How To Control Smart Lights With Alexa

Alexa is one of the most popular smart home platforms available today due to its wide range of compatible devices and ease of use. Alexa makes it easy to control smart lights from dozens of different brands through the app, through voice, and through other methods.

This guide will walk you through exactly how to set up smart lights with Alexa, how to control them once you’ve set them up, and more. “Alexa, please turn on the lights,” will become a common phrase in your home.

How to Set Up Lights With Alexa

One of the main benefits of Alexa as a platform is how easy it is to add new devices.

How to Add Lights Through Alexa

First, open the Alexa app and tap the Devices tab. If compatible devices have already been set up in your home, Alexa will notify you at the top of a screen with a message like, “3 devices discovered.” If so, tap View to see where new devices can be found.

Some devices, once set up, are automatically added to Alexa. In instances like this, all you have to do is add the devices to a room or group. The good news is that even when devices are not automatically added, they are easy to set up.

Tap the + symbol in the top-right and then tap Add a Device . Scroll through the list until you see the type of device you want to add–in this case, tap Light. You can then scroll through a list of compatible light brands. For example, we will use Philips Hue.

Scroll until you see Philips Hue in the list and tap the name. There are instructions you need to follow before you can set up the Hue lights. These instructions are displayed on screen. After you have done this, tap Discover Devices.

Alexa will look for devices to connect, a process that can take up to 45 seconds. Alexa will tell you when lights are discovered. At this stage, tap Set Up Device. You will then be prompted to add the lights to a group. Tap Choose Group and select which group you want to add the light to, and then tap Add To Group. After this, click Continue and then Done.

After you’ve done this, the lights will be set up and can be controlled through Alexa.

How to Set Up Other Brands

Although every brand of smart lights is set up slightly differently than others, the basic process is the same. First, open the Alexa app, and then tap Devices. Next, tap the + symbol. Tap Add Device and then tap Light.

Choose your light from the brands listed and then follow the on-screen instructions. Most of the time, it will ask you to download the app for that particular brand of lights and set it up. Once you do, return to the Alexa app and tap Discover Devices.

From this point forward, the setup is the same as before. Tap Set Up Device, choose the proper group for the light, and then add it to the group. Once you do this, just click Continue and then Done.

How to Set Up Lights Through Smart Plugs

You don’t have to invest in expensive smart bulbs to benefit from Alexa light control. If you purchase a smart plug , you can make traditional lights “smart.” Here’s how to set it up.

Tap + in the top-right corner and then tap Add Device. Tap Plug, and then scroll through the list and choose the brand of your plug. Once you find it, follow the steps to install it.

How to Control Smart Lights With Alexa

Once you have installed and set up your smart lights, you can control Alexa through several different ways: routines , through the app, and with voice control.

How to Control Smart Lights Through the App

Controlling your smart lights through the app is simple. Open the Alexa app and tap Lights . You will see every available light in your home. You can easily control those lights just by tapping On . That isn’t the only option, though.

From the main Devices screen, you can see every Group set up within the app. If a light is available within a given group, you can tap the representative icon to turn the light on or off. You can also tap the group name to open it and control all the lights or individual ones.

You can also tap More in the bottom-right and then tap Routines. Tap the + in the upper-right to add a new routine. From this screen, enter the new routine name, the conditions for when it triggers, and what happens. These routines make it possible to set specific times when the lights turn on and off, when you come home, and much more.

You can also control your regular lights that are plugged into smart plugs this way. Open the Alexa app and tap Devices, then tap Plugs. You can see every smart plug you have set up and control them individually this way. Just as with smart lights, you can also control your smart plugs through groups, too.

How to Control Smart Lights With Voice

You can say, “Alexa, turn on the lights.” You can also ask Alexa to turn on a specific room, such as “Alexa, turn on living room lights.” If you have a smart plug, give it a specific name like Living Room Plug. Then you can say, “Alexa, turn on Living Room Plug” to power on any connected appliance.

Even if you don’t have an Echo device, you can still use voice controls through the Alexa app itself. Open the app and tap the icon at the top of the screen to give your command.

Smart lights are often one of the first smart devices a person encounters, and certainly one of the easiest to get started with. Just set up a few smart lights and then control through Alexa–the convenience it provides in day to day life is well worth it. Even if you have different brands, once they’re installed, they all control the same.

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However, you may be looking for something in particular. Maybe you want a trivia game about your family, a fairy tale where your child is the star character or a guide to your home and neighborhood for a houseguest.

Well, guess what? You can make your own skill using Alexa blueprints. Here’s how!

Browse Alexa Skill Blueprints

Select a blueprint to view more details and check out examples. This helps you see how the babysitter blueprint can help when you’re away, or the family jokes blueprint can liven up quality time.

If you find one you want, pick Make Your Own on the skill information screen.

Create a Skill

The steps are the same whether you’re creating a skill with a blueprint on the web or on your mobile device. However, those steps may differ depending on the type of blueprint you select.

For instance, you’ll enter different information for a birthday trivia skill compared to one for flashcards, the pet sitter, or bedtime stories. You can see these steps when you select a blueprint to view its details.

To show you just how easy it is, we’ll create one on each device.

Make a Chore Chart Skill on the Web

For this first example, we’ll use the Chore Chart blueprint to create a skill on the website. This skill helps keep track of household chores and who is responsible for each one.

1. Visit the Alexa Blueprints website, sign into your Amazon account, and choose a blueprint.
2. As described above, select Make Your Own directly below the skill name. If you see a short tutorial for building the skill, choose Start Now when you get to the end.
3. Next, you’ll be prompted to replace the details for the skill with your own. For the Chore Chart, we’ll fill in the names of our household members and chores.

1. Select Next on the top right to move to the next step.
2. Here again, you may be asked to enter more details for the skill. For the Chore Chart blueprint, we assign the chores to the household members. Just keep in mind that the number of prompts and requested details depend on the exact skill and blueprint.

1. Select Next to continue.
2. One step that you’ll find in most blueprints is for customizing the experience. This refers to how you interact with Alexa for that particular skill. For instance, you can enter introduction phrases for when someone opens the skill and then other phrases for when someone completes a chore. These are the phrases Alexa uses for that specific skill.

1. Select Next to finish entering the details.
2. The final step in creating a skill is to give it a name. Try to use something meaningful that you’ll remember but also something simple enough for Alexa to recognize.

1. Select Next one last time to create the skill.

After a few moments to process all the information, your skill should be ready to use!

Make a Whose Turn Skill in the Mobile App

For this next example, we’ll use the Whose Turn blueprint to create a skill in the Alexa app. This skill prompts Alexa to choose whose turn it is to do something.

1. Open the Alexa app on Android or iOS and select the More tab.
2. Pick See More in the top section and choose Blueprints .
3. Browse the options by category, just like on the website. Then, select the one you want to use and tap Make Your Own .

1. Replace the details for the skill with your own. For the Whose Turn skill, we’ll add the names for Alexa’s choices.
2. Tap Next on the top right to continue.
3. The next step for the Whose Turn skill is to personalize the experience. This allows you to customize how Alexa picks a name. After you ask a question, Alexa uses the phrases and sound effects you select in this section. Optionally, you can scroll down for additional customization options.
4. Tap Next to name your custom skill.
5. Select the text on the name line to edit it or enter your own. Again, pick a meaningful name and one that’s easy for Alexa to recognize.
6. Tap Next to create the skill.

You’ll see the progress as your skill is created and a confirmation when the process completes. You can tap the X on the top right to exit when you finish reviewing your skill.

Edit Skills You Create

Once you create a skill using Alexa Blueprints, you may want to make adjustments to it. You can do this on the web and in the mobile app too.

Your Skills on the Web

1. Visit the Alexa Blueprints website and sign in. Select Skills You’ve Made at the top.
2. You’ll see a list of your skills. Choose Details to the right to open the one you want to edit.

1. On the right side, select Edit or Delete . You’ll notice you can also pick Share With Others to make it easy for your family or friends to access or Publish to Skills Store for other Alexa users.

Your Skills in the Mobile App

You can edit your custom skills easily in the Alexa mobile app as well.

1. Go to the Menu tab.
2. Select See More > Blueprints .
3. On the Your Skills tab, select the blueprint you want to edit.
4. Use the buttons at the bottom to make your changes.

Take Advantage of Alexa Blueprints

Even though there are many premade skills you can pick from, creating your own Alexa skills gives you great ways to personalize the experience on your Alexa devices, get tasks done, or have a little fun !

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