• Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Provo Online News
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology Gadgets

Alexa Overload: Put An Amazon Echo In Every Room Of Your Home – CNET

alexa-overload:-put-an-amazon-echo-in-every-room-of-your-home-–-cnet
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
img-5628

There are some distinct advantages to putting Amazon Echo in every room inside (and outside) your house.

Dale Smith/CNET

I bet you’ve got an unused Echo Dot stuffed in some forgotten drawer or closet in your home. And maybe an Echo Show or Amazon Echo speaker in some forgotten corner in your living room. I’m here to tell you to dust off those devices and follow my lead.

I had two Echo Dots — both white third-gen models that I’d since replaced with the better-sounding fourth-gen “orbs.” But those old hockey pucks still slapped, especially when paired with my black Echo Show 8, so I dug them out and found homes for the both of them. One third-gen Dot went in my half-bath, the other in my upstairs hallway — bringing my menagerie of Alexa devices up to a whopping 11 smart speakers and smart displays, including an Echo Flex (see the below photo for how ridiculously small those are). That means I now have one Alexa speaker or display for every 122 square feet of house, give or take.

Get the CNET How To newsletter

Receive expert tips on using phones, computers, smart home gear and more. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Is that overkill? For sure. Should you still put an Alexa device in your bedroom and bathroom and garage (you get the gist!) anyway? Well, absolutely. Once you do, you’ll wonder why you never did it before. That’s because there are some unique advantages to keeping a houseful of Alexa devices. Read below to find out all of the neat tricks you can implement with those Amazon gadgets you already have lying around, plus how to keep everything in order. 

Read more: The Real Cost of Setting Up an Amazon Smart Home

echo-flex-1

The Echo Flex is the smallest Alexa speaker, with sound quality that’s not great.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Why so many Alexa devices? Because more is better

Some Alexa features just work better the more Amazon Echo speakers and displays you have set up in your home. For example, if you’ve never experienced whole-house audio before, it’s a surprisingly dazzling experience — even if most of your speakers are Echo Dots (and even if you don’t have an Amazon Echo Subwoofer). On days when you’re moving a lot from room to room — cleaning the house, say, or hosting a get-together — it’s remarkable how neat it is to have music playing everywhere you go.

cnet-black-friday-best-buy-amazon-echo-dot-3rd-gen

Those old third-gen hockey puck Echo Dots make perfect speakers for your garage, hallway or other less frequently used spaces.

Ry Crist/CNET

But there are other nifty ways to use a houseful of Alexas, too. Besides multiroom music, here are some of my other favs:

Announcements: Say, “Alexa, announce dinner is ready,” or, “…announce that it’s bedtime,” and check out what happens (hint: Alexa adds some audio “color” to the message).

Drop In: You can have an intercom-like conversation with someone in a specific room — “Alexa, drop in on the kitchen” — or with the whole house at once — “…drop in everywhere.”

Multiroom audio (but in the same room): You may only be able to pair identical speakers together in stereo, but you can put any two or three or more speakers together in the same room, even though the feature is called “Multi-room.”

But before you get started on any of this, the first thing you’ll want to rein in is all those Alexas that could mistakenly respond to you (up next).

2020-0713-18384400-01

The second-gen Amazon Echo is still a formidable smart speaker, so don’t shove yours in a drawer and forget about it.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Choose wake words, but choose them wisely

About half of the Amazon Echo speakers and displays in my house are really meant to be one-way only speakers. In other words, they’re there to play audio, not necessarily to listen for commands. For those speakers, I’ve assigned a wake word other than “Alexa.”

For example, in my bedroom I have two Echo Dots on either nightstand, connected as a stereo pair (i.e., right and left channels — I’ll show you how in the next section). I only need one of them to listen for commands (the one on my side — duh). On that one, I’ve left “Alexa” as the wake word, but on the other, I changed it to “Echo.”

That way I don’t have two nearby speakers competing for my attention when I holler, “Alexa!” Here’s how to change the wake word on individual devices:

1. Open the Alexa app, navigate to Settings and tap Device Settings.

2. Tap the name of the device whose wake word you want to change, then scroll down and tap Wake Word.

3. Pick a wake word other than Alexa (you may want to stick with just one alternative, lest you forget which is which).

4. Tap OK when a popup lets you know it might take a few minutes to change over, then either back out of that menu or close the app.

You can change the wake word at any time. While Amazon’s traditional options to call your voice assistant are Alexa, Computer, Amazon and Echo, there are  several newer wake word additions you can use like Ziggy and Hey, Disney. Unfortunately, you can’t give it a unique name of your choosing, so you have to pick from these set options. 

Read more: All Amazon Echo Wake Words That Aren’t Alexa — and What They Do

img-2176

When setting up a stereo pair, the Echo Dot with Clock, Echo Kids and Echo Dot are all interchangeable. 

Julie Snyder/CNET

Pair Alexas for stereo and multiroom audio groups

If you’ve got two identical devices (or functionally identical — the same generation Echo Dot, Echo Dot with Clock and Echo Kids are all interchangeable) you can pair them so that audio is divided into left and right channels, like a bona fide stereo system. That pair will then appear as a single speaker in the Alexa app when directing audio in a routine or creating an even bigger set of speakers (more on that shortly).

Before you set this up, make sure both speakers are in the same virtual “room” in your Alexa app and that both are on the same network. Then, do this:

1. Open the Alexa app, tap Devices on the bottom menu bar, then tap the plus sign (+) in the upper right corner.

2. Tap Combine speakers, then tap Stereo pair / subwoofer. Tap one of the speakers you want to use, then the app will highlight compatible speaker options — tap one, then tap Next.

3. The app will assign the right channel to one and the left channel to the other, but you can tap Swap Speakers to toggle the options, then tap Next.

4. Name your new stereo pair (I usually stick with the name of the room, i.e., “Master Bedroom”).

http://www.cnet.com/

Now playing: Watch this: Alexa gets new features to make it a better listener

7:02

Multiroom audio works similarly, but without the stereo separation. Also, you can combine unalike speakers, and previously paired stereo pairs, as many of them as you wish. And, again, the speakers don’t have to be in different rooms, even though the feature is called “Multi-room.” Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Alexa app, tap Devices on the bottom menu bar, then tap the plus sign (+) in the upper right corner.

2. Tap Combine speakers, then tap Multi-room music. Tap all of the speakers you want to include in the group, then tap Next.

3. The app will assign the right channel to one and the left channel to the other, but you can tap Swap Speakers to toggle the options, then tap Next.

4. Either choose a name from the list or type your own custom name at the bottom, then tap Save.

For more cool Alexa tricks, take a look at six useful Amazon Echo tips you’ll want to use everyday, some funny things you can ask Alexa and a few more commands you can try tonight. 

Provo Online News

© 2021 Provo Onlinr News

Navigate Site

  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • DMCA Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • CCPA
  • Terms of Use

© 2021 Provo Onlinr News

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT