How to Change the “Wake” Word on the Amazon Echo, Dot, and Tap

The Amazon Echo, Dot, and Tap have all proven to be more popular than even Amazon ever dreamed. While they are convenient, some folks may find their device wakes up a little too often if they have it near a television, radio, or any other place it may be subjected to a continual stream of conversation.

A number of users have found that Amazon’s devices will wake up if it even thinks it hears its wake word, “Alexa.” While this has led to some humorous stories and videos being posted to the web, it has also led to some folks finding their device has ordered merchandise from Amazon without their OK.

While Amazon’s Echo, Tap, and Dot respond by default to “Alexa,” you can also change the devices’ settings to wake to a few other optional words. Here’s how to set any of Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices to respond to a different word.

How to Change the “Wake” Word on the Amazon Echo, Dot, and Tap

For this how-to, you’ll need an Alexa-powered device from Amazon, (natch!), and the Alexa app from the iOS App Store. (Android instructions should be similar.)

1. Tap the Alexa icon to begin.
2. On the Home screen, tap the “hamburger menu” icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app’s screen.
3. Tap “Settings” from the menu that appears.
4. On the Settings screen, tap the device you wish to change the wake word on.
5. On the next screen, scroll down until You find the “Wake Word” menu option. Tap it.
6. Tap the pull-down menu to display the available wake words for your device. At the time of this article, the available choices are Alexa, Amazon, Echo, and Computer.
7. Tap the “SAVE” button to save your selection.
8. The app will tell you when your changes have been saved.
9. Use your new wake word to wake up Alexa on your Amazon device.

I can almost guarantee you that you’ll forget that you’ve changed the Alexa wake word, so don’t get frustrated next time you try it. Also, be sure to let the rest of your family know about the change. Or not. I guess it depends on what your idea of entertainment is.