Amazon Dash Button with Parental Controls

This translation was generated automatically.

Amazon launched its free Dash IoT button in Germany a few days ago. After ordering razor blades once, you can repurpose it for more useful smart-home actions.

The process is extensively documented online for the first hardware and software revision of the button, sold in the US in 2015. The second revision has changes that make this more difficult: browser-based setup is no longer supported, and each button is tied to an Amazon account that complains if you haven’t selected a product for it. The good news with revision two is that the battery probably isn’t welded in, so it should be easier to replace—if you can open the case without destroying it.

A simple parental control in the Fritz!Box can block the button from reaching amazon.com after you’ve completed half the setup (Wi-Fi yes, product no). This effectively stops unwanted purchase reminders on your phone. In the access profile, disable “HTTPS requests” and add amazon.com to the blacklist.

With a little hot air, the label also comes off easily and can be replaced with your own.

A small ARP sniffer on the local network listens for the button’s MAC address and can trigger an action. It isn’t particularly elegant, but it works reliably enough. There’s plenty to choose from on GitHub.

I hope Amazon soon sells its dedicated IoT button in Germany, making this hack unnecessary. If you want to order razor blades again, just remove the parental controls and finish setting up the “hacked” button in the Amazon app.