Can Amazon Alexa save a life like other smart devices in reports these days? In the year 2017, Alexa did help in saving a girlfriend from his violent partner by calling 911. The news was reported by Fox2 now, CNN, and Tribune Media as well.
At that time, the Alexa speaker, Amazon Echo, worked randomly at the right moment. However, Alexa can actually help when called for help in an emergency.
When you command, “Alexa, call for help,” she can do wonders if she is set up appropriately to do so. So, to answer, Call Alexa call help? Yes, she can, not in one but multiple ways.
Here are all the ways in which Alexa can help you in calling for help.
Further reading: What Is Alexa And What Does Alexa Do?
Setting Up Emergency Contact On Alexa
Alexa Call For Help feature can be activated by setting up emergency contact on Alexa.
What Is Alexa Emergency Contact?
Alexa emergency contact is the emergency contact number and name you set up on Alexa. This number will be automatically contacted when you command, “Alexa, call for help.” There are other commands and phrases as well on which Alexa Call For Help will be activated.
These include:
- Alexa, call my emergency contact
- Alexa, call my help contact
- Alexa, call my contact for help
Regardless to say, your Echo device should be powered up and connected to Wi-Fi to respond and make this work.
How To Set Up Emergency Contacts On Alexa?
But first, you need to set up the emergency contact on Alexa to make Alexa call for help work. Here is how you set up an emergency contact:
- Open the Alexa on your mobile device
- Go to Communicate from the lower menu bar.
- Now, tap on the Contacts icon in the top right corner.
- From the menu icon i.e. the three vertical dots, select emergency contact
You can search or browse the contact you want to set as an emergency contact. Alexa lets you set only one contact as the emergency contact. Also, if the contact has two numbers, you will have to choose one from them.
- Once done, the emergency contact person will receive a text message informing the person that they have been chosen as your contact.
Further reading: Can You Use Alexa To Spy On Someone
Can Alexa Call 911?
What if the emergency contact is not available or not picking up? Will Alexa be ready to call 911 instead? Sadly, no Alexa cannot call 911 directly as calling 911 requires the carrier to send the caller’s location to the 911 team. As Alexa is not allowed to share your location by default, Alexa cannot call 911.
But there is a workaround like it usually is. Alexa can be made to call 911 through workaround:
1. By Using Echo Connect
Do you own an Echo Connect? If yes, there is no reason why you should keep yourself away from this workaround.
Echo Connect, external hardware, can be used to call 911. Echo Connect is no longer in the market and is a discontinued Amazon product.
If you have one lying around, here are steps to follow to use it to call 911 through Alexa:
- Set your Echo to connect by plugging it in the nearby power outlet.
- Connect the Echo connect to your landlines or modem jack.
- Now, open the Alexa app
- Go to Settings> Add Device> Amazon Echo
- Add Echo connect and complete the setup through prompt screen instructions.
Connect your Echo to connect a compatible device to it. Echo speakers that work with Echo Connect include Echo 1st and 2nd generation, Echo Dot 1st and 2nd generation, Echo Plus, Echo Show (older versions), and Echo Spot.
Now, you can use Echo speakers connected to Echo connect to call any emergency contact or contact number. You can also command ‘Alexa, call 911’ on the Echo speaker, and it will make a call using Echo Connect.
2. Alexa Guard Plus
Don’t mind an extra investment while calling for help? Alexa Guard Plus can be another viable option then.
Alexa Guard Plus provides a 30-day free trial and has a monthly subscription after. Alexa Guard Plus subscription helps you send help. It works with smart home products as well.
When calling for help, you can command, “Alexa, call for help,” and it will immediately connect you to a service center that will talk to do, in the same way, 911 works.
Using Alexa Skills To Let Alexa Call For Help
What if you don’t have Echo Connect, nor do you have a telephone service? Can Alexa call for help then? Yes, it can call for help through alternative contacts but not by directly calling 911.
Multiple Alexa skills let you send help immediately on a single command. Some of the trusted calls for help skills include:
Ask My Buddy
Ask My Buddy is the best Alexa call for help skill. Once you have added this skill through your Alexa app, you can seek help from any of your Amazon speakers by commanding “Alexa, Ask My Buddy to send help.”
You will have to first register your contacts on askmybuddy.net. Once the emergency contacts are fed, the skill will ask for help via message, voice call, or email.
SafeTrek
SafeTrek is another trusted Amazon Skill. To use SafeTrek, you need to ask Alexa, tell SafeTrek to send help”.
SafeTrek doesn’t help you just by calling your emergency contact. It sends help directly to your address. For this, you need to download the app from https://get.safetrekapp.com/alexa-safetrek. You will have to create an account, link it to your Alexa app and add your home address on the app.
My SOS Family Skill
My SOS Family skill is another skill that sends help. Just say, Alexa, Open MY SOS Family and send for help”. The contacts in your SOS family will be contacted. You can add unlimited family, friends, and co-workers to your SOS Family.
The skill can be downloaded on the Alexa app for free.
Conclusion
Setting up emergency contact, using Alexa skills, Echo Connect, or Alexa Guard Plus, you can choose how you want Alexa to help you out.