How to use Alexa to assign reminders on your Amazon Echo

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Reminders – we can all benefit from them for daily chores. Whether it’s to pick up a pint of milk at the shop, or put out the garbage, a little nudge to complete those mundane tasks is always welcome. Gone are the days of sticky notes; now we can use our smartphones and tablets for prompts about what’s on our to-do list. But what if you don’t have your smartphone to hand?  

This is where Alexa can help. If you have an Echo smart speaker in your home then you can get the voice assistant to issue an audible reminder at a specific time that you need to do something. Those with an Amazon smart display can even receive a visual hint on the screen. 

Not only that. If you’re in the US or UK, then you can assign reminders to specific members of the household. This reminder will not only be broadcast on Echo speakers and smart displays but a push notification will also appear in the Alexa app on their smartphone. 

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How to get Alexa to set reminders on an Amazon 

There are two ways to set a reminder for a particular task through Alexa. You can either say “Alexa, remind me to ….” followed by the job for which you require a prod, along with the time – or you can use the Alexa app. 

Open the Alexa app and tap More, followed by Reminders, and choose the ‘+’ icon. From here you’ll be able to enter text for the reminder as well as select the date, time and whether the reminder should be repeated. You can also choose which device the reminder should be played on, or choose Everywhere and the reminder will be played on every Echo device in your home. 

It’s also possible to view previous reminders you’ve set. From the main Reminders screen, select ‘Recent reminders’ from the bottom and you’ll see a list of the reminders that Alexa has issued recently.  If you select Restore from the right-hand side of a reminder, it will use the information initially entered to create a new reminder for that day – you just need to press Save to activate it. Alternatively, you can choose to clear the list of ‘Recent reminders’.  

 How to assign Alexa reminders 

In both the US and the UK, it’s possible to assign reminders through Alexa to someone in the household. Although, it’s worth noting that this is only possible for members who have an Alexa voice profile within your household.  Find out how to create an Alexa voice profile by reading how to make Alexa understand you better on an Amazon Echo.

Once again, you can either ask Alexa on any Amazon Echo smart speaker or Echo Show smart display to remind the household member to complete a certain task at a certain time, or you can use the Alexa app.

Follow the steps above to create a reminder, but under the section Remind for, select the name of the person for who the reminder is for. The prompt will be played through your chosen Amazon Echo device and also be displayed as a notification.

Carrie-Ann Skinner

Carrie-Ann Skinner was formerly Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has more than two decades of experience in both online and print journalism, with 13 years of that spent covering all-things tech. Carrie specializes in smart home devices such as smart plugs and smart lights, as well as large and small appliances including vacuum cleaners, air fryers, stand mixers, and coffee machines. Carrie is now a copy editor at PWC.