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If your Alexa app still includes Hunches, open More → Settings → Hunches, tap the settings gear, then enable the relevant options under Automatic Actions. Hunches are not a general-purpose task system: they were designed mainly to let Alexa infer certain smart-home situations—such as being away or asleep—and control eligible lights, plugs, thermostats, switches, vacuums, or water-heater controls.
If Hunches is missing, do not assume you are overlooking the setting. Amazon’s current consumer availability is unclear, and some users report that most Hunches features ended on June 9, 2026. That report is not confirmed by an official Amazon retirement notice. Use Alexa Routines or your device maker’s automation when Hunches is unavailable.
What Alexa Hunches actually do
Hunches were Alexa’s predictive smart-home feature. Alexa used device status and household-use signals to infer that something might need attention—for example, a light left on when the home appears empty or someone appears to be asleep.
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There are three terms to keep separate:
- Hunches: Alexa’s inferred suggestions or smart-home actions.
- Automatic Actions: The setting that authorizes Alexa to carry out certain Hunches without a new voice command.
- Routines: Rules you create yourself with defined triggers and actions.
Historically, supported examples included turning off compatible lights, plugs, or switches; adjusting a compatible thermostat toward an away or sleep temperature; placing a compatible water heater into an energy-saving mode; and starting a compatible robotic vacuum when Alexa believed nobody was home. Availability depended on the device category, integration, account, region, and the Hunches offered to that account. See Amazon’s documentation on proactive Hunch actions.
Hunches were not a general way to send messages, order products, launch any Alexa skill, or execute arbitrary tasks.
Requirements before you try to enable them
You generally need:
- The Alexa mobile app, signed in to the Amazon account associated with your Echo and smart-home devices.
- A compatible smart-home product already linked to Alexa and discovered under Devices.
- A device that is online and controllable from the Alexa app or by voice.
- A device category and integration that support the particular Hunch.
- A supported account, region, and Alexa app experience that still exposes Hunches.
Alexa compatibility alone does not guarantee Hunches eligibility. Devices also need to report their state accurately. If Alexa cannot reliably tell whether a light or switch is on or off, the relevant Hunch may be unavailable or unreliable. Amazon’s smart-home guidance discusses the importance of accurate state reporting and device integrations.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
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How to enable Hunches and Automatic Actions
The following is the documented path for accounts where the feature is still visible. Labels can vary slightly by Alexa app version.
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap More.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Hunches.
- If Alexa presents an enablement or review screen, follow the prompts.
- In Hunches, tap the settings gear.
- Open Automatic Actions.
- Select the available category or action, such as lights, thermostats, plugs, switches, vacuums, or another supported device type.
- Choose the device or devices Alexa is allowed to control.
- Turn the action on and confirm any prompt.
Amazon’s earlier support guidance describes managing individual actions from the Hunches settings area. The historical path is More → Settings → Hunches → gear icon → Automatic Actions.
How to check whether it worked
- Open Alexa → Devices and confirm that the intended product appears.
- Test ordinary control first, such as saying, “Alexa, turn on the living-room light.”
- Return to Hunches → settings gear → Automatic Actions.
- Confirm that the relevant category and device are listed and enabled.
Do not expect an immediate Hunch just because you enabled Automatic Actions. Hunches depended on inferred behavior, device-state information, and the conditions Alexa considered relevant. Enabling the setting did not create an instant demonstration event.
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- Update the Alexa app from your phone’s app store.
- Force-close and reopen the app.
- Confirm that you are using the correct Amazon account or household.
- Look under More → Settings; Hunches was not normally configured under Routines.
- Confirm that the device is linked, discovered, online, and manually controllable.
- Check the device maker’s app for schedules, geofencing, away mode, or energy settings.
If Hunches is completely absent, the feature may not be offered for your region, account, app experience, or device category—or it may have changed or been retired. A user report claims that Amazon ended most Hunches support on June 9, 2026, including automatic actions for several device types. That report is not an official Amazon announcement, so the safest conclusion is that current availability is unclear rather than universally declaring Hunches discontinued. See the reported June 9 change with that qualification in mind.
Use Alexa Routines when you need predictable automation
Routines are the most practical replacement for many Hunches use cases. They require you to define the trigger and actions instead of relying on Alexa’s inference.
For example, you could create a Routine with:
- Trigger: You say, “Alexa, good night.”
- Actions: Turn off selected lights, lock a compatible door, and set the thermostat to a chosen temperature.
Other useful triggers can include a chosen time or a supported smart-home or location event. To create one, open the Alexa app, go to More → Routines, tap the + button, choose a trigger under When this happens, add actions, and save it. The exact available triggers depend on the account and connected devices.
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Routines are deterministic and easier to audit, but they require setup. They also do not reproduce Hunches’ adaptive behavior: a Routine will not independently decide that you probably left a light on while away unless you configure an appropriate trigger.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
How to stop unwanted automatic actions
If Hunches is still available and Alexa is changing a device unexpectedly:
- Open More → Settings → Hunches.
- Tap the settings gear.
- Open Automatic Actions.
- Disable the relevant action or device category.
Disabling notifications is not necessarily the same as disabling automatic control. Check the individual Automatic Actions settings.
If the behavior continues, inspect all possible sources:
- Alexa Routines and Featured Routines
- Schedules, scenes, groups, and duplicate device integrations
- The manufacturer’s app, including geofencing, away mode, sleep mode, and energy-saving automation
- Other household members’ Alexa accounts and shared devices
- Devices with similar names that Alexa may be confusing
Rename similar devices clearly, then rediscover them if necessary. Re-linking should be a later troubleshooting step, not the first response.
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Thermostats and competing automation systems
Thermostats commonly have their own schedules, geofencing, away modes, and sleep settings. Running those at the same time as Alexa automation can produce unexpected temperature changes.
Use one primary automation system for a thermostat whenever possible. Amazon’s AutomationManagement documentation explains that integrations can enable, disable, or override one another depending on how the device supports automation. Do not assume that Alexa always wins or that the manufacturer’s schedule always wins.
Before enabling a thermostat Hunch or Routine, review the thermostat’s own app and decide which system should control schedules and away behavior. Disable the competing automation first, then test the selected system.
When Hunches are appropriate—and when they are not
Hunches or Automatic Actions may suit you when you want low-maintenance energy saving, your devices report status reliably, and occasional incorrect inferences are acceptable.
Use a Routine instead when an action must happen at an exact time, must be repeatable, must combine several devices, or must never occur without a clearly defined trigger. Be especially cautious with locks, heaters, appliances, and equipment where an incorrect automatic action could create a safety or security problem.
If a device works manually but never becomes eligible for a Hunch, test it again from Alexa, check its integration and manufacturer app, and use a Routine if the required trigger and action are available. If neither option works, contact Amazon or the device manufacturer with the device model, account region, and integration details.
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