Tips to unlock useful and fun Alexa features

Alexa's “wake word” is one key way Amazon protects your privacy when you use Echo or other Alexa-enabled devices. Think of the wake word as a verbal cue that makes things happen. Only after your Echo device detects the wake word will Alexa listen to your requests.

Customers now have four options for their device’s wake word: Ziggy, Amazon, Echo, or Computer, in addition to Alexa. You can change the wake word at any time, either in the Alexa app or by telling your device, “Alexa, change your wake word.” In the Alexa app, open Devices, select Echo & Alexa, and then select your device. Scroll down under General and select Wake Word. Pick the wake word you prefer, and then select OK.

Note that changing the wake word applies to only one device at a time. If you want to change the wake word on other devices, take the same steps on each device. You can choose the same wake word or use different words for each device.

The wake word isn’t the only thing you can change about Alexa. Alexa also has another voice option, and changing it is as simple as saying, “Alexa, change your voice.”

Or you can simply open the Alexa app and select the Devices tab. From there, pick the device you want and select the Settings button. Then, under General, select Alexa’s Voice. You can listen to an audio sample from each of the available voices, and then select Original or New.

Customize your Alexa experience with celebrity voices including Shaquille O'Neal, Melissa McCarthy, and Samuel L. Jackson.

You can also turn on Brief Mode. In Brief Mode, Alexa speaks less and may play a short sound instead of giving a voice response. To turn on Brief Mode, simply open the Alexa app, open More, and select Settings. Tap Voice Responses and turn Brief Mode on or off.

If you don’t want to wake a sleeping family member when you ask Alexa for weather in the morning or turn off the alarm, you can turn on Whisper Mode, which allows you to whisper to Alexa, and Alexa will whisper the response back to you. Just say, “Alexa, turn on Whisper Mode.”

Your Echo device is a smart speaker, which makes it easy to ask Alexa to play your favorite song. But you may occasionally want to stream audio from a Bluetooth-enabled device, like a phone, record player, or another Bluetooth speaker, to your Echo device.

To connect your Echo device to Bluetooth, first put your Bluetooth device in pairing mode. Then open the Alexa app and select the Devices tab. Select Echo & Alexa and then the device you wish to connect. Tap Bluetooth Devices and then Pair a New Device. The next time you want to connect, just enable Bluetooth on your phone or Bluetooth device and say, “Alexa, pair Bluetooth.”

If you are excited about starting to create a smart home (more on that in Part Three), a simple first step is pairing your Echo device, or multiple Echo devices, with a compatible Fire TV device, including a Fire TV Stick 4K Max or Fire TV Omni Series 4K TV smart TV.

This pairing allows you to control your TV using your voice. Just tell your Echo device what you want to do, and Alexa completes the action directly on your Fire TV—no remote needed. Learn about all of the different utterances you can use to control your Fire TV.

For your Echo and Fire TV devices to pair properly and work together, both must be registered to the same account. It’s also important to make sure you have the latest version of the Alexa app before pairing.

If you’re all set with those steps, start by opening the Alexa app. Then open More and select Settings. Tap TV & Video and select Fire TV. Next select Link Your Alexa Device and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have multiple Echo devices you wish to pair, you can even use them to create a home theater system for a compatible Fire TV.