Amazon Echo Review & Voice Controlled Home Automation HOWTO w/ WeMo!

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When I first got the Amazon Echo, it was a pretty cool device that you could talk to when you are bored but there were limits to the device as I was used to doing complex things with my Google Now already.  Of course, I also find playing music rather convenient, especially when I am doing dishes, I can turn on music without bothering to dry my hands, I really like that.  But at the price of near $200, is this gadget worth it?

Everything changed after I added some of my Belkin WeMo switches to it.  WeMo switches are basically switches you can hook up any of your 110V appliances up to 15 amps and control them using the WeMo app on Android or Apple’s iOS.  Now, I can control all of the lights upstairs in my house, my studio lights, even my PC and backup servers, all using voice commands.

In my opinion, home automation with voice commands on the Amazon Echo is actually the coolest feature.  With a couple WeMOs and Amazon Echo, you could have your home completely voice-controlled.  Now, that’s really cool and Amazon Echo also supports other types of Home Automation gadgets, you can check out the link here.

How to Setup Amazon Echo and WeMo for Home Automation! [EASY AS PIE]

So, let me show you how easy it is to setup WeMo and Amazon Echo for home automation w/ voice commands, you will need to setup the Wemo to your home’s wireless internet and on your smartphone.

Stuff you will need:

1 Amazon Echo – Link

WeMo – Link (WeMo has many different types of switches, wall switches, light bulbs, and more.  They are all compatible with WeMo app and Amazon Echo so get the ones you need for your home.)

First, Plug in your Wemo, you can hold the button on the back for 5 seconds to reset it.

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Second, install the Wemo app on your smartphone.

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Third, your new Wemo should pop up in your wireless connections, connect to it.

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Fourth, open up the Wemo app and it will set up your new Wemo. You can rename it to anything you’d like, we will use “Yo yo yo” in this example.

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Fifth, test out the Wemo app and make sure your new Wemo is working.

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Sixth, open up your Echo app, go to Menu->Settings->Connected Home, then tap on “Discover devices”. This should find your new Wemo device.

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Seventh, now your new Wemo is connected to your Amazon Echo. Try doing a voice command like, “Alexa, turn on Yo Yo Yo”. “Alexa turn off Yo Yo Yo”.

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Eighth, if you want to group multiple Wemos to turn on together, you can use the Groups feature in the settings, simply group your Wemos that you want to control together such as your livingroom lights.

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Before using Amazon Echo, we wasted a ton of energy simply because we had 3 lights in the livingroom and the light switches were in 3 different locations.  With the Amazon Echo, my daughter has a ton of fun everyday turning off the livingroom lights. When your kids can control your home with their voice, that is amazing.

Of course, the only thing bad about voice controlling your home with Amazon Echo? My dog really doesn’t like it and barks when the lights on on (but she’s getting used to it, I think).

Amazon Echo also comes with a nifty wireless remote so you can still control your home from different parts of your room without being in the same room with the Echo. Without the remote, I wouldn’t be able to control my studio lights in my office downstairs.

Overall, Amazon Echo has definitely proved to me that it’s a great device for voice-controlled home automation.  If you are looking for such a thing, combination of Amazon Echo and Wemo will give you exactly that and it’s so easy to setup, anyone can do it if they know how to use a smartphone.

 

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Max Lee

Max Lee is the founder of HighOnAndroid.com. Max makes Android tutorials and review videos for people who want to get high on Android over at his YouTube channel and Korean YouTube channel.