How To Set Up Echo Buttons

Amazon's Bluetooth Echo Buttons arrived every bit a cheap, niche Alexa gadget back in 2022.

Available in a two-pack on Amazon for $xx, the Buttons hope to serve as buzzers during Alexa-hosted trivia games, as well as other novelty use cases. Fun and kid-friendly, perhaps, but also far from essential to the Alexa feel.

Maybe that's why those buttons got an upgrade this year that lets them trigger your Alexa Routines. One of Alexa'due south about useful features, Routines let the AI assistant perform multiple, pre-programmed actions at once. For example, a single Routine could turn off all of the smart lights in your domicile, adjust the thermostat to a overnice sleeping temperature, and lock the smart lock on your front door, too. You lot could trigger it by proverb, "Alexa, goodnight" -- or, at present, just past pressing on an Echo Button.

I know, I know -- buttons might feel a bit prehistoric in your fancy, futuristic, voice-controlled smart dwelling house. Later all, wasn't Alexa's voice-first interface supposed to fix our fingers complimentary? Wasn't the Repeat supposed to exist a Star Trek calculator for our homes?

Well, sure, merely they still had buttons on the bridge of Starship Enterprise.

Why get an Echo Button?

Phonation controls are neat, but they aren't always the right fit for the job at hand.

Say you're upwards belatedly reading a book in bed with your partner snoring beside you. You could ask Alexa to turn the lights off, sure, simply that'd wake them up. Wouldn't a dedicated lights-off button at your bedside be the better approach? And, since these are designed to be child-friendly, why not give Junior a magic button for the lights likewise, or even one that triggers 1 of Alexa's awful jokes with every tap?

Whatever y'all determine to trigger, here's how to get started:

Press and hold your Echo Button until information technology glows orange. And then, simply inquire Alexa to prepare the thing up.
Ry Crist/CNET

Pair your Echo Buttons with Alexa

Setting Echo Buttons up is really easy. Each i comes with two AAA batteries -- you'll insert those, and then hold the button downwardly until it glows orange, which ways it's in pairing fashion. Making certain you're shut to the Repeat speaker yous desire to pair it with, ask Alexa to "Set up my Repeat Push." She'll detect and pair with it within seconds.

The only thing to be aware of is that Amazon locks the batteries in with a very small screw to keep things kid-safe, then y'all'll demand a small-scale-size Philips head screwdriver to open it up.

echo-button-alexa-routine-trigger — Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

Make your Button a trigger

Open up the Alexa app on your Android or iOS device and tap the options icon in the upper-left corner. Tap "Routines" to get to the Routine-edifice interface, then tap the little plus sign icon in the upper right corner. Tap "When this happens," then select "Echo Push." From there, y'all'll printing the Echo Button itself to pair information technology with the Routine.

Create your Routine

Now that you've selected your Repeat Button as the trigger for your Routine, it's time to become creative and decide what your Routine will actually exercise.

To do so, tap "Add action" to see your options. Amazon gives you a lot of them, so here'southward a quick rundown (and again, keep in listen that a single Routine tin can incorporate multiple actions from this list):

Alexa Routines offer lots of options.

Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET

Alexa Says -- Trigger one of several scripted Alexa responses, trigger a random joke, song or story, or have her say your ain custom response from any of your Echo devices.
Calendar -- Trigger Alexa to read today or tomorrow's agenda entries, or your next appointment.
Device Settings -- Cease audio playback or modify the book setting on whatever of your Echo devices.
Messaging -- Ship a custom notification to your telephone via the Alexa app, or send a custom Alexa notification to an Echo device.
Music -- Trigger a song, artist or playlist from Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify or TuneIn on whatsoever of your Echo devices.
News -- Trigger Alexa to read your current flash briefing.
Smart Home -- Trigger a preprogrammed scene, turn a device or group of devices on or off, or suit settings like brightness levels or the temperature of your smart thermostat.
Traffic -- Trigger Alexa to permit you know how long it'll take you to get to work.
Wait -- Add a suspension of anywhere from 1 2d to four hours in between actions within a Routine.
Weather condition -- Trigger Alexa to written report the electric current weather conditions in your expanse.

Pick the ones you want to employ and follow the onscreen prompts to customize everything to your liking. In one case you've got everything just the fashion you want it, tap "Create" to finalize the Routine.

You're all prepare. Give that Echo Button a tap whatsoever fourth dimension you like, and yous'll trigger the Routine you simply created. And, if you e'er want to tweak what that Routine does, yous can always do so in the Alexa app. Happy button-mashing!

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