See also "Using Blueprints" that appear on the "Routines" page.
If you have 'smart devices' like wall plugs or lamps you can get Alexa to control them with your voice.
First you need to set up the appropriate SKILL using the Alexa App.
1. Start by using another App, like SMART LIFE, to name and register your device(s) on your home network.
2. After that you grant permissions for Alexa to use your device(s).
Example.
1.1. Plug in a WiFi pass through smart wall plug to power your television [or other device]
1.2. Use Smart Life App [or similar] to give the smart plug a name {e.g. television} and connect it to your WiFi network
2. 1. Use Alexa to connect with Smart Life [or similar App] over your Wifi network
2.2. Give Alexa permission to use the television device that is listed as being connected to your home network
You can now say "Alexa, turn the television on" or "Alexa, turn the television off" and your televison [or other device] will power on / off without touching any physical buttons or remote controls.
In addition to wall socket 'smart devices' [outlined above] you can also get light bulbs and / or light switches that can be introduced to your WiFi network. In these cases you can give the device a name, say 'lamp', and then as well as saying "Alexa, turn the lamp on" or "Alexa, turn the lamp off" you can now say "Alexa, turn the lamp up" or "Alexa, turn the lamp down" and it's brightness will adjust in small increments. You can also set the brightness to a specific level by saying something like "Alexa, turn the lamp to 70 percent"
Amazon tells you how ...
Ask Alexa to dim your living room lights or set the bedroom temperature.
All you need to do is enable the manufacturer’s skill and connect your compatible smart home device in the Alexa App.
STEP 1
Visit the Alexa Smart Home Store to choose from thousands of Alexa-compatible smart home devices, including lights, plugs, thermostats and more.
STEP 2
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set up your smart home device.
STEP 3
Enable related smart home skills – in the Alexa App or via the Alexa Skills Store – and connect your device.
Once set up, you can manage your devices in the Smart Home section of your Alexa App or just ask:
Lights
Alexa, dim the dining room lights to 20%
Alexa, turn on the hallway light
Plugs
Alexa, turn off the Christmas tree
Thermostats
Alexa, set the bedroom to 20 degrees
Alexa, what's the temperature in the living room ?
TIP:
With Smart Home Groups, you can control multiple smart home devices at once via simple commands like "Alexa, turn on [group name]".
Open your Alexa App and go to the Devices icon in the bottom right hand corner > tap the + sign in the top right corner > “Add Group”. Then, just ask:
Alexa, turn on the living room
You can use the Alexa to connect to existing services, known as Skills, by selecting from a list provided in the Alexa App.
There are many Skills readily available [which you can browse in the Alexa App] - for example you can enable the BBC skill that can be found under the 'Skill & Games' menu > 'Categories' > 'Music & Audio'
Once a skill is enabled it appears under 'Your Skills' and in the case of the BBC you can listen to all of your favourite shows.
Try saying "Alexa, open the BBC" and you will get an audible response asking you to select the station or podcast that you want to listen to.
You can also cut corners and go straight to a favourite station by including it's name in your command "Alexa, play BBC Radio 1"
or listen to most recent podcast episode of a show like The Archers by saying "Alexa, play the Archers podcast on the BBC"
To find out what Alexa Skills you’ve already enabled, just ask, "Alexa, what are my skills?"
Discover and enable thousands of skills in the Alexa Skills Store
Just ask:
Alexa, find my phone
Alexa, tell me a bedtime story
Alexa, compliment me
Before bed, you should really think about easing your mind from all of the day's stresses you've encountered. Meditation is a great form of stress and anxiety relief that can help you relax and calm your thoughts enough to lull you into sleep.
Your Amazon Echo has guided meditation built-in, so all you have to say is "Alexa, open Guided Meditation." There's a meditation of the day, so you'll always have a new one to follow along with.
Make sure you're in a cosy spot during meditation.
If you easily fall asleep when it's raining outside, then you'll love this one. It puts me right to sleep. Just say, "Alexa, play rain sounds" and your Echo will immediately conjure up the sound of a shower.
It'll continue playing until you tell Alexa to stop. But if you don't want rain sounds playing all night, you can always create a routine to make it stop at a specified time. When you're creating the action, select Device Settings and tap Stop Audio.
Read more: The secret to better sleep: White, pink, blue and brown noise | 11 meditation apps to reduce stress and help you sleep
If you want to fall asleep to a different sound every night, this is a good skill to use. It has over 125 sounds to choose from, including thunderstorms, ocean sounds and crickets. When you're ready for a snooze, just say "Alexa, tell Sleep Sounds to play thunderstorms" or whatever sound you want to hear. You can set a sleep timer so it won't play all night by saying "Alexa, set a sleep timer for three hours."
To download it, open the Alexa app, go to your Skills section and type "sleep" in the search bar. Scroll until you see the Sleep and Relaxation Sounds skill (it has the highest reviews). Select it and tap Enable to use.
Not everyone can sleep in a pitch-black room and a TV can be distracting when you're trying to snooze. If all you need is a little light, then put your Echo's ring light to use. Just say "Alexa, open night light" and the top of your Echo will start glowing and pulsing.
This is especially useful if you find yourself needing to get out of bed at night because it offers just the right amount of light. When you're ready to turn the night light off, just say "Alexa, stop."
If you're feeling sick but not sure if it's worth a trip to the doctor, try getting diagnosed by Dr. A.I, an Alexa skill by HealthTap.
Dr. A.I. was trained by over 107,000 doctors with 141 specialties.
Once you tell it about the symptoms you're experiencing, it'll try to find possible medical explanations personalised to your age, gender, medications and more. After the diagnosis, the bot will offer to connect you to an actual doctor.
To enable, open the Alexa app > Menu > Skills & Games > search for Dr. A.I. > tap Enable to Use.
There's an option to create an account with HealthTap when you log in via the Alexa app, but it's not necessary.
After you're all set up, just say "Alexa, open Dr. A.I."
Note this isn't a real doctor and if your condition persists, you should visit your local health care provider.
Click here for a comprehensive list from CNET that is updated periodically. Check out the one called "Skill Finder" - neat !