Alexa Settings – What To Change and How?

Table Of Contents

1. How to set up Alexa on your Amazon Echo
2. How to use Alexa
3. How to change your Alexa Settings
   1. Brief Mode
   2. Whisper Mode
   3. Setting your location for weather updates
   4. Linking your music streaming services to Alexa
   5. Enable traffic reports
   6. Configure news services
4. Conclusion

Step 1: Download The Amazon Alexa App

First off, you need to install the Amazon Alexa app on your mobile phone. Amazon Alexa is available on both Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, so you won’t have any problems finding it. While you don’t need to use this app often in the future, it’s essential for the initial setup.

Login to your Alexa App using your Amazon username and password. If you don’t have one, you can create really quickly. Confirm your name and approve authorizations that the app requests.

Step 2: Plug-In Your Echo And Wait For Orange Glowing Light

After getting the required software, you need to plug your Amazon Echo device into a wall outlet. As the device starts receiving power, the light ring on top will first turn blue and then orange after a few seconds. When the initialization process is completed, your Echo device will greet you with a short welcome message.

Step 3: Click Hamburger Menu Icon To Display Alexa Settings Menu

Following the previous step, open the Alexa app that you had downloaded previously. As the app opens, you will see a hamburger menu at the top left corner of the screen, represented by three horizontal lines. Click to expand the settings menu.

Step 4: Select Add Device > Amazon Echo

Choose the option “Add Device“. You will then see a list of different Amazon devices. Select the name of the device you are installing Alexa on. Here, you need to select “Amazon Echo“. 

Step 5: Select Your Echo Model

Next, you’ll need to choose which Echo you’re going to use. Click your model and it will bring you to a page asking if you Echo is plugged in and displaying an orange light. Assuming yours is, click “Yes”. If you don’t see an orange light then click “Don’t see the orange light?” and follow the prompted instructions.

Step 6: Wait For The Alexa App To Locate Your Echo

Next, the application will search for your Echo over your home network. Be patient as it searches and you should she it pop up on the screen. Click it when it pops up and it will prompt you to set it up on your WiFi. If you don’t see it after a couple minutes, click “Don’t see your device?” at the bottom of the screen. In that case, the App will guide you through a quick manual workaround.

Step 7 Connect Your Echo To Your Home WiFi

A screen should now pop up asking you to select the home WiFi you’d like to use for your Echo device. Select the desired network and enter your password.

The completion of the entire setup might take time, depending on the speed of your Wi-Fi connection. When the setup is completed, your Amazon Echo device will be listed online, and the light ring will turn off.

How to Change Your Alexa Settings

After the initial setup, your Echo device is ready to respond to your commands. Alexa has numerous settings that you can tap into to make your device more useful. The following paragraphs will show you how to change your Alexa settings. You can find all of these settings by tapping the hamburger menu and then “Settings” in the Alexa app. It’s important for you to explore all these settings for configuring Alexa, according to your needs.

Note: Other Settings for Alexa can be found in the “Routines” and “Skills” options.

How to Turn on Alexa Brief Mode 

If you want short and concise answers, then you should consider using the “Brief Mode.” This setting enables Alexa to give shorter replies. Sometimes, it will just play a sound to signal that it has heard your request.

To enable the Brief Mode, follow these steps:

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
2. Search for the hamburger icon at the top left corner of your screen and tap it.
3. Choose the Settings option and then select Account Settings.
4. Tap Alexa Voice Responses and then toggle Brief Mode on.

How to Set Your Location For Weather Updates In Alexa Settings

Setting the weather forecast updates in Alexa should be already enabled, but it’s important to make sure your device location is set properly. The following steps will walk you through setting your Echo’s location.

1. Open the drop-down menu by selecting the hamburger icon at the top left of the home screen in your Alexa App.
2. Select “Settings“, then “Device Settings“.
3. Select your “Alexa Device“, then “Device Location.” 
4. Enter your address and press “Save“
5. Once the configuration completes, just say, “Alexa, weather update” or “Alexa, how’s the weather?”

How to Link to Your Preferred Music Service Account on Alexa

Alexa also allows you to link your preferred music service account to your Echo speaker. Just follow these tips to activate this setting:

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
2. Look for the hamburger icon at the top left corner of your screen and tap it.
3. Choose the Settings option and then select Music.
4. See if you can see your preferred music service under Manage Services. If you do, tap its option, select Link Account and follow linking instructions the app tells you.
5. If you can’t see your service, choose Link New service and then choose the service name you listen to, such as Apple Music, or SiriusXM, etc. After that, tap Enable To Use and follow linking instructions the app tells you.

How to Enable Traffic Reports on Alexa

Enabling traffic reports on your Alexa is relatively straightforward since there is a ‘Traffic’ entry in the settings menu. Just follow the steps below to configure traffic updates:

1. First off, navigate to the Settings of your Echo device and choose Traffic.
2. In the Traffic menu, the “From” section is pre-populated with the mailing address set to your Amazon account. If it is not, or if you want to use a different address, you can choose “Change address” and then edit it.
3. Next, choose “Add address” and enter your destination in the “To” section. If you make stops during your trip, you can select the “Add stop” box to include additional stops on your route. 
4. Once the configuration completes, just say, “Alexa, traffic update.” The device will indicate the fastest route to your destination, along with the estimated commute time. Furthermore, the device will also update alternative routes and route information and as a notification in your phone’s Alexa app.

How to Configure Your News Sources on Alexa

You can get your dose of daily news by enabling Alexa Flash Briefings in your Echo device. However, you can customize which news sources you prefer to hear from in Alexa flash briefing. For that, follow these steps:

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
2. Search for the hamburger icon at the top left corner of your screen and tap it.
3. Choose the Settings option and scroll down to select Flash Briefing
4. Select Add Content and choose a flash briefing. If you don’t find your preferred source, you can search for it by tapping the magnifying glass displayed on the top right corner of the screen.
5. Choose the Enable To Use to start the news update service.
6. Repeat the steps 4 and 5 to add all your preferred flash briefings.
7. To get updates on news, just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.” After hearing this command, Alexa will play your entire flash briefings one after the other.