Amazon’s Alexa has been a fixture in my house since it arrived on the scene a decade ago. Over time, Alexa devices have multiplied to the point where we have one in every room of the house (and yes, that includes the bathrooms).
We use them for lists, timers, and alarms, among other things. We also use them to control our smart home devices. Most, but not all, of our lights are controlled by Alexa. So is our thermostat.
Also: 5 Echo Show settings to change to make your smart display less annoying
In this article, I’m going to show you how you can string together Alexa smart-home commands into sequences called “routines.” Then, I’ll show you five that are particularly helpful in my home.
How to create a routine
Everything I will show you is controlled by the Alexa app on your phone. I’m using an iPhone, but the Alexa app is virtually identical on Android devices.
So, go ahead and launch the Alexa app. Then press the little More button at the lower right of the screen (shown at 1), and then the Routines button in the middle of the screen (shown at 2).
This will take you to the main Routines screen. Amazon provides a number of sample routines on the Gallery tab, any routines you’ve defined in Your Routines, and a log of activity in the Activity tab.
For now, though, let’s just focus on adding a sample routine. Press the + button. This will present you with the routine editor, which also shows you how routines work.
Notice that there are two sections, “When” and “Alexa Will.” “When” controls the triggers, which are the phrases or events Alexa watches for in order to initiate a routine. These can include voice commands, some information coming into a sensor, and time-triggered events.
“Alexa Will” manages the action or sequence of actions Alexa will take when a given trigger has been triggered. These can include smart home device controls, having Alexa say something, or a whole array of other activities.
For our first routine, we’ll build a simple call-and-response action. In New Routine, press the + icon next to Add an event. You’ll get the trigger list shown above. We’ll use a Voice trigger, so tap the Voice icon. You’ll see this screen:
Go ahead and type in Jump, and press Next.
Also: 16 incredibly useful things Alexa can do on Amazon Echo
As you can see, the routine will run when you tell Alexa “jump.”
Now, press the + icon next to Add an action. This time you’ll see the action list shown above. You’ll want to hit Alexa Says so you can specify what you want Alexa to do. Alexa has a bunch of standard replies, but we want a custom one. Tap Customized.
Type in “How high?” and tap Next.
Your routine is done. Hit save.
Give the Alexa system a few minutes to process in the new routine. Now, when you say, “Alexa, jump,” she’ll ask you “How high?”
Can’t you just feel the power?
My 5 favorite Alexa routines
I have a whole bunch of routines defined. Here’s the beginning of my list.
Let’s look at a few of my favorites.
1. Hallway motion light
This routine turns on a Govee Lyra light stick<!–> if the Hue motion sensor–> senses motion in the hallway.
Here’s an entire article on how that system was set up: How to set up motion-triggered smart lights as an Alexa routine.
2. Begin night mode
This is another favorite. All I have to do is say “Alexa, begin night mode” and she shuts off or dims a number of our living room lights.
3. Every Day, at 8:30 AM
This one operates entirely on its own. Every morning, it turns off the Lyra, as well as a couple of lights in a room we call the Dave Cave. Those lights aren’t necessarily going to be on, but this routine sweeps through and turns them off, just in case I forgot to during the night.
Alexa keeps this listed as “New Routine” in the editor, and names it based on the time.
4. Status report
This next routine is a big one. What it does is verbalize whatever data is retrievable from Alexa. In my case, that’s the various alarm and timer settings, as well as the temperature settings in various parts of the house.
5. Reset lights
Last, but certainly not least, is the reset lights routine. The main lights in our family room are called “Up lights.” Every so often, when we say something like, “Alexa, set up lights to 20%,” Alexa sets every light in the house to 20%. She hears “up lights” as “all lights.”
This is inconvenient. So we have a routine that sets all lights back up to 100% (except the Busy Light, which is nice at about 60%), and then goes all through the house, turning everything back off.
Also: Red means don’t bother me! How Alexa helped to create our work-from-home busy light
It’s an annoying routine to need, but it beats having to give Alexa 30 or so individual instructions to reset everything.
What routines do you use?
So there you go. Are you just beginning with routines or do you have a bunch already in use? What routines do you use? Let us know in the comments below.
You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter, and follow me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
–>
