How To Set Up Lights With Echo Dot

An Alexa smart speaker has the power to control your lights, plugs and other devices – and it's so easy to fix.

First, you're going to need some Alexa devices, which including smart bulbs, connected plugs, followed by smart home hubs, thermostats and security cameras.

Buying a connected seedling is the simplest way to go Alexa to control your home lighting, but it can be a picayune impractical if y'all had scores of bulbs around the room.

Best Alexa compatible smart dwelling devices

Nosotros usually advise newbies just to choose some mood lights to starting time off with, and and so you can trick out the rest of your home lighting after.

And don't forget, lighting can also be controlled vis smart plugs for lamps – and you lot can even brand the light switch itself connect to Alexa and go out the bulbs well lone. Read our guides for that, for more than ideas.

In this guide we look at how to connect your devices upwardly with Alexa and how to control them.

Why connect your home with Alexa?

Then offset of all, why bother to become to the endeavour of buying Alexa-compatible devices? Well, to put it succinctly, Alexa really starts to make sense in your home when controlling smart home tech from an Repeat device.

Alexa is extremely adept at making smart abode tech work together. Information technology's easy to set up unmarried command groups that can control multiple lights, plugs and other devices together – which ways a single control can set the mood in your unabridged house, be it walking in the door, getting ready for some Telly fourth dimension, or simply switching everything off earlier bed.

How to gear up smart domicile devices in Alexa

The first bit comes down to following the instructions of the specific device. Nosotros'll take Philips Hue lights as an example. Before you get started you'll brand sure the Philips Bridge is installed, that your lights are plugged into fittings and they're working properly within the Hue app.

That goes for whatsoever device that's not Amazon-made – you'll need to install information technology properly first inside its ain app and ecosystem earlier you lot get going with Alexa.

Use the Repeat Zigbee smart habitation hub

The exception to this dominion is if you're using the new 4th-gen Echo, Amazon Echo Plus or i of the newer Repeat Show models. These Alexa smart speakers double up equally smart home hubs and accept the power to discover some smart home devices, if they utilise the Zigbee protocol.

While this will need a niggling investigation on your part, Belkin WeMo, Honeywell thermostats, Ikea Tradfli, Philips Hue and Yale locks are all Zigbee compatible.

Instead of needing to utilize an Alexa skill, you lot can search and find devices when they're plugged in. You might not get full functionality, however. For example, yous might not go all color shades of a smart bulb.

How to add devices to Alexa

Unless you're using a Zigbee-enbled Echo speaker (detailed above), you're going to need to install Alexa skills for the devices you lot want to Alexa to observe. This isn't a complicated procedure, but you will need the login info for each of the smart device ecosystems yous're going to add.

That's because an Alexa skill effectively links your Amazon account to that of Lifx, Philips Hue, Hive, Nest or whatever service you're using. The easiest mode to install the Alexa skill is to go to the app, open the side menu and select Skills & Games from the list, then search. The app volition take yous through the procedure of adding your login details.

In one case you've set your devices up in their own ecosystems, it'south fourth dimension to hook them upward with Alexa. Yous tin exercise this ii ways:

1. Just ask an Alexa-enabled speaker: "Alexa discover my devices"

2. Or, head to the Amazon Alexa app, tap Devices on the bottom right of the screen and then printing the + button at the summit right (see higher up).

Alexa will scan your home network and also use the pre-installed skills to locate devices you might want to add.

Whatsoever you lot've named them in your app will be the default proper noun when it'due south sucked into the Alexa app - but those names can always be changed...

Rename your devices in the Alexa app

Alexa will take the name of a device, found in its native app – only this can atomic number 82 to clashes between devices, if for example, you lot have two different manufacturers of smart seedling, which accept both defaulted to "lounge light".

The result tin exist chaotic and yous'll notice you lot'll take some Alexa housekeeping to practise.

Still, you tin can name devices in the Alexa app separately, then yous'll want to go through and give them all easy-to-remember and logical names. Too, avoid clashes in Alexa betwixt even random types of device. Having a "lounge" Sonos speaker and "lounge lamp" can play havoc with Alexa, so try and go on things split up.

To rename, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Alexa app

2. Tap the Devices tab at the lesser

3. Choose the type of product from this screen, which makes it easier to find the exact device

iv. Tap on a device and select the Settings cog in the meridian-right corner

5. Tap Edit Name.

Ready Alexa smart habitation groups

From inside the Smart Home menu of the Amazon Alexa smartphone app, you tin add whatever device into a single group, which can be controlled by vocalism. For example, yous may want to group all lights on your footing floor into a single "Downstairs lights" group.

That manner, information technology'll exist much easier to integrate the devices into routines, or control multiple devices with a unmarried vocalisation control.

Exercise and then using these steps:

1. Open up the Alexa app

2 . Tap Devices

3. Press the + push button in the superlative right

4. Tap Add Grouping

5. Choose Smart Abode Grouping and requite information technology a name that you lot'll think. This could be "main lights" or "downstairs lights" for example

half-dozen. Tap the devices you lot want from within the listing, so yous're washed

Import scenes from third-party apps

If you've designed scenes inside apps such every bit Philips Hue, Alexa will also detect and import them. During a browse of your network, scenes will exist added to the Alexa app.

You just need to take installed the relevant skills. In one case registered in the app, y'all tin can then ask Alexa to control them.

What Alexa commands can I use?

And so you have your home lighting, cameras, plugs and more set up with Alexa, and your scenes and groups, too. Hither'southward some ideas to become you started.

"Alexa, lights on."

"Alexa, lights off."

"Alexa, dim main lights to 50%."

"Fix the calorie-free to blue."

"Set the light to soft white."

"Make the calorie-free warmer/cooler."

"Alexa, fix the temperature to 21."

"Alexa, it'due south Bedtime" [to activate a Scene].

What happens if Alexa tin can't observe your device?

If you've gone through all these steps and Alexa isn't seeing your device, there'due south some steps you can take. For brevity, hither's your essential Alexa troubleshooting checklist

Check it's a Works with Alexa product
Is it powered on and ready to be discovered?
Delete and reinstall the Alexa skill, and sign in
Check your phone, Alexa and this device are all connected to the same Wi-Fi network
Turn Alexa off, the device and check how to do a hardware reset
Update your router settings

How to delete smart habitation devices from Alexa and remove duplicates

If you're sick and tired of hearing Alexa say, "A few things share that name, which one did yous desire?" or "Please endeavour once more using 'per centum' for brightness or 'degrees' for temperature" subsequently you lot give a basic smart home voice control, so take a look at our guide on deleting devices from your Alexa smart home.