What Is an Alexa Smart Home Hub?
What You Need to Set up a Smart Home With Alexa
To control appliances with Alexa voice commands, you must enable the corresponding Alexa skill. You may also need to install an additional app on your phone. For example, if you want to connect your Phillips Hue smart lights to Alexa, then you must download the app for iOS or Android. The Alexa app will walk you through all of the necessary steps when you pair your devices.
How to Pair Alexa With Smart Appliances
After setting up your Alexa device and your smart home device, make sure both are connected to your home Wi-Fi network and have Bluetooth enabled. You can then use the Alexa app to pair the devices. For example, if you have a Roku TV, you can control your TV with Alexa:
How to Control Smart Devices With Alexa
The voice commands that are available depend on the type of smart device. Here are some generic commands you can use:
“Alexa, turn on [device].”“Alexa, turn off [device].”“Alexa, brighten my lights.”“Alexa, dim my lights.”“Alexa, set my lights to purple.”“Alexa, set my thermostat to cool.”“Alexa, set my thermostat to xx degrees.”“Alexa, increase my thermostat by xx degrees.”“Alexa, what is my thermostat’s temperature?”“Alexa, show my security camera.”“Alexa, hide my security camera.”
How to Set up Alexa Smart Home Groups
If you have multiple smart TVs or smart lights in your home, you can set up smart home groups to control all appliances for the room you’re currently in:
Smart Home Group Settings
Return to the Devices screen and tap the name of the group to open its settings. From the settings menu, you can add or remove devices and designate a preferred speaker for streaming music.
