Meet Alexa

Summoning Alexa

By default, Amazon’s connected speakers have the same wake word. All you have to do to queue up a request is say, “Alexa.”
  • Connect Your Bluetooth

To connect your bluetooth, swipe down from the top of the screen and select ‘Settings’ then select your Bluetooth device from the list.

Basic Commands

  • Ask for help: “Alexa, help.”
  • Mute or unmute: “Alexa, mute” or, “Alexa, unmute.”
  • Stop or pause: “Alexa, stop” or, “Alexa, shut up.”
  • Change volume: “Alexa, set volume to 5,” “Alexa, louder” or, “Alexa, turn up/down the volume.”

Media Controls

  • Play music:“Alexa, play some music.”
  • Queue specific song or artist: “Alexa, play music by [artist].”
  • Play a song based on context: “Alexa, play the latest Avett Brothers album” or, “Alexa, play that song that goes ‘Gotta gotta be down, because I want it all.’”
  • Play Spotify music:“Alexa, play on Spotify.”
  • Play Pandora station:“Alexa, play [artist] station on Pandora.”
  • Play a radio station:“Alexa, play [radio station] on TuneIn.”
  • Play an audiobook:“Alexa, play [title] on Audible,” “Alexa, read [title]” or, “Alexa, play the book, [title].”
  • Resume the last played audiobook:“Alexa, resume my book.”
  • Skip audiobook chapters:“Alexa, next chapter” or, “Alexa, previous chapter.”
  • Listen to Alexa read you a Kindle book:“Alexa, read me my Kindle book.”
  • Set a sleep timer:“Alexa set a sleep timer for 45 minutes” or, “Alexa, stop playing in 45 minutes.”
  • Song information:“Alexa, what’s playing?”
  • Music controls:“Alexa, play” or, “Alexa, next.”
  • Restart song:“Alexa, restart.”
  • Add a song to your Prime Music library:“Alexa, add this song.”
  • Like or dislike a song on Pandora and iHeartRadio: “Alexa, I like this song” or, “Alexa, thumbs down.”
  • Start Amazon Music Unlimited trial: “Alexa, start my free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited.”

Time and Date

  • Set an alarm:“Alexa, set an alarm for 7 a.m.” or, “Alexa, wake me up at 7 in the morning.”
  • Set a repeating alarm:“Alexa, set a repeating alarm for weekdays at 7 a.m.”
  • Set a timer:“Alexa, set a timer for 15 minutes.”
  • Set multiple timers:“Alexa, set a second timer for 5 minutes.”
  • Check timer status:“Alexa, how much time is left on my timer?”
  • Ask the time:“Alexa, what time is it?”
  • Ask the date:“Alexa, what’s the date?”
  • Ask when the next alarm is:“Alexa, when’s my next alarm?”
  • Cancel an alarm: “Alexa, cancel my alarm for 2 p.m.”
  • Snooze alarm:“Alexa, snooze.”
  • Check dates: “Alexa, when is [holiday] this year?”

News and Weather

  • Check headlines:“Alexa, what’s in the news?”
  • Check weather:“Alexa, what’s the weather like?” or, “Alexa, will it rain today?” or even “Alexa, will I need an umbrella today?”
  • Get a weather forecast:“Alexa, what’s the weather going to be like this weekend?
  • Get traffic information:“Alexa, what’s my commute look like?” or, “Alexa, what’s traffic like?”

Entertainment and Food

  • Find movies in nearby theaters: “Alexa, what movies are playing in [city]?” or, “Alexa, what action movies are playing tonight in [city]?”
  • Get information on movies playing:“Alexa, tell me about the movie [title].”
  • Discover nearby restaurants:“Alexa, find me a pizza restaurant in [city].”
  • Get operating hours or a phone number for local businesses:“Alexa, find the address for [business name] in [city]” or, “Alexa, find business hours for [business name] in [city].”
  • Get IMDb rating:“Alexa, what is the IMDb rating for [movie or TV show]?”
  • Get casting for a movie or show:“Alexa, who plays in [movie or TV show]?”
  • Find out who an actor is:“Alexa, who plays [character] in [movie or TV show]?”
  • Find an actor’s latest work:“Alexa, what is [actor]’s latest movie?”
  • Find out who sings a particular song:“Who sings the song [title]?”
  • Get the names of band members:“Who is in the band [name]?”
  • Get album information:“What year did [band] release [song or album]?”
  • Find popular music from an artist:“Alexa, what’s popular from [artist]?”
  • Sample music from an artist:“Alexa, sample songs by [artist].”
  • Find a particular album or song: “Alexa, find [song or album] by [artist].”

Math

  • Convert units: “Alexa, how many [units] are in [units]?”
  • Basic math: “Alexa, what’s 5 plus 7?” or, “Alexa, what’s 56 times 33?”
  • Advanced math: “Alexa, 70 factorial.” (Warning: Alexa will list numbers you didn’t know existed for about a minute.)
  • Find a particular album or song: “Alexa, find [song or album] by [artist].”

Definitions and Spelling

  • Get the definition of a word: “Alexa, what’s the definition of [word]?”
  • Get the spelling of a word: “Alexa, how do you spell [word]?”

Sports

  • Check the results of a finished game: “Alexa, what was the score of the [team] game?”
  • Ask if a team won:“Alexa, did the [team] win?”
  • Ask when the next game is scheduled:“Alexa, when do the [team] play next?”
  • Get Fantasy Football update with the Yahoo Fantasy Football skill: “Alexa, ask Yahoo Fantasy Football for a score update” or, “Alexa, ask Yahoo Fantasy Football if Colin Kaepernick is playing this week.”

Search

  • Get Wikipedia information:“Alexa, Wikipedia: [subject].”
  • Tell Alexa to continue reading a Wikipedia entry:“Alexa, tell me more.”
  • Ask a general question:“Alexa, how tall is [person or object’s name]?”
  • Ask a general question:“Alexa, how many people live in America?”
  • Get a “Game of Thrones” quote:“Alexa, give me a ‘Game of Thrones’ quote.”

Search

Alexa comes chock-full of Easter eggs and jokes — the list is long. Some of the more popular or prominent commands that prompt a snarky or humorous response…

  • “Alexa, good morning.”
  • “Alexa, tell me a joke.”
  • “Alexa, tell me a fact.”
  • “Alexa, beam me up.”
  • “Alexa, set phasers to kill.”
  • “Alexa. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”
  • “Alexa, my name is Inigo Montoya.”
  • “Alexa, I want the truth.”
  • “Alexa, party on, Wayne.”
  • “Alexa, show me the money.”
  • “Alexa, what’s the first (or second) rule of Fight Club?”
  • “Alexa, surely you can’t be serious.”
  • “Alexa, are you SkyNet?”
  • “Alexa, party time!”
  • “Alexa, open the pod bay doors.”
  • “Alexa, when am I going to die?”
  • “Alexa, what is your quest?”
  • “Alexa, nice to see you, to see you…”
  • “Alexa, don’t mention the war.”
  • “Alexa, this is a dead parrot.”
  • “Alexa, what is your cunning plan?”