How to Connect Your Amazon Echo to TV

Evan Gower December 6, 2019

Amazon Fire TVs and Fire Sticks are fantastic tools that allow you to access rich content from Amazon. Each of the Fire products comes with a unique remote, used for navigating the platform and playing your favorite TV shows and movies. And has been designed with utmost user comfort in mind.

That being said, many people aren’t aware that one of Amazon’s most popular products, Amazon Echo, can actually be used to navigate any Fire TV platform. Yes, you can connect your Echo device to most smart TVs. Here’s how to do it.

Why Do It?

Well, first and foremost, you may not want to deal with a remote altogether. As a voice-activated device, Amazon Echo is meant to be used to communicate with Alexa, one of the world’s most popular digital assistants. Yes, in addition to playing music from various platforms, googling things, checking the weather, and even making phone calls, you can actually connect your Amazon Echo device with your Fire TV and issue voice commands.

Even if you don’t mind or even prefer using the Fire remote, you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t find it. Or, you may just be too lazy to stand up and fetch the remote at the present moment – no one’s judging. Just ask Alexa for a helping hand and you’ll be able to play anything on your TV using nothing but your voice.

Before You Start

Setting up Alexa to work with your Fire TV device is simple, straightforward, and doesn’t take a lot of time. However, there are a few things that you should keep in mind before proceeding in order to avoid going through the whole troubleshooting process down the line.

First of all, all Amazon devices that you want synced need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This is something that’s easily overlooked and may leave you scratching your head, wondering why your Echo won’t connect to your Fire TV.

Additionally, both your Fire TV device and your Echo device need to be linked to the same Amazon account. As with the above-mentioned Wi-Fi requirement, this, too, may leave you confused as to why your Echo-Fire TV combo isn’t working.

Connecting Alexa

The first thing that you need to do is set up Alexa, your virtual Amazon assistant. Alexa will be the feature that you’re going to use in order to successfully communicate with your Fire TV, using your voice. Alexa is essentially based on your phone/tablet device and comes with a dedicated app, used for setting the assistant up for every single Amazon device.

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Open the Alexa app on your phone/tablet and navigate to Settings. From the list of device types, tap TV and Video. Now, tap the plus sign and select Fire TV from the menu that pops up. To finish, select Link Your Alexa Device. You’ll be given detailed onscreen instructions to help you set everything up. Follow them carefully.

Connecting Amazon Echo

Naturally, in order to use your Echo device with the Fire TV, you need to connect it to the actual TV, too. The Echo will be used as the medium that will enable you to communicate with Alexa and your Fire TV. To connect your Echo device to your Fire TV, navigate to the Fire TV’s settings menu. From the settings menu, select Controllers & Bluetooth Devices. Seeing as how the Echo device will connect to your Fire TV via Bluetooth, go to Other Bluetooth Devices. Now, connect by clicking your Echo profile.

Connecting Hulu

Fire TV devices feature the Hulu service that allows you to play any content that’s available on it. If you want to gain access to Hulu content, you’ll have to set it up for your Echo, separately. Simply open the Alexa app on your phone, go to Settings, TV and Video, and then tap Hulu. Now, select Link your Alexa Device. Sign in to Hulu and that’s pretty much it.

Using Alexa Commands

Turning your TV on by using nothing except for your voice is done by navigating to Settings, selecting Alexa, and finally Turn on TV with Alexa. The commands that you use are based on “Alexa, watch [insert content name]” and “Alexa, play [insert content name]”. You can also turn the volume up or down by saying “Alexa, turn the volume [up/down] on Fire TV” and turn the TV on or off by saying “Alexa, turn Fire TV [on/off]”.

Using Echo on Fire TV

As you can see, Echo devices were clearly designed to be used on TVs. If you ever wish to forget all about using your remote and rely solely on your voice, you can do it by memorizing the proper commands.

Are you using your Echo on a Fire TV device? How do you like it so far? Do you prefer this way to using the remote? Discuss this and anything else Fire TV- or Echo-related in the comments section below.