Alexa offers a ton of cool ways to tweak things just for you. You can change what you call her, switch up her accent, and even make little adjustments to how she sounds. Right now, Alexa can sound like famous folks such as Shaq O'Neal, Melissa McCarthy, and even Santa Claus!
Note: It looks like the Samuel L Jackson celebrity voice is no longer available. #bringBackSamuel 🙁
How to Change Alexa's Name/Wake Word?
Alexa jolts into to life anytime it hears the wake word “Alexa”. At times, she has that habit even when she doesn't hear it! If someone in your home is called Alexa or a name that sounds similar to it, then to avoid false activations, it's probably time to change the speakers “wake word”.
By Voice
You can change Alexa's wake word via a voice command. Here’s how.
- Say the words, “Alexa, change the wake word.”
- Wait for Alexa to present you with the available wake words to choose from. These include:
1. Amazon
2. Alexa
3. Echo
4. Computer
5. Ziggy - State the wake word of your choice out loud.
- Wait for Alexa’s confirmation.
- Test out the device with the new wake word.
Note: This change only affects that particular speaker
Using the App
Here's how you go about changing the “wake word” through the Alexa app. Screenshots are also below.
- Open the Alexa app on the device of your choice.
- Tap “Devices”
- Tap “Echo & Alexa”.
- Select the Amazon device you want to alter the wake word for.
- Move down and touch on the “Wake Word” option.
- Choose the wake word you like best from the following choices:
Amazon
Alexa
Echo
Computer
Ziggy - Wait a few seconds and test out your device with the new wake word.
Great video from #CraigsTechTalk above on the various celebrity voices!
Step by Step Screenshots
How to Change Alexa's Accent?
Along with replacing Alexa’s voice with a celebrity, you can also change her accent for some added variety.
- Open and log in to the Alexa app on your smart device.
- Tap on “Devices”.
- Tap on “Echo & Alexa.”
- Select the device you want to alter the accent for.
- Go to Settings in the top right
- Open “Alexa's Voice”
- Pick the accent from the drop-down box. You can opt for a English accent option from the following choices: British, American, Canadian, Australian or Indian
- Test out the new voice!
How to Change Alexa's Language
If you’re not an English speaker and prefer to speak to Alexa in your native tongue, you can follow the steps listed below to change Alexa’s language.
- Log in to the Alexa app on your smart device.
- Select the “Device” option.
- Choose “Echo & Alexa”
- Tap on the device of your choice.
- Next, tap on “Settings.”
- Move down and choose the “Language” option.
- Select your language of choice for Alexa. There are a long list of languages with more being added regularly
- Click “OK” on the “Change Alexa Language” prompt.
- Wait a few minutes for the change to take hold and then test it out!
Celebrity Voices for Alexa
By enabling a celebrity voice on your Echo, you can activate it by calling out the celebs name. For example: “Hey Shaq!”
It's worth noting that switching to a different voice on Alexa only affects the device you're using. So if you'd like to have multiple Echo speakers or displays use the same voice, you'll unfortunately have to set it on each one.
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Samuel L. Jackson’s?
Unfortunately, its no longer possible to purchase the Samuel L. Jackson voice pack. Those who already have it can continue to use it until April 2023.
More info here
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Shaquille O'Neal's?
Yes you can change Alexa's voice to Shaquille O'Neal's voice by buying the “Shaquille O'Neal Voice Pack”. While he can answer a lot of request, the system defaults to Alexa for anything out of his comfort zone!
You do this by saying …
- Alexa, introduce me to Shaq.
Or by purchasing on the link here. Once purchased you can enable on each Echo speaker by saying
- Alexa, enable “Hey Shaq”
To get the full Shaq experience, try out these commands!
- “Hey Shaq, tell me a joke.”
- “Hey Shaq, give me advice.”
- “Hey Shaq, drop a beat.”
- “Hey Shaq, let’s warm up.”
- “Hey Shaq, play rock, paper, scissors.”
- “Hey Shaq, tell me a story.”
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Melissa McCarthy’s?
Yes you can change Alexa's voice to Melissa McCarthy’. Similar to Shaq, anything she's can't answer, will be answered by Alexa.
You set her up by saying …
- Alexa, introduce me to Melissa.
Or by purchasing on the link here. Once purchased you can enable on each Echo speaker by saying
- Alexa, enable “Hey Melissa”
To get some laughs try out these …
- “Hey Melissa, tell me about Bridesmaids.”
- “Hey Melissa, set a 10 minute timer.”
- “Hey Melissa, what’s the weather today?”
- “Hey Melissa, give me advice.”
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Santa?
Ho, Ho, Ho! Yes, indeed you can! This holiday sweetener is great for kids but currently only available in the UK and US. With it he can sing holiday songs, tell stories and jokes, and answer questions about himself – check out the commands below.
A parents approval is needed to set Santa up so kick things off by saying…
- Alexa, enable “Hey Santa”
To get some laughs try out these …
- “Hey Santa, let's play a game.”
- “Hey Santa, give me advice.”
- “Hey Santa, what is your favorite food?”
- “Hey Santa, let's dance.”
- “Hey Santa, tell me a joke.”
- “Hey Santa, can you laugh?”
- “Hey Santa, tell me about your reindeer.”
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Jarvis?
Unfortunately, if you're a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan hoping to change Alexa's voice to Jarvis, you will be disappointed. Despite some misleading information on the internet, Alexa does not currently offer the option to use Jarvis's voice. The same goes for Tony Stark's other AI voice assistants Friday, Karen and Edith.
You can find a list of the officially supported celebrity voices here and they change every now and then so keep an eye out.
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to Morgan Freeman?
No, unfortunately there is no official way to change Alexa to use Morgan Freeman's voice. Which is a pity as that is one distinctive, smooth voice!
Can you Change Alexa's Voice to HAL 9000?
“I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that!”. At least, there's no official way to do it which is a bummer for “2001” fans out there (myself included!)
How to change Alexa’s Name To “Computer”
For all the Trekkies, you can feel like you're on the Starship Enterprise by changing your voice assistant's wake word to “Computer”. Simply say “Alexa, change the wake word” and when given the options, say “Computer”.
Now you can feel like you're Captain Jean-Luc Picard on his way to planet Risa!
How to Change Alexa's Name on an Echo Show
Check out the images below on how you changes Alexa's wake word and voice on an Echo Show. In my case, this is an Echo Show 5 2nd Gen, however the same instructions work for all Echo Shows.
You swipe down from the top of the screen to reveal the menu
Click “Settings”, go to “Device Options” & Click “Wake Word”
Choose a new “Wake Word”
Can You Rename Alexa With a Custom Wake Word?
No, other than changing the “wake word” to Computer, Echo, Ziggy or Amazon, you can't change it to a custom word you might like. Disappointing, I know!
Echo devices are constantly listening for an audio pattern that matches the above official wake words and once it recognizes it, it then records audio and uploads to the cloud. Custom wake words would require a lot of processing on the Echo device itself which isn't what its built for.
How To Change Your Echo Device's Name in the Alexa App
If you’re having trouble differentiating your Echo device from all the others available in your home, try personalizing the device name to get rid of the confusion.
- Log in to the Alexa app via your smartphone, iPad, or tablet.
- Tap on “Devices” and then “Echo and Alexa”
- Tap on the device you’ve selected for the name change.
- Tap on the “Settings” cog in the top right
- Tap on “Edit Name.”
- Type in the name of your choice.
- Confirm the change.
How to change the Name Alexa Calls You
If you want to find out whether you can meddle around with the name Alexa calls you, the answer’s yes. Here’s how.
- Sign in to the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet.
- Tap on the “Communicate” icon on the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the “Person” icon on the top right-side corner of the screen.
- Select the name that appears on top of the “My Communications Setting” option.
- Tap on “Edit” at the right corner of the screen right at the top.
- Type in your name (first and last) in the appropriate boxes.
- Tap on the “Save” option.
If you have Voice ID setup, you can also adjust how Alexa pronounces your name by going to More > Settings > Your Profile and Family > Name and Pronunciation. If you have “Household” setup, you can also add additional family member profiles and set their pronuncations.
Can I change Alexa’s voice to a male voice?
Yes, you now have the option of a male British, American, Australian, Canadian or Indian voice. This can be set at a per device level by going to the Alexa App > Devices > Echo & Alexa > Settings > Alexa's Voice and choosing a male voice.
There are also male celebrity voices available from time to time, such as Shaquille O'Neal and Samuel L. Jackson.
Do I Have To Say “Alexa” Every Time?
If you're tired of saying “Alexa” before every command, you can utilize the follow-up mode to stop using the trigger word over and over. Another added advantage of switching to the follow-up mode is that it’ll make your life easier when you’ve got a bunch of tasks to complete via voice command, and best of all, the follow-up mode is super easy to activate. Here’s how.
You can activate the follow-up mode on your Alexa app by tapping on “Settings,” and then “Device Settings.” Next, choose your device and select the follow-up mode option. Tap on the slider to activate the mode, and you're done.
The Verdict
So there you have it! If you were wondering “how to change Alexa's name” you now know. Changing Alexa’s accent, language, or even enabling a celebrity voice is surprisingly easy if you know what you’re doing. Leave a comment if you have other tips and tricks which might be useful to readers!