The outage, of course, means people aren't able to control their smart home gadgets using the assistant, which bodes for a worrying situation for people who rely on these commands (such as seniors and those with disabilities). And is otherwise a pain for Echo owners. Fortunately, many of those automated products boast their own apps or work with other smart home software, like Apple's HomeKit. Though Amazon hasn't yet offered an official response, its Amazon Web Service (AWS) servers are experiencing issues in Ireland, which may explain the problem.

Update 9/27/18 4:50AM ET: An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the problem was resolved at 2PM BST (9AM Eastern).