It turns out, there are hidden "wake words" that Amazon have not publicly admitted to. This post will describe how to experimentally discover them and enable them.
*Note: While this article was accurate at the time it was written, Amazon has since added "Echo" as a third choice for wake word. The approach we describe below is still valid for probing possible new wake words, but at present there are no known words that are working and unreleased.
**Updated 1/14/2017 to reflect that this is done through alexa.amazon.com, which is less obvious today than it was at the time of writing.
***Updated 1/30/2017 to reflect that the Computer wake word has indeed rolled out as the next option. It may have taken a year, but we were 2/2 in predicting the upcoming wake words!
**Updated 1/14/2017 to reflect that this is done through alexa.amazon.com, which is less obvious today than it was at the time of writing.
***Updated 1/30/2017 to reflect that the Computer wake word has indeed rolled out as the next option. It may have taken a year, but we were 2/2 in predicting the upcoming wake words!
The current state of things
Right now through the Echo/Alexa app we only have two options for wake words: "Alexa" and "Amazon"
You can check on your current wake word through a browser via the Alexa webapp at alexa.amazon.com. Note that you cannot access this page unless your Echo is plugged in and on a network. The page looks like this:
You can check on your current wake word through a browser via the Alexa webapp at alexa.amazon.com. Note that you cannot access this page unless your Echo is plugged in and on a network. The page looks like this:
Alright, so if you click on that link then it takes you to the page that lets you select the wake word you want to use. And our options are woefully lacking (much to the dismay of all Echo users).
Here's how you change it to a custom word
Here's where the magic of using a desktop browser comes into play. This is an HTML drop down option box that contains two values. When you hit the "Save" button it submits whatever the current selected option value is*. The HTML code for it is to the right.
*If you plan to do this, please make sure to read the "Bad Results" section below before taking any action.
*If you plan to do this, please make sure to read the "Bad Results" section below before taking any action.
Step 1
This is what the page should look like at this step of the process.
So what we need to do is edit the values in the HTML page in your desktop browser, and then submit them to the Amazon servers to update your Echo. Here's how you do that. Right click on the drop down menu box, and select "Inspect Element" (Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome all have this).
Step 2
This will open a window that will contain a ton of HTML code. Don't worry about it if you don't know how to read it. It should directly open and highlight to the portion of HTML code for the web element you selected (the drop down selection box). It will look like this (I'm using Firefox, but IE and Chrome are similar):
Right click on the <select> element which is highlighted, and select "Edit as HTML". This will then let you edit the values like a text editor.
Step 3
What you'll find so interesting here, is that you can change the wake words. Go ahead and change the value of the wake word in your HTML:
<option value="yourWakeWord">yourWakeWord</option>
For the purposes of this example I'm changing my wake word to "Echo". So I edit the value to look like this:
<option value="yourWakeWord">yourWakeWord</option>
For the purposes of this example I'm changing my wake word to "Echo". So I edit the value to look like this:
I don't know if capitalization matters or not. I've just been following Amazon's example. Now go ahead and left-click somewhere outside of that editing text box (but still inside the editor window). It should close the edit-box and apply the changes back to the webpage in your main browser window. Your browser should look like this:
Step 4
Hit the "Save" button. Your Echo will enter a rotating yellow LED state while it applies the changes, and in your browser you'll see this message.
Typically this update seemed to take maybe 5 seconds. Once it's complete you'll get one of two messages. The success message looks like this:
And the failure message looks like this:
The Good Results of Experimentation
To be perfectly honest we've only found a few hidden wake words. It doesn't seem to accept arbitrary words. So you can't just rename your Echo to "Jarvis" or "R2-D2" etc. But you CAN rename it to "Echo" (what a lucky guess on our part!). We've experimented with a few other options we thought Amazon might have enabled on their back-end, like "Computer".
The Bad Results of Experimentation
But don't try "Computer" just yet! The Alexa app accepts "Computer" as a valid wake word (although it seems to take 30 seconds to process it rather than just 5). But your Echo will never accept this as a wake word. The Echo will sit in spinning yellow LED mode forever. It won't respond to any verbal commands anymore. If you power cycle the Echo it will get locked in the boot-up cycle and be stuck forever in spinning blue LED mode. And again, won't respond to verbal commands.
It is interesting to note that if you have a remote control bound to your Echo you can still issue it commands this way (since you're bypassing the wake word for activation). But it won't do the characteristic "beep" that lets you know it's listening for your input. It just sits spinning in blue mode and will perform any actions you tell it through your remote.
If you get your Echo into a bugged state like this you will also be unable to change the wake word back to anything else. It will give you the error message on everything (even the valid ones "alexa" and "amazon"). The only way we've discovered to get out of this state is to do a factory reset, for which I'll include the instruction here:
It is interesting to note that if you have a remote control bound to your Echo you can still issue it commands this way (since you're bypassing the wake word for activation). But it won't do the characteristic "beep" that lets you know it's listening for your input. It just sits spinning in blue mode and will perform any actions you tell it through your remote.
If you get your Echo into a bugged state like this you will also be unable to change the wake word back to anything else. It will give you the error message on everything (even the valid ones "alexa" and "amazon"). The only way we've discovered to get out of this state is to do a factory reset, for which I'll include the instruction here:
To reset your Amazon Echo:
1.) Use a paper clip (or similar tool) to press and hold the Reset button for five seconds. The Reset button is located at the base of your Amazon Echo (near the power adapter port). After you press and hold the Reset button, the light ring on your Amazon Echo turns orange, and then blue.
2.) Wait for the light ring to turn off and on again. The light ring then turns blue and enters setup mode.
3.) Open the Alexa app to connect your device to a Wi-Fi network and register it to your Amazon account. To learn more, go to Set Up Your Amazon Echo.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201819000
Now I want to emphasize that the vast majority of wake words we tried just returned with the error message within seconds. The results from "Computer" we consider irregular, that's why I'm warning you here. If you do have to reset your Echo it's no big deal. It doesn't store any information so you lose nothing. It's already bound to your Amazon account. You just have to take a minute to re-register it with the wireless network you're on and it's back to perfect working order.
Community testing
So we've discovered 2 new wake words for your Echo (1 is buggy), and demonstrated how to test setting arbitrary words. But we need the Echo community's help for discovering more options. If you experiment with setting new wake words please share the results of your experiments here - both success AND failures. It'd be great to build a list of words that work, and a list that doesn't.
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