Whether you’ve got an Echo speaker or an Echo device with a display, you can take advantage of one of Amazon’s coolest features: Alexa Drop-In. With Drop-In, you are ready to instantly connect to any of your Echo devices (or even a contact Echo device, if they have granted consent ). There’s no need for someone to answer the call either. This is handy if you can’t get ahold of grandmother and wish to see or listen to know that she’s OK.
Also, you could be in the office and Drop-in on your home to check up on Fido to make sure he hasn’t torn apart the garbage. Either way, it is very cool to be able to Drop-in and say “Hi”, especially if the recipient isn’t able to physically answer their Echo device.
Taking it a notch higher, Amazon has included lots of safeguards for users so they are not caught in embarrassing circumstances. This is particularly useful for those who want to have more control over their privacy.
What’s Drop-In?
Drop-In is a feature that allows you to instantly connect with an Echo device, including a contact’s, as long as they’ve granted you permission to do so. For instance, you can Drop-In on any Echo device you own, or you may Drop-In on an Echo device your parents possess. After you Drop-In on an Echo device, the device’s light ring will slide green. The device then beeps, bloops, and automatically connects.
You will have the ability to hear anything within the range of this device. If you and your own contact are using Echo devices with screens, you both will see anything within range of your devices. You will also hear an alarm sound and then see a frosted glass video that transitions to a video shortly after connecting, which gives everybody time to get ready for the video call. (Phew!)
Which Echo Devices Support Drop-In?
Drop-in works on the following Echo devices:
- Amazon Echo (1st Generation)
- Amazon Echo
(2nd Generation) - Echo Dot (1st Generation)
- Echo Dot (4th Generation)
- Echo Show
- Echo Spot
- Echo Plus
Drop-in also functions in the Amazon Alexa app – however only for starting a Drop-in call.
How Can You Setup Drop-in?
Getting started
Download the Amazon Alexa app and sign up to get Alexa Calling and Messaging. The free service was introduced to the Amazon Echo Show in May, however, it has since expanded to other Echo devices. It allows users to place sound and video calls to Echo devices. Drop-In differs in that it does not require an Echo device’s owner to answer; it works.
Anyway, start the Amazon Alexa app on your iOS or Android device and visit the Conversation screen (chat bubble icon in the bottom nav bar). Enable access to a contact list, you will have to confirm your name, and verify your phone number through SMS. Alexa uses your cellphone’s address book to find people you know who possess the Amazon Alexa app or an Echo device, so there’s no need.
Enable Alexa Drop-In
As soon as you’ve signed up for Alexa Calling and Messaging throughout the Amazon Alexa app, you want to empower Drop-in for touch and have that contact enable Drop-In for you. Go to the Conversation screen (chat bubble icon in the bottom nav bar), select Contacts (person icon), tap among the available contacts, then toggle on the”Allow Drop-In” switch in the base of their contact.
When you enable Drop-In and grant permission to your Echo devices, it is going to apply to all of your household members. In other words, if consent is granted by you she will be able to Drop-In on you and some other person in your Amazon Household. So, if your Echo Show is in your spouse’s profile or your child’s profile for a minute, grandma can nevertheless Drop In on your device at any time to say”Hello”.
Notice: You can also toggle the Drop-In the change from a contact card via the Echo Show.
How can you use Drop-In with Echo devices?
Drop-in On Your Echo devices
Simply say to your Echo device, “Alexa, Drop-in on Home”
It is possible to Drop In and call between the Echo devices in your home or workplace. Consequently, if you’ve got two or more devices, you can define the device you want to connect with by title (“Alexa, Drop-In on [title of Echo device]”), or you may just say, “Alexa, Drop-In on Home,” afterward Alexa will list all the Echo devices that are in your home, and you’ll be able to choose which one you want to Drop-In on.
Drop-In in your contact’s Echo devices
Say to an Echo device, “Alexa, Drop-In on [contact name].”
Before you are able to utilize Drop-In with your contacts who have an Echo device, you need to get them to download and open the Amazon Alexa app on their device and then sign up for Alexa Calling and Messaging. Then they need to Enable Drop In for you. After that is completed, you can just state, “Alexa, Drop-In on [contact name]” – but state the name exactly how it appears in your mailing list.
Drop-In Using the Amazon Alexa App
Open the Amazon Alexa app, then go to the Conversation screen (chat bubble icon from the bottom nav bar), and tap Drop-In. You will be presented with a list of your Echo device’s Drop-In contacts it is possible to Drop In on at any moment. Simply pick one to initiate a Drop-In. You will then be able to see or listen to whatever is in range of the Echo device via the Amazon Alexa app.
How to Start a Drop-In Call
You do not have to do this from a smartphone and, naturally, you are able to ask Alexa to Drop-In onto a device. To do this only say, “Alexa, Drop-In on [insert the name of your speaker],” to begin a call. This only works for devices within your home – to Drop In on contacts that are distant, things are done slightly differently.
How to Drop-In on Friends and Family
Provided your contacts have approved you for Drop-In, it is possible to say, “Alexa, Drop-In on [contact name]”. Just make sure that you name them as they appear in your address book. If you’re using a device with a display, like a phone (under ) or Echo Show, the video is twisted for a few seconds then best to go – if you want to turn it off say, “Alexa, video off,” or touch the screen and then choose it like that.
Also worth noting: if you don’t want people doing Drop-In on you at the moment, subsequently enable Do Not Disturb in your Echo – just saying “Alexa, do not disturb me,” will do the trick.
How to Start a Drop-In From the Alexa App
To Drop-In to a contact in the smartphone, simply head to the Alexa app and go into the Conversations tab. You will see a big Drop-In tab, which you tap to see a list of Alexa devices you’re cleared to access. If for some reason, you can’t find the one that you’re looking for, you can hit on the contact icon pick the person and Drop-In from there.
How to Drop In Using Fire Tablets
- Go to Settings in the drop-down menu onto your tablet and then tap Alexa and toggle on both Alexa and Hands-Free Mode.
- Harness Communications > toggle on Calling and Messaging and then set Drop-In to “On”.
You’ll want to choose whether you just want Drop-In to be allowed for your loved ones (wise ) or you can choose “preferred contacts” which you can delegate on a case-by-case basis. Bear in mind they’ll just have the ability to drop into your home uninvited, however.
Alexa Calling
Obviously freely connecting to Alexa devices is fine in your own home, but you might not want your mum to have the power to Drop-In uninvited. Luckily, that’s an opt-in arrangement.
But, you can provide your family and friends with a ring on their Alexa device, using Alexa Calling. This enables you to make a call or send a message to the Alexa device of anyone in your contacts list (provided that they have set themselves up for Alexa Calling as well).
The Alexa Messaging service delivers the message to a contact’s Alexa app, in addition to its Echo device. Using exactly the voice detection technologies as Alexa, your message will probably be transcribed into text and sent as a message within the Conversations tab.
Interestingly, in the UK, carrier Vodafone has become the first to offer customers the opportunity to make calls via Alexa by linking their telephone number. This permits users to call any of their contacts through their existing program, and it works even if your telephone that is connected has run out of battery life.
Of course, we’re expecting more carriers to provide a similar feature over the course of 2019, both in Europe and the US – something that could spell the end for conventional landlines.
How to Make a Call With Alexa
To dial up the Amazon Echo of a contact:
- Head into the Alexa app and tap on Communication.
- Pick the contacts button (little individual icon in the top right) and you’ll see a list of all your contacts.
- Find the friend and then press on the telephone icon. You will telephone their Echo, not their phone, as it’s slightly confusingly labeled.
FAQS
What does ‘recently active’ mean?
If household members or contacts have been granted Drop-In consent, they will observe a newly active indicator in their Echo Show. This displays whether somebody is nearby your Echo devices. You will see the indicator for your contacts if they are close to their Echo device. Amazon said it uses motion sensors on the Echo Show to determine whether the device has been active.
Can you turn off video at all?
Yes. If you are using an Echo Show or Echo Spot, you can turn off the video at any given point during the Drop-In by saying, “Video off” or by touching the screen and selecting the Video off button. You could turn off video in case you are using the Amazon Alexa app by selecting the Video button.
Can you block Drop-In calls?
Yes. To obstruct Drop-In calls, you can say, “Alexa, disable Drop-In for my household”. This may disable Drop In within the home. In order to disable Drop-In for a contact, set Drop-In to “off” for this contact. To temporarily block call Drop-Ins on a device, turn on “Don’t Disturb”.