10+ Alexa Commands That Every Echo User Should Be Using Asap

2 months ago

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Virtual assistants will soon beryllium arsenic commonplace arsenic smartphones -- successful galore parts of nan world, they already are. Most smartphones person a built-in adjunct powered by artificial intelligence (AI), whether it's Siri successful iPhones aliases Google Assistant (now Gemini) successful Android phones.

Inside our homes, though, Amazon Alexa has go nan astir celebrated virtual adjunct successful nan US and moreover astir nan world. Users from various countries extracurricular nan US support Echo devices successful their homes pinch Alexa group to different languages, becoming a wide adopted virtual assistant.

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I've been utilizing Alexa for a fewer years, and present are immoderate ways it's changed nan measurement I negociate my smart location and usage my Echo devices.

1. Become a lighting assistant

Each clip I participate my bedroom's en suite bathroom, an Echo Dot greets maine by turning connected nan lights and saying, "Hello, gorgeous." The Echo Dot's occupancy sensor detects erstwhile personification is astir and runs nan regular of switching connected nan lights and saying nan phrase.

I person a smart wall ray move pinch a built-in mobility sensor that perpetually goes disconnected astatine nighttime each clip a car's headlights are spotted connected nan model other it. Aside from getting creeped retired erstwhile my bath lights randomly turned connected astatine 4 successful nan morning, it was getting annoying, truthful I delegated nan task to Alexa.

2. Streamline your nightly routines

Echo Show 8 (2023) astatine Amazon's Devices and Services arena successful 2023

You've astir apt heard of nan "Alexa, bully night" regular for switching disconnected your smart lights. However, location are galore ways to make nan astir of this and create aggregate routines for each chamber aliases area successful your home.

For our main surviving area, I person a lights-out regular that switches disconnected nan surviving room, kitchen, office, and outdoor lights. This is done pinch smart lights and smart plugs.

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Our kids' room has its ain routine: When we say, "Alexa, it's bedtime," their sound instrumentality comes connected (powered by a smart plug), their bedside lamp switches off, and their smart ray portion turns connected to 2% brightness to activity arsenic a nighttime light.

When I'm fresh for bed, different Alexa bid switches disconnected my smart lights, turns connected nan smart plug connected my fan, and sets my smart aerial purifier into slumber mode.

3. Find my phone

I often look to suffer my telephone erstwhile my Apple Watch is dead, but a speedy connection to Alexa easy solves that. I tin conscionable say, "Alexa, find my phone," and nan sound adjunct initiates a telephone telephone to ringing it.

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4. Make Alexa your landline

Alexa useful for my family overmuch for illustration a landline utilized to activity successful my location increasing up. Whenever I'm retired and can't scope my hubby if he's engaged pinch nan kids, I tin telephone 1 of my Echo devices aliases make an announcement to get successful touch pinch them.

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My kids are getting older, but I person yet to bargain them a smartphone, truthful their Echo Show 5 successful their room besides helps maine scope them easy erstwhile I person to talk to them.

5. Prompt your kids to nan adjacent task

In nan mornings, my kids person an siren and greeting regular done Alexa connected their Echo Show, which helps aftermath them earlier school. Weekday mornings are engaged successful my house, arsenic I'm engaged packing lunches and snacks astatine nan aforesaid clip that my small ones are getting dressed, truthful Alexa nudges them to nan adjacent task.

A fewer minutes aft their siren goes off, Alexa switches their lights to daylight achromatic successful 100% brightness and tells my kids, "Let's get fresh for school." Some clip later, it says, "Okay, it's clip to spell downstairs." This helps my kids enactment connected task truthful they're fresh to spell pinch their beds made astatine nan correct time.

6. Track your packages

Alexa tin way your Amazon orders from an Echo instrumentality by simply asking, "Alexa, wherever are my packages?" The virtual adjunct past tells you wherever your orders are successful their shipping process, and erstwhile you tin expect them astatine your door.

7. Multiple timers astatine once

The Echo Show 21 is my room companion, acknowledgment to its ample show that doubles arsenic a Fire TV, beardown speakers, and built-in Alexa. I usage it to inquire Alexa for recipes and group aggregate timers for different things astatine once.

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If I'm baking and cooking astatine nan aforesaid time, it's easy to inquire Alexa to support a cupcake timer, a chili timer, etc. The sound adjunct past tracks nan aggregate timers by sanction and lets you cognize which 1 is done.

8. Make your choices much fun

Many of america usage Alexa for nosy stuff, for illustration a joke, a nosy fact, aliases definitions. However, you tin besides inquire it to make lighthearted decisions for you.

Are you and your partner divided connected what to eat for dinner? Ask Alexa to flip a coin. If your kids are voting astir what crippled to play for crippled night? Ask Alexa to rotation a die. If you alteration nan Spin nan Wheel skill, you tin moreover springiness Alexa up to 10 names and inquire it to rotation nan instrumentality to take 1 astatine random.

9. Act arsenic a achromatic sound machine

An Echo speaker tin activity arsenic a achromatic sound machine, and Alexa tin play galore different types of sounds, from thunderstorms to brownish noise. You tin adhd nan characteristic to your nightly regular aliases inquire nan sound adjunct for it connected nan fly.

10. Substitute ingredients and measurements

As a go-to cooking companion, Alexa tin easy connection you constituent substitution and measurement adaptations, truthful you tin set to what you person astatine location arsenic needed. For example, you tin inquire Alexa really galore tablespoons are successful ⅓ cup, aliases what you tin usage successful spot of food successful a cake.

11. Read a bedtime story

My kids emotion a bedtime story, particularly made-up ones from their dada (Peter Pants is presently a large deed successful my home). Thankfully, nan Amazon Kids+ subscription, which comes free for a play of clip erstwhile you bargain a kids' Amazon device, lets you activate a Hey Disney accomplishment that includes plentifulness of Disney stories and soundscapes.

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An Echo instrumentality besides lets you entree Audible stories. You tin inquire Alexa for these short stories, narrated by charming characters that are judge to connection screen–free intermezo for your kids.

12. Handle your pet care

Smart pet feeders person been a game-changer for my dog, particularly pinch really engaged our lives tin be. These inexpensive devices make a large quality successful my dog's day-to-day life and are easy to link pinch third-party sound assistants, for illustration Alexa and Google.

It makes it easy to inquire Alexa to provender my canine arsenic needed, aliases group up routines to provender him erstwhile nan backyard lights travel on, for example. I tin besides brace nan smart feeder pinch different devices, truthful Alexa switches connected nan lights successful his area and feeds him successful nan early morning.