Imagine you’re halfway through an episode of Andor or your current favorite TV show, and the doorbell goes off. You can use a voice command to pause the action or rewind to where you left off when you return. You can also use voice commands to launch a streaming app, check who directed the show, or even find out what the actor on screen just said. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-Year Subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. You can also sometimes use a smartphone, smart speaker, or smart display to control your TV, provided it is in the same room and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This is handy if you don’t want to have to reach for the remote and press that microphone button before you issue a command. Simple voice commands that will work with any service, include things like:
PlayPauseResumeStopPlay from the beginningVolume downVolume up
Because it’s such a pain to type anything using a remote control, voice commands are great for launching apps, specific shows, and movies, or finding content that you might like. Here are a few commands to try:
Launch NetflixOpen HuluShow me movies with Sam RockwellPlay Stranger Things on NetflixShow me sci-fi TV showsFind action movies in 4KFind all Martin Scorcese movies
With Google Assistant, you don’t even need to know the name of the movie, you can say things like, “Stallone, boxing movie” and Rocky will pop up, or “funny vampire movie” to get What We Do in the Shadows. It can be tricky to fast-forward or rewind with accuracy using a remote, but you can be precise with voice commands. Try these:
Rewind 10 minutesSkip forward 30 secondsGo back 10 secondsFast forward three minutesPlay next episode
You can also ask questions about whatever you are watching. For example:
Who directed this?What’s this rated?Who is in this?Who stars in Brooklyn Nine-Nine?When was this released?
If you are using a streaming device like Apple TV or Chromecast with Google TV, you can ask the assistants things that aren’t related to what you’re watching, such as:
Find Chinese restaurants near mePlay music (genre, band, track)Where is my iPhone?What’s the weather like tomorrow?Show my photos
If you have smart home devices, like smart lighting or video doorbells, and they are in your Home app and on the same network, you can use voice commands like, “Dim the lights” or “Show me the front door.” These commands can prove especially handy when you are nodding off and can’t find the remote or want to set your kid’s bedtime:
Turn off the TVTurn off the TV in 20 minutes
You can use voice commands to turn your TV on as well, though you will need to set this up with your streaming device, add your TV to the Home app, or activate the relevant Alexa skill. It can be annoying having to repeatedly say “Alexa," “Hey Google,” or ”Hey Siri," or press the mic button on the remote, so it’s worth setting up little routines or shortcuts that include multiple actions from a single voice command. For example, you might want to dim the lights, turn on the TV, and switch your phone to Do Not Disturb with a command like “It’s movie time!” We’ve got instructions on how to do things like that in the following guides:
How to Create Custom Alexa RoutinesHow to Create Custom Google Home RoutinesHow to Use Siri Shortcuts
