Amazon’s Echo smart speakers include Alexa, a digital assistant that makes everyday life easier. You don’t have to purchase an Echo device in order to enjoy the advantages of Amazon’s voice assistant. You only need a Windows 10 laptop or desktop with a microphone and the Alexa App. Here’s how you can download the Alexa app for Windows 10 computers free of charge.
How to download the Alexa App from a Windows 10 Computer
Open the Microsoft Store, search for Alexa and download it to your computer. After the app has finished downloading, click Get and Launch. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Note: This guide will show you how to install Alexa on Windows 10. You may already own an Alexa smart speaker. If so, please see our article about how to connect Alexa with your computer.
- Click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom-right corner.
- Enter Microsoft Store in the search bar, and then click Open.
- Next, type Alexa in the search bar. The search bar is located in the upper-right corner of the Microsoft Store window.
- Select the Alexa App. This is the app that you can download for free and which has the blue Alexa icon.
- Next, click the Download button. In the middle of your browser will be a progress bar. Wait for the app’s download to complete. The app will need 81 MB of space on your hard drive.
- After the Alexa app has been downloaded, click Launch and install it on your computer.
- Next, click To set up Amazon Alexa.
- Register or create an Amazon Account. Click on Sign in if you are an Amazon user. Click Create an Amazon account if you don’t already have one. To access this option, you’ll need to enter your name, and email address, and create a password. Finally, click Create an Amazon account.
- Next, click Continue to continue the Terms and Conditions page.
- Next, click Continue for your computer to access the microphone.
- Click Next to confirm.
- Next, choose from push-to-talk or hands-free modes. To give a voice command, you just need to say “Alexa” and it will do the rest. To give a voice command, the push-to-talk option requires that you click on the Alexa icon within the app.
- Now configure the app. Click Done You can allow app sounds and pin the app to your taskbar.
After installing the app you can open it by clicking on the Start link. This button is located in the bottom-left corner of your screen and contains the Windows logo. You can then choose it from your app list.
Alexa will respond even if Alexa is running in the background or minimized if you choose to use hands-free mode. Enable hands-free off to switch to push-to-talk mode. Click the gray circle located at the bottom of your app’s window.
Click the three-line icon at the top-left of the app’s screen to access additional settings.
What Alexa can do for your computer
You can download the Alexa app for Windows 10 and use it to do many things. To prepare for your day, ask Alexa “What’s on your calendar?”. For errands and shopping, you can ask Alexa to add items to your shopping cart or tasks to your list. You can ask Alexa for a song from Amazon Music to help you relax. To play games such as Jeopardy and Bingo with Alexa, you can also download Alexa skills. Alexa can be connected to your smart devices so that you can speak commands to turn your smart lights on or off from your computer.
There are limitations to what Alexa can do on Windows. You can’t listen to or play songs from Apple Music and Spotify. Without an Echo device, you can’t make video calls, phone call drop-ins, or announcements.
Check out this article to learn all about the cool stuff Alexa can do.
