Alexa - what do you use yours for?

Thanks Lucky

Grandmabatty

Slight derail, my Alexa routine I set up to put the light on no longer works. The light will come on to voice activation and if I press the appropriate button but not automatically. Does anyone have any idea what I can do?

There is a help section on the app that I have used once or twice, GBatty.

I tried that Kitty but no luck. I've reinstalled the app so hopefully it'll work tonight. Thanks though

That was my next suggestion. Hope it works.

BlueBelle

I was answering Catterygirls message Kittylester but in answer to your query yes you can just ask it to alarm you at such and such a time and the alarm will go off so yes you can talk to the iPad and it talks back 🤣🤣🤣
I was just interested as I don’t know anyone with an Alexa to ask None of my family or grandkids or friends have one and I wondered what I was missing but I don’t think I am missing much I can listen to music can ask it to find out most things from bus times to addresses, ask it to set an alarm for me listen to stories listen to radio and it’s easily portable in my hand to any room so I cant imagine that I d need anything more unless Alexa can make a cup of coffee 🤣

Same here BluewBelle. Two of our family who are in the telecom business loved it at first- but they have chosen notto use them anymore due to concerns about privacy.

I truly value my independence and silence too (bliss after a teaching career) and would not wish to have Alexa sharing my house. Each to their own and glad to hear some enjoy it.

Sparklefizz

Can you ask Alexa to call you an ambulance if necessary?

You can ask it to call an emergency contact. Odd that there are regulations in place that will not allow it to call 999.

Elowen33

Sparklefizz

Can you ask Alexa to call you an ambulance if necessary?

You can ask it to call an emergency contact. Odd that there are regulations in place that will not allow it to call 999.

People abuse the 999 service enough as it is, it would collapse if you could call on Alexa.

Alexa definitely does listen in, though. I was having a discussion with a tradesman in the room next door to the Alexa when she suddenly joined in the conversation!!! Yikes!

It’s not just Alexa listening. I assume all of you are using a smart phone.
Who was listening before Alexa came into being? Your phone, your tablet 😉

Oh dear!!!! Same here but living happily at age 84. probably will ever have one unless I'm gifted one.

If I've mislaid my phone I ask Alexa to call it. I'm not worried about it listening in, just mundane, everyday life is spoken of in this house. In the Alexa app on your phone you can delete all your conversations.

Listen to Boom radio, set timers for when bread is ready, ask what the weather is going to do etc etc. Also regularly ask if she is spying on me but no definite answer to this one!!

kittylester

I forgot - the grandchildren ask it to fart. This isn't compulsory!

Alexa had to get 'broken' for a time in our house because my grandchildren were also asking it to fart, and it obliged every time!

I bought my Mum one and set it to remind her to take her tablets. We also.linked it to plugs so she could turn lights on and off as well as the TV.
She loved it to help with crosswords...

Temperature and weight conversions
Shopping List
Spotify
BBC Sounds
It’s handy but a bit creepy — there have been occasions when it’s said something weird completely out of the blue. I don’t entirely trust the privacy they claim

Wouldnt be without my Alexa as it is the only way I can get Planet Rock all day.

We have several of them. We use them to play Apple Music on as the speaker is so good. We have smart lights, smart plugs and a Ring door bell. After a burglary when we were actually at home we set up some smart door monitors and they alert us to when the back door is opened. They also tell the person entering that the police have been called. They can be set up to notice changes in temperature to alert you in the event of a fire; they can automatically send a message to your phone.

Most people don't know how to get the best out of their smart devices so they don't look like much other than a convenient timer but there is a lot you can do if you take the time to learn about them.

Alexa can talk you through CPR

It will read kindle books aloud! More expressive than VoiceOver though still artificial.

I have never had one and always resisted the temptation. I live alone and I have a cat, I just feel that talking to a machine is the final step on the road to mad cat lady.

No thank you. I would never have one in the house. They can be subject to security breaches, hacking, putting private data at risk and Amazon collects and stores voice recordings conversations to ‘improve functionality’. So, I’m wary. Yes I do have a smartphone, but I don’t have the microphone switched on.

I use it for Reminders, Shopping Lists, Alarm , Music , Quizzes - most of this you could do on your iPhone I guess. The only advantage is you don’t have to use your hands. You can just talk to it. If you’re half asleep, you can just stay ‘stop Alexa’ and it will stop. No buttons to press.

Yes my grandchildren do the same. Alexa has quite a repertoire 🤪

MiniMoon

If I've mislaid my phone I ask Alexa to call it. I'm not worried about it listening in, just mundane, everyday life is spoken of in this house. In the Alexa app on your phone you can delete all your conversations.

I'm not worried about any of our devices listening in - they'd switch off through boredom fast enough.

What do people talk about that they don't want overheard?

We use Google Home. The most useful thing is that if you put something in a safe place you can tell it to remember where the safe place is. Then when you want the item, you can just ask where it is.