Key Takeaways
- Your Fire tablet will enter Show Mode, emulating the Echo Show experience in a simple two-step process.
- Show Mode lacks certain remote control features, but still offers Alexa commands, video, and portability.
- Customize the display mode settings to personalize your experience, providing amazing utility for your older tablet.
Amazon Alexa The smart home environment is one of the best things to do, and one of the best devices you can integrate into your Alexa-enabled smart home is Echo Show But buying an Echo Show can be a pretty pricey investment for those on the fence, and if you want to try out the Echo Show experience, chances are you can easily demo the experience you already have in your home.
Amazon Fire Tablet The Fire Tablet is a great Android tablet, but Show Mode makes it even more useful. This feature turns your Fire Tablet into a larger, but less capable, Echo Show. If you have a Fire Tablet larger than the Fire 7, give Show Mode a try today.
How to Enter Show Mode on an Amazon Fire Tablet
The easy way, or even the easier way
In fact, putting your Fire tablet into show mode is very easy and only requires two steps.
- Open the quick settings menu.
- Check the box to the left of the word Display Mode.
Your device is now in Show Mode. To exit Show Mode, do the same thing as you did to enter Show Mode, but uncheck the box instead. But if you want an even easier way to get your Fire tablet into Show Mode, you’re in luck! The easiest way to enter Show Mode is to just say, “Alexa, enter Show Mode.”
If your screen rotates in the wrong direction while in View Mode, please turn on Rotation Lock to the desired orientation before turning on View Mode.
Before you enable Show Mode by voice, there are a few important things to note: First, your Fire Tablet must be able to hear Alexa, and you should also make sure there are no other Echo devices nearby that respond to the wake word Alexa. You can also exit Show Mode by simply saying, “Alexa, exit Show Mode.”
What is Show Mode and what does it do?
Turn your old Fire into an Echo Show
So you’ve put your tablet into Show Mode, but what exactly is that? Show Mode is a simple feature on most Fire Tablets that you can access through the Quick Settings menu, or by simply asking Alexa to enable Show Mode. Once you enable Show Mode, your Fire Tablet will look like an Echo Show and will behave exactly like an Echo Show, but not exactly the same.
The Echo Show has a few features that the Fire Tablet in Show Mode doesn’t have. These features can mainly be summed up as missing much of the remote control from the Alexa app that the actual Echo Show has. That said, most of the functionality you’d get with an Echo Show in the same room is perfectly possible with a Fire Tablet in Show Mode.
If you just want to ask Alexa to set a timer or play an audiobook, Show Mode is here to help: Like the actual Echo Show, the Fire Tablet in Show Mode will show you the current activity and can even play videos.
Additionally, the Fire Tablet in Show Mode actually has one big advantage over the Echo Show: portability. You can take your Fire Tablet anywhere in your home and move it around with ease. If you have a case with a built-in stand, the Fire Tablet in Show Mode can be extremely useful in rooms where you don’t have the space for an Echo Show, like the kitchen.
Simply put, Show Mode lets you try out the Echo Show experience without actually buying an Echo Show, with the added benefit of being easily portable.
How to Customize Display Modes on Your Fire Tablet
Making the most of pseudo-echo
Once you enable Show Mode on your Fire tablet, there are a few ways to customize your experience. You don’t need any accessories to use Show Mode, but a stand or case for your Fire tablet can be very helpful. On the software side, there’s a lot you can do to customize it. If you already have an Echo Show, most of the settings available will be familiar and easy to access.
- While not in View mode, open the Settings menu on your Fire tablet.
- Search or scroll down. Display Mode setting.
Once in the Show Mode settings menu, you can make some tweaks to the Show Mode display on your device. These settings include changing the content you want to display in Show Mode, turning on subtitles for Alexa while in Show Mode, enabling or disabling the clock, and more. These settings can help make Show Mode more personalized and more accessible.
Whatever your use case, Show Mode has a surprising amount of utility. If you’ve ever considered buying an Echo Show, or if you have a Fire Tablet but don’t use it much, give Show Mode a try and set up a de facto Echo for a room in your home. You might find that you can breathe new life into an old tablet, or you might find that you’re ready to splash out on a full-blown Echo Show.
