Want To Access Amazon's Smart Home Dashboard On Your Fire TV Stick? Here's How

The Amazon Fire TV Stick lets you turn a regular television into a smart TV, but that's not the only thing it can do. You can also use it as a hub to control the other smart devices in your house. Blink and Ring, both brands owned by Amazon, tie into that whole ecosystem with devices you can control via the Fire TV Stick. Many other smart devices are also compatible with Alexa, and, in some cases, Google Home.

Alexa is at the core of Amazon's smart device network, and the assistant is also available on the Fire TV Stick. This is a fun alternative to using the Alexa app on your phone to control devices like smart lights or the thermostat. You can also use voice commands if you own a smart speaker like the Echo Dot.  

Setting up a Fire TV Stick is effortless. All you have to do is plug it into your TV's HDMI slot and control the new interface using the provided remote. Then, through the Amazon Smart Home Dashboard, you can view compatible smart home devices and control them using your TV. You can find the dashboard in the shortcut panel in Fire OS or by using a voice command.

It might seem a bit bizarre at first, but controlling your smart home devices through your TV can be convenient. Imagine watching an intense, action-packed movie, and wanting to dim the lights mid-scene. Grabbing your phone that's across the room is an option, but it's often easier to use the Amazon Smart Home Dashboard on your TV itself. 

First, make sure that you're running the latest version of FireOS on your Amazon Fire TV Stick. To check, go to Settings > My Fire TV (or Device and Software) > About > Check for System Update. Next, to access the Smart Home Dashboard on your TV, follow these steps:

1. Turn on your Fire TV Stick, and make sure you're connected to the internet.
2. On your remote, look for a button with either the microphone icon or the Alexa logo. Press and release this button.
3. You will notice a shortcut panel appear at the bottom. Select "Smart Home Dashboard" from the list of options.

Alternatively, you can press and hold the microphone button and say, "Alexa, open the Smart Home dashboard." As long as you're signed into the same Amazon account as the one you're using to control your smart home devices, you should see them displayed on your dashboard.