Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. News

Convenience and versatility at your command with Echo and Logitech Harmony Hub

By

Amazon Echo Dot
Greg Mombert/Digital Trends
“Alexa, meet the Harmony Hub and take charge of everything in the house.” You cannot actually use that command with Amazon’s Echo, Dot, or Tap, but it is OK to think so. A new Alexa skill that adds voice control to Logitech’s Harmony Hub gives you access to more than 270,000 entertainment and smart home devices, according to Business Wire.

Using Alexa with the Harmony Hub, you can issue voice commands for any existing Harmony activities, Roku channels, and entertainment settings. You can control Philips and Lifx lights, August smart locks, Nest and Honeywell thermostats, SmartThings, Insteon, and IFTTT (If This Then That) smart home platforms, among many other entertainment and home control devices in what appears to be an ever-growing list.

Recommended Videos

The Harmony Hub and its remote manage home entertainment and smart home devices via “activities,” selected or customized single or sequences of device commands. The simplest way to get things started is to use the Harmony Remote’s “discover” mode by which it locates compatible devices. Once you set up the simple activities such as “turn on the TV,” you can move on to more complex or combinations of devices or settings. With IFTTT recipes, for example, you could have your Philips Hue lights turn yellow when a connected clothes dryer has finished.

Related

Without Alexa, all controlled Harmony Hub activities are selected via remote buttons or smartphone app menus. Alexa adds voice commands to the Harmony Hub’s prodigious control possibilities. So instead of selecting the activity to “turn on the TV” from your smartphone menu, you simply say, “Alexa, turn on the TV.” That is the simplest example. You could also have set up an activity to control multiple devices. In that case, for example saying, “Alexa, turn on good evening,” could be configured to close the blinds, dim the lights, and power up your full entertainment suite set to Netflix.

To get started with this powerful combination, start the Alexa app on your mobile device, go to the Menu, select Smart Home, Get More Smart Home Skills, and search for Harmony. Once you enable the skill, you are ready to start using it with your Harmony Hub.

Logitech announced the Alexa skill will be available in the U.S. this week and in the U.K. sometime in the next few months. For more information on using Logitech Harmony hub-based remotes with Alexa, you can visit Logitech’s Harmony-Alexa support site.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Contributing Editor
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
5 reasons I still use the Echo Show 15 everyday
Amazon Echo Show 15 hanging horizontally on the wall in a kitchen.

The Echo Show 15 first released in December 2021. Much of the initial conversation around the smart display was that it was a large novelty -- a huge display that didn't have the same functionality as the Echo Show 10. It released in the midst of the work-from-home surge, and without video conferencing capabilities, the Echo Show 15 just didn't seem like it offered much.

That couldn't have been further from the truth. The large amount of screen real estate introduced a lot of utility that previous models didn't have. Widgets make it one of the most useful smart displays I've ever used, and that's saying a lot for someone who routinely works with these devices.

Read more
The best Alexa commands
An Amazon Echo in living room.

You’ve just unboxed a brand new Amazon Echo product, and Alexa is now at your beck and call -- but what do you ask? You’ve likely already asked for the weather a few times, maybe even for a news update or your favorite musician, but now what? We’re prepared to answer that question for you and show you just how much your new assistant can do with our list of the best Alexa commands. Once you’ve learned the essentials here, pop over to our best Alexa Easter eggs list to see what other secrets lay within.
News and weather

Alexa is a great way to obtain information about the world around you, whether you want to know the conditions outside or what’s happening on the other side of the globe. Check out these commands for interacting with Alexa’s news and weather features. If you need to set information for your current location or commute, you can do so in the Alexa app.

Read more
How to mount an Amazon Echo Show 15
Echo show 15 stands

If you’ve purchased a new Amazon Echo Show 15, there’s an important thing to know: You really need to plan to wall-mount it. If that’s not in the cards for you (maybe you’re in a rental or just don’t have wall space), you have a few options, since unlike pretty much all other Echo Show devices, you can pick how you want to orient the Echo Show 15. Let's take a look at the best ways to display your Echo Show 15 so it's accessible and safe from tipping over.
Use the included wall bracket for wall-mounting

You can hang the Echo Show 15 on a wall with the included bracket. You can read the instructions, but you simply screw the bracket to the wall. Use the drywall anchors if you don’t have an available stud. The Show 15 will slide onto the bracket for a safe and permanent installation.
Use a stand

Read more