Have you ever wished you could just press a button and call everyone in the house for dinner? What if you could wake up all your teens so they don't miss the bus without knocking on every door? You can buy actual intercom systems for hundreds of dollars, or you can install an inexpensive home intercom system using just the equipment you have in your home. Here's how.
If you want to create a home intercom system but don't want to buy additional hardware, using your smartphones may be right for you. More than likely, everyone in your house already has their own phone.
To use your phones as an intercom, you will need to download a walkie-talkie app. These apps allow you to send voice messages to other phones with just one click of an on-screen button.
Bluetooth speakers are so common today that prices are coming down. You can buy good quality speakers for as little as $25, and there are opportunities all the time to get them for even less than that.
A disadvantage of this method of creating an intercom system is that it only works one way. So you can announce that dinner is ready, but you cannot receive a message back.
To send your voice to a Bluetooth device, you need to install one of these apps on your phone.
To broadcast a message, open the app and connect your phone to the speaker you want to use. Then press the button on the app and speak into your phone. Your voice will be broadcast live on the speaker.
If you already have a Google Home or Alexa speaker, you can create announcements that will play to all other smart speakers in your home. You don't need any additional equipment or apps to do this. You use commands to give instructions to the speaker.
For Google Home devices, you use the Google Assistant to enable casting. Say it, "OK Google. Broadcast, it's dinner time. Anything you say after the word "broadcast" will repeat in all speakers.
Alexa has two different commands you can use to cast to the system. The two words "announce that and "broadcast ” will send your message containing all the words after the command.
Using smart speakers is also a one-way communication. You cannot receive replies. However, users can give Google or Alexa a command to announce, but the response is sent to all speakers, not just the one you used.
There is no better option for creating an intercom system for your home. It depends on what devices you already own or what you are willing to buy. It is also important to know whether you want to receive private responses or not. Whichever way you choose to create this system, the convenience of getting a message out to everyone in the house without searching everyone first can be worth the effort.
