How to Set up an Amazon Echo with Alexa for the First Time

If you just bought an Amazon Echo, you are likely asking yourself the following question right out of the box: now how do I set it up? The truth is that putting a smart speaker from this firm into operation is very simple but if you have never had experience with them, you may think that you do not know where to start. Well, that’s what we’re here for. We are going to explain step by step how to set up your Echo for the first time .

Amazon’s Echo speakers

They are without a doubt one of the most popular smart devices out there today. Amazon speakers have become one of the first options when it comes to domotizing a home thanks to the good performance they have, all the options it offers and the different prices it looks (allowing it to be whatever your pocket is, you can always to a team from the catalog).

Amazon Echo Plus

All of them move thanks to Alexa, Amazon’s smart assistant and great opponent of Google Assistant -no matter how much Siri has improved, it is still somewhat below these two-, a solution that allows the user to execute a multitude of actions ranging from the simple reminders to play movies or make a video call.

Whatever model you have bought (from the Echo dot that you have on these lines in video to the Echo Show 5 on offer that you have now and that we leave you a little below), which does have everything in common, in addition of Alexa’s voice, it’s her way of getting started. And that is exactly what we are going to review now: how to get an Echo speaker up and running for the first time and what are the steps to follow. Aim.

How to set up an Echo speaker for the first time

As soon as you take your Amazon Echo speaker out of the box, the first thing you will have to do is have its cable and plug for the power outlet at hand. None of the equipment in this family is wireless, so they all need power from a cable (included in the box) to function.

Set up the Amazon Alexa app

Once the next step is turned on, you will have to take it on your smartphone, since you will have to download an application on it (available of course on both Android and iOS) to continue with the configuration:

  1. Go to your terminal’s app store and search for Amazon Alexa .
  2. Hit download and install it on your phone.
  3. When you open it, you will be notified that it requires access to Bluetooth. You accept.
  4. Log in with your Amazon account credentials (you must have one for the process).
  5. You will have to tell Alexa “who you are” and grant the permissions for Alexa to access your contacts (so you can send messages and call them) and receive notifications.
  6. Alexa voice learning will be proposed to you to interact with it. You can skip it and do it later or configure it at that time so that it recognizes you – we recommend the second, it is just a few seconds in which you will have to repeat a few phrases and that’s it.
  7. Everything configured. The main home page of the app will appear on your phone screen.

Amazon Alexa App

Pair your Echo with your Amazon Alexa app

Now is the time to plug your Echo speaker into power. When you do, it will first light up in blue and then in orange. At this moment two things can happen : that your app detects it instantly automatically, appearing a warning message as a card on the screen of your phone, or that you have to “force” the detection manually.

In this second case, the steps you must follow are the following:

  1. Tap on “More” (lower right corner) and then on + Add a device.
  2. Select “Amazon Echo.”
  3. Tap on “Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus and More.”
  4. You will be asked if the Echo is plugged in (now is the time to do it) and if it is in setup mode (the computer will emit an orange light approximately one minute after plugging in, indicating that it is ready for setup).
  5. Your phone will search for the device and should find it in no time.

Amazon Alexa App - Set Up Echo

Once your phone detects the equipment (either in the first way we mentioned or after you look for it) the following steps are common :

  1. Select a Wi-Fi network for your Echo to connect to.
  2. In a matter of seconds, you will see a notice that the Echo has been connected and it will even warn you that you can start using it.
  3. Tap on “Continue.”
  4. Choose the room your Echo is in (it can be a default name or create a custom one if you scroll all the way down).
  5. Add the address where your speaker is located (by default it will appear to choose the one associated with your Amazon account, but you can change it). Touch continue.
  6. Give that location a name and tap “Next.”
  7. You can view (if you want, it is not mandatory or necessary) a video with basic concepts about the specific speaker you have.
  8. Touch continue.
  9. You’ll see a setup complete message which means you can now talk to Alexa and start using your device.
  10. Tap on “Done.”

Amazon Alexa App - Set Up Echo

After these steps, the loudspeaker itself will speak to you, and will suggest that you try some commands so that you begin to familiarize yourself with them. You can also cancel this little training, although we recommend it so that you can start to “let go” with the voice assistant.

From here it is a matter of learning all the possibilities that your Echo offers you, exploring the application and its options. Simply in the home section you have a good amount of suggestions such as:

  • Explore and know the so-called skills
  • Customize Alexa responses
  • Create routines
  • Call your contacts
  • Know other suggestions

Go through them and you will be able to better know all the possibilities that the speaker offers (many of them may not have occurred to you). Here at El Output we have also been teaching you (and we will continue to do so) tricks and tasks to configure on your speaker, so do not hesitate to look for them to get the best possible use of it.