Alexa has become quite popular in recent years. Most of the smart speakers and smart displays by Alexa are becoming common appliances in many homes. You can mostly find a voice assistant in every room. It can respond to voice commands, play music, set timers and reminders, and control your smart home. Once you have set it up and configured it you are good to go.

The setup for Amazon Echo and the Amazon Echo Dot is essentially the same. It is easy and convenient and does not take a lot of time. You can setup Alexa in the following way.

1. The Alexa app should be installed on your smartphone. You can find Alexa for both iOS and Android depending on your phone OS.
2. Then your Echo device should be plugged. You will see an orange light a few minutes after you plug it in. Alexa will itself tell you it is ready for setup.
3. Once the app is installed, access your Amazon account and sign in to it.
4. For setting up a new Alexa device a message will pop up. Press continue for the message and then follow the instructions as it says. If a message does not pop up then you can select add a device from the ‘More’ tab at the bottom right of your screen.
5. You will have a list of devices show up on your screen. Select your device – Amazon Echo. The next page will show you “Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, and more”, select that.
6. You will see another message pop up on your screen which will ask if you have set up your device or not. The orange spinning light is proof of that so press yes if you see it.
7. Next, follow the instructions on your screen to connect your device to the Wi-Fi.
8. Continue with choosing a device and its location in the home.
9. The next thing is to put in your home address. Then continue.

How to Setup the Echo Show? 

With an echo show device, you have an easier setup method. This is because the echo show comes with a built-in screen. So, the Alexa app is not necessary in order to setup Alexa on Echo Show. First, plug in the Echo Show and give a few minutes for the device to start it will soon give you instructions and ask you for details like the Wi-Fi network you want to use and the password for access. The Echo Show’s settings can be accessed after the initial setup. That can be done by swiping down from the top of the screen. Here you can customize the settings for example the Wi-Fi, if that needs to be altered.

Customization of Alexa

You can customize the Amazon Alexa as you like after you have set it up. These are optional steps but you can learn them to get the best of your device’s features and functionality. You can discover these features and change the ones that are of your interest.

Use Voice Commands  

The best part of having an echo is that you can use your voice to completely interact with the device. However, you will still find buttons on the screen to help you. The wake word is set up by default and it is “Alexa” so you will have to use the wake word before giving any command to the echo device. This is necessary for every command however, once you get used to the device it will respond to follow-up commands without using the wake word again. You can also change the configurations of your echo device so that it responds to some other keyword.

Change the Location

The location setting in your device is very important. It is used to tell the weather conditions, traffic, and local news. This is your residential address that you have added to Alexa during the setup process. If you want to change your address after you have set up the device you can do that by using the device tab in the app. Choose the device that you want to change address in and then select the device location option.

Play Music

The echo devices are primarily speakers, so it is good for listening to music. Amazon music is played by default by echo devices. However, you have many more options. You can use an existing Pandora or Spotify account for Alexa to play your favorite music. It is easy to setup and does not require any hassle. You can do this by customizing your music services settings. Open more tab, select settings and then change preferences by choosing music and podcasts. 

A Lot More Features…

There are features of your Echo device that are there by default. Alexa can set up reminders for the day, tell you jokes, play your favorite music, and also set a timer for your cake in the oven while it bakes. However, with third-party companies, the features of Alexa have increased over the years. You can play national public radio or hear celebrity voice. You can also add different skills to your Echo device. You can use simple voice commands to ease complex tasks like enabling a certain skill for example workout and exercise.

Final Thoughts

Setting up the Alexa on your Echo device is not as complicated as it is considered by most people. Alexa is becoming very popular among people because of its ease of use and because of its compatibility with smart homes like Smart Thermostat Alexa.