How To Set Up Echo Dot 3

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So, you recently bought or were gifted an Echo, Repeat Dot, or another Echo device, and it's sitting in your kitchen, silently awaiting your side by side gild. Now what?

Before you can inquire your Alexa-powered Echo to play your favorite Spotify playlist or to turn on your living room lights, you'll need to tweak a few central settings. Get the scoop on how to train Alexa to recognize your voice, proceed her from letting just anyone buy stuff on Amazon, tell her where you live and work, and more than.

Create a voice profile

Every bit soon as your new Echo is up and running, Alexa can offset answering your questions and doing your bidding. That said, it's a good idea to assist Alexa get accustomed to your vocalisation as before long equally possible. By creating a voice profile, you can train Alexa to both understand and recognize your vocalisation, which comes in handy when it comes to asking Alexa to shop or send messages to others.

Your Echo device should have prompted you to create a voice contour during the initial setup process, but if you skipped it (as I did the beginning time), at that place's an easy way to go back.

On the Amazon Alexa app for iOS or Android, tap the menu button, tap Settings > Alexa Business relationship > Recognized Voices > Your Voice, and then tap the big bluish "Begin" push button. Alexa volition enquire you to say four brief phrases into your Repeat. Once that'south washed, she'll have a much amend grasp of what you sound similar.

By default, your Echo lets you—or anyone else within earshot—buy items on Amazon simply by asking Alexa. While it's certainly convenient to just say "Alexa, club laundry detergent," you lot might not want your kids casually request Alexa to buy them the latest Bakugan.

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You lot can keep Alexa from letting anyone buy items on Amazon by setting a four-digit voice code.

Luckily, there's an like shooting fish in a barrel way to add some safeguards to Alexa's vox purchasing feature so your rugrats can't start ordering toys, candy, or any pops into their adorably greedy little heads. You can also turn off voice purchasing altogether if you lot wish.

Kickoff, open the Amazon Alexa app on your iPhone or Android telephone, tap the carte du jour button, and then tap Settings > Alexa Account > Voice Purchasing.

If you'd like to go on the vox purchasing characteristic, only foreclose your kids from using it, you can add a iv-digit voice code that you'll need to say before Alexa agrees to buy anything for you lot. Just toggle the Phonation code setting and then dial in a iv-digit lawmaking. The next time you lot or anyone else asks Alexa to buy something, she'll enquire for your vocalisation lawmaking before completing the purchase.

The thing about kids, of class, is that in addition to existence clever, they as well retrieve everything yous say, including vocalism codes. That's why you lot should probably fix Alexa to skip the voice code if she recognizes your phonation. (That vocalisation profile y'all created is nigh to come in handy.)

Simply head back to the Vox Purchasing screen and toggle on the Recognize Speakers setting. At present, you won't accept to say a vocalisation code when asking Alexa to buy things on Amazon—and even better—no one else will eavesdrop your code.

Final, but not least, y'all can plough off voice purchasing altogether by toggling off the "Purchase by voice" setting.

Set a "do not disturb" schedule

Once you're more familiar with your new Echo, yous may choose to have information technology denote upcoming agenda items, news headlines, incoming messages, and dozens of other possible events.

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Setting a "exercise non disturb" schedule for you Repeat will assistance ensure Alexa doesn't wake you in the heart of the nighttime.

Chances are, however, that you don't desire Alexa jolting yous awake at three a.m. just because you got some spam in your inbox.

To keep Alexa quiet after you've gone to bed, tap the bill of fare button in the Alexa app, and and then tap Settings > Device Settings. Tap the proper name of your new Echo, and then tap Do Not Disturb. Side by side, tap the Scheduled toggle, and then set the hours when you'd similar Alexa to exist silent.

Proceed in mind that Alexa will ignore your Do Not Disturb settings when it comes to alarms and timers, so program accordingly.

Pick a music service

One of the virtually tempting things to endeavor first with your new Echo is to inquire it to play some tunes. By default, all the same, Alexa plays music from Amazon Music. If you subscribe to a different music service, such as Apple Music, Pandora, or Spotify, you can link your music account to your Alexa account, and then gear up it as your default music service.

Tap the menu push button on the Alexa app, tap Settings > Music, and so tap Link New Service. One time y'all've found your favorite music service, tap it to enable an Alexa "skill" for information technology, and and then go alee and sign in. Finally, tap Default Services from the Music screen, and select a new default setting for your music library and for music stations.

Once that's washed, you can say "Alexa, play some Bruce Springsteen," and you'll presently hear The Dominate crooning from your favorite music service.

Set your home and work locations

If you lot want to know how long it'll accept to drive to work on a particular morning time, just enquire Alexa—that is, once she knows your piece of work address.

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You tin evidence Alexa where you live and work in the Alexa app for iOS and Android.

Tap the bill of fare button in the Alexa app, tap Your Locations , and then tap Add together Location to teach Alexa where you alive where you piece of work, and any other locations you'd like her to know about.

Add your smart devices

Got any devices you lot'd like Alexa to control, such as a smart bulb, a thermostat, or a security system? You can get-go setting them up in a few taps.

First, tap the menu button in the Alexa app, and so tap Add Device. You'll see a list of a broad range of smart devices, from lights and plugs to cameras and microwaves. Pick a category, tap a brand, and then follow the steps to create a new skill for the device or smart service.

In one case the skill is set up, you can say things like "Alexa, ready the basement temperature to 78 degrees," or "Alexa, plow off the living-room lights."

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Ben has been writing near engineering and consumer electronics for more than than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2022, Ben joined TechHive in 2022, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. Yous can follow Ben on Twitter.

Source: https://www.techhive.com/article/583890/6-first-things-to-do-with-your-amazon-echo.html

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