7 Fine-tune settings
You can go to the Settings in the Alexa app at any point. So
what can’t it do? It doesn’t work with video or voice calling using
Alexa, and it’s also incompatible with some third-party music
providers – it can’t act as a Spotify Connect speaker like other
Echo devices. Alexa on Windows also can’t control your PC – yet.
Amazon says that “PC-specific capabilities will be added” soon.
8 Troubleshooting
If Alexa isn’t working, first ensure you’re connected to the
internet. If that’s fine, yet the app still isn’t working, make sure
you’ve updated to the latest version. Select Quit App from the
app menu, and then open the Alexa app for PC again.If a new
update is available, you may now be prompted to installit.If not,
you can also check out updates in the Microsoft Store.QQ5
Choosing other options
You’re also able to fine-tune other aspects of Alexa’s
operation on your PC – you can choose to disable the sounds at
the start and end of an Alexa request. It’s a matter of taste, but we
find it useful to know when Alexa is actually listening, or if she
hasn’t heard us. The app will launch automatically when your PC
does and you can also choose to turn this off should you wish to.
3 Enable mic access
When prompted, allow Alexa to have microphone access,
otherwise the assistant won’t be able to hear you – even if you
don’t want it in always listening mode. While you can use Alexa on
your PC without an associated Alexa device, we recommend that
the app is only truly useful if you have one of the Echo smart
speakers or an Alexa-supporting device from another vendor.
6
Ask Alexa
Now you can ask Alexa anything. So you can find out the
weather or news, turn off the lights if they’re Alexa-enabled or
play stuff on your Echo device. If you don’t have hands-free mode
enabled, you’ll need to use the push-to-talk option, so you’ll need
to use [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [A] or press the Alexa button within the
app to get Alexa to listen to you.4 Enable hands-free mode
You’ll then be asked if you want to enable hands-free mode.
That means that Alexa will be ‘always listening’ on your PC. It
means you could be the other side of the room from your PC
and still command Alexa. It’s also worth noting that if you have
hands-free mode enabled, there is a small impact on battery
life for laptops and other mobile Windows devices.Explore
Use Alexa with Windows
December 2019 | |^31