How to Set Up an Amazon Echo

One of the greatest methods to automate your house is to invest in a smart home gadget, which allows you to control and manage web-connected devices remotely via a smart speaker or smart display. You may also use voice commands to control music streaming, weather checks, timetable modifications, timers, reminders, games, and more with these devices.

Check out our reviews of the fourth-generation and if you want to learn more about particular Echo products. You may also read about the Echo Show, , and in our review.

Amazon’s series is one of the most feature-rich smart hub lines on the market. The Echo family, which includes the standard Echo speaker, Echo Dot, Echo Studio, and numerous different display variants, is powered by , Amazon’s all-knowing voice assistant. We’ve put together this handy tutorial to get your new up and running whether you’ve just purchased your first Echo product or would like a refresher on some of the basics. Let’s get started.

Install the Amazon Alexa app on your phone.

If you own an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, the free Alexa app is a must-have. Any smartphone or tablet running iOS 11.0 or above, Android 6.0 or higher, or Fire OS 5.3.3 or higher can download the app. Using a PC to download the app? After that, go to the Amazon Alexa website and make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

Connect the Echo

Because the does not require batteries, this is arguably the simplest step in the entire procedure. Simply attach the provided power adapter to a power outlet after plugging it into the . When the light ring becomes blue, the electricity is switched on. Then wait for it to turn orange, which means Alexa is getting ready to meet you. After that, voice will announce that the gadget is ready for setup.

Using the app, connect the Echo to Wi-Fi.

The next step is to link your device to your home’s Wi-Fi network. The most recent versions of the Echo should be able to help you with this. If you run into trouble, simply open the Alexa app and scan through the various networks until you discover yours. If you have multiple Echo devices, go to the Devices tab, then select your Alexa-enabled device from the top carousel by clicking the Echo & Alexa symbol. You should be able to see the status of your Wi-Fi network connection under the Wireless category.

You may save your Wi-Fi password to your Amazon account once you’ve connected, making it easier to login to smart home devices. If you decide to buy extra Echo speakers for other rooms, you can set up a new Alexa device on the same network. You can also connect your to a public network, albeit your password will not be recorded by Amazon.

Alexa will utilize your location to give relevant local info, like as weather, news, and time, during setup and when you use particular apps and features. You may change the location of your Echo device in the Alexa app at any moment if you move or want to access information from a different region. To do so, open the app and select Devices. Then tap & Alexa, then the device you’d like to replace. Then touch Save after selecting Device Location. To put Alexa to the test, ask her what the weather is like. The assistant should respond with a local forecast for the location you specified.

Start conversing with Alexa.

Say the wake word, which is “” by default, to get started. If someone called Alexa, Alexis, or someone similar already lives in the house, you can modify the wake word to anything else. “Alexa, adjust the wake word,” simply say to the Echo.

You may also manually change the wake word by going to Help & Feedback > Change the Wake Word in the Alexa app. You may set the Echo to respond to “Echo,” “Amazon,” “Computer,” or “Ziggy” right now. You may now pick between female and male speaking voices for Alexa on Amazon.

Start making use of your Echo.

Congratulations, your Amazon is now fully functional. You may run a quick test to see if everything is operating properly by using a few basic commands. Say “Hello” and the wake word, for example. Alexa should react with a simple “Hello” if your Echo is correctly set up. There are two categories in the Alexa app menu: Skills & Games and Things to Try. Both of these methods are fantastic for learning about Alexa’s capabilities.

Skills allow you to personalize by granting her specific powers – think of them as mini-apps from a variety of creators that you may use for entertainment, organization, news, and more.

You can use your Echo device for a variety of functions right away. With easy voice commands, you can construct to-do lists, check the weather, monitor traffic conditions, call your friends, send text messages to your family, and listen to podcasts. You may also link smart home devices to your digital network to expand it. Your Echo can interact with everything from color-changing light bulbs to home security cameras. You may also add thousands of important and non-essential skills to Alexa. Check out some of the most useful things you can do with the Amazon device.

Connect smart home gadgets or an external speaker (optional).

On your tablet or phone, open the Alexa app and go to the menu. Choose Devices from the drop-down menu. We found that Alexa usually lets an advertisement to show at this moment, but you may close it by tapping on it. Tap Add Device after selecting + in the top-right corner of the app. After that, you can choose from the list which device you’d like to join. If you can’t locate the one you’re looking for, click Other.

Alexa may now connect to any smart devices that are in close proximity. You can create more high-level Scenes that involve numerous devices interacting at the same time, or you can organize your accessories into Groups. More information and useful hints and advice on how to set up these interactions may be found in our post on Routines. Many smart home product setup apps will include shortcuts for configuring your new item through the Alexa app.

If you want to ensure that you have a high-quality listening experience when jamming out to your favorite tunes or listening to audiobooks, we think it’s worth considering attaching an external speaker to your Echo device. To do so, we recommend pairing your with a Bluetooth speaker to get more sounds. It’s important to keep in mind that your Echo can only connect to one Bluetooth device at a time.

If your Echo is already associated with a Bluetooth device, you’ll need to disconnect it first. After that, you can begin the complete setup process with the new item. Other smart home devices, on the other hand, can’t connect via Bluetooth, so they stay connected. One example is your home’s security camera, which communicates with your Echo device via your Wi-Fi connection.

Set up Groups for Alexa (optional).

There’s a wonderful method to organize your speaker(s) and other smart home hardware in the Alexa app based on the areas in your house where they’re placed. Smart Home Grouping is a feature that allows you to control several devices at once with just a single voice or app command. This is especially beneficial for smart lighting, because instead of telling to turn on or off each bulb individually, the assistant will apply on/off orders to all of the lights in a single room.

Go to the app and tap Devices to create a new group. Then select + > Add Group from the drop-down menu. You may tap Create a Room or Device Group from here. Combine Rooms or Groups is another option if you wish to combine one or more pre-existing groups. You’ll be given the option of using Alexa’s pre-programmed names for the various regions of your home, or creating your own custom name for the group. Then, for each category, select the devices that will be added. Tap Save when you’re finished.

Give the room’s speaker a simple on/off command for the various smart gadgets you’ve allocated to the room to test out your new group. Your grouping was a success if everything turned on and off correctly.

(Optional) Use Alexa to set up music streaming.

The ability to use the hub to stream all of your favorite music and audio services is one of our favorite features of the Echo speaker. When you ask to play music, the assistant will try to fetch tunes from Amazon Music by default. If you wish to connect your Echo speaker to a different music service, you can do so via the Alexa app.

Then tap More after you’ve launched the app. Tap Settings > Music & Podcasts > Link New Service after that. Select the service you’d like to integrate with and follow the in-app instructions to do so. You can also change the default music service from the Music & Podcasts screen. As a result, you can ask Alexa to play a song or an artist without specifying which music service you wish to utilize.