Harman Kardon Invoke Cortana Speaker

Anonymous
2020-03-04T03:48:09+00:00

Okay, I made the mistake of buying 4 Invokes for $50 at the Microsoft Store. I first bought two and really like them and then bought two more.  I have two of them set up.

I love the sound quality (it's better than the Echo Dots and Google Homes that I also have) and I've been pretty happy with them. I use them for listening to the radio (via TuneIn), setting timers, and as my alarm clock.

I have also set up reminders and they showed up in my Windows PC as a notification. That's something that I don't think Alexa or Google Home can do.  Really neat!  I also like Cortana's personality.

But I made the mistake of waiting too long before setting the other two up. I have been trying since December 2019 to set them up using both my Windows 10 PC and an Android phone. The setup app can connect to the speakers and then have the speakers connect to my WiFi network. Everything seems to be going well but the set up process never finishes.

After connecting to WiFi, the speaker tells me it needs to update the system software/firmware and to please wait. Eventually, the speakers tells me that something went wrong and that I should start the setup process over again.

I keep repeating the setup process and the same thing happens. It seems like it is trying to update the software/firmware to the latest version but a server is down or something so it can never finish the set up process.

Can someone from Microsoft please tell me if it is still possible to setup my two remaining Harmon Kardon Invoke speakers?  Is the server responsible for setting up and updating the Invoke still operating?

If not, is there any way I can manually update the firmware on the Invokes to the latest? There is a USB port on the Invoke that is supposed to be used for "service". Can this be used to update the firmware?  Is there a firmware file available for download?

If the server is down, can Microsoft put the server back up again so I can set up my remaining two Invokes?  I received no warning that this would happen.  Perhaps you host the server on your Azure Cloud services?  That would seem like the perfect place to do it.  It shouldn't take up too much resources as it would just spin up when needed.  Please restore the server even if it's only for a limited time.  Just give us a warning when it will go down so we would have time to set up our speakers before its too late.

I tried emailing Harman Kardon but I can tell they won't be of much help.  Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.  These are brand new speakers and I would just hate for them to be useless right out of the box.  And I wish that Microsoft wouldn't give up on Cortana like this.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Cortana and search

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-08-11T00:43:41+00:00

    I'm still getting IHeart, but don't know about Spotify.

    It's sad really. Pretty soon she'll be singing "Daisy...".

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-08-10T21:22:42+00:00

    Both of my Invokes have disappeared from Spotify/Spotify Connect. Anyone else? Have they already started killing our devices?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-08-06T15:28:06+00:00

    Hi all,

    I am also so pissed at MSFT for doing this. What was the problem with at least keeping things they were? 

    I assume there is nothing we can do sadly... But how can we keep them from upgrading to the latest firmware so the Wi-Fi functionality is still there? What do I need to do? 

    I ordered a couple Polk Assist speakers that run Google Assistant this week, and plan to unplug my Invokes for all of 2021, keep monitoring progress and see what the future holds. The fact that we can call Alexa from Cortana already makes you think there's potential.

    I just know from years of hacking/ROM'ing/etc., taking an OTA firmware that locks out or bricks a device oftentimes is a one-way path. Personally I have no use for my Invokes to become bluetooth-only speakers so I lose nothing by unplugging them for a year.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-08-06T15:14:29+00:00

    That's totally true except the bean counters won't care at the end of the day.

    Mindshare is expensive.  I think their biggest problem is they are too early to market, their branding is horrible, and their products are not subsidized at all.

    Still surprised they giving cash back for something that was DOA to begin with.

    Shame on me as I keep coming back for more.  Maybe we should start some sort of therapy group for abused Microsoft enthusiasts lol not lol...

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-08-06T15:05:16+00:00

    For a company that seemingly has billions of dollars to spend on TikTok, I'm not sure the cost to keep cortana running was that much of an issue. It's a lack of commitment. Microsoft are loosing mindshare with younger generations it won't bode well for their future, look at IBM.

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