Is there anything more frustrating than losing your smartphone in your own home? In this tutorial you will learn several ways that you can use Alexa, or any Alexa-enabled device, to find your phone.
Also read: How to Enjoy Thousands of Radio Stations on Amazon Alexa
Find My Phone: using Alexa’s built-in skill
There are several ways you can pinpoint a lost or missing smartphone, including using Alexa’s built-in “Find My Phone” skill.
Once you’ve enabled this skill, simply say: “Alexa, find my phone,” and Amazon’s digital assistant will give you a call.
To enable Find My Phone:
1. Launch the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet.
2. In the bottom-right corner, tap “More.”
3. Tap “Skills and Games.”
4. In the upper-right corner, tap the magnifying glass icon.
5. Search for “Find My Phone” and select the skill when it appears.
6. Tap “Enable To Use.”
7. Read the features and data that this skill requires access to, and if you’re happy to proceed, tap “Allow.”
8. Next, ask your Alexa-enabled device: “Alexa, find my phone.”
9. Alexa will ask for your phone number. Tell her your number slowly and clearly.
10. Once Alexa has your number, she’ll send a four-digit code to that number. To complete the connection, say: “Alexa … ” followed by that code.
11. If your phone starts ringing, then congratulations! You’ve successfully set up Find My Phone!
12. The next time you’re struggling to remember whether you left your phone in your pocket, your bag, a drawer, or anywhere in between, simply say: “Alexa, find my phone,” and she’ll give you a call.
13. Do you want to add a second (or third, or fourth) phone to your Amazon Alexa account? Just say: “Alexa, ask Find My Phone to add another number,” and she’ll guide you through the registration process.
Also read: How to Make Alexa More Accessible for the Visually-Impaired
International user? Call any number using IFTTT applets
Depending on your location and mobile number, Alexa’s Find My Phone skill may not work for your particular device. For example, in the UK, Find My Phone only supports UK mobile numbers. If you want to use an international number, then IFTTT (If This Then That) is a viable alternative.
Before we begin, you’ll need to create an IFTTT account, if you haven’t already. You’ll also need to download the IFTTT app to your smartphone (available for Android and iOS).
To set up the Call My Device applet:
1. Log in to your IFTTT account.
2. Select “Explore.”
3. Search for “Alexa.”
4. When it appears, select the following applet: “Hey Alexa, call my device.” There are a few different “Alexa, find my device”-style applets, so make sure you select the one that uses VoIP!
5. Click “Connect.”
6. Read the applet’s description. By default, this applet is triggered by the phrase “Alexa, call my phone,” but you can change this command, if required.
7. Click “Save.”
8. You can now trigger this IFTTT applet at any time by telling your Alexa-enabled device, “Alexa, call my phone.”
Help! My device is muted
We’ve explored two ways that you can track down a lost or missing device, but there’s a catch: both of these methods require the volume to be turned up on your device!
But what if you lose your smartphone while it’s on silent?
If you’re an Android user, then it’s good news: there’s an IFTTT applet that can unsilence your silenced Android device, ready for you to trigger a subsequent Find My Phone-style applet or service.
To set up this applet on your Android smartphone:
1. Find the following IFTTT applet: “Unsilence your phone with Amazon Alexa.” Select this applet when it appears.
2. Read the description, and if you’re happy to proceed, click “Connect.”
3. If prompted, log in to your Amazon account.
4. If you ever lose your Android smartphone, you can crank the volume up to maximum using the following command: “Alexa, trigger unsilence phone.”
Amazon Alexa isn’t the only way to hunt down a misplaced smartphone. You can use Siri or Google Nest, as Apple and Google have “Find my phone” capability for iOS and Android respectively.
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