How to Connect an Xbox to Alexa

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Want to control your Xbox without touching your controller? With Alexa, you can use voice commands to turn your Xbox on, adjust the volume, launch apps, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about how to connect your Xbox to Alexa and what to do if it doesn’t work the first time.

Read More: How to Connect Alexa to a Roku TV

Before You Begin:

To connect Alexa to your Xbox, you’ll need to turn on “Enable digital assistants” on your Xbox. If you also want to turn your Xbox on with voice commands, you’ll need to enable “Sleep Mode.” For best results, connect your Xbox and smartphone to the same WiFi network during setup.

Note: Alexa only works with the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles.

How to Enable Alexa on Xbox

To enable Alexa on your Xbox, turn on your Xbox and sign in to your account. Then press the Xbox button and go to “Profile & System > Settings.” Next, select “Devices & connections > Digital assistants.” Finally, check the box next to “Enable digital assistants.”

Turn on your Xbox and sign in. Make sure you’re signed in to the Xbox account you want to control, so all voice commands go to the correct profile.
Press the Xbox button on your controller. This will open the Xbox Guide Menu.
Go to “Profile & System.” To do this, press the right-directional button on the D-pad.
Select “Settings.”
Go to “Devices & connections” and select “Digital assistants.”
Finally, check the box next to “Enable digital assistants.”
Note: Below this box, you can select “Change volume with voice by” to adjust how much Alexa increases or decreases the volume with each command.

How to Connect Alexa to Xbox

To connect Alexa to an Xbox, open the Alexa app and tap the three-line icon at the bottom of your screen. Then go to “Skills & Games” and type “Xbox” into the search bar. Select the Xbox skill and tap “Enable to Use.” Finally, sign in to your Microsoft account and follow the instructions.

Open the Alexa app.
Go to “More.” This is the three-line icon at the bottom of your screen.
Select “Skills & Games.”
Type “Xbox” into the search bar and select the Xbox skill.
Tap “Enable to Use.”
Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Verify your identity. By default, Microsoft will try to use the Authenticator app to verify your identity. All you have to do is open the app and select the same number you see on screen.
Note: If you don’t want to use the Authenticator app, tap “Other ways to sign in.”
Wait for Alexa to connect to your Xbox account and tap “Close.”
Wait for Alexa to discover your Xbox device and tap “Close.”
Note: If Alexa doesn’t discover your Xbox, make sure your smartphone and Xbox are on the same WiFi network. Skip to the final section below to find out how.
Select your Xbox.
Finally, choose which Alexa speakers you want to control your Xbox, and tap “Link Devices.”

Common Alexa Commands for Xbox

“Alexa, tell Xbox to turn on/off”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to play [game name]”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to open [app name]”
“Alexa, tell Xbox volume up/down”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to mute/unmute”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to pause/play/stop”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to play next/previous”
“Alexa, tell Xbox to go home”

To find a full list of Alexa commands, check out this official list from Xbox.

Read More: How to Create and Edit Alexa Routines

How to Turn on Xbox Sleep Mode

To turn on your Xbox with Alexa, you’ll need to enable Sleep Mode. To do this, press the Xbox button on your Xbox controller and go to “Profile & System > Settings.” Then go to “General” and select “Power options.” Finally, select “Sleep” and make sure it says “Active” at the bottom.

Note: Sleep Mode lets your Xbox respond to voice commands quickly, but it uses more power than turning the console fully off.

Turn on your Xbox and sign in.
Press the Xbox button on your controller.
Go to “Profile & System.”
Select “Settings.”
Go to “General” and select “Power options.”
Finally, select “Sleep.” Make sure this option says “Active” at the bottom.