Alexa is now capable of performing over 100,000 skills, or instructions, making it far more than just a smart speaker. Making people’s life easier and more convenient is Alexa’s ultimate goal, from turning on lights to adding groceries to your list.
In light of this, is there anything better than never again having to rummage through the couch cushions for the remote control? Yes, Alexa can do all of these things for you without requiring you to do anything physical, like switch on your TV, change the station, or look for a certain show.
How to link your TV to Alexa
It’s easy to set up Alexa on your TV, and it should only take a few minutes. All you have to do is have the Alexa app open.
When the Alexa app opens, select “devices” from the menu at the bottom. Search the app store for Alexa.
After clicking “+,” choose “add device.”
Choose “TV.”
Select the brand of your smart TV.
To finish the setup, adhere to the directions provided by the Alexa App.
Common commands to use with Alexa These are a few commands you can try out, though they may vary depending on your TV or set-top box.
- “Alexa, turn on/off the TV”
- “Alexa, open [streaming service name]”
- ‘Alexa, turn the volume up/down”
- “Alexa, change the channel to [channel]”
- Alexa, play/pause/stop [TV, show, movie]”
- “Alexa, watch [TV show] on [streaming app]”
Additional ways to use Alexa to control your TV
There are a ton of additional Alexa-compatible TV apps that you might find useful. The good news is that if you already have one of the things on this list, you’re halfway there.
Fire TV stick with built-in Alexa: It’s quite easy to set up this streaming stick: just put it into an HDMI port on your TV. Many Alexa instructions can be handled by this gadget, but it’s not entirely hands-free as you still need to hit the microphone button on the remote.
TV with Alexa compatibility (Samsung, LG, and Sony all offer models that are compatible) or a Fire edition TV (Toshiba and Insignia have these versions) may be connected to by any of the Echo family of devices, including the Echo Dot and the Echo Show. Using the Alexa app on your smartphone, you may connect your TV to your Alexa device.
A smart home hub: Before you can use your voice to turn on and off your TV, you will need to get an adapter if you own one of the other Amazon devices, such as an Echo, Echo Dot, or Fire TV stick. Your hub, or adaptor, will transform your hun into the infrared signal that turns your TV on and off.
Utilize your phone: By using a phone equipped with an infrared blaster, you may link Alexa to your television. If you own one of the many Android phones, you can utilize your phone as a hub instead of the adapter. To find out if your phone has an IR blaster, look up the make and model online or look for two dots on top of the device.
