So it’s been a few months since we installed our smart devices and hooked them up to our Echo devices. So do we still love our Alexa devices? Are they still working for us as a family? Yes, at least for the most part. There are a few things that have been annoying to deal with but overall it’s been a really good investment. Along with that, there are a few things we’ve learned along the way.

Related: Why This Mama Loves Her Amazon Echo Devices & Why You Will Too

First, let’s talk about anything that has been annoying to deal with. So every few weeks either the Alexa app updates or some of the skills update and some of our smart devices don’t work or need to be re-synced to the Alexa app. This recently happened with our TP-Link smart devices, and it was a pain in the behind to fix. I had to delete the lights from the Alexa app, then rediscover them…which sounds easy until the app couldn’t discover one of the two lights, so I had to rename it and play around with the apps. It was confusing but fixable. The smart switches that seem to go offline the most are the ones connected to the Insignia Connect skill. They were difficult to set up because the instructions weren’t correct, and then after a few weeks or so, some of the switches just disconnected. So it’s not a perfect technology.

I have also found that some of my echo devices are having a harder time understanding my voice commands, even with commands that were no issue before. I’m not sure why that’s happened, but I do know that Amazon has been having some issues with Alexa, like when some people reported having their Echo device start laughing randomly in the middle of the night. We have not had that happen to us, but I would die a little if it did. Out of all the devices we own, I do find that the Amazon Echo Show seems to be the most glitchy of all of them. It will randomly hear us from the other room, but sometimes not if we are standing right in front of it. It confuses our voice commands the most, the last time it tried to call Chris when I was in the other room saying goodbye to him just before work and it took me a good minute to get it to stop. So that was frustrating.

Other than those problems, we still love our echo devices. We use it for all the reasons I list in my other post Why This Mama Loves Her Amazon Echo Devices & Why You Will Too. So don’t forget to check that post out.





There are also a few things that Amazon updated recently that make the whole experience even better.

You can speak to Alexa most naturally by asking it follow up questions without having to repeat her name every time. Just remember that in order to use this feature you have to enable it on the app for each device. Just go to the Alexa App on your phone > Settings > [Device] > Follow Up Mode. Change it from Off to On.

You can now use your devices for handsfree calling and texting to any number in Canada, US, and Mexico if you have an Android phone. [for US users only]

Multiple timers are now available on your devices. So if you’re making dinner and your kiddo is on a timeout, you can set two timers to run simultaneously.

We’ve also learned some other fun stuff that we can use our Amazon devices for.

Okay, some of these are really just for fun or funny, but some are useful.

Voice Commands We Use The Most

Alexa, what’s my flash briefing? (gives you news updates, weather, etc)

Alexa, play top 40 hits

Alexa, play D Park Radio Disney on Tunein

Alexa, play thunderstorm sounds

Alexa, put [insert food item] on the grocery list

Alexa, spell [insert word]

Alexa, what’s traffic like right now?

Alexa, what’s the weather in [insert city]?

Alexa, tell me a joke

Alexa, when is Thanksgiving this year? (or any holiday)

Alexa, play music by [insert artist]

Alexa, create a to-do list

Alexa, what’s [insert degree] Celsius to Fahrenheit?

Alexa set a timer for [insert length of time]

Alexa, good night

Alexa, I’m home

Alexa, open acoustic tuner

Alexa, how many days until Christmas

Fun Stuff to say to Alexa that we love

Alexa, are you evil?

Alexa, am I funny?

Alexa, what size shoe do you wear?

Alexa set phasers to kill

Alexa, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for

Alexa, I am your father

Alexa, do you believe in ghosts?

Alexa, do you want to play a game

Alexa, what is love

Alexa, let’s play 20 questions

Alexa, play Jeopardy

Alexa, give me a fortune

Alexa, play Price is Right

Alexa, can you talk like Yoda?

Alexa, E.T. phone number

Alexa, who can I call?

Alexa, tell me a wizard joke

Alexa, tell me a riddle

Alexa, talk to Pikachu

Do you own an Amazon Echo Device? How do you use it? Let me know below, I love hearing about all the ways you guys use your devices.



