Detailed instructions: how to connect Alice to a TV - connection methods, management and troubleshooting

Yandex station Alisa is the Russian analogue of the American Echo speaker from Amazon.
Both of these devices are smart home assistants and perform various functions given by voice command.

The Alice smart speaker is the first smart device from Yandex. This is a speaker that runs on the Internet and has the ability to connect to various smart devices in the house, play video or music on command, read the news aloud, and much more.

Functional modern equipment that can be easily and quickly connected to the TV for further successful use for its intended purpose.

Connecting to TV via HDMI

The best way to connect Alice and take advantage of all the smart speaker's capabilities is to connect it using HDMI. This connector is present only in the Max version of Yandex.Station.

The connection principle is simple - connect the cable from the kit to the corresponding input on the TV and on the speaker. Naturally, you will also have to configure the voice assistant itself.

Connection:

• turn on the TV;
• use the HDMI cable included in the kit or use a similar HDMI 1.4 cable to connect the speaker to the TV;
• supply power to the device using the supplied adapter;
• the connection will be accompanied by a request from “Alice” to download the Yandex program onto a smartphone (compatible with Android and iOS) or update it to the latest version;
• In the application you will need to log in to your account or create a new account. Then go to the “Services” tab;
• From there, go to "Devices". In the “Station” card, click the “Connect” button. The menu contains the “Yandex.Station” item, from where the speaker is also connected;
• connection to the Internet occurs via Wi-Fi: you need to select an active access point and enter a password. The device operates in two bands: 2.4/5 GHz;
• bring your smartphone to the speaker and press the “Play sound” key. Thus, the station with “Alice” will automatically connect to the wireless network;
• a firmware update will follow, which will take several minutes (the time depends on the maximum download speed);
• After the update is completed, the main menu will appear on the screen. The column is ready for use.

There is Yandex.Station Mini - this is a “stripped-down” version of the “Alice” speaker that cannot be connected to a TV. It is designed for listening to music and processing voice commands. Its distinguishing feature from the older revision was its reduced dimensions and gesture control.

How to connect Alice to the Internet via Wi-Fi

Connecting a station to the Internet in Serebryanye Prudy, Moscow Region, is very simple. The sequence of actions is as follows:

• Go to the quick access panel on your phone.
• Select a network and connect to it.
• If the system asks for a key, enter it.
• When the Wi-Fi icon becomes active, download the application for the station.
• We connect the gadget to the power supply.
• We update the application.
• Login to your personal account.
• Open the control panel and find the section with gadgets.
• Select the station connection.
• We bring the phone to the gadget, click on the button and play the sound.

Now we are waiting for notification from the system.

general information

As you know, Yandex.Station is not just a smart speaker. Its most colorful bonus is the Russian-language voice assistant “Alice”. It ensures the operation of the device, answers questions and voices information from other services.

It is the presence of “Alice” that makes “Yandex.Station” a device from the future, when at any time you can ask the assistant about the weather by voice, ask to play the desired track or turn on the desired movie. It is Alice, and not the sound of the speaker, that makes this device so in demand and popular.

The smart speaker from the Russian brand is synchronized with branded services that are part of the Yandex.Plus subscription. To control, you need to use voice commands that begin with the assistant’s name: “Alice, turn on the music.”

There are a total of 2 physical keys on the device:

• mute the microphone;
• activation/voice assistant button.

Regardless of what brand of TV your TV is connected to (Samsung, Sony, LG), the sound will be played through the speakers.

For easy control of the station, prompts are displayed in the form of phrases.

The program will be able to determine for you the nearest shops, gyms, cafes, restaurants and more - Alice will tell you everything that is nearby. In addition, you can find out from her the current exchange rates, including cryptocurrencies, and find out what the temperature is outside right now.
When you are going to go somewhere by car, ask Alice about the situation on the road and she will tell you where the biggest traffic jams are at the moment.

If you are used to learning about all the latest news over a cup of morning coffee, then Alice will be happy to read you a summary of the latest events from the Yandex feed. And if you suddenly need to do some mathematical calculations, contact Alice, and she will definitely help you.

The Alice station can also control your alarm clock, create reminders in your gadgets, set a timer and even read fairy tales to you, sing songs with you and tell jokes in a loud company.

When you watch TV in the evening, you can ask Alice to turn on a certain movie, stop it, or turn it on again (the speaker supports movies from the Kinopoisk, Amediateka and ivi.ru sites).

Reset

When for some reason you need to return to factory settings, you should follow these simple steps:

1. Disconnect the power adapter.
2. Press and hold the activation button and do not release it.
3. Connect the power adapter.
4. Wait 5-10 seconds and release the activation button.
5. The light ring should light up.
6. Connect the speaker to the Internet.

The process will take up to 10 minutes.

Controlling your TV via Alice

Although it’s convenient to control a virtual remote control, you still need to control the remote control! And you can also control it through the voice assistant Alice, which lives in the speakers, browser and phone.

Alice can not only increase the volume of several items, but can also set a certain loud level. For example, you can say: “Alice, turn the TV volume to 20” and the TV will be set to exactly this value.

You can turn the TV on and off, change the channel on the TV (if television is installed), but you cannot change the signal source yet. Thus, you cannot switch from a TV console to a Playstation.

You can add turning off the TV in the scenario, so when going to bed you can say: “Alice, I’m going to bed” - all the lamps included in the scenario + TV will turn off.

Problem solving

Below are possible problems and ways to solve them.

The station does not turn on

If the light ring does not change color and basically nothing happens:

1. Check the power adapter - it is advisable to use one included with the Station.
2. The adapter must be properly connected to the device.
3. Test the outlet by connecting another device to it.

The application does not find Wi-Fi

If the application does not see your home network, you need to check on your phone and in the program itself whether access to the location is granted.
If the application does not see the Wi-Fi distributed by the smartphone, you should:

1. Turn Wi-Fi on and then turn it off.
2. Enable hotspot.
3. Connect to a hidden network by entering its name and password. The option may be called “Configure manually”, “New network”, “Other”, etc.

Alice says "There is no Internet connection" / "The tape is jammed"

It's worth trying to reserve an IP for the Station's MAC address. For this:

1. Enter the router's IP address into the search bar of your browser and log in. Typically, the address is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, the login is admin, and the password is admin.
2. In the settings, find the DHCP item - it can be in the main section, in “Network” or “Internet”.
3. Find the speaker in the list of connected devices. The MAC address and reserved IP are displayed next to it.
4. In manual mode, set the IP address - the last number must be in the range from 2 to 254.
5. Save changes.
6. Reboot the Station.

Enable auto-selection of Internet channel if it is disabled. This helps when there are many devices and the airwaves are noisy.

Disable auto internet channel selection if it is enabled. At a frequency of 2.4 GHz, set channel 1, 6 or 11, width – 20 MHz. At 5 GHz, set channel 36, 40, 44 or 48.

This solution can also help if the Station does not connect after losing connection.

First reviews

Since very little time has passed since the start of official sales, the first users mainly pay attention to the ability to control gestures. The new skill really interested those who bought the gadget. At the same time, they note his sensitivity to third-party gestures and changes in place. This is especially noticeable if the column is turned in different directions.

The general impression of the new product is interesting and promising. Despite the presence of various shortcomings, the gadget performs almost all the stated actions. Everyone is waiting for further expansion of the functions of the smart mini-station, because the world does not stand still.

How is it different from a regular Yandex Station?

The first and main difference between the mini-station and a regular speaker is the gesture recognition system. Next comes size.

Another difference between the “sisters” is the ability to control the TV. The mini-station does not have access to a TV, which eliminates the need for a cooling radiator, and the gadget has become much smaller and lighter.

There are also 4 microphones instead of 7 in the usual one. The distance at which the microphone will transmit the command to Alice has become a couple of meters shorter, 5-6 m versus 7-8 m for the usual one.

The mini version cannot control video, since it does not have an HDMI output, but an AUX output has been added so that you can connect other audio systems.

I propose to raise a glass to neural networks and cucumbers

Usually, when they talk about smart assistants, they talk about all sorts of switching on light bulbs and other house management. It seems to me that this is not entirely correct. Firstly, the smart home ecosystem is still in its infancy, and secondly, to build it, considerable financial investments are needed. It’s kind of stupid to limit yourself to one light bulb, right?

I found Alice’s skills much more interesting, as they can expand her functionality almost limitlessly. Conventionally, they can be divided into two groups. The first ones were created by Yandex itself; they set alarms and reminders, plot routes and information about traffic jams, voice over TV programs, and so on. There is a complete list on Alice’s website, and reading it is the first thing you should do after purchasing a smart speaker.

The second group are skills created by third-party developers. They can be found on the Yandex.Dialogues platform. There are already many such skills, and they are quite diverse. Some look very strange, for example, the skill “Chinese pharmacy in Nizhny Tagil”). Some are quite funny, for example, the toast skill - you voice the reason, and in response they offer you toast. For example, with Alice you can drink neural networks and cucumbers - that’s exactly it, yes.

Of the skills, I especially liked the news ones created by some media outlets. Instead of surfing news sites, you can simply launch the skill and Alice will read the news headlines. If you want to know more, ask Alice to tell you more.

There are many interesting ideas in skills. This includes counting calories, ordering food, and skills for managing a smart home. Unfortunately, not all of these skills are made of really high quality, and work well specifically with voice control. But it's a matter of time.