How to set up and use an Amazon Echo

High sound quality and controllability over your smart devices

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo is a smart speaker produced by Amazon. It is part of the Echo family along with other Amazon products such as the Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Studio and the Eco Show display speakers. Its main feature is that it incorporates the virtual assistant Alexa, so that in addition to playing our favorite music, it can inform us of the weather, help set alarms and control other technological devices at home.

This speaker has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and it also has four small but powerful microphones. It also has a 3.5 mm jack input to facilitate the connection of audio players that do not have Bluetooth technology. It works permanently connected to the electric current, for which it is equipped with a standard power cable.

Amazon Echo speakers are compatible with all music services and smart devices with support for Alexa. They are activated with a spoken command, after which we may ask you to play songs and music lists from Amazon Music or Spotify, put radio stations on TuneIn, turn the TV on or off, light bulbs, switches, cleaning robots and other smart devices on House. For this, simply perform a simple configuration from the Amazon Alexa mobile application.

How to set up an Amazon Echo for the first time

  1. Download the Amazon Alexa app to your smartphone.
  2. Open the app and sign in with an Amazon account.
  3. Connect the Amazon Echo to the electrical current. This will show an orange light ring to indicate that it is in configuration mode.
  4. In the Amazon Alexa app, tap the menu button in the upper left corner and select Add device.
  5. Then tap on Amazon Echo > Echo.
  1. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Amazon Echo.

See also:

Play Spotify on Amazon Echo with Alexa
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How to connect your Xiaomi Smart Light Bulb to Alexa

Turn off and on your Mi LED Smart Bulb to Alexa with your voice

Xiaomi Mi LED Smart Bulb bulb controlled by voice through an Amazon Echo

Among the must-have items in the smart home are smart bulbs and Xiaomi’s Mi LED Smart Bulb is one of them. This Xiaomi bulb can illuminate the home environments with different shades of colors and with a degree of intensity according to any occasion, for example, to watch movies, play video games or accompany the sunrise. For his control, it offers its own mobile application, but it also works with simple voice commands, thanks to its compatibility with Alexa and Google Assistant. But before you can control them with your voice, you need to do a brief configuration process like the one shown in this tutorial.

How to setup your Xiaomi Smart Light Bulb

  1. To start, enable the Bluetooth and GPS of your mobile.
  2. Then, download the Mi Home app from Google Play Store or App Store.
  3. Open the app and log in with your Mi Home account or create one with an email address.
  4. Once you are logged in, tap the + button, go to the Lighting section and select the model of your bulb (in my case, Mi LED Smart Bulb).
  1. Then put the bulb into pairing mode (turn it on and off 5 times and it will start flashing) and tap the Next button.
  2. On the screen that appears, select your Wi-Fi network and add the password.
  3. Now, connect your phone to the Wi-Fi network created by the light bulb. Tap the Go to Wi-Fi settings button.
  4. In the network settings, select “yeelink-light …”, “philips-light-bulb …”… depending on the model of your bulb and return to the app.
  1. Wait while the light bulb is added to your Mi Home account.
  2. Finally, select an environment for the bulb, give it a name, and voila. Your light bulb will now appear in the Devices tab.

How to Sync your Xiaomi Smart Light Bulb to Alexa

  1. Once the light bulb is configured, open the Amazon Alexa app (Android, iPhone).
  2. Tap the menu button in the screen’s upper left corner and select the Skills and Games option.
  3. Tap the magnifying glass and write mi home xiaomi.
  4. Select the Mi Home skill in the results list and tap the ENABLE TO USE button.
  1. Log in with your Mi Home account created at the time of configuring the bulb and that’s it.
  2. The light bulb will now appear in the Devices section of the app.

How to turn the light bulb on and off with your voice

Once the bulb is linked to Alexa, it can be controlled by voice through the Amazon Alexa app or through some device compatible with Alexa, such as the Amazon Echo, the Echo Show or even the remote control of the Fire TV Stick 4K.

See also:

Play Spotify on Amazon Echo with Alexa
How to voice control Roomba vacuums using Amazon Echo with Alexa
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How to use Facebook Dating from your phone

An interesting alternative to Badoo or Tinder

Without a doubt, the Internet is used by millions of people for romance. In fact, there are various applications such as Tinder, Twoo or Badoo with which it is possible to find a partner or get an online date with the ideal person. Facebook Dating works under this same concept, a space within Facebook for love relationships.

Facebook Dating works exclusively within the mobile applications of the social network. To start looking for a partner with this Facebook function, it is necessary to create a different profile from the one normally used on Facebook. This profile has the particularity that the user’s contacts are not notified about its creation, being able to find out only in the event that one of them makes a match. Here we show you how to have a Dating Facebook profile.

How to create a Facebook Dating profile

  1. First of all, open the Facebook mobile app on iOS or Android.
  2. Press on the main Facebook menu and click on Dating (heart icon).
  1. When the welcome screen appears, tap Get started.Tap Next.
  2. Review the rules and tips on using Facebook Dating and tap Next.
  3. Create your profile and select the sex of the people you would like to meet.
  1. Select your location and add a profile photo, and finally tap Confirm.

See also:

How to watch videos from Facebook on TV
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How to get Zoom on TV

Mirror your Zoom meeting to your TV with a few simple tricks

Zoom video call on TV

Zoom is one of the most widely used video conferencing applications for teleworking and distance education, two booming activities during the pandemic. For these activities, in most cases, it could be enough with the screens of cell phones, tablets or the computer itself. However, in formal meetings with many participants, as well as for virtual gatherings or celebrations with friends or family, using Zoom on the TV screen may work better. Just find the best option to transmit the Zoom screen to the TV, since Zoom does not yet have an application to install on a Smart TV.

Fortunately, there are several ways to project the screen of the mobile device or the computer where Zoom runs to the Smart TV. The most obvious is to use a cable to connect the cell phone or laptop to the HDMI input of the TV, however, it requires being very close to the big screen, so the best alternative is to use a wireless connection. For this, you can use the screen mirroring function of Smart TVs or resort to Wi-Fi devices that can perform a similar function when connected by HDMI to the TV. For example, Android TV boxes, Amazon Fire TV Stick devices, Chromecast, Xiaomi Mi Box S, among others. Here’s how to use them to display a Zoom meeting on your TV.

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Amazon Fire TV for Android

Use your phone as a remote control for the Fire TV Stick

Amazon Fire TV is Amazon’s official mobile app that makes it easy to remotely manage your Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K devices. It is designed to offer a better experience with Amazon streaming players, as it contains functions that the original remote control does not include. These include a touch panel that allows better scrolling through the user interface, and a keyboard to enter commonly used texts such as user names and passwords.

On the other hand, the Amazon Fire TV application can also open the streaming services integrated in the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV stick 4K devices: YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, etc. In addition, thanks to the support for the Alexa assistant, it allows you to do voice searches and even control other devices compatible with Alexa technology from the application.

Download Amazon Fire TV for iPhone or iPad

Amazon Fire TV app interface

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How to mirror your Android screen to PC without any app

Project your Android phone on a laptop easily (without root)

Viewing an Android screen on a Windows 10 laptop

The Connect feature, included in Windows 10 as of its anniversary update, allows you to mirror your Miracast-compatible Android device to the PC. Thanks to this, you can see on a larger screen everything you do on your smartphone (photos, videos, video games).

How to display your Android phone on a Windows PC

  1. On your PC, right-click on the Windows Start menu and go to System> Projection on this PC.
  2. Open the first drop-down menu and select Available everywhere.
Projection window on this Windows 10 computer.
  1. On your Android phone, activate the screen sharing function. On a Samsung, fully open the notification panel by swiping down from the top of the screen, and tap Smart View. In other brands see below.
Smart View icon inside the notification panel of a Samsung Galaxy Edge Plus phone.
  1. Select your PC from the list of available devices.Accept the connection request that appears on your PC and that’s it.

How to enable screen mirroring on various phone brands

On Huawei: Open the notification panel and tap the Wireless projection icon. Or go to Settings > Device connectivity > Multiple displays.

On Motorola: Open the notification panel and tap the Cast screan icon.

On Xiaomi: Open the notification panel and tap the Cast icon.

How to check if your mobile supports Miracast

The TV Connector Utils app lets you quickly check if your Android supports Screen Mirroring. And in a favorable case, it automatically detects compatible televisions connected to your Wi-Fi network.

See also:

How to mirror your Android smartphone to Fire TV Stick
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Amazon Alexa for iPhone or iPad

Add devices to your Alexa account, create routines or phone other users for free

Amazon Alexa is the app that allows you to configure, manage and control your electronic devices that integrate Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant. Thanks to Amazon Alexa you can add to your Alexa account, your smart devices compatible with its voice technology, as well as activate skills that allow them to perform better. You can also use it to control them from anywhere via the Internet. From the app, it is also possible to edit routines that allow you to interact with your devices or services compatible with Alexa in a much more friendly or fun way.

Amazon Echo smart speaker next to the Fire TV Stick 4K remote control

Amazon Alexa also includes features for configuring the music and communication services offered by Amazon. It allows you to connect your Amazon Echo speakers to compatible streaming services (Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora), configure multi-stay music groups or define a preferred speaker for listening to music at home. As for communications, it allows you to make calls and send messages for free from your mobile to other Alexa users anywhere in the world, connect Alexa with your Skype account to make voice calls or video calls with compatible devices or call using the function Drop In, which allows you to communicate with other rooms in your house where there is an Alexa compatible speaker.

Amazon Alexa for Android

See also:

Play Spotify on Amazon Echo with Alexa
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How to connect a JBL Bluetooth speaker to Alexa

For less than 35 dollars manage your JBL Bluetooth speaker with your voice

Bluetooh JBL speaker linked to an Amazon Echo Input

The JBL Bluetooth speakers in their various presentations stand out for their great sound quality and for their high degree of portability, which does not mean that they cannot be spreading sounds anywhere in the house. But if they can be blamed for anything, it’s their inability to accept voice commands in the style of Amazon’s Echo series speakers. These are characterized by integrating the Amazon virtual assistant, so in addition to helping control digital devices at home, they can play our favorite music from Amazon Music, Spotify or Pandora through voice commands.

However, there is a small electronic device with 4 microphones that converts a conventional portable speaker, a sound bar for Smart TVs and even a HiFi system into an Alexa-compatible smart speaker. Its name is Echo Input and it is an original Amazon product, which gives it a full guarantee of operation. The Echo Input device integrates Alexa and can be connected via Bluetooth or via a jack cable (3.5mm) to the auxiliary input of a JBL portable Bluetooth speaker, giving it the ability to function as a smart speaker.

To make this possible, you just have to configure the Echo Input from the Amazon Alexa application, for which you will have to download it to your terminal. After opening it, you will need to configure your Echo Input device as a new device.

From there, the same application will give you the instructions to link it via Bluetooth or, alternatively, by auxiliary cable to your JBL speaker. After setup and pairing is complete, you can ask your JBL (via Alexa) to perform some action on your compatible home devices. You can also ask him to play songs or playlists from Amazon Music or Spotify, and even tell you the name of the song that is playing.

See also:

Play Spotify on Amazon Echo with Alexa
How to voice control Roomba vacuums using Amazon Echo with Alexa
Mirror your iPhone to Amazon Fire TV

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How to connect a PS4 controller to Android phone

Use a DualShock 4 wireless controller on your Android (no root required)

PS4 wireless controller paired to an Android phone

The DualShock 4 wireless controller already has native support for Android from version number 9.0. This allows it to be used to control games compatible with gamepads such as GTA: San Andreas, Minecraft, Oceanhorn, Sonic the Hedgehog, among other titles published for the Android platform. Furthermore, it can also be designated as a trusted Bluetooh device and thus keep the phone unlocked while in close proximity to each other. The way to pair it to the Android phone is very simple and here we show you.

How to pair a PS4 controller to your Android phone

  1. First activate the pairing mode on the DualShock 4 controller: press the PS and SHARE buttons at the same time until the light on the controller starts to flash.
PS and SHARE buttons
  1. On your Android phone, activate the Bluetooth connection from Settings > Connections > Bluetooth.
  2. Under Available Devices, tap Wireless Controller and wait for it to appear as connected.

If the controller is not recognized by your Android, tap the SCAN icon. If the above doesn’t work, try resetting it.

See also:

How to turn off the PS4 controller
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Amazon Alexa for Android

Create routines, activate skills or phone other Alexa users

Amazon Alexa is the mobile application that allows you to configure and manage your electronic devices that integrate Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. Thanks to Amazon Alexa you can connect to your Alexa account, the digital devices of your home compatible with its voice technology and activate the mini applications (skills) that allow a better performance of these. At the same time you can use it to control them from anywhere via the Internet. From the Amazon Alexa application, it is also possible to edit routines that allow you to interact with your devices or services compatible with Alexa in a much more friendly or fun way.

Its functions also include the configuration of the music or communication services it offers. It allows you to connect your Amazon Echo speakers to compatible streaming services (Spotify, TuneIn…), setup multi-stay music groups or define a preferred speaker for listening to music at home. Regarding communications, it allows you to make calls and send messages for free from your terminal to other Alexa users anywhere in the world, connect Alexa with your Skype account to make voice calls, video calls with compatible devices or call using the Drop In function, which allows you to communicate with other rooms in your home where there is an Alexa compatible speaker.

Amazon Alexa for iOS

See also:

Play Spotify on Amazon Echo with Alexa
How to connect your Xiaomi Smart Light Bulb to Alexa
Mirror your iPhone to Amazon Fire TV

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