To get Alexa’s attention, simply say the wake word “Alexa”, followed by a command. You don’t have to use the word “Alexa” – you can also set it up to respond to “Computer” (for the Star Trek fans), “Amazon” or “Echo”. You can change the wake word in the device settings in the Alexa app.
Alexa is always listening, always waiting for that wake word, but she doesn’t send any information back to Amazon’s servers until you have said the wake word. She will then send the next command you give her to the server, and try to figure out what you were requesting.
Some basic commands to try out:
- Alexa, what time is it?
- Alexa, what’s in the news?
- Alexa, set a timer for 5 minutes
- Alexa, tell me a joke.
- Alexa, stop.
Stuttering
Alexa might have a bit of a hard time understanding you if you stutter, or if you pause in mid sentence to think of what to say.
You: “Alexa… um, ah… what – no – WHEN does…”
Alexa: “Sorry, I don’t understand that command”.
This awkwardness is very common at first, but pretty much goes away as you get used to the interface. The trick is to THINK about what you are going to say, before you say it.
Stop and Resume
One of the most basic commands to learn, is “Alexa, stop.” This will instantly stop whatever she is doing (for instance, if you need to take a phone call, or focus on something else.) You can then resume listening with the command “Alexa, resume.” If more than a few minutes passes though, she will not be able to resume.
Sound Controls
Volume
- Alexa, volume (1-10)
- Alexa, louder (or quieter)
- Alexa, turn up (or down) the volume
- Alexa, mute (or unmute)
Song controls
- Alexa, stop (or resume)
- Alexa, next (or previous) song
- Alexa, restart song
Voicecast
- Transfer what you are listening to, to a Fire tablet “Alexa, send that to my Fire Tablet”.
- Send to another profile’s tablet “Alexa, send this to [profile name’s] tablet.