How to connect your Columbia smart home to Alexa or Google

Wouldn't it be great if you were able to control your Columbia security system with voice commands? You can when you sync your Vivint home security system to your favorite smart assistant, like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home. Once you launch the Vivint skill, you can fully operate all your alarms, cameras, sensors, and home automation devices via your Nest or Echo device. Then when you're getting things ready to go to bed or leave the house, all you have to do is tell your assistant you’re headed out and relax as everything switches into guard mode.

Learn more about linking your Columbia smart home to Alexa or Google:

How to sync your Columbia smart home to your Google Home or Amazon Echo

Stick to these easy directions to sync your Columbia smart home to your Alexa speaker:

• Once you install your Alexa device, enter the Amazon Alexa app and click on Skills & Games.

• Search for the Vivint Smart Home Skill. You should have two different Alexa skills: Vivint Complete and Vivint Basic.

• Turn on both skills. The Complete skill provides you nearly comprehensive management of your home automation and security equipment, but you need to say, "Alexa, ask Vivint to turn on the alarms." The Basic skill enables you to change lights, thermostats, and other automation pieces by simply saying, "Alexa, flip on the lights."

• Alexa will require you to log into your Vivint account so it can connect devices.

• You are able to control your Vivint system with your Echo speakers.

If you use Google over Alexa, here is how to sync your Columbia smart home into your Google Nest:

• Open the Google Home app on your smartphone and press the + icon in the upper left part of the screen.

• Click on set up device and go with the Have Something Already Set Up option.

• Search for Vivint and press to pair the accounts.

• Enable Google to manage your Vivint devices and log into your Vivint system.

• You can appoint your components smart devices to different areas to make your Google Home experience easier.

• Finish by saying, "Hey, Google, sync with Vivint," and you are free to use your Vivint network with Google devices.

What voice commands are usable with your Nest or Echo speakers?

You can control almost every part of your Columbia smart home with your AI assistant. See the status of your smart components, swap to a pre-determined template, or tinker with the details of a setting by user-friendly vocal commands. Or ask your Echo or Nest speaker to schedule your security system in the same way as you can through the Vivint App.

Here’s a preview of a few voice commands you can give to your AI assistant:

• “Set my security system to away.”

• “Lock all the doors.”

• “Switch off my kitchen light.”

• “Did I leave the garage door open?”

• "Save a clip of my doorbell camera."

• "Lower the heat 2 degrees."

• “Turn off the kid’s room light in an hour.”

You can also program in cycles in your Alexa or Google Home smartphone app that utilize different services. For instance, try "Google, I'm leaving," and trigger your motion detectors, adjust the thermostat, and secure the doors. Or make a preset for "movie night" and use the command to power off the lights and adjust the thermostat to just the right level.

Get the superior smart security system to pair to your Alexa or Google speaker

As you're finding the superior Columbia security system for your home, check out Vivint. A Vivint professional will help you tailor-make your smart home for whatever you need. Just call (573) 641-8250 or submit in the form below to get started.