The Amazon Smart Plug is on offer at the moment. It lets you control your electrical devices
from your Echo and from your phone.
In this video, I'm going to show you how to set up this Smart plug so you can turn a lamp
off and on using your Echo.
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My Amazon Smart Plug has just arrived. They're normally £24.99 but they are currently on
offer for £9.99.
I’m not getting payed by Amazon to make this video, I just think it’s a great opportunity
to see how you can add a smart device to your home.
You can use this plug to turn any electrical device on or off. I'm going to be controlling
this desk lamp by speaking to my Echo, but you could also use it to turn on a fan or
a heater, to start a slow cooker, turn off the iron, or boil the kettle or start the
coffee machine.
Let's have a look at what we need. I have my Smart Plug, and my Echo.
I have my desk lamp plugged in to the normal power supply, and I’m going to angle this
upwards so you can see when it’s switched on.
And I’ve also got my iPad, with the app that lets me control my Echo devices. I won’t
say the app’s name because I don’t want to set your Echo off. Just make sure you have
this app on your phone or your tablet.
So to start with, I’m going to unplug my lamp, and I’m going to plug in my Smart
Plug.
Now straight away, my Echo has discovered the plug, and the app is letting me know that
I can control it by using the name First Plug.
Later in this video I’ll show you how we can change this name to something more helpful,
like Lamp.
But first, I want to show you what to do if your Echo doesn’t discover the plug straight
away - how can we make sure your Echo finds the plug?
Open the app, and press Devices on the bottom of the screen.
Now press the Plus button in the top right, and press Add Device.
When the app asks what kind of device you’re setting up, press Plug.
And it’s an Amazon plug.
This screen tells us the app needs access to your camera and Bluetooth, so remember
to press Allow if it asks for your permission.
Press Next.
Now the app is asking you to find the 2D barcode on your plug, so you’ll need to unplug it
and find the barcode, which is next to this key symbol.
You’ll also find this barcode printed on the quick start guide that came in the box
with the plug.
In the app, press the button marked Scan Barcode, and point the camera at the barcode on your
plug.
When the barcode has been scanned, the screen says Looking for plug. So plug it back into
the wall, and wait for it to show up in the app.
If the plug doesn’t show up, you need to find the Action button on the side of the
plug. Hold the Action button for 5 seconds, and you’ll see an LED on the front of the
plug blinking red and blue.
The app should then find the plug, but if you’re still having problems, then make
sure your phone or tablet has Bluetooth turned on, and make sure the app we’re using has
permission to use Bluetooth and camera.
The plug will have a default name like First Plug, but we’ll change that next.
Press Done, and you’re taken back to the Devices screen. And we now have a section
for plugs, so press Plugs.
You’ll see your plug here, so press its name to select it.
Then press Settings, which is the gear symbol in the top right.
At the top of this page, press Edit name. It’s a good idea to change this to the name
of what you’ll be plugging into it, so I’m going to type Lamp. Then press Enter.
If you’re going to use lots of smart plugs, you might want to use more descriptive names.
Now you can press the arrow in the top left to go back.
And we’re ready to try out this thing. So plug your lamp into the plug, and make sure
the switch on the lamp is in the On position.
And you can turn the lamp on and off using the button on the screen.
But obviously what you really want to do is control the lamp with your voice.
“Alexa, turn on Lamp”.
You can use whatever name you’ve given to the plug, so you can say Turn on Heater for
example.
Another really useful thing you can do is to set up a routine, where your Echo does
several things at once, like play some music and turn on your plugs.
You can start a routine using your voice, or you can schedule it like an alarm clock.
Let’s set up a morning routine, where my Echo wakes me at 7 a.m. by turning on the
lamp and reading the news.
In the app, find the plug under Devices, and press Create a Routine.
Then follow the prompts to set up the routine.
Select When this happens, then Schedule.
Set the time, and then select Weekdays.
And press Done.
Now select Add action, and we’ll find the lamp under Smart Home.
Select Control Device, and then select the Lamp.
We want to turn the lamp on, so leave this selected, and press Next.
We also want it the Echo to read the news, so press Add Action.
Then press News, and Flash Briefing.
And if you have more than one Echo, just make sure the right Echo is selected at the bottom.
And press Save.
Then if everything is set up right, this is what happens at 7 am:
“Here’s your flash briefing from BBC News”.
I’d like to know how many smart plugs you have at the home, what do you control with
them, and do you have any interesting routines set up?
Let me know in the comments below, and if you found this video helpful please give it
the thumbs up.
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one of my other videos, like this one on how to change your WiFi password in Echo.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.