'Alexa' Does More Than Just Play Music—Try Out The 15 Best Echo Dot Hacks
Your life just got easier.
What's not to like about a smart speaker that will play any song that you ask of it in mere seconds? With Alexa built into Amazon's Echo, you can do just that (and many people do). But if you only use the Echo or Echo Dot for music, you are missing out on many helpful features that Alexa is capable of. From help getting motivated each day to using your Echo Dot as a personal trainer, there are so many beneficial Alexa hacks that users can enjoy.
Out of all the smart speakers out there, the Echo Dot with Alexa is one of the most popular. In fact, as of February 2022, 70 percent of smart speaker users have an Amazon Echo in their homes. With all of this popularity, it would be helpful to know more about what Alexa can do. And Alexa can do a lot! With more than 100,000 different Alexa skills or hacks available, it can be overwhelming to find the hacks that would be the most beneficial to use. Plus, new skills are continually being added.
To narrow things down for you, we have compiled some of our favorite Echo Dot hacks that people have been enjoying. You will find that all of these are meant to make life easier or help you get more organized. Here are our 15 favorite echo dot hacks.
15 Best Alexa Hacks
1. Receive Instant Encouragement
If you have a hard time getting motivated to do a job, you can put that to rest. All you have to do is say, "Alexa, good morning" or "Alexa, good afternoon" and you will get a dynamic response. In the morning, Alexa will give a motivational quote and in the afternoon she responds with a helpful tip or an encouraging word.
You don't have to do anything special to enable this feature so it is super easy to use. Plus, the response is always different which keeps things fresh.
2. Get Traffic Updates
Before leaving the house, get a feel for traffic so that you can adjust your time if needed. To get this information, you will need to add your destination in the settings. This is especially nice for places that you go to every day like work or school.
In the app, select SETTINGS from the menu. Then, select TRAFFIC under ALEXA PREFERENCES and enter both your home and destination addresses. You can add stops on your route but just one destination.
After you have entered the addresses, you can ask, "Alexa, how's traffic?" to receive real-time information.
3. Workout With Alexa
Looking for a personal trainer? Alexa comes with some built-in workouts and you can add additional Alexa fitness skills. Compile your favorites together to create a workout routine that works for you. You can even connect a Fitbit to Alexa and she can tell you your workout stats like how many calories you've burned or how many steps you have taken.
In the Alexa app, select ROUTINES from the menu and the "+" to go to the new routine screen. Select the criteria, actions and devices you want to use to create and access a custom routine for your device.
When you want to start a workout, simply say, "Alexa, start my workout." She'll respond with something like, "Ok, let's do this! Today's workout, Cardio, has three exercises in one minute and thirty seconds. First activity is burpees. Go!"
4. Turn on a Night Light
Alexa can help everyone to sleep more soundly or find their way to the bathroom at night. Say, "Alexa, open Night Light" and Alexa's notification ring or bar will be illuminated.
5. Get the Weather Forecast
Before getting dressed for the day, it's helpful to know what to expect from the weather. Alexa has a built-in weather forecast to fill you in. Just ask, "Alexa, what's the weather?"
Related: 125 Funny Things to Ask Alexa That'll Reveal Her Silly Side
6. Rename Your Alexa
Imagine if your name is Alexa. Every time someone calls you by name, the device turns on. That's a little annoying! In the menu settings, tap on the Echo Dot that you want to change and click on WAKE WORD. Pick one of the names from the drop-down menu to use as the new wake word. Then save and confirm.
7. Control Your TV
If you have a FireTV or Smart TV, you can order the TV to be turned on or off with a voice command. On top of that, you can also have Alexa search for a particular show or change the channel for you.
Just set up your TV and link the devices to have the ability to control your TV at leisure.
8. Ask Alexa How To Spell a Word
The next time you are typing up an email or text, don't worry if you get stumped on the spelling of a word. Just ask Alexa and she'll have a response to you quicker than anyone else.
9. Use Alexa as a Security Guard
Using the Alexa Guard skill, you can turn your Echo speakers into an inexpensive home security system. The speaker listens for sounds that indicate something dangerous might be going on in your home and then will alert you to tell you what it hears. You can choose which types of sounds you want to be notified about, such as breaking glass.
For more security, there is also a paid version of Alexa Guard that gives you more security features. This version not only alerts you if there is a problem, but will also notify the authorities for you.
10. Eat Healthier With Alexa
If you are looking to eat healthier, the voice assistant will give you nutrition tips that are sourced from Mayo Clinic. The tips will be more general ideas that apply to most people like suggesting to drink coconut water over fruit juice or advice on herbs and spices.
Related: How to Tip Your Amazon Delivery Drivers Using New Alexa Feature
11. Let Alexa Do the Math
Have you ever needed to quickly figure out a conversion for a recipe or any other simple math problem? Now, instead of having to look up a conversion chart or find your calculator, you can just ask Alexa. For example, "Alexa, 1 cup to ounces" and she'll quickly give you the number of ounces in a cup.
12. Get Timely Reminders
If you have trouble remembering certain things that you need to do throughout the day, let Alexa give you a friendly reminder. When the time comes close to your scheduled activity, Alexa will announce, "Here’s your reminder," and then it tells you twice.
To set up a reminder, say, "Alexa, create a new reminder." Alexa will ask you what the reminder is for. For example, you can say, "Alexa, remind me to go to the doctor at 10:00 a.m. today." You can set up a whole string of reminders to keep you on track. The reminder will also show up on your mobile device with the Alexa app which is nice when you are out and about.
13. Use Your Echo Dots as Intercoms
Have you ever resorted to texting a family room who is in the same house but in a different room because you didn't want to yell or walk that far? Instead of texting, you can use your own voice to communicate as long as you have Echo devices spread around your house.
Say, "Alexa, drop in on the living room," and anything you say will be played through the Echo speaker in the living room.
14. Order a Domino's Pizza
If you get hungry for pizza, just tell Alexa. With Alexa's Domino's skill, you can quickly order from your local Domino's.
To get started, just say “Alexa, open Domino’s.” Alexa will connect you to Domino’s and get you ordering and tracking in no time. To re-order a saved order, make sure you have a Domino’s Pizza Profile.
15. Brew a Cup of Coffee
When you are busy working but would like a cup of coffee, you can simply give the command. All you need is a coffee maker that integrates with Alexa or a smart switch with any basic drip coffee maker.
Next Up: We Got a First Listen of a Few Tracks on Apple’s New HomePod and Here’s How It Compares to Alexa
