Since you bought your Echo, are you making everything smart in your home but you still have an old TV and don’t know how to connect it to Alexa? No problem, in a few minutes I’ll explain how to connect Alexa to the TV . Do you want to connect your Alexa device to the TV exclusively to play television audio on Alexa? I will also tell you how to play TV audio on Alexa .
In fact, it is possible both to hear the television audio on your Alexa device, and to control the TV with voice commands via Alexa, all after a short configuration.
There are various ways to connect alexa to your TV and in this guide I’ll show you all of them. If the TV you want to connect is not set up and is not smart then to connect the TV to Alexa you will need to buy (for a few euros) a device which I will talk about later.
Index
- How to play TV audio on Alexa
- How to connect Alexa to the Ready TV
- How to connect Alexa to non-ready TV
- How to connect Alexa to the Fire TV
How to play TV audio on Alexa
Some Alexa devices (for example the echo show, the echo studio or the echo plus) have a really good audio performance (read this comparison table for more information) and are well suited to be used as speakers for TV .
If what you are trying to do is play your television audio via Alexa then carefully follow the steps below.
All Amazon echo devices offer Bluetooth connection and can be connected to any audio source such as speakers. Some Alexa devices also have a 3.5mm audio jack, but this is only for the output so the only way to connect them as speaker speakers to the TV is via bluetooth connection. If your TV does not offer bluetooth connection but is still a smart TV and has a free USB port, you can use a Bluetooth adapter connected to the TV (via USB port).
- First, therefore, look at the specifications of your television and make sure it has a bluetooth connection
- configure the television in Bluetooth pairing mode (refer to the instruction manual of the television to find out how to set the pairing mode)
- Put your Alexa device in pairing mode with the voice command “Alexa, connect”, you will receive voice feedback “Searching”
- On the television screen, your Alexa device should appear after a few seconds; select it and you will receive voice feedback from the Alexa device
I have explained to you how to connect Alexa to the TV to use it as a speaker to hear the sound of the TV; now let’s see how to connect Alexa to the TV to control the TV via voice commands
How to connect Alexa to the Ready TV
In this case we assume that your television is ready to connect with Alexa and that it has already been correctly connected to the internet. So first check that your TV is compatible with Alexa and that the wifi network is correctly configured.
To connect alexa to the TV you will need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. In principle, in all Alexa-compatible smart TVs you will have to follow 2 steps:
- go to the television control panel (usually with the home button) and enable control with Alexa
- open the alexa app on your mobile phone and enable the skill for the TV (for Samsung TVs the Samsung SmartThingsskill , for LG TVs the LG SmartThinQ skill , for Sony TVs the Sony’s Android TV skill )
I tell you right away that currently almost all the skills to connect alexa to the TV have many limitations and are highly criticized by users for their poor integration and functionality. Some (for example for LG models) only allow you to change channels and turn the TV on and off; you will have to wait for updates to have working skills and that allow you to do all the operations on the TV through a voice command.
How to connect Alexa to non-ready TV
Do you own an old TV? How to connect Alexa to the TV if it is not smart? The only way to connect a non-smart, non-smart TV to Alexa is to use an infrared hub. On the market you will find 4.5 different types but what I recommend because very cheap and excellent for this function is the broadlink that I have recently reviewed. Without going into too much technicality, the broadlink is a device created to connect all devices equipped with infrared remote control to wifi and your voice assistant . You can buy the broadlink on wish for a few euros or directly on Amazon. There are two types: the broadlink rm mini which is perfect for connecting to alexa tv and the broadlink rm prowhich has all the functions of the mini and in addition allows you to connect devices equipped with a radio remote control to the wifi. Personally I recommend you to buy the broadlink rm mini which is extremely small, indiscreet and cheap.
Once you have purchased the broadlink, position it so as to have no obstacles between it and the TV and connect it with the microusb cable to an electrical outlet. If you want you can place it under the TV and connect it to a USB port on the TV (as long as the TV has USB ports).
I have written a complete guide here which tells you step by step what you need to do to connect the broadlink to the TV. It is not a quick procedure so arm yourself with patience and strictly follow the guide.
How to connect Alexa to the Fire TV
Do you have an Amazon Fire TV stick and want to control it with Alexa? Nothing easier. There are currently two types of Amazon Fire TV Sticks in Italy . There’s the new model (the Fire TV 4K) which already has Alexa voice control built into the remote, so you won’t need to do anything; then there is an old model that does not have Alexa integrated in the remote control but which can still be controlled with voice commands via any Amazon echo device.
