How to Stop Alexa’s Annoying “By the Way” Suggestions
Virtual assistants can be quite helpful. In fact, Alexa has proven to be an integral part of my smart home system. The fact that I can walk into my house and say “Alexa, turn on the bedroom” and the lights in my bedroom will come on is definitely convenient. But these virtual assistants have a dark side, and we’re not talking about them spying on you —sometimes they just don’t know when to shut up.
If you’ve ever used Alexa, you’ve probably heard “by the way, did you know…” at one point or another. This can be useful if you’re asking the assistant a question or trying to figure out what you can do with Alexa . But usually this is just an attempt to promote some other service or “plugin” that Alexa offers, such as playing rain sounds. I don’t want to listen to commercials when I’m trying to turn off the lights and go to sleep, thanks.
These offers can be difficult to stop. Telling Alexa not to suggest something didn’t help me. But if you know the magic words, there’s actually an easy way to stop Alexa from suggesting anything.
How to Stop Alexa’s “By the Way” Suggestions
To stop Alexa’s “by the way” suggestions, simply say “Alexa, come in by the way” or “Alexa, come in by the way.” It’s really that simple. I know because I checked it and sure enough Alexa responded and told me he wouldn’t send suggestions anymore ( you never know with these virtual assistants , thanks for the tip, Reddit ).
Want to equip your smart home with Amazon Alexa? Follow our guide on how to create the best Alexa setup for your home. At the time of writing, Amazon is also running deals on devices like the Echo Dot , Echo Pop , and Echo Show 8 .