The Echo’s far-field voice recognition technology is one of the device’s most touted features. It lets the Echo hear your voice from well across the room, even when there’s music playing. However, the biggest hindrance is walls, and if you want to control the Echo from the next room over, it may not hear you. Furthermore, if you’re away from home and you want to give a voice command to Alexa, you obviously can’t.
How to Control Alexa From Your iPhone
Tap the “Allow Microphone Access” button at the bottom.
Hit “OK” to give the app permission to use your iPhone’s microphone.
After that, you can give Alexa commands by tapping the microphone button first, and then saying your command—no need to start with “Alexa,” either. She is listening whenever the blue bar at the bottom lights up.
How to Control Alexa From an Android Phone
To get started using Alexa on your Android phone, make sure to first update the app so that you’re using the latest version. Open the app, and then tap the “Alexa” button at the bottom.
On the next screen, tap the “Allow” button to give Alexa permission to use your phone’s microphone and location so that it can hear your voice commands and help with location-based requests.
Hit “Done” at the bottom.
After that, you can immediately begin giving Alexa commands. Just tap the “Alexa” button and start talking.
The same thing goes for other things, like asking Alexa about coffee shops nearby—it’s like an Echo Show or Echo Spot right in the palm of your hand.
