Why You Can Trust CNET You lost your keys. Your Amazon Echo can find them
How the Alexa assistant can help you track down stuff you lose in the house.
Hey Alexa, where did I leave my keys?
We've all lost something in the house at one point or another. It's all too easy to forget where you put your passport, your keys, important tax documents and so on. Whatever the case, you spend way too long trying to find misplaced items when you could simply ask your Amazon Echo to help you find them.
It's easy. If you're putting something important in a new, different or unusual spot, you can tell Alexa to remember exactly where you placed it. Then just ask Alexa again when you're ready to find it.
This feature is super useful if you're constantly in a rush and always drawing a blank on where you left your wallet, keys, glasses or phone. The catch is that you have to actually remember to tell Alexa where you put your thing. Here's how it works.
Alexa can help you remember where you placed important items.
Alexa, remember where I placed my...
It's as simple as this -- tell Alexa to remember where you've placed something that you'll need to find again.
All you have to say is something like "Alexa, remember I put my birth certificate in the second drawer of my filing cabinet." Your Amazon Echo will then confirm what you'd like to remember. This works for absolutely any item. You can try it with your TV remote, wallet, keys, marriage license, phone and so on.
When you're looking for the item that you probably lost again, just say, "Alexa, where did I put my birth certificate?" Alexa will then repeat exactly where you said your item would be, so you can grab it and go.
Place one of these on your keys or in your wallet for tracking.
What to do if you forget to ask Alexa to remember
Unfortunately, the Amazon Echo can't remember what you don't tell it to. But if you're especially forgetful, there are RFID devices you can attach to your keychain, wallet, coffee mug or anything else. And Alexa can help you find those too.
For example, you can use a tracker such as the Tile Mate ($50 for four on Amazon), which attaches to your wallet, backpack, keys or anything else you misplace often. Once you have the tracker, open your Alexa app > Menu > Skills & Games > search for Tile > tap Enable to Use. You'll have to create a Tile account to begin using the skill. Once you're all set up, you can say, "Alexa, ask Tile to find my keys" or "Alexa, ask Tile for the location of my wallet."
You can connect the Amazon Echo to other trackers in a similar way. Check out these three ways your Amazon Echo can find your phone in the house.
