Put down your phone and let your Amazon Echo call and text your friends instead
All the ways Amazon's Alexa assistant can step in to broadcast messages around your house and place calls and texts on your behalf.
Call and text your friends through your Amazon Echo.
Put down the phone and start making your Echo do the work. If you're not routinely using Alexa to makes calls, texts and broadcasts for you, you're working too hard. Instead, use your Amazon Echo to do the announcing for you. Alexa can make phone calls, send text messages, drop-in on someone's Alexa device and make announcements across all of your devices.
The great thing is you can give Alexa voice commands to communicate for you. So if you're driving, about to walk into a meeting or if you're busy in another room, you can quickly tell Alexa to send a message or announcement.
Here's how to talk to your friends and family using Alexa.
Hey Alexa, call Mom.
Make a call
You can call friends and family using Alexa Audio Call, Alexa Video Call and Mobile.
1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap Communicate with the speech bubble icon.
3. Tap Call with the phone icon.
4. Search through your contacts and select the person you want to call.
5. Select Alexa Audio Call -- calls via the Alexa app, Alexa Video Call -- video call via the Alexa app or Mobile -- calls via your phone(may say iPhone , Work and so on).
6. You can ask Alexa to make a phone call by saying something like "Alexa, call Mom." The contacts must be in your address book for this to work.
Alexa can call, send texts, drop in and make announcements on your Alexa devices.
Send a text message
Text someone through the Amazon Alexa app. Note that they must also have the Alexa app to receive the message.
1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap Communicate with the speech bubble icon.
3. Tap Message with the speech bubble icon.
4. Search through your contacts and select the person you want to text.
5. You can type your message or ask Alexa to send the text for you. You can also record a message by pressing the blue microphone icon.
Drop in on an Alexa device
If you've got an Echo Plus in the bedroom, an Echo Show in the kitchen and an Ecobee in your living room, you can drop in on any of these devices using the Alexa app. It turns your Alexa devices into phones so you can talk through them. Once you drop in, the Echo will make a sound to notify the person on the other end.
1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap Communicate with the speech bubble icon.
3. Tap your profile settings in the top right corner (the icon is shaped like a person).
4. Select your name (it'll say My Profile & Settings underneath).
5. Toggle the switch on for Allow Drop In.
6. Go back and tap Drop In with the envelope icon.
7. Select which devices you want to drop in on. For example, it may say Living Room Echo Dot .
8. You can also say "Alexa, drop in on the living room" or "Alexa, drop in on Echo dot."
Let everyone know you're on your way home with an announcement.
Make an announcement on all your Alexa devices
Broadcasting across all your Alexa devices is super useful if everyone in your house is in a different room.
1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap Communicate with the speech bubble icon.
3. Tap Announce with the megaphone icon.
4. Type what you want to be announced across all your Alexa devices and tap the blue arrow icon. Or you can just say "Alexa, announce that I'm on my way home."
If you're ready to know more about what you can do with your Amazon Echo, check out these five surprising ways Amazon Echo can entertain you when you're bored to tears.