Whether you've had an Amazon Echo for a long time or recently switched to the Amazon ecosystem, you've probably grasped the basic Amazon Echo features. But besides setting kitchen timers and asking for the daily weather forecast, Amazon's Alexa-powered speakers have some lesser-known features that make customizing your smart home even better. Below are the top Amazon Echo and Echo Show tips and tricks to streamline your Alexa ecosystem.

Teach your Amazon Echo to whisper

You don't need to shout at Alexa. It picks up about anything. Similarly, if you want your Echo or Echo Show to respond quietly, tweak a few settings. Whisper to the smart speaker/display, and it responds softly. This ensures you don't get undue attention when asking Alexa to change the music or turn on the smart lights. You must activate the appropriate mode before your Echo device can whisper back.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Go to the More tab.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Scroll down to Alexa Preferences.
  5. Select Voice Responses.
  6. Turn on Whisper mode.

If you recently received your first Alexa-powered smart speaker, follow our essential Amazon Echo tips to get the most out of it.

Use your Amazon Echo to track your food delivery status

The Amazon Alexa Echo Show smart display on the Discovery page.

You can use your Echo or Echo Show to track your food delivery status. You can also use Alexa to order food from your favorite restaurant. This is one of our favorite Echo features, but it requires slightly more work to activate.

For this, turn on the appropriate Alexa skill from the food delivery service provider in your region.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap the More tab located in the bottom navigation bar.
  3. Tap Skills & Games.
  4. Scroll down to Top Categories.
  5. Select the Food & Drink option.
  6. Find the skill from your food delivery service provider that tracks the order status.
  7. Tap the relevant Alexa skill.
  8. Select Launch.
  9. Link your food delivery service with your Amazon account.

When the linking is complete, ask your Echo where the food you ordered is located.

You can use Alexa on your Echo to track stuff you ordered from Amazon. Say, "Alexa, track my order," or "Alexa, where's my stuff?" The voice assistant reviews your recent Amazon shopping history and provides a status update on its whereabouts.

Use your voice and Amazon Echo to create your shopping list

Get rid of the random sticky notes and let your Echo create your shopping list. The list is accessible from the Amazon or Alexa app on your phone, so you don't have to be near your Echo to know what items to buy.

Add items to the shopping list using your Echo or Echo Show by saying, "Alexa, add [item name] to my shopping list." Remove items in a snap by saying, "Alexa, check off [item name] from the shopping list."

The best part about Amazon shopping lists is that you can create multiple lists that you always have on you. For example, if you're shopping for your wedding, create a separate Wedding shopping list.

Follow the steps below to access the shopping list from your phone:

  1. Open the Alexa app.
  2. Tap More from the bottom of the screen.
  3. Select Lists.
  4. Select the list you want to access to see the items added to the shopping list.
  5. Add or remove items from the list if you want.

The shopping list is also accessible from the Lists section of the Amazon app.

Use your Amazon Echo to find your phone

The next time you can't find your phone under the couch cushions, Alexa can help. Ask your Echo to "find my phone." Alexa calls your phone to make it ring.

The Alexa app must be installed and set up on your device for the feature to work. It doesn't work when your phone is on silent or vibrate, but this is better than asking your friend or family member to call you so that you can search for your phone.

Control your TV using your Amazon Echo smart speaker

Ditch the remote control and let your Amazon Echo or Echo Show take control of your TV. Ask Alexa to play your favorite show on Prime Video on your living room TV, switch it on and off, and more.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap the More tab in the bottom navigation drawer.
  3. Scroll down and select TV & Video.
  4. Select your TV or streaming device from the list of supported service providers.
  5. Link Alexa to the service provider. The linking process can vary depending on the supported service.
  6. If you have multiple Alexa devices, link the TV to one of them.

You can continue to use Alexa on other Echo devices to control your TV.

When linked, ask Alexa on your Echo speaker or smart display to "turn on/off the TV," "play The Boys on Prime Video," "change the TV input to HDMI 2," and more.

Use the Amazon Echo Show as a security camera

Your Echo Show doubles as a security camera. You can watch the live feed from its camera on your phone or an Echo Show connected to your Amazon account.

A message appears on the Echo Show's display when you use it for monitoring purposes. It isn't a traditional security camera replacement.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap Devices in the bottom navigation bar.
  3. Slide on the list of device types and select Cameras.
  4. Tap the Echo Show from which you want to view the live feed.
  5. Tap the Mic button to turn on the microphone.
  6. Turn on the Speaker to speak to anyone in the room.

Combine your Amazon Echos for multiroom music playback

If you have multiple Echo speakers or smart displays in your home, combine them for multiroom music playback. This allows you to stream music over multiple speakers, so you can listen to music as you move about your home.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap Devices in the bottom navigation bar.
  3. Tap the + icon in the upper-right corner.
  4. Select the Combine speakers option.
  5. Tap Multi-room music.
  6. Select the speakers you'd like to add to the multiroom setup.
  7. Give the group of speakers a name.
  8. Tap Done to complete the process.

When everything is set up, say, "Alexa, play music on [group name]" to trigger multiroom music playback. You can also set up multiple groups with different sets of speakers.

A multiroom music group called "Everywhere" is created by default when you have multiple Echo speakers. This allows you to trigger music playback on all of them without setting up multiroom audio.

Make Alexa talk faster or slower on your Amazon Echo

Do you have trouble keeping up with Alexa on your Echo because the assistant speaks too fast? Or maybe you want Alexa to speak faster because you find it too slow? Adjust Alexa's voice playback by saying, "Alexa, speak slower" to slow down the voice assistant's pace of speech. Similarly, ask Alexa to "speak faster."

There are seven speed settings for Alexa. Every time you issue the command to speed up or slow down the speaking rate, it increases or decreases by one notch. You can say the command multiple times to speed up or slow down Alexa's speech rate.

Create a Voice ID

Unlike smartphones, Amazon Echo-like smart displays and speakers are meant to be used by everyone in a family. If multiple people use Amazon Echo, create a unique Voice ID for each person. This allows Alexa to recognize them better and show personalized information. Every person can add products to their Amazon wishlist and make purchases from their account.

Follow the steps below to set up Voice ID:

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap the More tab in the bottom navigation drawer.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Tap Your Profile & Family.
  5. Tap your profile name. You must be logged in to your account to create the Voice ID.
  6. Select Set up Voice ID from the settings page that opens.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to create your unique voice profile for Alexa.

After it's set up, the profile automatically syncs to the other Echo devices linked to your Amazon account.

You can create a Voice ID for a Kids profile in Alexa.

Change the Alexa wake word

You don't always have to shout "Alexa" to wake up Amazon's voice assistant on your Echo device. Amazon provides a few other wake word options. Changing the wake word for your Amazon Echo device is simple but requires you digging into the Settings menu.

  1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  2. Tap Devices from the navigation bar at the bottom.
  3. Tap Echo & Alexa.
  4. Select your Echo device.
  5. Tap the Settings icon in the upper-right corner.
  6. From the Device settings page, select Wake Word.
  7. Select the wake word that you like. Amazon sometimes offers special wake words for Echo devices, like "Santa" for the holiday season. They appear at the bottom of the page under the Additional Wake Word section.

If your Echo device has trouble understanding you, try a few tips and tricks to help Alexa hear you better.

Wake word changes are device-specific. They don't affect other Echo devices linked to your account.

Let Alexa be your gateway to smart home features

Using your Echo or Echo Show device is more enjoyable after you use these tips. If you're thinking of upgrading your Echo, consider the Echo Dot or the Echo with Clock, depending on your needs. There's also the Amazon Echo Show or the Amazon Echo Hub, which offer different features from a standard Echo speaker.