How to Use Amazon Alexa In Different Countries

Amazon Echo has become a household name in recent years. Millions of people around the globe now rely on Alexa. The voice-activated speaker is now capable of playing music, controlling smart thermostats like ecobee, and providing information about weather, traffic, and sports scores.

If you live outside the US, however, you might be wondering how to get started using the voice assistant or if Alexa is even available to you. 

Maybe you live in the UK and traveling to the USA, so you’re hoping to bring your own Echo device with you, but not sure if it’ll work.

This article will cover all of that here. How to use your Amazon Echo in different countries and whether you can Alexa internationally. 

Supported Alexa Features by Country for “International Version” Echo Devices

Amazon Alexa is more pervasive than ever and is now supported in over 42 countries worldwide – and in a variety of different languages.

Alexa initially only worked in the US, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, and Germany. But now, Alexa can now be used more remote places, such as the Cayman Islands and Ghana.

A limited selection of Alexa features (such as music) are available on the international version Echo devices shipped from Amazon.com to eligible countries, and those from eligible third party sellers. The features listed are non-exhaustive, vary by country, and may require additional fees.

The lists of supported and unsupported features, but first you need to buy an international Echo device. 

How to Buy an International Echo Device

You’ll need an Amazon-enabled device in order to get started with Alexa. These devices are available worldwide, and they’re cheap enough that you won’t be out much money. 

The only Amazon sites that you can buy international versions from are: Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon DE (Germany). 

Only the Echo 2nd generation, Echo Dot 2nd generation, and Echo Dot 4th generation have international versions. Unfortunately, there’s no international version of the Echo show.

We’ll go over the functionality later, but there’s a few things to consider before buying an Echo. First, power sources differ by product. Second, there are natural requirements with regard to voltage and wattage. Third, there’s multi-way switching support, and fourth, there’s Wi-Fi.

You should know that you will pay a tax when you buy something from Amazon.com. This is because Amazon collects this tax for you. However, if you live in an Amazon Global region, then you won’t have to worry about this tax, but you have to pay customs duties. 

The international versions of the Echo do not include some of the features that are included in the US version. For example, the international version does not include the ability to shop, local traffic and business searches, or skills from the Alexa Skills Store (more below). 

There’s no guarantee that your Echo device will work internationally. But if you’re living in an Amazon-supported country, you should be able to use Alexa, the voice assistant built into the Echo line. You’ll get access to music, shopping, news, sports scores, weather forecasts, and more.

The Amazon Echo Dot is an excellent device for controlling your smart home devices. However, access to the Alexa App is limited. You must go to alexa.amazon.com to get the app. In addition, you can’t control your smart home devices via the Alexa App on your phone without a Wi-Fi network.

Alexa can speak English, French, German Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. But she can’t speak Chinese or Russian. 

Amazon Alexa can speak English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Hindi, Japanese and Portuguese. The American, British, Australian, Canadian, and Indian dialects are available for English;  Spanish, Mexican, and American are available for Spanish; and French and Canadian dialects are available for the French language.

Unsupported Features for all “International Version” Echo Devices

These are features that are unsupported by the international Echo devices.

• Audible
• Select skills from the Amazon Alexa Skills Store
• Shopping
• Local traffic and business searche
• Location-specific news, information, and entertainment
• Certain Music Service Providers, such as iHeart Radio, Pandora, and Sirius XM
• Podcasts

Supported Features by “International Version” Echo Devices

These are features that are supported by the international Echo devices.

• Alarms
• Amazon Music Unlimited (where available)
• Calendars
• Info
• News
• Smart Home
• Spotify
• Timers
• To-do/shopping list
• TuneIn
• Weather

Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon Music Unlimited is currently available to users in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Swiss devices can play purchased music but not Amazon Music Unlimited.

Alexa App Availability

To access the advanced smart home features, an Amazon Echo device must be connected to Wi‑Fi and the smartphone needs to have the Alexa App installed. You can check whether the Alexa app is available in your country by going to the phone’s app store.

To get started using Amazon Echo devices, visit  https://alexa.amazon.com/. Some additional features are only available via the Alexa mobile app.

Alexa Supported Languages

Skills in the Alexa Skills store are only available in certain languages. According to Amazon, here is the latest update on countries and supported languages:

Source

For more on Alexa and Amazon Echo Devices, check out these articles:

• Does SimpliSafe work with Alexa?
• Can You Change Alexa’s Name?
• How to Change Alexa Language and Voice
• How to Fix Alexa Red Ring