What else can you do besides listening to the weather forecast?
Whether it's reminding you of an important task or jokingly talking to you when you're free, Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa can be like your best friend depending on how you use it.
Occasionally, though, you might find yourself playing a completely different playlist than you requested, turning on smart lights in another room, or feeling like you didn't quite understand what I was saying. not. So, here are some tips on how to use Alexa effectively.
What you can do with Alexa
Alexa is a voice-controlled personal assistant built into smart speakers and other devices. Voice commands let you play music, create shopping lists, check the weather and news, play games, give full-body stretching instructions, and more.
In addition to instantly providing information such as the current time and how to make a good boiled egg, it also makes it easier to contact family, friends, and colleagues through voice and video calls. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to use Alexa to perform a variety of tasks smoothly.
As the center of smart home, you can also power on/off smart devices and create automation schedules and routines. You don't have to worry about whether the lights in the rooms you aren't using are turned off automatically, so you won't have to walk around the house, and people with vacation homes won't have to worry about forgetting to turn off the lights.
Although Alexa was developed by Amazon, there are many Alexa-enabled devices not only from Amazon but also from third parties.
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How can I make Alexa understand more?
Smart speakers aren't that expensive, but it's pretty amazing that they can understand human language and communicate to some extent. But like most technology, Alexa isn't perfect. They may miss a request, misheard it, be confused, or even give an odd "meow" response. However, there are some tricks that can help you get a smoother response.
The key points when talking to Alexa are volume, distance, and speed. For example, my teenage son is often baffled by Alexa because he speaks quickly without giving clear instructions. The best way to interact with Alexa is to speak slowly and clearly into your smart speaker.
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Alexa is constantly learning how you speak. Creating a voice profile allows you to match your speaking style with your username to distinguish you from other users, such as family members or people you live with, providing a more personalized experience. Up to 10 profiles can be registered, and each user must have an Alexa account.
Set Timers, Schedules, and Routines with Alexa
To set alarms, timers, and reminders, simply ask Alexa to set the time and duration. What's useful here is an app-like function called "Alexa Skills." With it enabled, you can access music, podcasts, games, and more, and launch them by saying, for example, "Alexa, open Rock Paper Scissors."
To launch your skill on smart home devices (such as thermostats and lights), you must enable the skill in the Alexa app, log in to your account, and grant permission. It's annoying when you don't have your passwords handy (a password manager is handy for this sort of thing, by the way), but once paired, it usually works seamlessly.
Additionally, you can use "routine actions" to help you manage your routines. If you set the departure time every morning, it will tell you that it is time to go out.If you are using smart home appliances, for example, you can say "Alexa, good night" to turn off the smart lights and lower the temperature. You can also set it. You can also create routines that are triggered by other devices, such as turning on a smart light bulb when an outdoor security camera detects motion. To set a routine, follow the Alexa app screens to the routine action settings screen.
You can also try using an Alexa skill to help you sleep better. If you enable your favorite sounds such as the sound of rain or the sound of the ocean, and set a routine action to "run from what time to what time", you can play soothing music only when you fall asleep. In Japan, it seems that it has not yet been implemented at the time of writing the article, but as a crime prevention measure, "Alexa Guard" occasionally turns on and off the smart lighting while you are away to appeal that you are at home, hands-free emergency support, You can play a dog bark or a siren sound to scare away suspicious people.
Group smart home devices with Alexa
Controlling your smart home with voice commands is great, but it can be hard to keep track of all the devices you have to manage is the same for Alexa. For example, it can be confusing to distinguish between "bedroom light 1" and "bedroom light 2". In such a case, I would like to use the function to create Alexa's smart home group. You can set it from the Alexa app, so you can give it a unique name, such as "Panic Room," and have fun with it.
Alexa's Privacy Policy
Accenture's 2019 Consumer Confidence Survey found that 41% of smart speaker owners are "concerned about privacy." There have been rumors that Alexa is recording all the time, but it doesn't actually listen in on all conversations, and it seems that sometimes it accidentally wakes up or recognizes it. You can check and delete saved recordings by opening [Settings] > [Alexa Privacy] > [Check Voice History] in the Alexa app.
If you're still concerned about privacy, you might want to consider the room you put Alexa in. For example, avoid having sensitive home office spaces or an Echo Show with video capabilities in your bedroom.
Alexa is useful for checking up on your child from time to time with the intercom function and letting you know when dinner is ready, but some people may feel reluctant to put Alexa in an unprotected child's room. I can't. In that case, it seems good to try to put it in a shared space such as the living room or hallway. Also, if you put Alexa in the kitchen or dining room, it will be useful as a companion during cooking such as music playback and recipe information.
It may be extreme, but if you really want to prevent accidental activation, all Alexa devices have a microphone mute button, and camera-enabled devices have a switch that opens and closes the camera shutter. Also, even if you unplug Alexa, it may not be complicated to restart it, so it may be a good idea to consider it.
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