Alexa is the virtual assistant found in numerous Amazon products, including its Echo smart speakers and a few smart appliances. How to set up Alexa depends on which device a user has. Sometimes Alexa comes pre-installed and in other cases, it needs to be downloaded first. This guide will give instructions on how to set up Alexa on a smart speaker, certain appliances, or on a phone.

How To Set Up Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa can help individuals with numerous tasks, including playing music, checking the weather, and creating grocery lists. While Alexa is a great personal assistant, she is not the only one. Siri by Apple and Google Assistant by Google are both helpful assistants as well. However, it is important to know that multiple assistants rarely exist on the same platform (with some notable exceptions). For example, different guides would need to be followed to set up Apple Homepod with Siri or Google Home with the Google Assistant. Here, we will just focus on how to set up Amazon Alexa on a few different platforms.

Smart Speaker

The Amazon smart speakers are a group of devices that utilize Alexa to help users in a variety of ways. The Echo smart speakers are the most well-known place that users will find Alexa. The Echo Dot, Echo, and Echo Plus are the most popular Echo speakers available. The good news for users is that Alexa is already integrated into these smart speakers. Users just need to download the Alexa app and follow instructions for setting up their Echo device.

Alexa is already integrated into the Echo Dot, Echo, and Echo Plus. Users just need to download the Alexa app and follow instructions for setting up their Echo device.

Unfortunately, Alexa cannot be placed onto other smart speakers that come with another virtual assistant, like the Homepod or Google Home. But there are certain smart speakers other than the Echo devices that have Alexa built in. Sonos One, for example, is a much better quality speaker than the Echo and utilizes Alexa’s assistance to play music as well as perform other tasks. It should be noted that on the Sonos One, Alexa cannot drop in on other Echo devices or make calls.

Alexa can also be used to control speakers, although a user will need to own an Echo device first. To allow this to happen, the speaker will need to have Bluetooth capabilities. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on for the speaker and on the smartphone. Then go to the Alexa app and open Settings. Select Bluetooth and then tap ‘Pair a new device’. The device should then be listed in the app. Select the device and the two should be paired automatically. When voice commands are given to Alexa, she will respond through the speaker and can also play music through the speaker.

Appliances

The future is finally here. Alexa can control a host of smart appliances including refrigerators, dishwashers, coffee makers, and washing machines. Certain companies like Bosch and LG are working to integrate Alexa and other virtual assistants into kitchens so appliances can communicate with one another. For instance, a refrigerator might note that something is about to expire, so Alexa looks up recipes and reads them to users while the oven preheats. While these features are still futuristic, Alexa can control some appliances.

In order to allow Alexa to control appliances, users will need to either have an Echo Plus (smart hub built in) or ask Alexa to use a smart hub Skill like IFTTT. With the Echo Plus, simply go to Smart Home in the Alexa app. Select Devices, tap Add device, and it should go into pairing mode to search for the smart device. From there, Alexa can be asked to control the smart appliance with simple voice commands.

Smartphone

Most smartphones already have their own virtual assistants installed, like Siri and Google Assistant. For users that wish to know how to set up Alexa on their device, there is an option. Alexa is not really designed for mobile use (besides the Alexa app). The app Reverb, however, allows users to interact with Alexa in a limited way via their phone. Simply download the app, accept the terms, and ask Alexa about the weather or what time the Utah Jazz are playing tomorrow.