The much-awaited feature is finally available in India as well
Amazon last week with the India availability of the Fire TV Stick 4K, new Alexa Voice Remote, Echo Sub, and new Kindle Paperwhite in India also announced that a much-awaited feature was finally available here as well. Owners of both an Amazon Echo speaker (or another Alexa device) and a Fire TV Stick in India can now use Alexa voice commands to control their Fire TV. The new feature - which was available in other markets for a while now - gives Fire TV users voice command functionality without requiring an Alexa Voice Remote or the Fire TV Remote App.
To control your Fire TV Stick via your Alexa device, you'll first need to ensure that you have the latest version of the Alexa app installed on your Android, iOS, or Fire device, as well as the latest Fire TV device software on the streaming stick. Here's how to update your Fire TV Stick software: in the Fire TV menu, navigate to Settings > Device/ System > About > Software Version > Check for System Update.
Next, you'll need to link your Alexa device and Fire TV device. If you have only one Fire TV device registered to your account, Alexa will complete the linking process automatically — to complete the pairing, speak a request to your Alexa device that mentions "Fire TV". It is through the linking process that you can discover if your Alexa device is compatible with the new Fire TV functionality.
If you have more than one Fire TV device registered to your account, you will need to use the Alexa app to pair your devices. In the Alexa app (for Android, iOS, and Fire), navigate to Settings > TV & Video > Fire TV. Follow the instructions, and then select Link Devices to confirm your selection. Of course, the Alexa device and Fire TV will need to be registered to the same Amazon account for any of this to work. Amazon also notes that users will be able to link multiple Alexa devices to the same Fire TV, but only one Alexa device at a time can be used to control the Fire TV.
Once these steps have been followed, you will be able to use your Alexa device to control your Fire TV, allowing you to utilise your voice play a movie or TV show, search for movies or TV shows, search within apps, control playback (including live TV controls), launch apps, return to the Fire TV Home Screen.
| To do this on your Fire TV … | Say this to your Alexa device… |
|---|---|
| Play a movie or TV show Alexa can play content from Prime Video and other supported apps installed on your Fire TV. Advertisement | "Watch [title]." "Play [title]. “Play [title] on [app]." "Play [genre]." "Play [genre] on [app]." |
| Search for movies and TV shows Alexa can find movies and TV shows from Prime Video and supported installed apps. | "Search for [movie / TV show]." "Find [title / genre]." "Show me titles with [actor]." |
| Search within apps You can use Alexa within supported apps to search for movies and TV shows by voice. | "Search for [movie / TV show] on [app]." "Find [title / genre] on [app]." "Show me [movies / TV shows] on [app]." "Find [actor] movies on [app]." |
| Control playback Alexa can control playback for movies and TV shows from Prime Video. Alexa can also control playback for supported installed apps. | "Play." "Pause." "Stop." "Resume." "Rewind [timeframe]." "Fast-forward [timeframe]." "Go back [timeframe]." "Jump forward [timeframe]." "Next / Next Episode." "Watch from beginning." |
| Live TV Controls For supported apps that feature live TV access, you can use Alexa to change channels or control playback for on-demand programming. | "Go to [channel / network] on [app]." "Watch [channel / network]." |
| Launch apps from Your Apps & Games | "Open [app]." "Launch [app]." |
| Return to the Fire TV Home screen | "Go Home." |
Alongside the new feature to control Fire TV devices, Amazon has introduced Alexa skills on the Fire TV Stick to view live camera feeds, check sports scores, order food, book a cab, or stream songs. All the new Alexa skills are available on the first generation Fire TV Stick as well as the Fire TV Stick 4K, apart from other Fire TV devices.
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