How to Connect Your Alexa Device to a PS4 (Guide)

Amazon Alexa can do amazing things for its users. However, some tasks may be a bit out of reach like connecting directly to a gaming console like PS4. Imagine walking into your game room and simply saying a phrase like “Alexa, turn on Fifa 21”, and seeing your game load without you even touching your controller.

Before you can set things up, you need to arrange one extra device, which is the Harmony Google Assistant.

This device costs about $100 and is the bridge you need to connect your PS4 to your Alexa Echo device. Below we share the complete process involved in setting up each device and how you can eventually command your console using your Amazon Echo device.

Steps Involved in Connecting the Alexa to PS4:

Connect Google Harmony with PS4
Enable Harmony on PS4 under Bluetooth settings
Create a routine in the Google Home app for PS4
Connect the Alexa to PS4 through the Alexa app’s Skills tab

Following these steps should give you voice control over your PS4 via your Alexa device.

Contents

Harmony Google Assistant Setup Process

The device needed to create a connection between the PS4 and Alexa is the Harmony Google Assistant which you can get your hands on for about $100. You need to set it up with the Google Home app to work as intended.

You need to install the Google Home app, add a device using the “+” option, and detect the Harmony device by standing close to it. Please note that it needs a Bluetooth connection, so being close is important.

The Harmony hub will be detected easily and as soon as you see it in the listed apps, select it and follow the intuitive process that comes up to complete its connection process. Once you are done with this step, we can move on to the next one. (1)

Detailed Procedure to Connect the Alexa to PS4

Now that your Harmony hub is ready to roll, you can begin to connect Alexa to your PS4. The process may feel a bit lengthy, but you must follow it to the letter unless you want a failed connection or other connectivity issues. (2)

Step 1: Setting up the Devices

Perform a thorough check on all your devices, including Amazon Echo, Harmony, and of course, your PS4.

Make sure all three are up and running and have a reliable power connection, so they do not get stuck or turn off in the middle of the process. If an outage happens, the process will fail, but it could also potentially brick your devices and cause serious damage. Once everything is running and ready, we move to the next step.

Step 2: Connecting Your Harmony Assistant to the PS4

Since Alexa comes in at a later stage, you can put that aside for now and focus on getting the Harmony Google Assistant connected to the PS4. Keep in mind that your PS4 will be listening to the Harmony app, which will take input from Alexa, so getting this device connected properly is critical.

Here is what you need to do to get the Harmony Assistant connected to the PS4:

Open the Google Home app on your phone.
Select the “Edit Devices” option and add a new device by selecting the “+” button.
In the list that comes up, you will select “Entertainment Device.”
A list of manufacturers will come up where you will select “Sony”.
Type “PlayStation 4” in the model number field that comes up.
Now you will tap on “Add Knowledge” and then tap on the Allow button to connect Harmony with your PS4 successfully.

You can now access several cool control options for the PS4 that you can explore later in your Google Home app.

Step 3: Enabling Your Harmony Assistant on the PS4

Linking the Harmony device to your PS4 is the next step here. Keep in mind that the Harmony Google Assistant works using Bluetooth, so that is where you will be searching for the device.

Go to the PS4’s settings and look for the Devices > Bluetooth Settings menu.

Activate the Bluetooth and search for devices.

The assistant will show up as “Harmony Keyboard,” which you will need to tap on to connect to your PS4.

Once the device starts showing as connected, press the home key on your PS4 to go to the home screen, where you can keep the PS4 idle now.

Step 4: Create a Routine in the Google Home App for PS4

By now, you are probably beginning to understand how the connection will eventually work. Open the Google Home app and create a routine for the Alexa assistant to control your PS4 through the Harmony app.

Routines are functions that can be used to perform different actions. Connecting your PS4 will also prompt you to create routines that you can do later. Now that you are ready, start following the instructions to create as many routines as you like for your PS4.

Keep in mind that power settings cannot be accessed from routines, so powering your PS4 on or off would still be a manual task.

Step 5: Alexa and Harmony Assistant Connection Process

Now that it is time to connect Alexa app to your Harmony hub, you need to follow these steps:

Open the Alexa app and go to the Settings menu.
Select the skills tab and find “Harmony Hub Skill.” Activate using the slider button to go to the next screen.
Use the Google account you are using on your Harmony to connect and let Alexa scan for your Harmony hub once connected.

Be sure to keep both devices close to each other to avoid any connection failures at this point.

Step 6: Start Controlling Your PS4 Using Alexa!

Now that you have all the devices connected, Alexa will be sending your commands to Harmony for processing. Here, you will need to use the exact routines that you set up in the Google Home app. Depending on what routines you have set up, this can be anything from “Alexa, start God of War” to anything else you can imagine.

We realize that the process to connect Alexa to PS4 is a bit lengthy, but don’t worry it’s well worth it!

You may also want to check other Alexa learning guides below;

References
(1) intuitive process – https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/int/15/1/19.html
(2) connectivity issues – https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/connectivity-problem