How to Change Alexa’s Name, Voice, Accent, Gender, and Language on Amazon Echo – Everything You Need to Know

Alexa has been the go-to smart speaker for many because of the smooth integration and support features. Coming from Amazon, this is one of the best products in the market.

Amazon has now taken it a step further by giving you a choice to customize Alexa. The problem with the name Alexa came up when a little girl of the same name was bullied in her school for having the same name as the famous speaker.

The company has now added endless possibilities to customize your speaker, and yes, you can also change the name if you wish to. If you are not a fan of repeating the same name like a robot, read on to find out all the customization possibilities.

This is also a feature that is available with no other speakers in the market. The personalization factor is a fresh breath of air in the right direction and will give you a much better user experience. Change Alexa’s name, language, and even accent, and learn to do cool new tricks with your handy speaker in this post.

See more: The Ultimate Guide to Smart Speakers

Who is the Voice of Alexa?

If you are a fan of the Star Trek franchise, then you might have heard a similar voice like Alexa. The computer in the movie was voiced by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, according to the CEO of the company, Jeff Bezos. But this is only inspiration.

The actual voice of Alexa is machine-generated and has no link to human intervention. Amazon is an expert in the area of Natural Language Processing, which is the process of breaking down human speech into words and sounds.

So when you are communicating with Alexa, your voice record is being carried to the AVS or Alexa voice services, which is a cloud-based service of Amazon. This is the main processing power behind Alexa. This is what allows the machine to process your words and send back the results of your query. While Alexa is communicating with you, there is a supercomputer working in the background to get you the latest news of the day.

However, the voice of Alexa is changing. Amazon has brought in many celebrities like Samuel L Jackson, Cardi B, Rebel Wilson, Gordon Ramsey, and even Anthony Hopkins. Amazon is processing the speech patterns of these celebrities, and next time you want to speak to your handy speaker, you could be speaking to Samuel L. Jackson himself, reading you funny jokes.

How To Change Alexa’s Wake Word

The bullying incident with the little girl brought a significant need for the customers to change the name of the system. More specifically, the wake word. Repeating Alexa every time you need to perform a function, can get stale pretty fast. Besides, if you have a family member or friend by the name Alexa, you have even more reason to change this name.

Follow any of the three processes below, and you can change the wake word of the device.

Voice

You can simply ask to change the wake word by asking Alexa, what is a smart speaker for if it can’t listen to your commands.

• Start with, ‘Alexa, I want to change your name.’
• Alexa will give you three options to choose from Amazon, Echo or the computer.
• You can pick any of these three names and respond.
• If you don’t wish to change the name to any of these words, you can cancel the process, and Alexa’s name will remain the same.

Alexa App

Another convenient option is to do it directly through Alexa app on your phone.

• Launch the Alexa app.
• Tap on the menu button, which looks like three horizontal lines stacked.
• Open settings from this menu.
• Pick the echo device you wish to make the change for.
• Click on the wake word option.
• Pick from the three other options we mentioned before.
• Pick and save.

If you are trying to understand if you did the process correctly, look to Alexa to see the echo light. It will change the color to orange, which means there is a transition happening in the system. The complete process should last less than 30 seconds.

Amazon Echo

• You can directly change the name of the device if you have the display available.
• Open the display and go to settings.
• You can select the device options.
• Click on the wake word, and you will get the same three options. Make your change.

How To Change Alexa’s Name

Alexa’s name is the same as the wake word of the device. We have described three easy methods for changing the device name, or wake word. You have a limited list of options to pick from. You can pick Amazon, the computer or the Echo if the name Alexa does not suit you. So, next time you can say ‘ok echo,’ or ‘ok computer,’ to wake up the device.

How to change Alexa’s Voice

If you are here because you watched the 2018 super bowl or the commercial where Samuel L Jackson, Cardi B, and Gordon Ramsey are taking orders on Alexa, we have great news for you.

You can change the voice of Alexa by following a few simple steps. The celebrity voices are yet to become a full-blown feature on the site, but you can change a lot of how Alexa speaks.

• To do this, you can open the Alexa app.
• Search for devices and click on the house-shaped icon at the bottom right of the screen.
• Pick the device you wish to change; in case you have many devices.
• Go to the language section.
• You can change the language and accent from this option by picking your region.
• Click on.
• Let the device to complete the transition.
• From now on, Alexa will speak to you in a regional accent.

How to change Alexa’s Voice Speed

This is super easy, and very useful if you are not a native speaker. You can simply ask Alexa to increase or decrease the speed of speaking. Say, ‘Alexa speak faster,’ or ‘Alexa speaks slower,’ and the device will adjust the voice speed accordingly. This remains the new setting.

If you want to go back to Alexa’s normal speed, you need to say, ‘Alexa, speak at the default speed.’ This will take you back to Alexa’s default speed profile. Unless you change it back, this will remain a new speed.

How to change Alexa’s Accent

Spicing up Alexa’s accent is a great way to make the device feel much more part of your family. You can change the tones and accent of the device to your local zone, or just jazz it up to some classic Aussie voice by changing the location.

But do keep in mind that Alexa’s voice localization could impact your experience in other ways. For example, if you have changed the accent to Indian, from American, you will get your search results that are localized on India.

If this is not an issue, this is a super fun feature to play with.

• Open the menu from the app.
• Click on Alexa devices.
• Pick the device for which you are changing the voice.
• Click on languages.
• You will get a drop-down box with options.
• Pick your option, save, and exit.

How To Change Alexa’s Language

Changing the accent is one thing. But you could change the complete language, or even make Alexa bilingual to smoothly transition from your local language to English when you wish to. This option is pretty neat when you are trying to learn a new language.

There are nine languages and accents for you to pick from. English, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish are available on the language changing menu. If you have kept it to a single language, Alexa will always communicate in this language only. If you have picked the language you want to change Alexa on, follow these steps.

• Open the app.
• Click on settings.
• Open the list of available devices.
• Click the device for which you want to change the language.
• Pick your chosen language from the drop-down menu.
• Save your changes, exit.

Now just wait for the changes to come into effect, and you have successfully changed the language of Alexa. While you are changing the language, you could get a warning flashing – “The selected language does not match your Amazon Account and is not fully supported in your country. If you make this change, some Alexa capabilities, skills, music, and content may be unavailable.” There is nothing to worry about this because this is coming up. After all, your Amazon app is registered in a different language from the one you are picking right now.

You can use Alexa to the maximum capability by picking the language that is being used by the app. Or you might want to change the app settings for language to make sure both your apps are devices in sync.

How to change Alexa’s Gender

Surprisingly, whereas you can change Alexa’s accent or even the entire language she speaks, you cannot change the gender. No matter what option you select, the voice will be primarily female. You can buy one of the special celebrity voices if you are looking to mix things up.

How To Add Skills To Your Amazon Alexa

You can add skills to Alexa using your computer.

• Login to your amazon account.
• Open the page for Alexa skills from your PC or Mac.
• Search for a skill from the top search bar on the screen.
• You can select one from the editor’s picks or choose by category on the left side.
• Add the skill you need and click on the enable button to make the changes available.

What Cool Things Can Alexa Do?

Besides all the usual things, Alexa has many functions you might not even be aware of.

• Smart home groups

Make your Echo device into a home controller. You can add a set of lights to the speaker and turn on the lights in a specific room. So, if you have guests coming, you can ask Alexa to turn on the dining room, and all the configured lights under the dining room will turn on.

• Zigbee

Zigbee is a group for smart home appliances. If you own any of these appliances like smart light, or locks, you can pair them with your echo device and use it to open or close these when you need to.

• Set your routine

You have a daily routine, so Alexa should too. Program Alexa accordingly, and you have a speaker that is much more fluid in operations. If you have just come back home, you can say ‘I’m home’ and let Alexa turn on all the lights the second you step your foot through the doorstep. Add your favorite music to wake up to, or listen to a specific podcast at a specific time.

• Video calls

If you have a display for Alexa, then you can make free video calls through the device.

• Multi-room audio

If you own more than one echo system, you can pair all of them and play music through all of them together to have a multi-room speaker set up.

• Voice recognition

If you have multiple people in the home who will be using Alexa, it’s a great idea to set up voice recognition. You can set it up in your voice section. This way, nobody unauthorized can access your accounts, or buy something using Alexa. This is a neat safety feature to keep your account protected.

FAQs

• Can I change Alexa’s name to Jarvis?

Unfortunately, for now, Alexa only gives you three other options to choose from. You can change the speaker’s name to Computer, Echo, or Amazon. Jarvis is still out of the way.

• Does Alexa support Spanish?

Yes. You can change Alexa to speak in Spanish if you are a U.S user. Simply go to the app and from the language toggle to Español, and you will be able to speak to Alexa in Spanish. There is also a dual-language mode where you can set Alexa to speak both English and Spanish.

This is an excellent option because when you speak to Alexa in Spanish, the speaker will respond in Spanish. When you speak to it in English, you get an English response. The ability to seamlessly switch languages is an excellent feature of the device.

• Can Alexa randomly turn on lights?

The Alexa Guard feature of Alexa will now allow users to listen to the sound of breaking glass, alert you if the smoke alarm is on, and even turn your light son and off randomly. This is available for all echo users.

• What music streaming services work with Alexa?

If you have an account with these services, you will be able to stream music: Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Tidal, TuneIn, and Vevo.

• Can you control Sonos with Alexa?

Yes. Amazon Echo or Echo Dot will give users the option to connect with Sonos speakers. This means you could order Alexa to play music through the Sonos app. You can also control the podcasts, songs, playlists, radio stations, and volume for any of the speakers set in any room of the house.

• How to play podcasts with Alexa

You can set the option for podcasts within the Alexa app. Open the main menu and select music, video, and books. Under music, you will find the option to TuneIn. Click on podcasts, and you can uncover all the categories of podcasts that are to your likening. Then you can pick which episode you wish to play by clicking on the cover of the podcast.

• What are the four wake words for Alexa?

The four wake word options for Alexa are Echo, computer, amazon, and Alexa itself. You can change the wake word by following the methods we described.

Conclusion

If you have been using Alexa to listen to music only, you are wasting the potential of the speaker. It is so much more versatile and lets you play with fun options. Why stick with the plain old default settings, when you can let Gordon Ramsey teach you cooking recipes? The price for changing celebrity voices is nominal. But we don’t want you to get stuck in playing with the different voices of Alexa.

You can change the name, accent, language, and even get much more localized news and details by playing with the settings. You can set up the speaker to listen for the sound of a break-in or fire alarm to protect your family. There are endless personalization options with Alexa, so start having some fun!