How to create reminders with Alexa
At long last, Amazon has given Alexa the ability to keep track of reminders. Here's how to use them.
For all that Amazon's Alexa speakers are capable of, it's always felt a bit strange that the voice assistant was missing some very basic features, such as reminders, especially when users can manage alarms, timers, shopping lists and task lists by voice.
At long last, Alexa is capable of reminders, thanks to a recent update. Here's how to set reminders with Alexa.
How to use Alexa reminders
Reminders can be managed through the Alexa app on Android and iOS.
Reminders via Alexa speakers work much like those we've come to know through other voice assistants, such as Siri or Google Now (Google Assistant does reminders on phones, but not, strangely, via Google Home yet).
You can begin the creation of a general reminder by saying, "Alexa, create a new reminder." Alexa will then ask what the reminder is for and when (both date and time) you would like to be reminded.
To speed up the process, you can lump everything into a single command by saying, "Alexa, remind me to go to the grocery store tomorrow at 8:00 am." Here are some other commands you can use for reminders:
- "Alexa, reminder."
- "Alexa, remind me to check the oven in 5 minutes."
- "Alexa, remind me to call Mom three days from now."
- "Alexa, what are my reminders this weekend?"
- "Alexa, what reminders do I have tomorrow?"
Reminders are device-specific. So whichever Alexa speaker you decide to create a reminder through is the device that will remind you. Reminders do not work through the Amazon Shopping app on iOS.
To manually create reminders using the Alexa app on iOS and Android:
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap the hamburger button in the top left corner to expand the menu and select Alerts & Alarms.
- Tap Add Reminder.
- Give the reminder a name and select a time and date.
- Tap on the name of the device at the top of the app and select the desired Alexa device.
- Clice Save.
From this same menu, you can edit or delete existing reminders or mark them as complete. To delete a reminder, tap Edit Reminder then tap Delete Reminder. After you dismiss a reminder, it will be marked as complete. You can find all completed reminders by going to Alerts & Alarms > View Completed. Strangely, there doesn't appear to be a way to clear completed reminders.
