Amazon Alexa is a pretty common virtual assistant in most Amazon products, such as Amazon Echo or Echo Dot. Alexa makes it easy if you want to know about something, listen to something, or even control other devices. 

However, you may not use it to the fullest if you don’t know some essential tips. 

Here we will cover the best Alexa tips to add more convenience and comfort to your life. 

Make Alexa Understand Your Speech 

Sometimes, Alexa may face difficulty in recognizing your voice and following your commands. You can prevent this from happening by making Alexa familiar with your voice. This will help the virtual assistant to understand your commands properly and execute them. 

You need to create a voice profile for this tip. Just go to the Alexa app and go to Settings.

In Settings, you will find the Your Voice option. Select it and create your own voice profile! This option is available for your family members, including kids as well.

Control Smart Home Devices 

If you ever feel too lazy to get up and turn on your TV or even change the settings on the Thermostat, then Alexa can help you. Alexa works as a smart-home controller by controlling various smart devices, like thermostats, TV, and speakers. But note that the devices must be compatible with Alexa. 

You can control your smart home devices by using the Alexa app and scanning for the device that you want to connect. 

Add Some Skills to Your Alexa Device 

Did you know that many third-party skills can enhance your experience with Amazon Alexa? All you need to do is download the Amazon app on iOS or Android and then, download Skills. Skills are equivalent to the app store for Alexa. 

Today, there are more than 100,000 skills available for various categories such as finance, productivity, food, recipes, and many more. 

For instance, certain skills allow you to make card payments or check your balance. Some recipe skills can help you find a new dish just by asking Alexa. 

Change The Default Music Player 

You may think that with Alexa, you can only use Amazon Music for playing songs. But that’s not true as you can always change the default music to your favorite music services. 

For instance, you can go for Spotify or iHeartRadio.

All you need to do is to go to the Amazon Alexa app. Then, Settings -> Music & Media -> Alexa Preferences -> Choose Default Music Services. In this way, you can access your favorite music player by calling Alexa. 

Delete Voice Commands

If you didn’t know already, Alexa keeps a track of all your voice commands and recordings. This may cause privacy and security issues if you use Alexa for many tasks. 

So, if you want to protect your privacy, simply delete the voice commands at the end of the day. 

You can delete the voice commands by going to the Alexa app. Then Settings -> History -> [Tap on the voice command you want to delete] -> Delete Voice Recordings. 

Put Alexa to Sleep

Alexa may disturb your work time or even your sleep due to its constant notifications. Hence, the best tip to avoid this is by putting Alexa to sleep. You can put Alexa to sleep by making it inactive. 

You can do this by telling Alexa “Goodnight”. You can also use the Do Not Disturb mode by saying “Alexa, turn on do not disturb.”

Play Games with Alexa 

If you’re alone and bored at home, consider playing some games with Alexa. All Alexa devices come with in-built games such as ‘Would You Rather, ‘Tic Tac Toe’, ‘Song Quiz’, and many more. You just need to ask Alexa to play the respective game. 

Use Alexa as Intercom 

If you have multiple Amazon Alexa devices at your home, then they can act as an intercom too. You just need to check the name of the other device and use the command ‘drop in’. 

For instance, if you want to connect with an Amazon Alexa device (named Echo) in your bedroom, then simply say “Alexa, drop in on Echo”. 

After connecting, you can hear what’s going on in the other room and vice versa. You can end the connection by saying “Alexa, hang up.”

These are just a handful of the best Alexa tips that are useful in daily life! There are many more which you can explore.