“Amazon echo and devices Does the Amazon echo need specific lights and appliance to work, a hue light is 60 bucks just for 1. I don't have everything as a smart product, just my tv.”
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Hello Mindy! The Amazon Echo supports many devices, and the list is growing every day. Amazon sends Echo owners an email weekly letting them know of new things to try. They also have a growing list on their website, which I can't link to for obvious reasons. Just know that Best Buy price matches if it's shipped and sold by Amazon, and you can go in to a store, play with it, get advice, walk out with it that day, and even have it setup for you by Geek Squad if you'd rather the professionals get it all setup. As for the Hue lights in particular, they are supported by Amazon Echo, but you would need a Hue starter kit, as Hue bulbs require their own smart bridge to work. The bridge connects to your router and allows you to control the lights from anywhere, and you'll need to press the button on the bridge to allow the Echo to see the devices when first setting them up to be controlled by Alexa. For some inspiration, CNET has their own smart home, which they've added a couple Echos to so they could control their garage doors, locks, etc with their voice. Do a search for CNET Smart Home on your favorite search engine. Armed with that information, head to Best Buy and they can make recommendations on products that will do exactly what you want, and trust me, if you can dream it, you can do it nowadays with smart home devices. Just make sure you have a good router. Having an old router with a bunch of smart devices all talking to each other can really slow things down. You wouldn't want to tell your light to turn on and then wait ten minutes for it to do so. The latest 'Wave 2' routers are just coming to market, and they're designed for multiple device households with smart home and streaming in mind.
I would recommend:
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I have it controlling a lot of things in my house through free interface called IFTTT. If you can set it up on IFTTT you can control it on Alexa. You don't need to buy $60 light bulbs. I love controlling my Rachio sprinklers with voice commands.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Only need an outlet but smartphones help with downloading further info from app.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Yes. She works with only certain home systems. Most of them are integrated thru IFTTT.com. If you go to that web site, you can see if your system is among them. I can give you some samples. See below.
I would recommend:
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.The Hue color lights are expensive but just get the white starter set ($79ish) and each additional is about 15$. So worth it. It will work with just about any smart home stuff I also use it to control Wink stuff. You just have to add things on to app for it to support them.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Alexa integrates with many Smart Home devices, not just Philips Hue. I use it with Wink and GE lightbulbs which can be had for only $15 each- but they're only white lights.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Yes hey have full list of supported devices on the website
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Mindy, all you need is an outlet and your smartphone. The smartphone is to download the Alexa app and then following what Alexa tells you on the app and you will be hooked up in no time. Then it tells you on the app what products are Alexa enabled and all you have to do is research them and check out their reviews.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.You do need "specific" items which work with Echo. The list is growing. Most items require a "bridge" (control unit) that communicates with the Echo and the smart device. There are much less expensive lights, or switches to control standard lights, but a "bridge" will still run around $50, and is needed. You will only need one bridge to control many items, but some bridges are brand specific (operate only their branded items). I use a Wink Hub and it works with many different brands of smart devices, and Alexa operates my standard lights via Lutron Caseta smart switches. To operate Hue lights I would still need the bridge specific to the Phillips products. Hue lights connect to the Hue Bridge and the Bridge would communicate with the Echo through your wireless network, or you can use them with a separate app and not use an Echo. I hope this helps, giving you some idea of what it takes to have Echo controlled lighting, which is basically a compatible hub, and lights or switches.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.No, you do not need all of the products for Echo to work. It will work with the mart devices you do own only.
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