Ever felt that your smart home assistant’s voice doesn’t quite match your aesthetic or mood? Well, Alexa is lending an ear to your preferences. There’s a charm in personalizing every tiny detail of our gadgets, and Amazon’s Alexa isn’t one to be left behind.
First up, here’s how you can adjust her accent.
Changing Alexa’s accent
- Open the Alexa app
- Then tap More
- Next, tap Settings
- Then tap Device Settings
- Choose the device you want to change Alexa’s voice on
- Then tap the gear icon
- Next, select Alexa’s Voice
- Now, choose your desired accent. For instance, you can select British 2 by clicking the round circle next to it.
- Tap the back arrow in the upper left-hand of the screen to exit.
MORE: HOW TO SETUP ALEXA FOR EMERGENCIES
Wake up to a new name
Maybe “Alexa” feels a tad too mainstream for you now. How about waking up your device with a more unique call? There are a few options to choose from, but for this example, we’ll go with “Ziggy.”
- Open the Alexa app on your mobile device
- Tap the Menu icon
- Tap on Settings
- Then click on Device Settings
- Select the device for which you want to change the wake word.
- Then tap the gear icon
- Scroll down and select Wake Word
- Select the new wake word that you’d like to use. You can select from “Alexa,” “Amazon,” “Computer,” “Echo,” or “Ziggy.” In this example, select “Ziggy.”
- Tap the back arrow in the upper left-hand of the screen to exit.
Just like that, your former Alexa smart speaker is now the Ziggy smart speaker.
MORE: HOW TO GET ALEXA TO SPEAK MORE LIKE YOU
Turning off intuitive insights
Ever felt Alexa is getting a bit too intuitive? It’s understandable since she can do things for you based on what you usually do, thanks to Alexa Hunches. For instance, when you say “goodnight,” she will offer to turn off the lights if that’s what you usually do, or you can let her act on her Hunches without asking you first. So, if her hunches are more eerie than endearing, here’s how to turn Hunes off in the Alexa app:
- Open the Alexa app
- Tap the Menu icon in the bottom right
- Select Settings
- Scroll down and select Hunches
- Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner
- Under Suggestions, toggle off the Hunches Suggestions, and voila, hunches, take a break. You’ll notice it’s greyed out.
- Tap the back arrow in the upper left-hand of the screen to exit.
MORE: 3 MUST-DO ALEXA SETTINGS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER
Kurt’s key takeaways
At last, Amazon’s Alexa has taken a stride towards individuality by allowing us to tailor her accent to match our preferences. From British charm to a unique wake word like “Ziggy,” the process is as simple as a few taps in the Alexa app. And for those moments when Alexa’s intuition feels a bit too much, you can now effortlessly turn off Hunches Suggestions, putting you in control of your smart assistant’s behavior once and for all.
If you could give Alexa any new feature, what would it be? Maybe she answers in puns and dad jokes? Or perhaps sings lullabies in an operatic voice? The more creative the better! Let us know by commenting below.
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