Alexa For Dummies

Alexa For Dummies

by Paul McFedries
Released January 2019
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119565864

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Book description

Upgrade your Echo expertise with this Dummies guide to all things Alexa

Amazon's hugely popular family of Echo devices has made Alexa a household name. She can answer your questions, entertain you, and even help around the house. Alexa for Dummies is the perfect guide for Alexa users who want to get up and running with their Echo devices. From basic setup to making the most of Alexa’s powerful smart home capabilities, this is your one-stop resource to all things Alexa. 

Whether you’ll use Alexa to send text messages, play music, control your thermostat, look up recipes, replenish your pantry, or just search the internet for information, you’ll find detailed instructions in this fun and easy-to-understand guide.

  • Set up and personalize your Alexa device with an Amazon account and custom settings, including your preferred Alexa voice
  • Use Alexa to play music throughout your home, stream videos online, and meet all your entertainment needs
  • Unlock the power of advanced features like Alexa Skills and make your Alexa accessible
  • Turn your ordinary house into a modern smart home with advanced smart home features and Echo accessories
The virtual assistant you've dreamed of is now a reality with your favorite Echo device. Let Alexa For Dummies make your wish Alexa's command.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  3. Part 1: Getting Started with Alexa
    1. Chapter 1: Getting to Know Alexa
      1. What Is This Alexa That Everyone’s Talking About (Or, Really, To)?
      2. Where Do You Get Alexa?
      3. Figuring Out Which Alexa Device You Need
      4. Learning What Alexa Can Do
    2. Chapter 2: Setting Up Alexa and Your Devices
      1. Installing the Alexa App
      2. Alexa Feng Shui: Positioning Your Alexa Device
      3. Adding Your Alexa Device
      4. Personalizing Your Alexa Device
      5. Connecting External Speakers to Your Alexa Device
    3. Chapter 3: Learning Alexa Basics
      1. Getting to Know Your Echo
      2. Getting to Know Alexa
      3. Some Useful Alexa Commands
  4. Part 2: Having Fun with Alexa
    1. Chapter 4: Playing Media
      1. Listening to Music on Alexa
      2. Listening to Other Audio Sources on Alexa
      3. Streaming Mobile Device Audio through Alexa
      4. Watching Video on Alexa
      5. Taking Photos with Alexa
    2. Chapter 5: Communicating with Alexa
      1. Managing Your Alexa Contacts List
      2. Exchanging Text Messages
      3. Making Voice or Video Calls
      4. Dropping In on Other Alexa Users
      5. Using Your Alexa Device as an Intercom
    3. Chapter 6: Using Alexa at Home
      1. A Quick Word about Household Profiles
      2. Shopping with Alexa
      3. Creating Lists
      4. Getting the Information You Need
      5. Letting Alexa Manage Your Calendar
      6. Setting Alexa Alerts
      7. Putting Alexa in Do Not Disturb Mode
  5. Part 3: Getting More out of Your Relationship with Alexa
    1. Chapter 7: Asking Alexa Questions
      1. Searching for Nearby Places
      2. Asking for Financial Info
      3. Getting Symptoms and Other Medical Facts
      4. Asking Alexa to Do the Math
      5. Converting Units
      6. Getting Science Answers
      7. Quizzing Alexa about the Culture
      8. Bugging Alexa about Books
      9. Asking Linguistic Questions
      10. Asking Questions about Companies
      11. Asking about Dates and Times
      12. For Everything Else: Querying Wikipedia
    2. Chapter 8: Adding Skills to Alexa
      1. Understanding What a Skill Is
      2. Checking Out Amazon’s Alexa Skills Department
      3. Enabling a Skill
      4. Working with Skills
      5. Thirty Cool Alexa Skills to Try
      6. Building Your Own Skill
    3. Chapter 9: Making Alexa Accessible
      1. Controlling Alexa If You Have a Speech Impairment
      2. Checking Out Alexa’s Features for the Hearing Impaired
      3. Enabling Alexa’s Features for the Vision Impaired
  6. Part 4: Controlling Your Smart Home
    1. Chapter 10: Setting Up Your Smart Home
      1. What’s So Smart about a Smart Home?
      2. Setting Up Your Smart-Home Devices
      3. Managing Smart-Home Devices
      4. Working with Smart-Home Devices
    2. Chapter 11: Uncovering Some Smarter Smart-Home Techniques
      1. Creating Device Groups
      2. Alexa in Stereo: Working with Speaker Sets
      3. Streaming Music to Multiple Rooms
      4. Automating Alexa with Routines
      5. Working with IFTTT Applets
  7. Part 5: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 12: Ten (Times Ten) Ridiculously Fun Alexa Tricks
      1. Ten Ways to Ask Alexa to Tell a Joke
      2. Ten Alexa Wordplay Tricks
      3. Ten Ways to Get Alexa to Sing
      4. Ten Oddball Things to Ask Alexa to Do
      5. Ten Funny Questions to Ask Alexa
      6. Ten Ways to Get Alexa to Tell a Story
      7. Ten Ways to Get Personal with Alexa
      8. Ten Movie Easter Eggs
      9. Ten TV Easter Eggs
      10. Ten Music Easter Eggs
    2. Chapter 13: Ten Things That Can Go Wrong with Alexa (And How to Fix Them)
      1. Troubleshooting 101
      2. Alexa or Your Echo Device is Unresponsive
      3. Your Echo Device Isn’t Using the Latest Software
      4. You Can’t Connect to Your Wi-Fi Network
      5. You’re Having Trouble Streaming Media
      6. You’re Having Trouble Connecting a Bluetooth Device
      7. You Ordered Something Accidentally
      8. Alexa Doesn’t Understand Your Commands
      9. You’re Having Trouble Making Calls
      10. You Changed Your Wi-Fi Network Password
      11. A Smart-Home Device Doesn’t Work Properly
    3. Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Beef Up Alexa Security and Privacy
      1. Make Sure Your Wi-Fi Network Is Locked Up Tight
      2. Change Alexa’s Wake Word
      3. Stop Alexa from Listening (And Watching)
      4. Trash Sensitive Alexa Recordings
      5. Configure Alexa Not to Use Your Personal Data
      6. Shut Down Alexa’s Communications
      7. Secure Your Amazon Account
      8. Delete Your Saved Wi-Fi Passwords
      9. Revoke a Skill’s Permissions
      10. Deregister Your Alexa Device
  8. Index
  9. About the Author
  10. Advertisement Page
  11. Connect with Dummies
  12. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Alexa For Dummies
  • Author(s): Paul McFedries
  • Release date: January 2019
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119565864