Alexa is so handy for turning off the lights when you’re in bed, setting an alarm for the morning and checking tomorrow’s weather. But if you need to do that when your partner is already asleep, or you don’t want to disturb babies or kids who are sleeping nearby, then her loud replies are a problem.
Sure, you could just turn the volume right down before you ask a question, but there’s a better way: turn on Alexa whispered responses.
At first, hearing her whisper to you is hilarious but you’ll get used to it and – hopefully – not laugh out loud and disturb the very people who need peace and quiet.
How to enable Alexa whispered responses
It’s simple: just say “Alexa, turn on whisper mode”. You don’t need to do this on each of your Amazon Echos or other devices with Alexa built-in: it applies to every one that’s connected to your Alexa / Amazon account.
When enabled, Alexa will only whisper when you whisper a question. This is a well thought out feature, because she will respond with her normal voice if you use yours, so you don’t have to enable and disable whisper mode all the time.
Just bear in mind that she will respond at a normal volume the first time you whisper to each device, saying “I think you just whispered to me. From now on when you whisper I’ll whisper back.”
If you want to turn off these whispers for some reason, just say “Alexa, turn off whisper mode.”
Alexa app
Another way is to enable whispered responses in the Alexa app.
Open the main menu (the three lines in the top-left corner) and tap on Settings.
Scroll down until you see Alexa Preferences and tap Voice Responses beneath it. Use the toggle switch to enable Whisper Mode.
And that’s it.
Alexa Brief Mode
There’s one other useful tip which ties in with Whisper Mode, and it’s Brief Mode. You’ve probably spotted it above Whisper Mode in the Alexa app.
What it does is to shorten the responses to certain requests and in some cases will play a tone to indicate that the request has been actioned, instead of using words. For example, if you say “Alexa, turn on bedroom light” you’ll hear a short ‘dong-ding’ to know that it’s happened.
We’ve got a whole load of great tips and tricks for using Alexa, as well as 100 funny things you can say to her.
Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.