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Control Your Harmony Remote With Amazon Alexa

Logitech's Harmony remotes now have an Alexa skill.

Tom Brant
 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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Aiming to simplify one of the most basic but frustrating smart home tasks, Logitech today unveiled an Amazon Alexa skill for its Harmony universal remotes.

It will enable owners of a Harmony remote and an Alexa device like the Amazon Echo to turn entertainment devices on or off and tune in to TV channels using only voice commands.

Logitech has long catered to home theater enthusiasts with its Harmony line. The remotes are known for their programmable buttons that can prepare a home theater setup for movie watching or other activities with a single push, eliminating the hassle of multiple device-specific remotes.

The Harmony Alexa skill harnesses that simplicity. You'll be able to say "Alexa, turn on my evening activity," to start a series of actions that you've previously defined with Harmony, such as turning the TV to HBO, bringing down the blinds, and dimming the smart lights.

The Alexa skill is available now for Echo and Echo Dot users in the US, and is compatible with Logitech hub-based remotes like the Logitech Harmony Elite or Logitech Harmony Companion. You'll need the Alexa app installed on your smartphone or tablet to activate the Harmony skill.

Logitech says it has worked closely with Amazon to ensure that its Alexa commands are compatible with more than 270,000 different entertainment and smart home devices. Adding the skill to Alexa is free.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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