Can these Netflix shows activate your Alexa?

Amazon's voice-controlled Alexa products are technically not always heard.

Researchers at Northeastern University and Imperial College in London have spent months studying what inspired them and "listening" all the time. Ongoing studies have found the "no evidence to support" theory that they hear us from time to time.

As one of our favorite AI friends answers us, Alexa is waiting for a "wake word" that triggers her response to your voice command. This is great when you need it, but sometimes you know that when you're watching TV, broadcasting Netflix, or being a roommate called Alexa.

Common Netflix shows known to inspire Alexa
Some current examples of Netflix conflicts include:

Alexa and Katie
This 2018 show features Bell's Tiffany Thiessen, Alexa battling cancer and her best friend Katie High School. As you can see, whenever the main character is named aloud, Amazon devices are activated.

Van Helsing
Vanessa Van Helsing is the show's titanic protagonist and works primarily for Syfy, one of the fourth seasons in this dark, vampire-destroying world. Every time its name is spelled out, you notice your Amazon device "waking up".

In fact, you should also look for other sneaky soundlights like "Vanessa", which can be heard in the dialogues of the most popular Netflix shows. Some viewers have also reported soundlabs such as "wet sock", which also triggers Alexa.

Daredevil of Marvel
A daytime blind lawyer, vigilant at night, Matt Murdock fights crime as a daredevil at Hell's Kitchen in New York. One of the main character names is Vanessa, who can often inspire Alexa.

The penny is terrible
Netflix offers three seasons of Penny Dreadful, a horror series starring Jose Hartnett, Eva Green and Timothy Dalton, setting the classic stories of Dracula, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray on the dark streets of Victorian London. The main character of the story, Vanessa Ives, as we know from Van Helsing and Daredevil, may accidentally trigger Alexa.

So, how can you avoid it?
Turn off your microphone
At the most basic level, when you plan to watch TV, don't turn off your device by turning off the switch on the back of the accessory.

The downside is that every time you see a show with Alexa or Vanessa, or some commercials, you have to do it manually, and then you have to turn it back on.

Change your holiday
Another way is to change your word. Amazon devices offer several options, including "Alexa", "Echo," "Amazon" and "Computer". If you think any of these will give Alexa less trigger than her name, leave it. Like:

Open the Amazon Alexa app on your phone.
Tap the more icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper-left corner.
Select Settings.
Select the device you want to change.
Select the Wake Word setting.
Select a new wake word from the menu.