The future that we saw embodied in many science fiction movies has finally come true in several of the great technological advances that we only thought possible in our imagination and that, furthermore, are within the reach of our portfolio with prices adapted so that the citizen common can have access to them.
One of these recent innovations appeared in 2015 at the hands of Amazon, with the launch of its Amazon Echo device, this device is in charge of reviving that fantasy of virtual assistants that we could appreciate so much from the best games, be it wars or movies of a nature. futuristic but taken to a more realistic level, where we can count on Alexa.
How to Control Alexa’s Lights with my Device
Which is the name by which we will execute the commands that will allow the Amazon Echo to execute functions of devices such as our television, computer or smartphone through the use of our voice.
If we want to get the most out of the capabilities of these devices, we must take into account that they have multiple functionalities and configurations that may be a bit overwhelming for those who are not familiar with these technologies, so here we introduce you to a basic feature but important, which is the control system of LED lights through Alexa .
Index( )
- What do I need to control Alexa lights throughout the house?
- Device that has the Alexa application integrated
- LED bulb that connects to your WIFI network
- Switch with advanced functions for your home
- How to change the name of my device in Alexa?
- What to do if Alexa doesn’t detect my device?
- Verify that it is a certified Works with Alexa product
- Delete and reinstall the Alexa app
- Turn off Alexa and reset the hardware
What do I need to control Alexa lights throughout the house?
Undoubtedly, one of the functions that such an interesting application with the help of virtual assistants would least expect is the control of the lighting in our homes, making it possible with the help of Alexa to control the amount of light with just one command by using our voice. However, there are certain requirements for this process to be possible, which are:
Device that has the Alexa application integrated
The first most important requirement that we must take into account is to have a mobile device that has the integrated Alexa application. We can obtain this application for free once we have purchased our device and we can get it directly from the Android or iOS playstore .
LED bulb that connects to your WIFI network
The second requirement is to have a somewhat special LED bulb, since any LED bulb does not work to connect with our virtual Google assistant , but we will have to have what we know today as smart bulbs.
It should be noted that there are different types of LED bulbs, but we can differentiate them into 2 main types, where we have the bulbs that work through Bluetooth and those that can be connected to Wi-Fi.
The ones that we will take as a reference this time will be the Wi-Fi bulbs , since they are the ones that will allow us to have a connection with both our mobile device and with Amazon Echo and therefore be able to receive commands from Alexa to control the lighting.
Switch with advanced functions for your home
Finally, we will need switches that allow us to activate the special functions of these smart bulbs and that, in addition, are compatible with the entire Amazon Echo system , so they must be able to connect to the Wi-Fi network, as well as the bulbs. intelligent, with the difference that they do not need a long installation procedure since they can be easily glued to walls with magnets.
How to change the name of my device in Alexa?
A case that can arise when we are carrying out our tasks with Alexa is that someone in our place of residence has the name of Alexa or that may be the name of the buyer and it may be a bit uncomfortable, so if you want to change the Alexa configuration in this aspect you just have to follow the following steps:
- We go to the Alexa application on our mobile device and look for the configuration option in the right sidebar.
- Within this option, we look for the device configuration section
- In this section the different devices will appear in which we can change the name to which Amazon Echo responds, we select said device and look for the activation wordoption and then click on it
- Finally we can select between 3 activation words, which will be Amazon, Echo and Alexa. We select the one of our preference and finish configuring.
What to do if Alexa doesn’t detect my device?
Due to problems in updates or any other unforeseen event, an error may occur that causes Alexa to not be able to detect the device to which it has to communicate. In the event of this scenario, you can follow the instructions below:
Verify that it is a certified Works with Alexa product
It may happen that the device that we want to connect with Alexa is not certified for said synchronization to occur, we can verify this in a list of compatible devices on the digital home page .
Delete and reinstall the Alexa app
An error could have occurred during the installation of the Alexa app on our mobile device , so sometimes deleting the data history of the application and installing it can solve the problem.
Turn off Alexa and reset the hardware
Finally, the solution does not always have to go as far as deleting the application from our mobile device, but by restarting our mobile we can solve a problem that prevented the Alexa app from running correctly. For any other problem, we can consult Amazon support.