Reddit reviews Mount Genie Flush Mount 2nd Gen - Built-in Wall or Ceiling Mount for Round Puck Speakers with Included Wiring (1-pack)

shameless plug. This is the in-wall mount we sell on Amazon for the echo Dot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072TLJQK1?psc=1

Completed my 2 week project and dove in a little deeper than I initially planned!

Before I get into it, I want to thank everyone on this sub for guiding me in the right direction on this project. I’ve never done any sort of electrical or wall mounting work before, so thank you to everyone who chimed it with advice.

So let’s get to it!

This all started when my mom got an Echo for Christmas and was using it as nothing more than a Bluetooth speaker. I already had my HomeKit enabled Philips Hue and Harmony Hub (with homebridge) setup, but I figured I could use it more than her, so she gave it to me.

Fast forward to u/Curney posting his in wall Echo Dot mounts. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072TLJQK1?psc=1
I decided that since Prime day was coming, it was time to go big or go home. My mother had an old home intercom system that was failing fast, so I decided to dive in.

First I bought the dots on prime day and the mounts soon after. Knowing nothing about electricity, I disconnected the wires from the bedroom wall units and tried to find out how power ran through them. I then decided to unplug the master unit, leaving me with just a rough in outlet. I cut a USB cable in half, spliced the 4 wires into the 4 wires already in the wall, plugged the top half upstairs into the rough in, used the in wall wiring for the system to carry the load, and plugged the echo in on the other end. The echo dot mount gave me great instructions to buy the correct size saw, and the mount popped right in and the wires were hidden neatly behind. I HIGHLY recommend the mount... I’ll find a link to Amazon if anyone wants. Anyway, to my surprise it actually worked, but only in one room; The master bedroom was too far away it seemed. I used an old android phone with an amperage meter app, and measure a strong start at 750mA, and then a drop to 40mA. No wonder the echo kept turning off... So I educated myself. I asked friends, contractors, old guys at the hardware store (which I’d worked at for 5 years), anyone who would listen. I wanted to do this right.
I got to work removing the old metal mounts that held the intercoms in, which was a giant pain in the ass. Once I got those out, I did some drywall repair with some furring strips that would make Ron Swanson proud. I’d never done ANY of this before, so it was a lot of fun learning along the way.
I then decided to hell with this fire hazard wiring, lets do this right. I watched YouTube videos on installing an outlet next to an existing switch, and instead of right next to the wall switch, I ran the outlet about a foot away with some romex. I figured if I’m doing this, what the hell, go big (and ridiculous) or go home. I bought a box that was made for recessed outlets for Flat Screen mounts, and replaced the included outlet with a 3.1 amp USB outlet. I did all the wiring right, and about shit my pants when I plugged in the echo and it worked. There was a reason, as you can see, that I decided on this certain size of box; it was perfect for an iPad mini. Naturally, the only iPad mini my mother had was the first gen which doesn’t have HomeKit capabilities, so it was off to craigslist and the pawn shops. I picked up 2 cellular capable iPad mini 2’s for around about $125 each, quite a deal. From there I needed to figure out the best way to get power to them and to mount them handsomely. I checked out some dash mount systems on Amazon, along with a flipped lightning charger as seen in the picture. I also picked up some clear shells for the iPads at walmart for $5 each.

Sorry for the scatter brain post. I JUST got one (of two) completed. The starting pictures are of the downstairs, the finished ones are upstairs. I’m still waiting on primer to dry downstairs. Then just painting and installing.

If anyone has any questions, I’ll help as much as I can. I started out planning to spend about $200... ended up all in for about $650 but couldn’t be happier with the results!

This is a ready made solution. You still need power though.

Flush Dot Mount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072TLJQK1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_8ksMzbFCVHP7M

The Flush Mount – Built-in Wall or Ceiling Mount for Round Puck Speakers – Includes Wiring – Does not muffle built-in speakers – by Mount Genie (1-pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072TLJQK1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_57nWAbD2VT195

They also make in wall mounts for Google home minis if you wanted to use that ecosystem. Should be able to cut the DC power supply and splice it to remotely power them from the main unit

Do you have a particular spot in mind?

https://www.amazon.com/Flush-Mount-Built-Speakers-built/dp/B072TLJQK1

Nope, bought it off amazon. Here you go.

Amazon for $19.99, I really like it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072TLJQK1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I want to wall mount an Echo dot using this. I'm trying to figure out how to power the Echo without a cable coming out of the wall anywhere.

What about something like this, let’s you run the cables behind the drywall. Still have to pop it out at the socket to plug in the adapter but at least no wires all over the place. Says it comes with a 10 foot cable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072TLJQK1/