Amazon Smart Thermostat: messages and settings explained
The Amazon Smart Thermostat is set up and controlled through the Alexa app, so most of its settings live there rather than on the thermostat: schedules, Vacation Mode, emergency heat and Alexa automatic control. It needs 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to stay connected. This page explains where things are and links to a page for each topic.
Where are the settings on an Amazon Smart Thermostat?
Almost all of them are in the Alexa app. Open Devices, choose the thermostat, then Device Settings. From there Amazon's help pages describe:
- Control and schedules, with the "Use thermostat schedule" switch. The schedule only runs while that switch is on.
- Vacation Mode, which holds the heat and cool temperatures you set for it.
- Thermostat Configuration, where emergency heat is turned on for a heat pump system, and where display brightness is set.
- Alexa automatic control, which lets Alexa set away and sleep temperatures when it guesses nobody is home or everyone is asleep.
On the thermostat itself, the mode button and the arrows change the system mode and the setpoint. Amazon's own check when the heat will not start uses exactly that: press the mode button until the flame icon lights, then raise the temperature 1 or 2 degrees above the reading.
How does the schedule interact with manual changes?
Amazon says that if you change the temperature by hand while the thermostat is on a schedule, the change sets a temporary hold until the schedule reaches its next change point. This works like the temporary holds on other brands; see hold vs permanent hold for how Honeywell Home handles it and why a thermostat keeps returning to its schedule.
What should you know about emergency heat?
On a heat pump system with the right setup, emergency heat is turned on in the Alexa app under Thermostat Configuration. Amazon's advice is to run it only until your heat pump is working again, and it notes that the lower emissions priority setting cannot be active at the same time. The difference between emergency heat and automatic backup heat, auxiliary heat (AUX), is explained in AUX heat vs emergency heat.
Which Amazon topics have their own page?
- Alexa guessing you are away or asleep: Alexa Hunches and automatic control.
- Alexa saying the thermostat is not responding: Amazon Smart Thermostat not responding.
- A dark or blank screen on any brand: thermostat screen is blank.
Every Amazon Smart page on this site
- Amazon Smart Thermostat display lights: what each one means
What do the lights on my Amazon Smart Thermostat mean?
- Amazon Smart Thermostat not responding to Alexa
Why is my Amazon Smart Thermostat not responding to Alexa?
- How Alexa Hunches changes your Amazon Smart Thermostat
What do Alexa Hunches do to my Amazon Smart Thermostat?
Frequently asked questions
- Can I change the Amazon Smart Thermostat settings without the Alexa app?
- Only the basics. The buttons on the thermostat change the mode and the temperature. Schedules, Vacation Mode, emergency heat, display brightness and Alexa automatic control are all set in the Alexa app.
- Why does the Amazon Smart Thermostat screen look dark?
- Amazon says the display might dim when inactive. Touch the display face to wake it. Display brightness for active and inactive modes is in the Alexa app under the thermostat configuration settings.
- Does the Amazon Smart Thermostat follow a schedule?
- Only if you turn it on. The "Use thermostat schedule" switch is in the Alexa app under Device Settings, then Control and schedules. A manual change while the schedule runs sets a temporary hold until the next change point.