Indeed, introducing advanced technology devices to elderlies seems like a good idea to help with their inconvenience. But it can be quite challenging for them to go through the learning curve. Luckily, this isn’t the case with Amazon Alexa, which is designed for every user, no matter if you are familiar with the latest technology or not.
Below, we will walk you through the step-by-step guide about the best way to set up Alexa for the elderly.
Further reading: What Is Alexa And What Does Alexa Do?
How To Setup Alexa Or Echo Device For Elderly
If you follow every step that we will be walking you through, then you can ideally set up Alexa within 10 minutes only. Let’s get going.
Things you need
Before anything else, you must have a few things by yourself to set up Alexa properly.
- The first thing you need is an Alexa device itself. There are many types of Alexa or Echo devices present, but we suggest you should go with Echo Show 8.
- Without a working Wi-Fi network, you can’t even think of setting up Alexa. If you are setting it in your home, for your parents or grandparents, you require a Wi-Fi network. Primarily because Echo Show 8 comes with an HD screen, which lets you make video chat with your relatives, family members, or anyone you want.
- The third and last requirement is to have an Amazon account to log into the Alexa app. In this case, we are setting it up for an older person, so we must continue with their Amazon account. If they don’t have one, then don’t worry; you can create one within a few minutes only.
From here, we are assuming you have all the required things to set up Alexa properly. And now, let’s move forward to the actual setup process, where we will walk you through each step gradually, so you don’t miss out on any important step.
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Setup Process
The setup process is pretty straightforward, but if you set up Alexa for the first time, you must pay attention to the following steps.
- Before anything else, plug the Echo device with the power source and turn it on.
- Once that is done, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and download the Amazon Alexa app.
- Inside the App, it will ask you to login with your Amazon account, but keep in mind, here you should enter that person’s account whom you are setting it up for.
- It will then ask you for your name; once you fill out the section, then move forward by tapping on the Next button.
- In the next step, the App will ask for you to grant contact permission. It is quite crucial because, with this, Alexa can call/contact any person in your contact when you tell her to do so.
That was it; the App setup process is done, now it’s time to add your Echo device to this App.
It’s time to add the new device to the Amazon Alexa app so that you can use it properly.
- Once you complete the app setup process, then you’ll find yourself in the app interface.
- As of now, you don’t need to do anything, simply tap the “More” option at the bottom right side.
- There will be a lot of features you can use to tweak Alexa, but for now, you need to click on the “Add new device” option at the top.
- This action will open a full list of devices you can connect with Alexa. Seriously, plenty of them are there, and it allows you to convert your home into a smart home. For the sake of this post, we are going to choose the “Amazon Echo” option.
- Next, it will ask, “Which device would you like to set up?” Well, simply tap on the very first option, which says “Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, and More.”
- Here goes the actual paring setup, where you’ll be paring your echo device with your smartphone app. First, it will ask whether you have plugged in your Echo device or not?
- Tap on yes, and then the setup wizard will ask you to choose a preferred language for your device; you can choose it as per your needs.
- In the next few steps, the setup wizard will ask you to turn on the Location and Bluetooth settings. Once that is done, it will automatically start looking for Echo devices to pair with the App.
- For sure, you’ll find your device in the search if you have plugged it in. Tap on your device name from the search results, and it will start paring right away.
That was it; now you are good to go and hand this setup to your parents or grandparents or any older adult you want.
But you can also make some other tweaks as well for better convenience. We will move forward with those tweaks in the next section.
As of now, let’s say you want to pair other devices with Alexa like smart LED bulbs, fans, thermostats, TV, or anything like that. Then no problem, the setup process is somehow similar for all the smart devices.
For this, first, you must add that particular device’s skill in the Alexa app. Let’s say you want to connect a light bulb. Then head to the “Skills & Games” section, and search for that particular light bulb’s name.
From there, you can add it as a skill, and now you are good to go. Simply turn on the bulb, and pair it with Alexa as you did with the Echo device, but just make sure all the devices are connected with the same Wi-Fi network. Simple!
See More: Echo Dot 4th Generation Review And Echo Dot 4th Gen Vs. 3rd Gen
Setting Up Alexa As Per Their Routine
Once all set up, now it’s time to tweak things so that you can make your parents’ or grandparents’ experience much easier with Alexa.
In this section, we will examine how Alexa can come in handy for older adults in their daily routine.
As A Friend
Your parents or grandparents would love to use Alexa for their assistance because it is similar to talking to a real person. They can ask anything and even play quizzes or games with Alexa as well.
Alexa is an AI-based voice assistant that is evolving quite fast, and that’s why it knows how to respond according to various voice commands.
Set Full Routine
You can use Alexa to set a full routine for your beloved ones, and once that is done. Then Alexa will remind that particular person about a specific event or task.
It can be quite useful when you aren’t around your parents or grandparents. You can create a full routine by going through the “Routine” option inside the Alexa app.
Timely Reminders
Like other voice assistants, Alexa can also set up reminders for you. And don’t worry, you don’t need to set it up every time for them. An elderly person can set up reminders by himself/herself; for instance, they can say, “Alexa, remind me to call Josef at 4 PM.” It’s as simple as that.
But the actual use of this feature comes in handy for drug routines. We all know how dangerous it can be for an older person if he/she misses out on the medicine doses. Right?
However, you can set this daily medicine routine in the Full Routine, but setting up a reminder is another quick way.
Shopping List And Notes
For instance, if your parents or grandparents want to note something, they just tell Alexa to do it for them. And in this way, Alexa makes note-taking much easier, not only for older adults but for everyone.
Another great feature is that you can add items to your shopping list just with the voice command. Sounds interesting? Well, you can add multiple items for them, and they can also do the same. Now, whenever they need to buy something, they can tell Alexa to order that item from Amazon.
Easy Communication
While setting up Alexa, if you have granted communication and contact permission to it, it can be quite handy for your parents and grandparents to contact someone.
They can use Alexa to call, text, and video call someone from their contacts. It is the reason why we suggested Amazon Echo Show 8 at the beginning of this post. With that, you can talk to your beloved ones pretty easily, thanks to a good quality HD screen.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t a single doubt about how useful Alexa can be, not only for us but for older people especially. Since Alexa responds and works as per the voice commands, it is much easier to access and use for better convenience.
Still, setting up Alexa might be a confusing task for your parents or grandparents. So if you were looking for the step by step guide to setup Alexa for Elderly, then there you go. Our today’s whole post was dedicated to the setup process of Alexa, so make sure to go through each step for a better understanding