How To Get Alexa To Turn On Multiple Lights At Once

Philips Hue E12 Candle Bulb Lifestyle Copy (Image credit: Philips Hue)

Operating your smart home with your voice is one of the about fun and practical things you can practise, and nosotros're hither to show you how to command your smart home lights with Alexa. Read on to learn how to set up your smart dwelling lighting and chief your illumination situation!

Products used in this guide

Let there be light: Philips Hue Single Premium Smart Bulb (opens in new tab) ($42 at Amazon)
Connect your controlers: Philips Hue Smart Hub (opens in new tab) ($55 at Amazon)

How to set and control your smart lights with Alexa

Open the Alexa app on your smartphone.
Tap on the More carte du jour (three lines) at the lesser of the screen.
Tap on the Add a Device at the top of the screen.
A screen volition pop up, asking, "what type of device are you setting upward?" It will show pop brands and device categories. Here you can tap on the brand or tap on Lite.
Select which brand of smart light you want to set upwards. In this example, we will choose Philips Hue.

Alexa App Hue Bulb Step 1 — Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Key)

After selecting Philips Hue, you will be prompted to "Connect your Philips Hue light to Alexa's built-in hub" if you have an Echo Plus device or Echo Studio.
Tap on Discover Devices to connect to your Alexa hub.
If y'all don't have an Amazon device with an Alexa built-in hub, you will be asked, "which hub are y'all using?" Many smart calorie-free manufacturers require a bridge or hub device to enable their lights to talk to your voice assistant. Make sure you have a hub if it'south required for your smart bulb! Select your span device.
Next, it will inquire you to connect your Philips Hue calorie-free to Alexa by downloading the Philips Hue app (opens in new tab) and following the setup process.
After yous've connected your Philips Hue calorie-free to Alexa in both apps, you will exist prompted to press Continue and enable the Philips Hue Alexa Skill. Again, this is mutual for many smart light manufacturers.
Tap Enable to Utilize in the skill, and you are skilful to go.

Alexa App Hue Bulb Step 2 — Source: Android Central (Epitome credit: Source: Android Central)

Yous've now successfully connected your smart light bulb to Alexa! Without taking any further steps, you lot tin can now enquire Alexa to turn your bulb on/off or change the color.

However, if you lot desire to practice more with your smart lighting, like control entire rooms or set up themed mood lighting, go on reading.

How to ready and control a smart light grouping with Alexa

From the Devices tab at the bottom right of the Alexa app, tap on the + symbol in the summit right corner.
Tap on Add together Group.

Alexa Light Group Step 1 — Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Here you tin select a pre-divers group name (e.g., per room), or add together a Custom Proper noun.
Tap Side by side, and and then cull which devices (which light bulbs) you wish to add to the grouping, and then tap Save.

Alexa Light Group Step 2 — Source: Android Primal (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Yous can echo this process to create as many groups as you like, and then ask Alexa to practise things similar "Alexa, turn on the lights in the Office" or "Alexa, modify the Sleeping accommodation lights to blue." Pretty absurd, right?

How to set up and control a smart light routine with Alexa

Setting up a routine is 1 of the most powerful things you can do with your Alexa-enabled smart home devices. Routines allow you to connect numerous tasks to i central phrase or trigger, which can then automate many important processes for you. For example, I take a routine set up for bedtime that turns off all of the lights and music and lowers the thermostat to 76 degrees when I say "goodnight Alexa."

Open the Alexa app and tap on the More than menu (three lines) in the bottom correct corner.
Tap on Routines.
From this screen, you can encounter any previous routines that yous may take set and cull from any featured routines that Amazon is promoting. To create a new routine, tap the + symbol in the top right corner.

Alexa Light Routines Step 1 — Source: Android Central (Paradigm credit: Source: Android Cardinal)

In the New Routine screen, y'all will first press the + sign next to Enter routine name and create a name for your routine.
Next, you can select your trigger past tapping on When this happens and then selecting an activeness for that trigger.
Hither nosotros'll cull Vocalization and type in a exact command for Alexa to trigger our next activity but you can besides cull based on a schedule, a particular device action, leaving or arriving at a location, an warning, or with the press of an Echo Button.
Side by side, tap Add Action, which volition allow you to choose various responses to triggers, such as playing music, reading you lot the latest news, or turning on/off your smart lights in the Smart Habitation tab.

Alexa Light Routines Step 2 — Source: Android Central (Epitome credit: Source: Android Central)

After you tap on the Smart Abode tab, you will see a screen that says All Devices or Control grouping. If you select All Devices, you can choose which of your device(due south) to add together to the activity. If you select Command grouping, y'all can choose which of your groups to add to the action.

Alexa Light Routines Step 3 — Source: Android Cardinal (Image credit: Source: Android Cardinal)

How to prepare and control your smart lights with Alexa Guard

Alexa Guard is a security service that utilizes the microphone assortment on whatever/all Echo devices to heed for signs of intrusion (broken glass) or smoke/carbon monoxide alarms when set to away fashion. You tin likewise connect Ring and ADT security systems to Alexa Guard for added convenience and security.

Open the Alexa app and tap on the More card (three lines) in the bottom right corner.
Tap on Settings.
From the Settings carte du jour, ringlet downwards and tap on Guard.
The Alexa Guard screen will come up. Tap on the gear icon in the tiptop right corner.

Alexa Guard Lights Step 1 — Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

If you've already ready up your smart lights per the previous sections, you tin tap to enable Away Lighting.
This volition allow Alexa to automatically plow continued lights on when Guard is set to away mode and then that it appears that y'all are home - even if you are not.

Alexa Guard Lights Step 2 — Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Our top equipment picks

The Philips Hue serial of lighting products have long been some of the nigh pop smart lite devices on the market. We retrieve that picking up a few of their smart bulbs along with a smart hub is a keen place to go started.

Smart Bulbs

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Philips Hue Unmarried Premium Smart Bulb

Low-cal upward your life
Philips Hue bulbs set the standard for smart home lighting and are nonetheless considered among the all-time options out at that place. Paired with a hub, they will piece of work with Alexa or the other vocalism assistants.

These bulbs allow y'all to chose from 16 million colors and combinations to change the look and feel of whatsoever room. Y'all tin can purchase them individually or in multi-packs, and you can easily add more than to your home over time.

Bridge the Divide

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Mission Control
The Philips Hue Smart Hub is mission control for all of your Philips Hue products and allows them to interface with Alexa or whatever smart assistant y'all adopt. Think of it similar a translator between the language your bulbs speak and that which your smart assistant speaks!

Many smart device manufacturers utilize different protocols to communicate with their devices and thus demand some sort of centralized hub to communicate with smart assistants. The Philips Hue Smart Hub has multi-device compatibility to brand sure your Philips Hue devices work seamlessly with Alexa.

Additional Equipment

Not all smart lighting solutions require new lightbulbs, smart domicile hubs, device installation, or big purchases. At that place are some simple and inexpensive devices you lot can choice up to automate your lighting with Alexa, including the following:

Maxonar LED Strip Lights (opens in new tab) ($30 at Amazon)

One time y'all get your regular lights replaced, add together some fun with strip lights in fun places like the desk or shelf.

Brightech Maxwell Lamp (Paradigm credit: Brightech)

Brightech Maxwell Bedroom Nightstand Lamp with USB Ports (opens in new tab) ($40 at Amazon)

Alexa can also control stand-lonely lamps throughout your house — and this one has chargers for your telephone!

Amazon Smart Plug (opens in new tab) ($25 at Amazon)

Turn any existing lamp into a smart light with these plug and play devices.

Jeramy is proud to help *Go on Austin Weird* and loves hiking in the hill country of key Texas with a breakfast taco in each manus. When he'due south non writing about smart home gadgets and wearables, he'south defending his human relationship with his smart voice assistants to his family. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeramyutgw.