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Alexa in 2017 Explorer?

Am_Dew

Active Member
Joined
October 14, 1999
Messages
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City, State
Somehere in Northern CA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2017 Limited
I have downloaded the Ford+Alexa app to my Android phone, then signed in to my Amazon account on that app, and Sync 3 does sees the Ford Alexa app, but Alexa does not seem to respond after I depress the talk switch and say an Alexa command. Any suggestions? Has anyone gotten this to work on a 2017 Explorer?

Thanks!
 



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Alexa is voice-activated. The steering wheel voice control will only activate built-in Sync 3 commands when connected with AppLink however you can use this to "Open Alexa" and start the app. Launch the Alexa app on Sync 3 once your phone is connected then say "Alexa" to activate it. If this doesn't work, make sure microphone permissions are enabled for the Ford+Alexa app on your phone.
 






I have downloaded the Ford+Alexa app to my Android phone, then signed in to my Amazon account on that app, and Sync 3 does sees the Ford Alexa app, but Alexa does not seem to respond after I depress the talk switch and say an Alexa command. Any suggestions? Has anyone gotten this to work on a 2017 Explorer?

Thanks!
Do you still have your '05 Explorer. Time to update your profile or add the new 2017 (Base, XLT, etc.) to a signature.

Peter
 






Thanks Peter. Done.
 






Alexa is voice-activated. The steering wheel voice control will only activate built-in Sync 3 commands when connected with AppLink however you can use this to "Open Alexa" and start the app. Launch the Alexa app on Sync 3 once your phone is connected then say "Alexa" to activate it. If this doesn't work, make sure microphone permissions are enabled for the Ford+Alexa app on your phone.

I am pretty sure I have done all these things and still nothing, but I will verify when I get in the car again.
 






I am pretty sure I have done all these things and still nothing, but I will verify when I get in the car again.

All permissions are granted. If I say "Go Alexa" after turning on the Sync 3 mic from the steering wheel, the response I get is something to the affect of "There are no USB devices detected". I can activate the Alexa app from the "Apps" screen on the display, but then when I say "Alexa, what time is it?" the Sync system responds with the standard response when it does not understand the command you gave it.

This may be a dumb question, but does the Alexa device need to be plugged into a USB port in the vehicle? I would not think so, but it seems nothing can be taken for granted these days with apps, connectivity and such, which are flakey at best most of the time. Call me old school or whatever, but I think too much technology is rolled out to the public without much testing or thought...just my 2 cents based upon my experiences. it works great when it works, but it does not work all too often.
 






As previously stated, activate sync voice, ask for Alexa, and it will come up. I have gotten this to work to advise of local weather & extended forcast. I have even gotten Alexa to play music, BUT, & IT'S A BIG BUT, when interrupted by say an incoming text message, Alexa does not resume playing. Probably a bug in system I am sure.
 






As previously stated, activate sync voice, ask for Alexa, and it will come up. I have gotten this to work to advise of local weather & extended forcast. I have even gotten Alexa to play music, BUT, & IT'S A BIG BUT, when interrupted by say an incoming text message, Alexa does not resume playing. Probably a bug in system I am sure.

As I stated above, when I say "Alexa, what time is it?", I get the standard response from SYNC when it does not understand what I am saying.
 






And if I just say "Alexa", Sync returns with "No USB devices detected". What does Alexa have to do with a USB device in this situation? Flakey to say the least.
 






I think I found out why this is not working....my phone is an LG Phoenix 2 which per the Ford Owner website does not have Applink compatibility.
 






I have downloaded the Ford+Alexa app to my Android phone, then signed in to my Amazon account on that app, and Sync 3 does sees the Ford Alexa app, but Alexa does not seem to respond after I depress the talk switch and say an Alexa command. Any suggestions? Has anyone gotten this to work on a 2017 Explorer?

Thanks!
I use Alexa+Ford just about every day. I used bluetooth to pair the phone to the explorer. So far i havent had any problems turning on/off smart lights using the Alexa/Ford connection or telling "her" to play music from my Amazon account. I have noticed it seems to take a little while to connect at times but thought it was just my phone.
 






I have never gotten mine to work. What kind of phone do you have?
 






I have *finally* figured this out! I did not realize that you must not only activate the 'Ford+Alexa' app on your phone but you must also use the 'Amazon Alexa' app on your phone to make "Alexa" requests. I was under the assumption that once you activate the 'Ford+Alexa' app and you activate it in SYNC, you would use the microphone on the steering wheel to make "Alexa" requests. Nowhere in any instructions or videos did I see this mentioned. Does my way of doing this align with everyone else's?
 






Maybe I did not figure it out completely after all. I see now in a Ford video that there is a microphone button on the touchscreen in the Ford+Alexa app. I have no such microphone in my Ford+Alexa app.
 






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