the rear to secure them in place. Now I know this sounds crazy, but I stuck one to the wall above my toilet so I could easily reorder toilet paper. I probably use it once a month and I would simply hit the button and the toilet paper would arrive the next day. It’s brilliant.

The same goes for the ones I have attached inside my cupboards, I’d hit the button every time I ran out of trash bags because the button was right next to the empty stash of trash bags. I’d tap the one for mints on a weekly basis, and once again they’d arrive the next day.

I’ll miss the convenience most, but the way I placed them in my house meant they were a good way to remind me to order essential household goods. Sure, I could order them from the Amazon app on my phone, shout at my Alexa device in the other room, or even return to my computer and do it online, but having a button next to where you’ve run out of the goods is far more efficient for my brain. I’m sure that I’ll now forget to order items that I need, because I’m incredibly forgetful.

I’m not entirely sure why Amazon is killing these off, but I can only assume it’s because most Amazon customers haven’t stuck these to their walls or cupboards like I have. None of my friends or family members even know these Dash buttons exist, and I’d imagine that’s the same for the vast majority of Amazon Prime subscribers.

While I’m disappointed that Amazon is killing off the buttons, I’m far more annoyed that the company isn’t making it easy for owners to reuse them for something else. Amazon is advising people to recycle their Dash Buttons but I’m not ready to give up on them just yet.

With a little hacking they could be used to turn your lights on, order a pizza, or send an SMS. Amazon Dash buttons use a tiny microcontroller and Wi-Fi chip (combined with Bluetooth for connectivity) to communicate back to Amazon and order your goods. Hacking them requires Python scripts, a Raspberry Pi, and IFTTT, so it’s not particularly easy. As leaders in home automation I’d love for Amazon to provide some assistance here — an official bridge to IFTTT would be a start.

If you’re thinking of doing the same then there are some Raspberry Pi hacking guides, and there’s even a slightly easier method if you use an Android device. It does introduce a noticeable delay though, so it’s not ideal for turning your Dash button into a light switch.

I haven’t fully decided what to do with my Dash buttons. I might just rip them off my wall and cupboards and recycle them like everyone else. I just wish they weren’t going away, because I’m going to miss the convenience and satisfaction of having a real button to push every week.