How to Create and Edit Alexa Routines

Alexa makes it easy to control multiple smart home devices at once. For example, you can set up a schedule to turn on all your smart lights at the same time every morning, or turn them all off by saying, “Alexa, goodnight,” and much more. Here’s how to create an Alexa routine and how to change your routine’s settings.

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How to Create an Alexa Routine

To create a routine, open the Alexa app and tap the three-line icon at the bottom of your screen. Then, go to “Routines,” tap the plus sign icon, and select “Add an event.” Next, choose an event to trigger your routine and edit the settings. Finally, tap “Add an action,” edit the settings, and tap “Save.”

1. ​Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap “More” (the three-line icon at the bottom of your screen).
3. Select “Routines.”
4. Tap the plus sign (+) icon. You will see this in the top-right corner of the screen.
5. Tap “Add an event.” This lets you choose what will trigger your routine.
6. Select an event and change your settings.
7. Tap “Next.” You will see this in the top-right corner of the screen.
   • Voice: Trigger a routine by saying a custom voice command. For example, if you enter the voice command “Goodnight,” you can set all your smart lights to turn off when you say, “Alexa, Goodnight” near your smart speakers.
   • Schedule: Trigger a routine based on the time. For example, you can turn all your smart lights on at sunrise, turn them off at sunset, or choose a specific time to turn multiple smart devices on/off.
   • Smart Home: Trigger a routine based on your smart home devices. For example, when your smart cameras detect motion, you can trigger your smart lights to turn on. 
   • Sound Detection: Trigger a routine when your Echo smart speakers detect certain sounds, including dog barking, coughing, snoring, water sounds, beeping appliances, and baby crying.
   • Location: Trigger a routine based on the location of your smartphone. For example, you can set all your smart lights to turn off when you leave home.
8. Tap “Add an action.” This lets you choose what happens when the routine is triggered. For example, if you choose Smart Home, you can select certain smart devices or groups of devices to turn on/off.
9. Choose an action. This will set what happens when you trigger an Alexa routine. For example, you can select Smart Home > Groups to control all the smart devices in a room at once. Or you can choose a specific device type (like Lights, Plugs, Cameras, etc.) to control them individually. Finally, you can also choose specific actions (like weather reports, etc.) or enter a custom action yourself.
10. Change the routine settings. Depending on which action you choose, you’ll need to set the specific settings. For example, if you create an Alexa routine for your smart lights, you’ll need to choose whether the trigger turns your lights on/off, how bright they will be, and more.
11. Tap “Next.” You will see this in the top-right corner of your screen.
12. Finally, tap “Save” to create your Alexa routine.

    Note: You can always add more devices to an Alexa routine by selecting “Add another action.”

    

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How to Edit Alexa Routines

1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Go to “More” (the three-line icon at the bottom of your screen).
3. Select “Routines.”
4. Tap “My Routines.” You will see this tab at the top of your screen.
5. Select a routine.

   Note: From here, you can also tap the play icon to the right of any routine to test it.

   
6. Once you make edits to your routine, tap “Finish.” From this screen, you can rename your routine, change the event, change the action, or tap the three-dot icon to change additional settings.

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