Alexa is a smart and advanced virtual assistant that can be used on your Fire tablet to ask questions, search, play music, shop, and many more. For Fire tablets, Alexa is available only on 4th generation and higher tablets of Amazon Fire. To run Alexa on a Fire tablet, you need to download the app from the play store, apple store or Amazon app store. Without the Alexa app, your Fire tablets won’t work at all. So you must make sure that the app is installed on your device. Here it is also important to note that if your Fire tablet does not support Alexa, then you cannot interact with Alexa even through the app. There are certain features and services of Alexa that might differ from country to country. The post is dedicated to those who wish to use Alexa on their Fire tablet but do not know how.
How to download Alexa app?
Alexa app can be downloaded easily through the app store. Simply search for the “Alexa app” in the app store of Fire tablet and tap the “install” button to install Alexa on Fire tablet. Alexa works well on Fire OS version 5.3.3 or higher. If you have the app installed already then you just need to update it to the latest version.
Activate Alexa on Fire tablet
In order to activate Alexa on Fire tablet, hold the home button on the device until you see a blue line. As soon as the blue line appears on the device, it means that Alexa is ready to use. You can start requesting it or command it to do certain work. It is important to note that Alexa does not work with child profiles or secondary adult profiles. To turn the Alexa feature on or off, simply swipe down from the top of the screen and follow the instructions given below-
- Tap the setting gear icon and hit the “Alexa” option.
- Tap on the “switch for Alexa” option to turn on or off the features.
Use Alexa on hands-free mode
The hands-free mode is only supported by the 7th and 8th generation of Fire tablets. To make Alexa work in hands-free in 8th gen HD tablet, it must have a software version 6.3.0.1 or later. Swipe down from the top of the home screen of Fire tablet and select “Alexa hands-free” icon in the menu. Alternatively, you can also go to the settings gear icon and select “Alexa” then toggle to the “hands-free mode” on or off as you wish. In case you have a password or PIN set on your Fire tablet then there are certain features in Alexa that will require that password or concerned PIN. To disable the hands-free feature in Fire tablet, here’s what you need to do-
- Select the “settings” gear icon on the home screen of Fire tablet.
- Choose “Alexa” option.
- Now select the “Hands-free lock screen access” option available on Fire tablet screen.
Quick fact: If you happen to have more than one Alexa enabled devices connected to your Amazon account then Alexa uses the one that is close to it. You can change this behavior of the Fire tablet by going to the settings and selecting “Tablet ESP behavior” option.
Point to remember: The 7th and 8th generation devices support Alexa hands-free feature only when the device is in working mode or when the device is connected to a much stronger power source.
Alexa on show mode
Here’s the information on the Fire tablets that works well with Alexa on show mode-
- 7th generation Fire HD 8 and fine HD 10 devices with OS version 5.6.2.0 or later.
- 8th generation Fire HD 8 devices with software version 6.3.0.1 or later.
The following devices support show mode with which the device’s response to the many hands-free requests handled by Alexa. It is easy to enable the show mode in Fire tablets if you’re using Alex in it. You can enable the mode by swiping down the home screen of the Fire tablet and tap on the “show mode” switch present there. Additionally, you can also say “Alexa switch to show mode” to enable it and “Alexa, exit show mode” to disable the show mode feature.
Using Alexa on Amazon fire tablet
Here are some amazing features you can enjoy with Alexa on your Fire tablet-
Calling and messaging with Alexa app: Using the Alexa app, you can opt for the calling and messaging services supported by your fire tablet and Echo device. Fire tablet users can almost call to any local number by availing this service. The calling and messaging feature can be managed pretty well by going to the settings>Alexa>Communication>Drop in/Drop off>Turn on/off calling and messaging feature. “Drop in” here represents a feature to connect with the tablet hands-free to all devices that are compatible with Alexa.
Use Alexa for shopping: The easiest way to shop from Amazon using Alexa from your Fire tablet is by saying “order <item name>” or “add <item name> to my cart or “cancel <item name>” to name a few. Alexa completes your transaction with the help of default payment option chosen by you. If you want to cancel the shopping feature using voice then you can also disable the voice purchasing feature by going to the settings>voice purchasing>turn on/off purchase by voice.
Get instant search results with Alexa: Alexa makes searching the information from the web a lot easier. All you need to do is say “Alexa, search for <info>” and she will tell you all about that query you’ve asked from her.
Play media and listen to music on Fire tablet using Alexa: The experience of using Alexa on fire tablet becomes amazing when you can hear a song by your favorite band or musician through a simple voice command. To play a media or a song, simply say “Alexa play <song name>”. You can also read kindle books through Alexa by saying “play the book <book name> Alexa”.
Play videos on Fire tablet with Alexa: To watch a movie on your Fire tablet by voice commanding Alexa, you can say things like “start playing <name of the TV show>” or “play the movie <movie name>” or “show me the movie with actor <name of the actor>”.
Other information you can ask from Alex on a Fire tablet
Here are some other cool features of using Alexa on Fire tablet. Alexa can be used to-
- Check weather reports, traffic situation
- Ask a question
- Update yourself with news
- Update calendar, lists, set alarms and timers
- Change wake word
If you are struggling with Alexa set up on Fire tablet, or if you have any query regarding Alexa and its usage, then contact us on our customer support phone number to get the solution and assistance. We would be glad to clear your doubts regarding the same.