Make an Alexa routine your own

Here’s what you need to know to enable an Alexa routine that was shared with you

Alexa lets you access routines that someone shared with you by just tapping a link. But in most cases, you can’t simply tap and save.

If the routine has any smart home actions (like turning on the lights), you’ll need to choose your own devices.

And if there’s a message or music that comes on as part of the routine, you’ll have to choose which Echo will say the message or play the music.

Once you tap the link, you’ll be taken to a page like the one below where you can easily make all the necessary customizations (and any other customizations you think would make it better!).

If you see an orange message…

That means that you need to make a selection, like selecting a light such as in the routine above.

Tap on the orange message, and follow the prompts to make your selection.

You’ll almost always need to choose an Echo…

If the routine has music or other sounds playing, you’ll need to select the Echo device where it’ll be played.

Just tap on the spot where it says “Choose Device,” then tap on the device where you want it to play.

You can also make any other customizations you want…

In the routine above, if you wanted to change what you say to trigger the routine, or play a different playlist, you just tap the 2 lines next to the part you want to change, and update it with your own picks.

Pro Tip

If someone shares a routine with you via a link, tap the link from your smartphone (not your computer). You’ll need to be in the Alexa app to make all the adjustments above.