How to use Alexa as your alarm clock

Alexa is a highly helpful personal assistant that’s seemingly omnipresent. It can easily turn any compatible device into an alarm clock. You can easily learn how to use Alexa as your alarm clock! Wake up every morning exactly as you wish, with a little nudge from Alexa.

 

Amazon has released a fantastic range of smart speakers and displays that are perfect for replacing a few devices, including the old alarm clock in your bedroom. In fact, they sell a highly affordable Echo Dot with a built-in clock.

 

Getting Alexa set up isn’t difficult, but you need it up and running before you can use it as an alarm clock. You should also place your Alexa-enabled device where you can hear it, and it can hear you. So, you’ll want to test the range before you set this up.

 

Here are the steps you need to follow when learning how to use Alexa as your alarm clock.

 

 

How to get Alexa to wake you from a nap

If you need a one-off alarm for a nap, ask Alexa. You can simply say “Alexa, set a sleep timer for four hours,” and the alarm goes off four hours from the time of your request.

 

 

How to use Alexa as your alarm clock every morning

You probably aim to get up at the same time each day. So, you can set a default alarm. Simply say, “Alexa, set a repeating alarm” for the day and time. For example, need to be up at 6 a.m. every Monday? Say, “Alexa, set a repeating alarm for Monday at 6 a.m.”

 

 

 

 

Short cuts to creating alarms with Alexa

Use your voice to create alarms with Alexa. Use the Reminders and Alarms section in the Alexa app to manage your alarms and any daily reminders you need.

• “Set an alarm for [time].”
• “Set an alarm for [time] every [day of the week].”
• “Set an alarm for [time] every day.”
• “Set an alarm for [time] to [music genre or song].”
• “Set an alarm for [time] to [music genre or song] every day.”

 

 

How to set a daily alarm using the Alexa App

If you want to be woken at the same time each day, you’ll want to follow these steps using Alexa and an Alexa-enabled device:

1. Open the Alexa app and tap the More menu in the lower-right corner
2. Tap Reminders and Alarms
3. Tap the Plus (+) to configure the alarm
4. Set the time for your alarm using the dials at the top of the screen
5. Select the device, repetition, day, and the sound you want for the alarm
6. To set a daily alarm, tap Repeat and select Daily
7. Tap Save to finalize the alarm.

 

 

Want to use Alexa as an alarm clock that plays music?

If you subscribe to Amazon Music or Spotify, you can easily wake up to music. First, link Alexa and your preferred music service. Be aware that some services won’t work with Alexa on the services’ free tier. so, you’ll want to check if your preferred music service will work.

1. Tap the More menu in the lower-right corner
2. Tap Things To Try
3. Select Music
4. Select Amazon Music
5. Tap Select Music Service
6. Select Link New Service, or choose one of the available options
7. Follow the on-screen prompts to link your account to Alexa
8. To set a music alarm, use a voice command like, “Alexa, wake me up at 8 a.m. with 90s music,” and your Amazon device creates the reminder.

 

 

 

 

Wake up to the news with Alexa

You might prefer to listen to the headlines when you wake up. Luckily, you can programme Alexa to play a Flash Briefing (a short set of audio news pieces) to wake you. Simply, configure a routine through the app.

 

You can also add traffic and weather to this routine to get all the necessary information in one place.

1. Open the Alexa app, then tap the More menu
2. Tap Routines
3. Select the Plus (+)
4. Tap When This Happens
5. Choose Schedule
6. Tap Select next to Repeat
7. Set the alarm for individual days or use a shortcut like Every Day, Weekdays, or Weekends
8. Tap Select next to At Time
9. Choose a time for the alarm and select Next
10. You’ll return to the previous screen. Select the plus sign next to Add action
11. Scroll down and select News
12. A confirmation screen appears. Tap Next
13. Under From, select Choose Device
14. Tap the name of the device you want to play the news from
15. Select Save.

 

 

Can I easily cancel an Alexa alarm?

Yes, stopping an alarm is simple. Say, “Alexa, stop alarm.” You can also stop an active alarm by asking Alexa to perform another task, such as playing music or reading the news or weather.

 

If you leave it, your Alexa alarms will stop by themselves after a certain amount of time. The default is 4 minutes, but you can change this in the Alexa app. 

 

Open the Alexa app and go to More > Alarms & Timers > Alarms. Tap on the alarm you want to edit and then tap on Settings. Under Duration, you can choose how long you want the alarm to ring for.

 

 

 

 

Will your Alexa alarm work without power?

Your Alexa device requires constant power to work. Sadly, your Alexa alarms will not work without electricity. And if you lose power, your Alexa device will not be able to wake you up.

 

If you think that you might have issues maintaining a constant power supply, you can purchase a battery base for your Alexa device. Having a battery backup will allow you to power your Alexa device during an outage.

 

 

Can Alexa help me fall asleep?

As we’ve covered the basic alarms, it’s worth talking about falling to sleep. There’s an Alexa skill for that as well!

 

Try “Alexa, play ambient sounds” to get a list of relaxing soundscapes to drift off to. Also, you can ask it things like “play bedtime music” or “play sleep sounds,” as well.

 

While most of Alexa’s sleep tracks last an hour, there are also a few clever things you can do. You can ask “Alexa, turn music off in [x] minutes”, so you can drift off and not get woken back up by the sound of crashing waves. Pretty useful, particularly if you’re a light sleeper.

 

You can also do the opposite, and say “Alexa, loop this track” to have it played all night.