The Amazon Echo has become a bit the product of the year, released in December on the Amazon store, it immediately sold out becoming one of the most appreciated 2018 Christmas gifts.
As seen in the article on how to use the functions of the Amazon Echo, we see in this guide how to configure it, how to use its main settings to enjoy its virtual intelligence called Alexa.
Amazon's Echo is a Smart speaker, which listens to people's questions by performing tasks or giving even elaborate information answers.
The Echo does not rely on a smartphone or a comptuer to function and once activated and dconfigured correctly, it becomes an independent device that always listens ready to respond to the requests of all the people who use it.
Only at the beginning, to configure a new Echo or Echo Dot, therefore, it is necessary to use the smartphone or even the PC to activate Alexa and put it into operation
READ ALSO: What Alexa can do: the most comfortable use of the voice assistant
To configure the new Echo from smartphone, you need to download the Alexa app for Android or for iPhone.
If you prefer to use the PC, go to //alexa.amazon.com instead .
In both cases, you need to log in with an Amazon account, which must be created if never done.
NOTE: The Alexa app for Windows 10 is also available, but for now it cannot be downloaded from the Italian Microsoft store.
The configuration via app or via Alexa site on PC is practically the same and it is quite simple:
- Turn on the Echo by attaching it to the power outlet and wait for the ring light to turn orange. In case you do not see the orange light, keep the button with the dot on the Echo pressed for 6 seconds until the orange light appears.
- Log in to the Amazon account from the app or from the site.
- If the Amazon Echo was bought for yourself from the Amazon Store, the account used to buy it should already be set up.
- If instead the Echo was received as a gift, it will be necessary to add it to the Alexa app by going to Devices and pressing the + button at the top right. On the site, instead, go to Settings and then click on the word Configure new device .
- Follow the guided procedure to indicate the model of Echo owned (Echo Dot, Echo, Echo Plus).
- Selecting the Wi-Fi network in the app basically means entering the access password for your network.
On the smartphone, if the network warning without internet appears, it means that the phone has connected to the Echo network, so you must not change but cancel the warning.
On the PC, on the other hand, you need to connect to the network that has the name Amazon-XXX, which then disappears once the wifi password is entered.
Echo settings to configure
Once the Echo connects to the internet, you can already talk to Alexa and ask for things like " how long ago " or " who you are " etc.
From the main menu (by pressing the three-line button in the app or in Settings on the site), you can access the settings and all the configuration functions of Alexa and Echo.
The important things to fix are:
- Under Alexa Account > Recognized Voices, you can create a voice profile to improve the recognition of voice commands.
- Under Alexa Account > Skills for children, activate them if there are children in the house in order to install the Skills dedicated to them.
- Device settings, select the Echo and then configure the Location, which is necessary to get the weather forecast directly (" how is the weather today"> - In Settings> Daily Summary, touch the + to add a source of news among the Skills.
At the moment one of the best is the SkyTG24 Skill while for sports news, Sport Mediaset .
Once you've added the news skills, you can ask Alexa "Tell me the news today" and find out what's up.
In the Settings you can also activate the functions of the Calendar to connect the calendar of commitments from Google or from Microsoft or from Apple and the traffic settings, adding home address and office address to be updated on travel times.
READ ALSO: How to customize Alexa for a more interactive Amazon Echo
Alexa's Skills
Skills are the added value of the Amazon Echo compared to other virtual assistants such as Google Home.
It is practically an app for Alexa, to add functions and voice commands.
For example you can activate the Giallozafferano Skills to ask for recipes to cook or the nursery rhymes reading Skill or the one to listen to relaxing sounds or those for home automation, to manage devices such as lights or switches of various brands.
There are also games among the Skills, like Akinator the genius who guesses what we are thinking.
The Drop In function
Another function to activate or at least to try on the Echo is that of the DropIn.
Having two Echoes in the house, it is possible to use DropIn to use the device as an intercom, then to speak from one room to another.
In an office it could be a way to talk to other floors or other buildings while you can also use it to talk to friends.
The peculiarity of DropIn is that those who receive the call must not answer, because the Echoes are automatically connected and at any time, from one of the two, you can ask Alexa " Dropin on ... " to get in communication and listen to the 'Echo called, without the call being accepted on the other side.
While the Dropin between devices configured by the same account is automatic, that on other Echoes of other people must be authorized.
This can be done by tapping on the contact list the name of the person who has an Echo, by activating the Drop In switch.
By trying it with a friend, I noticed how at any moment I could go into his house and suddenly disturb him and listen to the sounds in his house.
We must therefore be careful not to play too much.
To turn Drop In on or off completely, go to Settings> Device Settings> Echo> Communications .
Free calls
With an Echo you can make free calls to cell phones that have the Alexa app installed.
You can then call people by saying to Alexa " call Claudio ", if we have his number in the phone book and if we know that Claudio has installed Alexa (no need for an Echo).
Music
Without a doubt, the main function of the Amazon Echo is listening to streaming music.
To do it for free, the only way is through Tunein's radios, which is automatically activated on each Echo. You can then tell Alexa "Put Radio DJ on TuneIn" to listen to Radio Dj or other radio stations around the world.
The best way to listen to music on Echo is instead to get an Amazon Music subscription, which used on Echo costs 4 Euros per month, much less than Spotify or other apps. Those with an Amazon Prime account will instead be able to listen to 40 hours a month of music from Amazon Music, without paying anything.
READ ALSO: How to listen to music for free with Alexa, via app or Echo
Routines
Another powerful function of the Echo are routines, useful if you have home automation devices to automate. You may ask that a light is turned on at 7pm each time, just to give a simple example.
We have seen how to create routines and new Alexa voice commands .
Going to be processed, it is also possible to link the devices connected to the Echo and Alexa with the web apps, using the IFTTT service
Finally, I remember that you can buy an Echo device on Amazon, choosing between the small Echo Dot model, the Medium Echo with Subwoofer and Echo Plus, the bigger one and Echo Flex, the cheapest one. Setting up other Amazon Echo devices will follow the same process.
READ ALSO: Alexa or Google Home? comparison between the best and smart Smart Speakers
As seen in the article on how to use the functions of the Amazon Echo, we see in this guide how to configure it, how to use its main settings to enjoy its virtual intelligence called Alexa.
Amazon's Echo is a Smart speaker, which listens to people's questions by performing tasks or giving even elaborate information answers.
The Echo does not rely on a smartphone or a comptuer to function and once activated and dconfigured correctly, it becomes an independent device that always listens ready to respond to the requests of all the people who use it.
Only at the beginning, to configure a new Echo or Echo Dot, therefore, it is necessary to use the smartphone or even the PC to activate Alexa and put it into operation
READ ALSO: What Alexa can do: the most comfortable use of the voice assistant
To configure the new Echo from smartphone, you need to download the Alexa app for Android or for iPhone.
If you prefer to use the PC, go to //alexa.amazon.com instead .
In both cases, you need to log in with an Amazon account, which must be created if never done.
NOTE: The Alexa app for Windows 10 is also available, but for now it cannot be downloaded from the Italian Microsoft store.
The configuration via app or via Alexa site on PC is practically the same and it is quite simple:
- Turn on the Echo by attaching it to the power outlet and wait for the ring light to turn orange. In case you do not see the orange light, keep the button with the dot on the Echo pressed for 6 seconds until the orange light appears.
- Log in to the Amazon account from the app or from the site.
- If the Amazon Echo was bought for yourself from the Amazon Store, the account used to buy it should already be set up.
- If instead the Echo was received as a gift, it will be necessary to add it to the Alexa app by going to Devices and pressing the + button at the top right. On the site, instead, go to Settings and then click on the word Configure new device .
- Follow the guided procedure to indicate the model of Echo owned (Echo Dot, Echo, Echo Plus).
- Selecting the Wi-Fi network in the app basically means entering the access password for your network.
On the smartphone, if the network warning without internet appears, it means that the phone has connected to the Echo network, so you must not change but cancel the warning.
On the PC, on the other hand, you need to connect to the network that has the name Amazon-XXX, which then disappears once the wifi password is entered.
Echo settings to configure
Once the Echo connects to the internet, you can already talk to Alexa and ask for things like " how long ago " or " who you are " etc.
From the main menu (by pressing the three-line button in the app or in Settings on the site), you can access the settings and all the configuration functions of Alexa and Echo.
The important things to fix are:
- Under Alexa Account > Recognized Voices, you can create a voice profile to improve the recognition of voice commands.
- Under Alexa Account > Skills for children, activate them if there are children in the house in order to install the Skills dedicated to them.
- Device settings, select the Echo and then configure the Location, which is necessary to get the weather forecast directly (" how is the weather today"> - In Settings> Daily Summary, touch the + to add a source of news among the Skills.
At the moment one of the best is the SkyTG24 Skill while for sports news, Sport Mediaset .
Once you've added the news skills, you can ask Alexa "Tell me the news today" and find out what's up.
In the Settings you can also activate the functions of the Calendar to connect the calendar of commitments from Google or from Microsoft or from Apple and the traffic settings, adding home address and office address to be updated on travel times.
READ ALSO: How to customize Alexa for a more interactive Amazon Echo
Alexa's Skills
Skills are the added value of the Amazon Echo compared to other virtual assistants such as Google Home.
It is practically an app for Alexa, to add functions and voice commands.
For example you can activate the Giallozafferano Skills to ask for recipes to cook or the nursery rhymes reading Skill or the one to listen to relaxing sounds or those for home automation, to manage devices such as lights or switches of various brands.
There are also games among the Skills, like Akinator the genius who guesses what we are thinking.
The Drop In function
Another function to activate or at least to try on the Echo is that of the DropIn.
Having two Echoes in the house, it is possible to use DropIn to use the device as an intercom, then to speak from one room to another.
In an office it could be a way to talk to other floors or other buildings while you can also use it to talk to friends.
The peculiarity of DropIn is that those who receive the call must not answer, because the Echoes are automatically connected and at any time, from one of the two, you can ask Alexa " Dropin on ... " to get in communication and listen to the 'Echo called, without the call being accepted on the other side.
While the Dropin between devices configured by the same account is automatic, that on other Echoes of other people must be authorized.
This can be done by tapping on the contact list the name of the person who has an Echo, by activating the Drop In switch.
By trying it with a friend, I noticed how at any moment I could go into his house and suddenly disturb him and listen to the sounds in his house.
We must therefore be careful not to play too much.
To turn Drop In on or off completely, go to Settings> Device Settings> Echo> Communications .
Free calls
With an Echo you can make free calls to cell phones that have the Alexa app installed.
You can then call people by saying to Alexa " call Claudio ", if we have his number in the phone book and if we know that Claudio has installed Alexa (no need for an Echo).
Music
Without a doubt, the main function of the Amazon Echo is listening to streaming music.
To do it for free, the only way is through Tunein's radios, which is automatically activated on each Echo. You can then tell Alexa "Put Radio DJ on TuneIn" to listen to Radio Dj or other radio stations around the world.
The best way to listen to music on Echo is instead to get an Amazon Music subscription, which used on Echo costs 4 Euros per month, much less than Spotify or other apps. Those with an Amazon Prime account will instead be able to listen to 40 hours a month of music from Amazon Music, without paying anything.
READ ALSO: How to listen to music for free with Alexa, via app or Echo
Routines
Another powerful function of the Echo are routines, useful if you have home automation devices to automate. You may ask that a light is turned on at 7pm each time, just to give a simple example.
We have seen how to create routines and new Alexa voice commands .
Going to be processed, it is also possible to link the devices connected to the Echo and Alexa with the web apps, using the IFTTT service
Finally, I remember that you can buy an Echo device on Amazon, choosing between the small Echo Dot model, the Medium Echo with Subwoofer and Echo Plus, the bigger one and Echo Flex, the cheapest one. Setting up other Amazon Echo devices will follow the same process.
READ ALSO: Alexa or Google Home? comparison between the best and smart Smart Speakers
