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How To Connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV [7 Easy Ways]

In Home Theater & Audio by Tim Brennan

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Want to know how to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV? In this post, I’ll review seven fast, easy, and relatively inexpensive ways [including a free one!] to hook Alexa up to your Smart TV and home entertainment system.  You can then use Alexa to control your Smart TV with your voice. Pretty cool.

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Alexa, tell me a secret? “OK, These will work with many other Smart TV brands too!”

Spoiler Alert!

If you don’t want to read any further and just want a recommendation, I recommend Amazon Fire TV Cube or any Logitech Harmony remote that includes a Hub. Both of these options provide a turn-key setup and give you a broad range of Alexa commands to control your smart TV and entertainment experience.

While many competing blogs and industry publications recommend the complex Samsung SmartThings Hub as the best way to connect, there are lots of other ways you can do it.

In the rest of this post, I’ll go into more detail about all of my favorite options. I’ll also list out the pros and cons of all seven ways you can connect Alexa to your Samsung Smart TV.

How to Connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV Step By Step

Connecting Alexa to your Samsung Smart TV is actually quite simple once you have the proper equipment.

Here are the high-level steps

  • Step 1: Choose any one of the seven devices below to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV.
  • Step 2: Install and configure the device according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
    Pro Tip: Check out YouTube for tons of great getting started videos.
  • Step 3: Issue voice control commands to tell Alexa to turn on the TV, tune to your favorite channels, or watch your favorite movies and shows.

It really is that simple!

📚 Related: 7 Best Smart TVs with Alexa Built-in

1 Amazon Fire TV Cube

Our Rating
95%

The simplest and most intuitive option to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV is Amazon Fire TV. While you can use the Fire TV Stick to do it cheaply, I like the Amazon Fire TV Cube better. Why? The Cube was actually designed for the sole purpose of controlling your television using Alexa and your voice.

You can see the latest pricing for the 2nd Gen Fire TV Cube at Amazon.

Check out out the following excellent video review from Smarter Home Life:

Pros

  • Great all-around voice control with Alexa is inherent to the device.
  • Supports a variety of commands.
  • Can control  AV equipment as well as TV.
  • Set up is automated using your TV screen and takes just minutes.
  • Includes the remote.
  • Cool cube design looks good on entertainment center.

Cons

  • The remote does not include volume buttons.
  • There is no support for YouTube.
  • There is no support for Dolby Vision yet.
  • Response time can seem a bit laggy (as you wait for commands to execute).

📚 Related: 5 Easy Fixes for Fire TV Black Screen Issues

2 Samsung SmartThings Hub

Our Rating
80%

Next on my list of the best ways to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV is a SmartThings hub. If you subscribe to the Samsung SmartThings ecosystem and own a SmartThings Hub [links over to Amazon], then you already have the ability to control your TV with Alexa. SmartThings works with Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Amazon Tap. check if your TV is compatible with SmartThings, check the Supported Devices section of the SmartThings app.  If your TV is compatible, check out this guide to enable Samsung TV as a thing. Tom’s Guide also has a helpful tutorial here. While I would stop short of purchasing a SmartThings Hub for this purpose, it is probably the best option for current SmartThings owners. However, you are a bit limited with what you can control with your voice. Options include Power on, Power off, channel control, and volume control (set value via a slider, mute/unmute).

Pros

  • Gives SmartThings owners the capability to use Alexa with compatible TVs.
  • Hub can be used to control over 200 devices over many popular brands of smart home devices with Alexa too.
  • It’s relatively easy to set up. Check out this step-by-step guide here.
  • Supports for routines like “Hello I’m Home” that let you combine devices for different activities.

Cons

  • Commands with Alexa are limited to those described above.
  • Limited support for SmartTV brands and models.
  • Customers complain about compatibility issues with some smart locks and lighting.

3 Caavo Control Center

Our Rating
80%

I recently worked with my friends over at UniversalRemoteReviews.com to put Caavo Control Center to the test. We were all impressed by the latest [and much less expensive] version of this smart universal remote. While you are limited to control of four devices plus a soundbar, you can also control smart home stuff using IFTTT technology. And, more to the point, you can also control your Samsung Smart TV and entertainment experience using Alexa. Commands are limited, but this a great way to get an innovative universal remote solution plus Alexa for voice control in a single product. You can read my full Caavo review here. 

Read the latest customer reviews for Caavo Control Center at Amazon.

Thanks to my man Chris Pirillo for the helpful video review:

Pros

  • Searches across all streaming services for content.
  • You can use Alexa or Google Voice to bring up favorite TV shows and specific episodes.
  • Find remote feature helps you find “lost” remote when you lose it inside your sofa cushions.
  • Curated recommendations in the Caavo dashboard from expert reviewers are actually quite good.
  • Price dropped way down from a whopping $400 earlier this year.
  • Works with IFTTT [If This Then That] for smart home control.

Cons

  • Limited to just four devices, which may not be enough to consolidate all your remotes.
  • There is no native smart home devices support.
  • Full functionality requires a “service plan” unless you buy it from Amazon. Amazon bundles a lifetime service plan in with the product.

4 Logitech Harmony Hub

Our Rating
85%

The Logitech Harmony Hub gives you outstanding control over your home entertainment devices as well as your home entertainment center. The only caveat is that, unlike the other popular products in Logitech’s Harmony line, the Harmony Hub does not include an actual remote control. Instead, you control your devices using your the Harmony app on using your iOS or Android smartphone. As for voice control with Alexa [and Google Assistant], the functionality works the same way as if you bought a more expensive Harmony product with a remote. Yes, you get full voice control at an affordable price using the Harmony Hub.

Check out this awesome video from Majestechs that details how the Hub and Harmony Hub-based products work with Alexa.

Pros

  • Full range of commands for voice control with Alexa [adjust volume, change channels, tune to streaming media, tune to specific shows and episodes].
  • Lets you consolidate remotes for eight devices.
  • Supports for over 275,000 devices from 5000 brands.
  • Able to control many smart home devices as well as home entertainment.
  • Activities like “Watch a Movie” turn on all required components.
  • Turns your smartphone in a smart remote.
  • Controls devices behind cabinets and through walls.

    • Cons

    • Doesn’t include a physical remote.
    • Set up of devices is a bit more complex than other options here.

    5 Logitech Harmony Elite

    Our Rating
    100%

    According to market research firm Statistica, of U.S. broadband households that had TVs controllable by voice, 85.5% used a remote control that responds to voice commands.

    The Logitech Harmony Elite is Logitech’s top of the line remote control that will let you control your home entertainment devices and smart home technology. It includes the Harmony Hub mentioned previously which gives you all its benefits. These include voice control with Alexa and Google Assistant as well as control of devices behind closed cabinets.

    Using Harmony Activities, you can tell Alexa to “Launch Movie Night” and all required components perform the appropriate activity. For example, the Movie Night activity could power on your TV, audio receiver or soundbar, lower your smart blinds, dim smart lights, change the color of your bulbs, and tune your Samsung Smart TV to your favorite movie service (like Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Roku, or even Netflix).

    This is without question one of the best universal remotes you can buy today. It isn’t cheap, but if you want the best, this is it.

    It does go on sale often though.

    You can check the latest price of the Elite at Amazon here.

    Pros

    • Includes Harmony’s top of the line color LCD remote control.
    • Full range of Alexa commands for voice control.
    • Lets you consolidate remotes for up to 15 devices.
    • Supports for over 275,000 devices from 5000 brands.
    • Able to control many smart home devices as well as home entertainment.
    • Activities like “Watch a Movie” turn on all required components.
    • Turns your family members’ smartphones into smart remotes.
    • Controls devices behind cabinets and through walls.

    Cons

    • It’s expensive.
    • Set up of devices is a bit more complex than other options here. We recommend PC-based set up on a Mac or Windows computer over trying to set this up using your smartphone.

    6 Logitech Harmony Companion

    Our Rating
    90%

    If the Harmony Hub is the poor man’s Elite without a remote, the Logitech Harmony Companion is the poor man’s Elite with a remote. The main difference is that it doesn’t include the color LCD screen. It does include a well-designed Harmony remote, and it also includes the Harmony Hub. The Harmony Companion gives you pretty much all of the benefits of the Elite minus the LCD touchscreen.

    Pros

    • Includes a basic but well designed physical remote control.
    • Supports Harmony’s full range of Alexa commands for voice control.
    • Lets you consolidate remotes for up to eight devices.
    • Supports for over 275,000 devices from 5000 brands.
    • Able to control many smart home devices as well as home entertainment.
    • Activities like “Watch a Movie” turn on all required components.
    • Turns your family members’ smartphones into smart remotes .
    • Controls devices behind cabinets and through walls.

    Cons

    • Six Home Control buttons are limited to certain activities.
    • Remote is not as nice as the Harmony Elite.
    • Users complain about setup issues with the app. We recommend PC-based set up using a USB cable.

    7 Free! Anymote

    Our Rating
    70%

    Last on my list of ways to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV is a free option using the Anymote app that you can download for your smartphone. While we like the other options better, we understand that controlling Alexa with your TV is certainly a luxury, not a must-have.  This way, if you can’t afford the other options, you can try this free method.

    The main drawback of going this route is that that the app is complex and the Alexa integration can be fairly difficult to set up for someone who is not technical. You are also limited to basic commands like power on and off, channel up and down and volume up and down.

    This tutorial will step you through the process of setting up Anymote to work with Alexa.

    You can also get an understanding of the basics using this Anymote Knowledge Base Article.

    Pros

    • It’s free!

    Cons

    • The smartphone app is super complex and not very intuitive.
    • Set up requires some technical knowledge.
    • Alexa commands are very limited.
    • You need to prefix all commands with “Alexa, ask AnyMote….” which is sort of annoying.

    Conclusion and Recommendations

    If you can afford it, I recommend the Logitech Harmony Elite, because it includes a beautiful remote, lets you control smart home stuff, and has solid support for a variety of Alexa commands.  And it will work with Google Assistant too. The biggest benefit of this remote is that it is compatible with Logitech’s ever-growing device database. This means that it will support the stuff you buy in the future as well as what you own today. You can read my detailed review of the Logitech Harmony Elite here.

    If you just simply want to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV without a lot of fuss, the Amazon Fire TV Cube is another great option.

    How To Connect Alexa To Samsung Smart TV:  Your thoughts?

    I hope you enjoyed this article that describes how to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV.

    Do you plan on connecting Alexa to your smart TV using any of the 7 ways described here?  What do you think about the options I presented in this article?

    I hope you will please leave me a comment below and let me know.

    Also, if you liked our review, would you mind sharing it using any of the social media buttons on this page?

    You Might Also Like

    If you enjoyed reading this article about how to connect Alexa to Samsung Smart TV, you might also like some of my other articles.  I will list a few of them here.

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Tim Brennan

    Tim Brennan, a tech blogger and host of the @TecTimmy YouTube channel, writes about smart homes at oneSmartcrib, home theaters at UniversalRemoteReviews, and AI in writing at Writeinteractive. He holds a Journalism degree from Northeastern University and has covered technology for three decades. He lives on the ocean in Nahant, Massachusetts.


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