Smart technology is more advanced than ever, and voice assistants leading the charge are conveniences like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistants.
Many people are aware of the basic functions that smart home hubs provide, but sometimes their knowledge doesn’t extend beyond simple commands.
The truth is, Amazon Alexa is a surprisingly advanced smart home controller that can really take your tech to the next level. One of the best ways to take advantage of this technology is by using a feature called Processes.
Smart devices are certainly useful on their own, but to have a truly smart home, you really need the technology to work together.
The Amazon Alexa workflow is a great way to do this, allowing you to control multiple devices through your Amazon Echo device with a single command.
Create a Process in Alexa
There are several steps to take to get the Process up and running, but it’s not as complicated as you might think. We’ve outlined the steps below to get you up and running with your smart technology.
Step 1. If you haven’t already, navigate to the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android). This guide will follow the steps on an iPhone, but the process should be the same on any Android device.
Step 2. If this is your first time using the Alexa app, create and/or sign in to your Amazon account. There’s a short setup process where you’ll link the app to your Echo device, but the process is pretty straightforward and straightforward.
Step 3. In the Alexa app, tap the sidebar at the top left of the screen to expand the app options.
Step 4. Knock on Habit.
Step 5. Knock on Create process.
Step 6. Alexa processes are conditional triggers. This means that the system is divided into two separate parts: The event that will start the process and the Alexa response. Let’s get started by clicking When this happens. This is very similar to How does IFTTT work?which I wrote about earlier.
Step 7. The next screen gives you several options for events. For smart home devices, you will obviously choose Device. However, there are many different smart devices that integrate with Amazon Alexa.
In the interest of providing a guide that everyone can follow, we’ll hit Schedule for now. As long as your device works with Amazon Alexa and you’ve connected it to your Echo, the process creation will work similarly.
Step 8. There are two options on the next screen, Time setting and Say again. Choose how long you want the trigger to fire, as well as how often you want the trigger to repeat. We’re set to repeat every Wednesday at 12:05pm.
Step 9. This is where you will choose what happens. Knock on More action.
Step 10. The next screen gives you a bunch of options to choose from. Let Alexa say something on the date and time we chose by tapping Alexa said.
Step 11. Alexa isn’t exactly the most skilled comedian, but let her tell us a joke anyway.
Step 12. Clap add to create the first part of your Alexa Process.
Step 13. The next screen will show you the options that you have selected. Part of the appeal of Alexa processes is their ability to combine more than one action. Let’s add another dimension to our process by tapping More action.
At this point, you’ll also want to select the device you want to prank on, which is important to keep in mind if you have multiple Echo devices.
Step 14. Please choose Notify so we can also get reminders on our phones.
Step 15. Select the text you want in the notification and press Next.
Step 16. If the confirmation on the next screen looks correct, press add to end the last part of your routine.
Step 17. This will return you to a summary display of how you’ve structured your conditional triggers. If everything is correct, press Create to finish your first Process!
Step 18. On the main Alexa page, you should now see your Processes. The blue arrow to the right of your workflow will let you edit your work, with options like changing the frequency or even deleting it entirely.
The button in the top right corner functions as a shortcut to start creating your next habit.
Feel free to experiment with the different options Alexa Routines has to offer. The flow we create isn’t really that useful and is really just to give you an understanding of how the creation process works. Where the Processes feature really shines is in your ability to connect different devices.
With Amazon Alexa-compatible devices, you can do things like turn on the lights and adjust the temperature when you say “Alexa Good Morning,” or dim the lights and put on some relaxing music for a while. certain spots so you can relax when you get home. from work.
There are other smarts home automation services like IFTTT and Stringify are a bit more complex and provide a lot of convenience for devices that don’t work with Echo.
However, Alexa Routines is a great choice for beginners to make their smart devices work together for a smarter and more convenient home. Interesting!
