If you’re like most people, you probably use your Alexa to control your lights. But if you’re like me, you also use it to time your Alexa timer. And if you’re like most people, you probably don’t know how to blink your Hue lights when your Alexa timer goes off. Here’s how:
- Open the Alexa app on your phone or computer.
- Type “Alexa” into the search bar and hit enter.
- Click on the “Settings” tab in the top left corner of the screen.
- Under “Time Out Settings,” click on the “Blink Lights When Timer Goes Off” option.
- Click on OK to save your changes and close the Alexa app.
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For this, we’re going to use a service called IFTTT (If This Then That). If you haven’t used IFTTT before, check out our guide to getting started for info on how to create an account and connect apps. Then, come back here to create the necessary recipe.
To get started, head to IFTTT’s home page and log in. Then, click your profile picture.
Next, click “New Applet.”
Click the word “this” highlighted in blue.
In the list of triggers, choose “Your Timer goes off.” This will handle countdown timers such as “set a timer for 30 minutes.” You can also use “Your Alarm goes off” for when you want to use an alarm for a specific time like “set an alarm for 8:30PM.”
Next, click the word “that” highlighted in blue.
Find or search for “Philips Hue” (or your preferred smart light, if you’re customize this applet) in the list and click on it.
In the list of triggers, search for “Blink lights” and click on it. Note: the LIFX channel also has a blink action, but Wemo Lighting does not. If you’re customizing this applet for WeMo, you may need to substitute a dimmer or fade action instead of a blink.
Click the dropdown menu and choose which lights you’d like to blink when your timer goes off. You can also choose to have all your connected lights blink, if you tend to wander between rooms when you use your timers.
Finally, give your applet a name, then scroll down and click Finish.
From this point on, your lights should blink whenever your Alexa timer goes off. IFTTT’s response time is usually very fast, so you should see the lights blink at roughly the same time the timer goes off. However, keep in mind that with a third-party service and multiple devices like this, there’s always a slight chance that the Hue lights may not respond immediately. If you’re using a timer to keep track of something important, like food in the oven, you may still want to keep an eye on Alexa or the clock regardless.
