Amazon Echo: 10 simple Alexa tips and tricks to superpower your day
Whether you’ve had an Amazon Echo for a long time or recently switched to the Amazon ecosystem, you’ve probably grasped the basic Amazon Echo features. But besides setting kitchen timers and asking for the daily weather forecast, Amazon’sAlexa-powered speakershave some lesser-known features that make customizing your smart home even better. Below are the top Amazon Echo and Echo Show tips and tricks to streamline your Alexa ecosystem.
Don’t let Alexa get too smart
Teach your Amazon Echo to whisper
You don’t need to shout at Alexa. It picks up about anything. Similarly, if you want your Echo or Echo Show to respond quietly, tweak a few settings. Whisper to the smart speaker/display, and it responds softly. This ensures you don’t get undue attention when asking Alexa to change the music or turn on the smart lights. You must activate the appropriate mode before your Echo device can whisper back.
If you recently received your first Alexa-powered smart speaker, follow ouressential Amazon Echo tipsto get the most out of it.
Use your Amazon Echo to track your food delivery status
you may use your Echo or Echo Show to track your food delivery status. You can also use Alexa to order food from your favorite restaurant. This is one of our favorite Echo features, but it requires slightly more work to activate.
For this, turn on the appropriate Alexa skill from the food delivery service provider in your region.
When the linking is complete, ask your Echo where the food you ordered is located.
You can use Alexa on your Echo to track stuff you ordered from Amazon. Say, “Alexa, track my order,” or “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” The voice assistant reviews your recent Amazon shopping history and provides a status update on its whereabouts.
Use your voice and Amazon Echo to create your shopping list
Get rid of the random sticky notes and let your Echo create your shopping list. The list is accessible from the Amazon or Alexa app on your phone, so you don’t have to be near your Echo to know what items to buy.
Add items to the shopping list using your Echo or Echo Show by saying, “Alexa, add [item name] to my shopping list.” Remove items in a snap by saying, “Alexa, check off [item name] from the shopping list.”
The best part about Amazon shopping lists is that you can create multiple lists that you always have on you. For example, if you’re shopping for your wedding, create a separate Weddingshopping list.
Follow the steps below to access the shopping list from your phone:
The shopping list is also accessible from theListssection of the Amazon app.
Use your Amazon Echo to find your phone
The next time you’re able to’t find your phone under the couch cushions, Alexa can help. Ask your Echo to “find my phone.” Alexa calls your phone to make it ring.
The Alexa app must be installed and set up on your device for the feature to work. It doesn’t work when your phone is on silent or vibrate, but this is better than asking your friend or family member to call you so that you can search for your phone.
Control your TV using your Amazon Echo smart speaker
Ditch the remote control and let your Amazon Echo or Echo Show take control of your TV. Ask Alexa to play your favorite show on Prime Video on your living room TV, switch it on and off, and more.
You can continue to use Alexa on other Echo devices to control your TV.
When linked, ask Alexa on your Echo speaker or smart display to “turn on/off the TV,” “playThe Boyson Prime Video,” “change the TV input to HDMI 2,” and more.
Use the Amazon Echo Show as a security camera
Your Echo Show doubles as a security camera. You can watch the live feed from its camera on your phone or an Echo Show connected to your Amazon account.
A message appears on the Echo Show’s display when you use it for monitoring purposes. It isn’t a traditional security camera replacement.
Combine your Amazon Echos for multiroom music playback
If you have multiple Echo speakers or smart displays in your home, combine them for multiroom music playback. This allows you to stream music over multiple speakers, so you can listen to music as you move about your home.
When everything is set up, say, “Alexa, play music on [group name]” to trigger multiroom music playback. you may also set up multiple groups with different sets of speakers.
A multiroom music group called “Everywhere” is created by default when you have multiple Echo speakers. This allows you to trigger music playback on all of them without setting up multiroom audio.
Make Alexa talk faster or slower on your Amazon Echo
Do you have trouble keeping up with Alexa on your Echo because the assistant speaks too fast? Or maybe you want Alexa to speak faster because you find it too slow? Adjust Alexa’s voice playback by saying, “Alexa, speak slower” to slow down the voice assistant’s pace of speech. Similarly, ask Alexa to “speak faster.”
There are seven speed settings for Alexa. Every time you issue the command to speed up or slow down the speaking rate, it increases or decreases by one notch. You can say the command multiple times to speed up or slow down Alexa’s speech rate.
Create a Voice ID
Unlike smartphones, Amazon Echo-like smart displays and speakers are meant to be used by everyone in a family. If multiple people use Amazon Echo, create a unique Voice ID for each person. This allows Alexa to recognize them better and show personalized information. Every person can add products to their Amazon wishlist and make purchases from their account.
Follow the steps below to set up Voice ID:
After it’s set up, the profile automatically syncs to the other Echo devices linked to your Amazon account.
You can create a Voice ID for a Kids profile in Alexa.
Change the Alexa wake word
You don’t always have to shout “Alexa” to wake up Amazon’s voice assistant on your Echo device. Amazon provides a few other wake word options. Changing the wake word for your Amazon Echo device is simple but requires you digging into the Settings menu.
If your Echo device has trouble understanding you, try a fewtips and tricks to help Alexa hear you better.
Wake word changes are device-specific. They don’t affect other Echo devices linked to your account.
Let Alexa be your gateway to smart home features
Using your Echo or Echo Show device is more enjoyable after you use these tips. If you’re thinking of upgrading your Echo, considerthe Echo Dot or the Echo with Clock, depending on your needs. There’s also theAmazon Echo Show or the Amazon Echo Hub, which offer different features from a standard Echo speaker.
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