Tired of Alexa repeating everything you say? Do this to make it stop
Quiet your Amazon Echo with this simple setting change.
You don't have to listen to Alexa repeat what you just said.
Your Amazon Echo has some cool stuff up its sleeve, from turning into a free TV speaker to several neat music tricks. However, there are also a few annoying things Alexa does when you ask it a question -- and the worst is repeating everything you ask it.
For example, when you say, "Alexa, turn on the lights," it'll say "OK, turning on the lights." Amazon's reasoning behind this is to let Echo owners know what Alexa thinks you said. But this feature isn't needed anymore now that you can simply ask, "Alexa, what do you think you heard?"
Fortunately, there's a setting to turn off this annoyingly repetitive feature of Alexa's. And once you turn it on, your Echo speaker will only play a short sound when you ask it to do something, rather than Alexa telling you what it's going to do. Here's what you need to do. Open the Alexa app and tap More, then select Settings. Scroll down to the Alexa preferences section and tap Voice Responses. Next, toggle the switch on for Brief Mode.
This doesn't apply to timers or reminders you set with Alexa. So if you ask the voice assistant to set a timer for 10 minutes, it'll still say, "10 minutes, starting now," even if you have Brief Mode turned on. Or if you ask it to remind you to go for a walk at 3 p.m., it'll still respond with, "OK, I'll remind you at 3 p.m." And if you cancel your timers or reminders, it'll let you know what it's canceling. For example, Alexa may say, "Go for a walk today at 3 p.m. canceled" if you decide you don't need the reminder.
Although Brief Mode still has an opportunity to get even better, we're still glad to keep Alexa's mimicry to a minimum.
For more Amazon Echo tips, check out these six Amazon Echo tips you'll use daily and how to use these four new skills Alexa just got. Plus, if you have more than one Amazon Echo at home, you've got to try this out.
