How to Type With Alexa
Amazon recently updated Alexa with a new feature that allows users to print to-do lists, recipes, and more with a quick voice command. The AI assistant will also notify you when you’re low on ink, and can even set up automatic discounted ink refills through Amazon .
To print with Alexa, you need an Echo speaker and a printer that can connect to Wi-Fi or a local network. Amazon doesn’t have a list of supported printers, but the Alexa print support page states that Brother, Canon, Epson, and HP models should work. The company says it plans to support more printers in the future.
Your Echo device (s) and printer must first be turned on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, then just say “Alexa, find my printer” and these two devices should handle the connection processes.
If that doesn’t work, you can also connect them manually:
- Make sure your printer is turned on and connected to your home network.
- Open the Alexa mobile app.
- Go to the “Devices” tab.
- Click “+”, then “Add device” and select “Printer”.
- Select your printer from the list.
- Your printer should now be synced with Alexa. If you want to disable them, you can disable or remove them from the Devices tab.
Once Alexa and your printer are set up, you can use voice commands to print any documents without additional applications. Unfortunately, you cannot print certain documents stored on your phone, PC, or other devices, but your printer can print a lot more. Here are some examples:
- “Alexa, print my shopping list”
- “Alexa, print out my to-do list.”
- “Alexa, print the crossword puzzle”
- “Alexa, print out the riddle to Sukodu”
- “Alexa, print out the coloring book”
- “Alexa, print out the recipe for [name of food]”
- “Alexa, print a test page”
- “Alexa, print out graph paper”
There are even more teams on the Amazon support page .
The requested document should start printing right away, although Alexa may provide you with additional options first. For example, the AI assistant will offer you several options to print a test page if you ask for one. However, Alexa can also respond to very specific queries, such as “print out the kindergarten letter sounds” or “print out a sea animal coloring book”.
Even though it only works with a few skills, the Alexa print feature still has a ton of apps, so be sure to try it out if it works with your printer. Just remember to delete your team history if you don’t want to share your print history with an Amazon employee or anyone else.