How smart is your smart speaker?
Smart speakers can be a great tool to organize and simplify your life, but did you know that they also come with some fun features you may not have tried before? Here’s a deeper look at some exciting features of the Amazon Echo Dot for you to explore.
1. Whisper Mode
Watching a movie? Is someone sleeping in the room? Got guests and don’t want to break up the conversation? Or perhaps you’re simply enjoying some quiet time? The Whisper Mode is perfect for you. Just whisper your commands to your Echo Dot, and it will respond by whispering back!
How to turn on Whisper Mode?
1. Access your Echo device’s settings through the Alexa app.
2. Navigate to “Device Settings” and select your Echo device.
3. Scroll down to find “Voice Responses” and toggle it on.
4. Easily toggle Whisper Mode on and off based on your preferences.
5. You can engage this feature by giving it the command “Alexa, whisper mode” and then interacting with the device at a reduced volume.
2. Explicit Filter
If you have kids in the house or are looking to be a bit more family-friendly with the content you listen to, turning on the explicit filter could help save you some awkward conversations. It helps filter out explicit lyrics in songs played through Amazon Music and explicit content in podcasts.
How to turn on the Explicit Filter?
1. Open the Alexa app on your smartphone.
2. Go to Settings and select your Echo device.
3. Scroll down to “Music & Podcasts” and tap on “Explicit Filter”.
4. Toggle the Explicit Filter setting to “On”
5. You can voice activate this feature by saying “Alexa, turn on Explicit Filter”
3. Play Everywhere
If you’ve got a party spilling out of your living room or just want background music pumping for that full house epic cleaning spree, this is the feature for you. If you have multiple compatible Echo devices, you can synchronize them to play the same song throughout your home.
1,2, 3 All together now!
How to turn on Play Everywhere?
1. Ensure all your Echo devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Open the Alexa app and select the devices icon at the bottom.
3. Tap on the “+” icon and choose “Combine Speakers.”
4. Select the devices you want to play audio across and tap “Next”.
5. Choose a name for your speaker group and tap “Save”.
6. Just say “Alexa, play [music] everywhere” to stream across all devices.
4. Custom Alarms
Some days you just need to wake up to upbeat Bollywood dance music instead of “Nature Sounds 2”. With custom alarms, you can set your morning alert to any sound you prefer, including some celebrity voices or your favorite songs from Amazon Music.
How to set custom alarms?
1. Open the Alexa app and navigate to the “Reminders & Alarms” section.
2. Tap on “Alarms” and then select “Manage alarm volume and default sound”.
3. Choose “Custom” to create a personalized alarm.
4. Tap on “Sound” to select from a variety of tones or use a custom sound.
5. Set the time and recurrence for your custom alarm.
6. Personalize your alarm label for easy identification.
5. Follow-Up Mode
Have you ever been annoyed by having to keep repeating the wake word to activate your Echo after every command? Well, turning on the follow-up feature can help ease some of that frustration. It allows your Echo to stay active for a few seconds after responding, so you can give it follow-up instructions without having to use the wake word to engage it again. This mode is especially useful during tasks that require multiple quick commands, making your interactions smoother and more intuitive.
How to turn on Follow-up Mode?
1. Open the Alexa App.
2. Select “Devices” and select your device.
3. Open “Device Settings” and select “Follow-Up Mode” from the menu.
4. Toggle Follow-Up Mode on or off.
5. With Follow-Up Mode enabled, simply continue your commands without reactivating Alexa.
6. You can also voice-activate this feature by saying “Alexa, turn on Follow-up mode”
6. Multilingual Mode
One language just doesn’t cut it for your multilingual household? Well, expressing oneself shouldn’t be an issue for anyone. Multilingual Mode enables your Echo Dot to understand and speak in multiple languages, facilitating seamless switches during interactions.
Currently, the Echo Dot can support US-English, UK-English, CA-English, English with an Australian or Indian accent, German, Japanese, CA-French, FR-French, Italian, ES-Spanish, MX-Spanish, US-Spanish, IN-Hindi, BR-Portuguese and SA-Arabic.
How to turn on Multilingual Mode?
1. Open the Alexa app and navigate to the settings.
2. Select your device and go to “Device Language”.
3. Choose the primary language you prefer to use with Alexa.
4. Enable Multilingual Mode by selecting additional languages you speak.
5. Alexa will now understand and respond in multiple languages.
Did you know about any of these features? How many of these do you think would become staples in your household? We hope that learning about these features can add a dash of fun to your routine!
Also read:
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- 4 Budget-Friendly Smartwatches for 2023
- Alexa Is the New Parent: How AI Impacts Children’s Well-Being
Header Image from Unsplash
