I received an Amazon Echo before Christmas and I'm constantly impressed with the range of things it can do. Of course, there will always be people who won't like the idea of a web-connected device from a company like Amazon always listening to them, but for the rest of us, it makes life a bit easier – data collection be damned!
One of the latest discoveries I made on my Echo speakers is the ability to use them as an intercom. This way you can connect between different speakers in your home or use your phone both inside and outside your home to start talking directly to one of your home Alexa devices. . This article shows how.
You probably already have the Alexa app (Android or iOS) on your phone, which is just as well, because you'll need it. If your Alexa happens to be set up on another household member's device, you'll need to ask them to add you to their Amazon household if they haven't already. From their Alexa app, tap the menu icon in the top left -> Settings -> Alexa Account -> Amazon Household. Follow the instructions to enter your details and add yourself to the account.
Select the device for which you want to enable Drop In, then tap Communication. Make sure the Communication slider is enabled and Drop In is "On".
Repeat this for each device you want to communicate with. (While in each device's settings, make sure "Do Not Disturb" is disabled on each one.)
Now, with any luck, you should be able to say to one of your speakers, "Alexa, come on [name of device], ” causing a green light to appear on the speaker for a few seconds before it connects to the speaker you requested.
The person receiving does not have to pick up or accept the point of reception; it automatically connects if the speakerphone is available, making it ideal for quick requests from across the house. When your chat is over, just say "Alexa, stop" or whatever you normally say to turn it off.
If that doesn't work, your problem may be that the echo you're trying to connect to isn't actually called what you think it is. For example, you may try to go to your Echo "Living Room", but you haven't changed its name to "Living Room".
To change the names of your Echo devices, in the Alexa app, tap Devices in the bottom right -> All Devices, then tap the device whose name you want to change, then click its name under "Edit Device". name ". It is better to give it a simple name such as the name of the room it is in.
You can also access your home Alexa devices from your phone, whether you're inside or outside the house. If your phone is connected to your Amazon household and you've followed the steps above to enable Drop In, simply open your Alexa app, tap the blue speech bubble icon in the bottom center and say "Drop in on [device name]” to connect to the device of your choice.
That's a great feature in a device packed full of them. It's convenient and will greatly reduce the amount of internal yelling you have to do when you want to communicate with someone on the other side of the house. And as a saying somewhere probably goes, a non-screaming household is a happy household.
