Alexa Needs To Stop Talking

My TV Has Been Infected With Alexa

Picture imagined by the author and realized by Dall-E-3

I like a TV running as background noise throughout the day when I work. It used to be music, but then I got old. The Stones no longer have the power they once had. Now it’s The Great American Baking Show or Below Decks. Neither intellectual challenge distracts me from writing.

Now, to the point. I have a recently acquired LG OLED TV that has decided every time it hears “Alexa” to stop programming and produce an Alexa blue screen. It then shuts down my AV receiver and freezes everything else, including the remotes. This necessitates me unplugging and reinitializing my receiver. This does not make me happy.

I realized it was time for research, which I did for hours, four to be precise, and an additional two to three to put the recommendations for a fix into practice. None of them worked. The obvious solution is not to say “Alexa.” Well, that was easier said than done since I have three of them. Regardless, I changed the names of the others so that ‘Alexa’ would not be spoken. Or, so I thought.

Unfortunately, my African Grey parrot, Cali, had learned the phrase and used it often. He happily set out to shut down my entertainment system several times daily. I wasn't about to move him because I had him in front of a picture window so he could look out and curse at…