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Showing posts from January, 2021

9 Alexa tips for music lovers

  Simple as it may be, streaming   music   is one of   Alexa's   key features, largely because it does it so well. Alexa removes a lot of the friction that used to exist when trying to play music throughout your home. You no longer have pull out a phone, connect the phone to the speaker, look up the music and play. Now you just say what you want to listen to and it plays. If, like me, you're a music lover and can't imagine going back to the dark ages of music streaming, below are nine music tips and tricks for your Alexa speaker. Change the default music service If you use anything other than  Amazon 's in-house streaming services, you should take a few seconds to  change the default music streaming service . To do this, go to  alexa.amazon.com  or open the Alexa app on your  iPhone  ( $900 at Boost Mobile )  or Android device. Then go to  Settings > Music & Media > Choose Default Music Service . Under  Default music library  select Spotify or, for radio, sele

Spotify Connect now plays on Raumfeld devices

  Internet-savvy audiophiles and those who enjoy listening to music on the go are long familiar with the streaming service Spotify. Spotify offers an exceptionally large and diverse music catalogue including major labels like Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal along with lesser-known artists. On top of this incredible selection, Spotify offers many handy and fun features that allow users to share their favourite songs, make playlists, and discover new artists. The Spotify App is also an incredibly well-designed and user-friendly interface that provides easy access to the service from any iOS or Android mobile device. For instance, Spotify users can create public playlists, share these on social media or tell their friends what they’ve just listened to. Many artists also share their personal favourites on Spotify. Spotify makes it easy to discover who else is listening to your favourite song and what other music they like, music you may enjoy as well. Starting now, all  Raumfe

Spotify now works with Amazon Alexa on Echo devices

  Music streaming service Spotify on Friday said its premium and free tier users in India can now enjoy music and podcasts on Amazon Echo devices. Users will be able to request music by artist, album, track, genre, curated and personal playlists, as well as podcasts from their Spotify accounts by giving requests to Alexa in English, Hindi or even "Hinglish". Spotify free is an ad-supported service in India and gives users access to over 50 million songs. On the Alexa app, users need to go to "Settings," select "Music," click "Link New Service," and then tap " Spotify " to input your Spotify username and password. One can select "Default Services" to set Spotify as your default music service. When you sign up, Spotify asks you about the artists you love, and delivers curated playlists that match your musical taste and personalised playlists like "Daily Mix". These new playlists are easily accessible with Alexa and are

Why is Alexa not responding to my voice commands?

  Amazon’s Alexa has become a must to have device in a house. The voice command feature that it came up with has certainly evolved the whole smart technology market. My children really enjoy giving commands to Alexa and changing the thermostat temperatures according to their need. But, once I got to have an issue with Alexa and it stopped responding to the voice commands. I really got irritated but I had to fix this for using it further and so I researched on various forums and websites to get a well-researched answer. So, why is Alexa not responding to voice commands? There could be several reasons for Alexa not responding to voice commands but the most common of them are disabled Alexa privacy and microphone button is OFF. However, there are several other reasons and therefore several other ways to fix “not responding to voice problem”. Let dive in deeper and know each and every way to fix this problem ourselves. Some basic troubleshooting tips The below tips are the precautionary m

Now you can listen to podcasts from Apple, Spotify on your Amazon Echo smart speaker

 E arlier this year Apple and Amazon collaborated to bring Apple Music to Amazon's Echo range of smart speakers. And now, the two companies have collaborated once again to bring podcasts from Apple's Podcasts to Amazon's Echo range of smart speakers.Sometimes Echo Do not respond To our voice In a blog post, Amazon announced that now Alexa users will be able to listen to more than 800,000 podcasts through Apple Podcasts on their Alexa-enabled devices. Not only that, if Alexa users like their Apple ID with their Amazon account in their Alexa apps they will also be able to pick up the podcasts from right where they left them on the Apple Podcasts app or their Alexa-enabled smart speakers. This in turn would allow them to hear a podcast that they were listening on their iPhone while communting on their smart speaker when they return home. Prior to this Apple's Podcasts were available on its HomePods, which was also one of the selling points of the device. Now, Apple is sl

I'm Having A Lot of Drop-Outs; Sometimes, it's Alexa and Sometimes it's a Smart Device. What Now?

  The more devices you add to a network, the more robust that network needs to be.  All routers have limits to the number of devices they can control. Combined modem/routers are often not robust enough to handle the demands of a Smart Home, as well as all of the PCs, phones, and tablets fighting for bandwidth.  This is especially true if you are still using the equipment your ISP provided you with five years ago.   Your router may randomly begin to drop devices when too many things try to connect at once.  And it will generally drop the one it senses is not actively using the connection . It may not pick those devices back up when other, more demanding devices cease their bandwidth hogging.  When you reboot the router, it now has bits and bytes for your smart Device again, and connectivity is restored. (This is way over-simplified, for purposes of this discussion. Sometimes, upgrading your equipment can put an end to random device dropping.  If you have a combined router/modem, you ca

Alexa Says a Device is Not Responding, but She Controls it Just Fine?

  Be aware that sometimes Alexa reports a device is not responding when it really is. Sometimes, Alexa doesn't realize she actually did what you told her to, and fallaciously reports she's having issues.  Other times, she seems to think she completed a command, but nothing happens.  In other words, Alexa is not always a reliable reporter.  Don't always believe Alexa when she says a device is not responding.   I have this annoying issue with Alexa, my TV, and my Harmony Hub. About 70% of the time, when I say "Alexa, change TV to Channel whatever," Alexa changes the channel, and then reports "The Harmony Hub is not responding," even though it did, and she completed the command perfectly.   Other times, I ask Alexa to issue a Harmony Hub command, and she says "Okay," but nothing happens.  And I have to reissue the command to have Alexa perform the action I want. Alexa is particularly unreliable when it comes to my Harmony Hub and realizing if

Troubleshooting Your Alexa-Connected Smart Devices: General Guidelines

  EVERY Alexa-Compatible Smart Device will most likely glitch at some point in time.  Just because a device responded to voice commands a minute ago does not mean it will the next time you ask.  But there are some general steps to follow for troubleshooting any Alexa controlled Smart device The second thing to do is to check your network.  Some devices will work with local Wi-Fi only; other devices turn into Dumb Devices whenever the Internet goes down.  And Alexa depends on Internet connectivity to control most things.  Many outside factors can cause temporary Wi-Fi interference, causing Alexa control to temporarily fail.  That is why the first thing to do is wait 30 seconds, and then issue the voice command again.  It may work on the 2nd or 3rd try with no further tinkering on your part.  If you think the issue has anything to do with your Internet connection, ask "Alexa, are you connected to the Internet?" If she replies negatively, you know you need to either reboot A

Alexa Says my Smart Outlet is Not Responding. What Do I Do?

  Smart Outlets can be finicky.  Of all Smart Devices, Smart Outlets seem to have a great variance in capabilities.  Some generic Smart Outlets are just junk.  If you are having connectivity issues with a no-name Smart Outlet, it may very well be because you get what you pay for.  Often, these generic outlets claim compatibility with a few different Smart Control apps, and trying to pair the device with a different control app may solve your connectivity issues.  But unfortunately, many of the no-name plugs are just garbage and are not worth the money.  If a no-name plug keeps dropping wi-fi, and you do not like to constantly troubleshoot, it may be time to invest in a better Smart Plug.  Sometimes, the best thing to do is to replace the cheapie with a   Wemo   or  TP-Link . However, quality Smart Plugs can also glitch.  The minis seem to be more prone to dropping out than their larger compadres.  If a mini is constantly dropping wi-fi, you may need to move it closer to your router

Alexa Says "Your Hue Lights Are Not Responding." What Do I Do?

  Last week, I was working away when dusk began to fall. So I asked Alexa to "Turn on Star," and she responded "Your Hue Lights are not responding."  I asked again, to no avail.  Next, I reached for my smartphone, opened the Hue App, and turned on my light that way.  When the light successfully came on, I asked Alexa to turn it off. She again told me "Your Hue Lights are not responding( Alexa not responding )." My Hue and my Echo had stopped communicating with each other. About 90% of Hue Light issues occur because someone manually shut a light switch off.  So if you ask Alexa to turn on a light, and she responds "Okay" but the light does not come on, try manually switching it on and off until the light illuminates.  Sometimes, manually cycling the light is the only thing you need to do to restore voice control.   However, Star is a hanging lamp, with the on/off switch physically located behind a heavy piece of furniture. My whole reason for

9 Common Amazon Echo Problems and how to fix them quickly:

  The  Amazon Echo speake r range is hugely popular, with many houses having multiple speakers now. Although our experiences with the Alexa-enabled devices have been pain-free thus far, here are some of the Amazon Echo problems you may experience, complete with suggestions for how to resolve them. 1-The Wi-fi Connection Is Inconsistent or non-existent Echo’s connectivity status is indicated by the power LED on the bottom rear of the device, with white meaning good and orange denoting no Wi-Fi connectivity. If you’re experiencing intermittent connectivity or non-existent Wi-Fi connectivity with your Amazon Echo, here’s what to try. First, follow the usual drill: reboot your router and turn your Echo off and on again. If that doesn’t help and everything else on the network is working well, you might want to think about repositioning your Echo away from devices that may be interfering with the signal. You can also reduce the congestion on your Wi-Fi network by removing unused