Amazon’s first smart control panel, the Echo Hub, is officially here. It’s not without a few quirks, but it offers a great way to access all your smart home gadgets in one unified location. Thousands of products can be connected to the panel, and with full Matter support, it’s a relatively future-proofed device. If you’re looking to get the most out of your new control panel, here’s a look at the six best Echo Hub tips and tricks to optimize its performance.
Customize your Echo Hub home screen before you do anything else
There are tons of ways to modify your Echo Hub home screen. After syncing all your smart home devices, you can create a variety of tiles for the home screen that give you quick access to all your features. Take some time to create widgets, shortcuts, and other tiles for your most-used devices and actions, as it’ll streamline your smart home and save you the hassle of digging through menus.
Check out all the privacy settings
Like all things Alexa, there are plenty of privacy settings for you to tinker with on the Echo Hub. While the control panel benefits from a microphone button and the option to delete voice recordings, you can also dig into other Alexa settings to ensure your privacy is respected.
Launch Routines directly from the Echo Hub
Routines are a huge part of what makes Amazon Alexa gadgets so useful — and Amazon gives you the ability to launch them directly from your Echo Hub. You’ll find all your Routines on the left side of the screen. These can be activated by simply tapping on them or dishing out a voice command to Alexa.
Sync your security system to the Echo Hub
While many security systems and security gadgets can be linked to your Echo Hub, they all offer different functionality. The Ring Alarm is fully compatible with Echo Hub, allowing you to check out live feeds or arm and disarm the system right from your control panel. Be sure to play around with your system after connecting it to the Echo Hub, as there’s a good chance it’ll become your security hub once it’s properly optimized.
Consider buying a standing dock
Not a fan of how the Echo Hub looks on your wall? Then consider picking up the Echo Hub Stand. This can be purchased as part of a bundle with your Echo Hub, but if you decide you want it later, you’ll find it for just $30 on Amazon. Give it a look if you want to place your Echo Hub on a countertop or in a central location in your home.
Use the Active Media shortcut to manage your audio
Want to change the music playing on connected devices? Using the Active Media feature, you can control the music playing on your smart speakers. By launching the Active Media shortcut, you can adjust the volume on one (or multiple devices). You can even control the Multi-Room Music groups. Consider checking out this cool feature if you have multiple smart speakers throughout your home.
