If you’re a fan of the Amazon Echo, you’ve probably heard of Alexa, the virtual assistant developed by Amazon. It was modeled after a speech synthesis created in Poland, called Ivona. After being acquired by Amazon in 2013, the system was used in the Echo smart speaker, Echo Dot, and even the Echo Studio. Amazon’s lab126 developed Alexa to be useful for users. Here, we’ll take a look at a few of Alexa’s features:
Drop-In
When you’re ready to make a call with your Amazon Echo Dot or Echo Show, you can turn on Drop In. When Drop In is enabled, a green light will flash and make a distinct ringing sound. This will continue until you disconnect the Drop In feature on your device. One Drop In is enabled, and your device will make a green ring and display the Alexa icon. You can check the status by observing its lights. If it’s green, it means that the drop-in is on, but if the light is off, it means that you’re in Household Calls mode.
Once enabled, Drop-In works on almost every Echo device. The first and second-generation Echo, the Echo Plus, the Dot, the Show, and the Spot all support Drop In. In addition, the Fire HD 8 tablet, which was released last year, supports Drop In. The Fire HD tablet requires that you enable Calling and Messaging first before you can use Drop In. However, this feature is now available on the 2018 Fire HD 8 tablet and Echo Show.
The Drop In feature is useful for people who live far from their homes but want to check in on their loved ones. With Drop In, you can call anyone’s Echo device without them answering the phone. This is especially useful when checking up on elderly relatives. With Drop In, you don’t have to worry about the caller answering, and you can even check in on them with a video message. The Drop-In feature also works for Skype calls, which means that you can make calls using your Echo Dot or Show even outside the home.
Once you’ve installed the Drop In feature on your Echo Show, you can begin chatting with your friends and family. To do so, download the Alexa app on your mobile device and enable the Drop In feature. Make sure that you’ve enabled Drop In for all your contacts. You can also check the Drop-In icon on your Alexa device’s Communications screen and toggle it on if it’s not enabled.
Alexa Calling
Once you’ve downloaded the Alexa app on your phone, you can use it to make calls with your Echo device. The voice recognition feature lets you call people on your contact list. You can also start video calls with your Echo Show or Spot if your device supports video calling. Just say the numbers to get started. Once the call is established, you can easily end it by saying “done.”
You can also manually add contacts and groups. If you want, you can restrict access to your contact list by selecting which contacts you want to call. To turn off Alexa calls and messages, you must sign into your Amazon account. If you accidentally delete your contacts, you can restore them later. You may need to uninstall and reinstall your Alexa app. Once you’ve restored them, you can start calling Alexa.
To use the new calling feature, you must first sign up for Alexa Messaging and the Alexa app. To do this, open the Alexa app for iOS or Android, and tap on the “Conversations” tab. To do this, simply tap the text bubble in the center of the app and type in the person’s first and last name. Once you’ve done that, tap the “Add Contacts” button to begin calling.
Another great feature of Alexa is its ability to send text messages and voice messages. With the Alexa app, you can send text messages to your friends and family. When you’re using the app to send texts, you can choose the type of message to send and the number to call. When you’re using the Alexa app, you can also send voice messages to your friends and family or transcribe messages. Once you’ve finished the call, you can easily send a text message. Depending on the recipient’s preferences, you can also receive a reply.
Skills
While many people use Alexa for entertainment, there are many other uses for this digital assistant. There are skills for the weather, traffic, and news, among many other things. Some of these skills are too broad to be placed into a single category. Others, like playing games, will present a random fact and allow you to choose between two options. You can even use your Alexa to play Jeopardy. Just say “Alexa, play Jeopardy” and the virtual assistant will read out answers from 2,000 sources.
To develop a skill for Alexa, you’ll need to understand the basics of AI and machine learning. ASK provides a simple interface to build skills for Alexa. This includes 9.5 hours of video content and 6 downloadable resources. The kit contains everything you need to build an Alexa skill, including instructions and documentation. Once you have all of this information, you’ll be ready to write your own scripts. Be sure not to compromise on the user experience!
While there are many free skills available for Alexa, some will require you to pay to enable them. For example, Spotify offers free basic features, but you must pay for specific songs. However, the vast majority of Amazon’s skills are free and available to everyone. If you do need to pay for any of these, it will be very clear on its website. This way, you’ll be able to use your Alexa to ask for more information about the skills you’re using.
If you want to hear your favorite stories and movies, you can ask Alexa to play them. For example, you can use “What’s on Food Network?” To get the latest updates on what’s on TV. Then, if you’re looking for some inspirational quotes, try asking Alexa to play one of the famous Ted Talks. There are many more skills available. If you’re looking for a way to make Alexa entertaining for your children, you’ll find many fun ways to use Alexa with your virtual assistant.
Neato’s collaboration with Alexa
A new botvac is now available to use with Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa. Neato Robotics has partnered with Amazon to bring Alexa to its robot vacuums. Users will be able to ask Alexa vacuum their floors by simply saying, “Alexa, start Neato!” The collaboration will also include other Neato products, such as Philips Hue lights and Logi Circle cameras. You can also use Alexa to access your energy account, see when your next payment is due, and even read your meter readings.
While Amazon has partnered with Neato, other companies have also entered the fray. Samsung and Whirlpool have both announced that their products will work with Alexa, but the companies have not named specific appliances. Samsung’s POWERbot VR7000 is also expected to integrate with Alexa, making it the first vacuum to support the technology. Meanwhile, Lenovo has announced a smart speaker hardware that looks like an Echo but has a lower sticker price.
Another popular smartwatch with Alexa is the Versa 2 smartwatch, which already has Alexa built-in. Another notable collaboration is with Skyscanner, which lets you ask Alexa for flight dates, prices, and even flight status. Neato also has partnered with EasyJet, which means that you can ask Alexa for a recipe from Jamie Oliver by simply asking her to play the song.
Alexa can perform a variety of preset functions, such as playing music, giving you information, and even controlling your smart home. It can even place orders from Amazon Prime members. With its cloud-based functionality, Alexa learns as you use it and improve its abilities. It even has an app that lets you customize it. If you want your Alexa to be as helpful as possible, then the collaboration between the two companies will prove to be a great one.
Resetting your device
Sometimes, your Amazon Alexa is unable to understand your requests. If you’re having trouble understanding Alexa, try restarting the device or unmuting the microphone. If all of these have failed, you might have to factory reset the device to fix the issue. If none of these steps solves the issue, contact Amazon customer support. Alternatively, you can follow the steps below to resolve the issue. To reset your device, simply follow these instructions:
Once you have successfully unplugged your device, press, and hold the Action button on the third or fourth generations of the Amazon Echo. If you have an Echo Show or an Echo Dot, you can do the same thing by pressing the Reset button on the front with a small tool. On the first generation of Echo, you can also reset the device by pressing the Reset button on the back of the device for approximately 20 seconds. On the second generation, you can simply swipe down from the top of the screen and select Device Options > Reset to Factory Defaults.
To reset the Amazon Echo, you must be logged into your account in order to do this. If you are using an Echo Show, you can say, “Alexa go to settings.” Swipe down and tap “Device Options” – don’t select the Factory Reset option unless you want to lose your saved data. After selecting this option, the Amazon Echo will ask for your confirmation, which will then start the factory reset process.
The next step is to access the settings menu in the Echo Show smart display. Tap Settings > Device Options and then scroll down to Reset to Factory Defaults. After you’ve done this, remove your fingers and follow the instructions on the screen to reset the Echo Show. If you have any other smart devices with Alexa, you can simply use the Settings menu on your Alexa smart display to reset them. You can also use the Alexa app to factory reset your Echo smart display.