How to make calls to OTHER Alexa speakers with 'Drop In' – even if Echo is in another house

07/24/2020

ONE great thing about Amazon Alexa speakers is that you can use the 'Drop In' feature to make calls between the devices.

You can use the speakers like an intercom in different rooms of your home or even in a different house, just follow the step below.

How to setup Alexa Drop In

Drop In is different to a voice call in the sense that you can drop in whenever rather than wait for an answer.

It works like an intercom so you can just make an announcement with no reply expected.

To use the feature you need at least one Amazon Echo device and the Alexa app.

You'll need to sign up for Alexa Calling and Messaging.

Open the app and click the Conversations icon, which is a text bubble.

Follow the onscreen prompts and enter your details.

Drop In should be set up by default but to make sure it's on go to Settings.

Then pick a speaker from the list and under General it should tell you that Drop In is turned on.

You can also use Settings to make sure Drop In is only avaliable in your household.

You have to enable specific contacts to Drop In if they're from a different household.

Find the contacts name in your Conversations tab and click 'Contact can Drop In anytime'.

How to use Amazon Echo Drop In

To use the feature say "Alexa, drop in on [contact name]".

Or you can use the Conversations tab in the app.

Select a conversation with the contact and tap Drop In in the blue bar at the top.

You'll only have this option if they've enabled you as someone who can Drop In.

Alternatively, you can go to your Contacts and select the Drop In button under their name.

Enable Do Not Disturb if you don't want Drop In used on you for a bit.

Use Drop In as a household intercom

To call different speakers in the house individually you need to give them all different names.

For example if you call one "Bedroom 1" you can just say "Drop in on Bedroom 1" and the device in that room will ring.

Alternatively, you can use the new Announcements function and say things like "Alexa, broadcast" or "Alexa, announce that dinner is ready" and every connected smart speaker and listener nearby should get the message.

What is Alexa?

If you've never heard of Alexa, here's what you need to know…

Alexa is an "intelligent" personal assistant built by Amazon.
You can find her on several different devices, including Amazon's Echo speakers.
Alexa responds to voice commands, and can talk back to you.
She can perform thousands of different tasks, including telling you about the news or weather.
But she can do more complex things too, like ordering a pizza or arranging an Uber taxi pick-up.
To activate Alexa, you need to say "Alexa" to an Amazon Echo speaker.
Alexa currently only works in English and German languages.
Because she's powered by artificial intelligence, Alexa is constantly getting smarter.
Alexa will also get more used to your voice, and better understand what you want her to do over time.

In other news, Amazon has slashed the prices of its Echo devices by around 40%.

Google Pixel Buds earbuds translate foreign languages into English in your ears.

And, Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5G smartphone is set to be released on August 7.

What are your thoughts on Amazon Alexa? Let us know in the comments…

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