Echo speakers have always amazed us with the umpteen tasks they can accomplish apart from the primary purpose they were built for. With the virtual assistant Alexa just a voice request away, we have learned to delegate many things to her so that we can sit back and relax. But what if she can hear you even if you did not intend to communicate anything? The microphone button in the device comes to your rescue, which can be turned off to keep your talks private. It can be pressed again and turned on to make Alexa alert again.
A Little Info About Echo Dot And Echo Show
Echo Dot is a member of the Amazon Echo family with a size smaller than the original Echo speaker. It looks like a hockey puck and is only 1.5 inches in height. The speaker works with your voice commands, and you can assign tasks to be accomplished by Alexa.
As it is a small speaker, the makers have provided to connect it to a larger one if needed. This is an excellent speaker that takes care of your routine jobs and controls other smart devices at your place.
Echo Show is yet another smart speaker from Amazon that is equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen along with all other features of the Echo speaker. You can think of it as a mini-computer that can take touchscreen input along with voice inputs to wake Alexa and make her do chores. It has a microphone, an in-built camera, and flash memory that have indeed delighted the users.
Turning On/Off Microphone On Echo Dot
It is a simple affair turning the microphone on/off. There are four buttons on the top of the device. The button that shows a circle with a line through it is the microphone button. Press this button to switch off the microphone, and the button along with the ring around the speaker turns red.
After it is turned off, the device is deaf to your voice requests. It does not respond to the action button or the wake word Alexa. But you can still make your requests using the remote or Alexa app. To switch on the microphone, press the button again, and the ring appears blue again, indicating that the device is listening.
Turning On/Off Microphone On Echo Show
Echo Show has a touchscreen and in-built camera in addition to the microphone. The camera and microphone are turned on/off by a single button. This button is located at the top left of the device and shows a circle through it. Pressing this button will switch off both the microphone and camera temporarily.
Once done, the device will no longer respond to your requests. To turn it back on, press the button again, and it will come back to the listening mode.
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Things You Can Do With Your Echo
Alexa, The Cooking Assistant
If the kitchen is the last place you want to be at your home, more so because you hate cooking, Alexa can be your new assistant for cooking. With a single command, Alexa will read out the recipe for you step by step. You can listen and follow the steps and can even go back to previous steps if you are not clear. And with Echo Show, it is much easier than this. You can watch the recipe video to make sure that the texture and color of the food match the original.
As A Karaoke Machine
This option is perfect if you own an Echo Show. When you are tired of listening to famous singers sing, why not sing yourselves using the Echo Show as a karaoke machine. You can ask Alexa to play the karaoke versions of your favorite song, and the lyrics will come floating on the screen. The best thing is that you will get prompted at the right time, and you won’t miss a beat.
Create Routines To Make Your Days Perfect
Routines make your day less hectic and more organized. Amazon Alexa lets you create routines using which you can get multiple things done with a single voice request. For example, if you wish to listen to some soothing music first thing you get up in the morning followed by the latest news, you can create a routine that does both things one after the other in a single command.
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Related Questions
Does Alexa Stay On All The Time?
There are many colors around the ring on top of the speaker that stands for different alerts. These cannot be permanently turned off, while some of them can be disabled temporarily. As long as the Echo speaker is plugged into a power source, Alexa remains on as it is always ready to cater to voice requests.
How Do I Turn On My Echo Dot?
Echo Dot can be turned on by connecting it to a power source. You will have to wait until the ring on the top of the device gets activated and turns blue. If it hasn’t activated within a minute or two, check the power connection. You can also try to reset your speaker if nothing else works.
Some prefer to keep their microphones off regularly. They can still use the speaker using the Alexa app. This way, you don’t have to worry that some unknown person working at Amazon is listening to your conversations. And when you really feel like it, you can just do a button press and turn the microphone on again.