Echo Show is Alexa Skill enabled. And one of its skills allows it to be used as a baby monitor. This smart speaker with a touch screen and voice recognition system is one of Amazon’s smart technological devices with so much potency.
Parents know how important it is to keep one eye on their toddlers, lest being ready for an apocalypse. A moment you decide to look away, and in the other moment, you may start regretting it. Moreover, in nuclear families, it even becomes more difficult to always be near your kids. Echo Show can help you in being good parents.
Echo Show can help you work peacefully in your kitchen, allowing you to monitor your sleeping baby on a baby monitor. Here is a detailed explanation of how you can do it.
There are four ways in which you can use Echo Show as a baby monitor. These four options are:
- Connect two Echo Shows together
- Connect an Echo Show with another Echo device
- Connect an Echo Show with a webcam compatible to Echo Show
- Connect Echo Show with Alexa skills
Depending on what device you already have, you can conveniently use one of these options to use your Echo Show as a baby monitor. Let’s know how you can do that step by step, and how it can be helpful.
See more: The Best Wired Speaker For Echo Dot
Connecting Two Echo Shows Together
If you already have an Echo Show, you can buy another Echo Show instead of investing in a baby monitor. Here are the benefits of doing so:
Two Echo Show at your disposal
Instead of purchasing a baby monitor, an Echo show can be used for different purposes as well. You can share it with your family members and personalize them accordingly.
Use Echo Show as a nanny camera
You can also make use of the Echo Show as a nanny camera and keep it running while you are away. You can receive instant updates on how the nanny is taking care of your baby and be relaxed, provided you take due permission or inform the nanny about the same.
Place it in your baby’s room
To use the Echo Show as a baby monitor, place it near your baby’s crib or at the position from where his activities can be seen. Now, you need to connect the two Echo Shows to use your Echo Show as a baby monitor.
For this, you can either use Skype or any other video conferencing feature to connect the two screens. Or you can choose to use the Echo show Drop-In feature (read below for instructions), which works similarly to video calls. It provides two options, namely ‘Cam to Show’ or ‘Show to Show’ to see and hear the other end.
This way, you can keep it running for as long as you want or turn it off when you want.
How To Use Drop-In Feature In The Echo Show?
You can use the Drop-in feature on Echo Show manually through the Alexa app on your Echo device or request your Alexa by saying Alexa! Drop-in on (name of your Echo device).
For doing this manually,
- Open the Alexa app on your device.
- Go to Conversation Screen you will find in the bottom navigation bar.
- Tap on Drop-In.
- All your Echo devices will be listed below. Select the Echo Show device you want to Drop-in, i.e., The one in your baby’s room, in this case, to Drop-in.
Connecting An Echo Show With Another Echo Device
If you already have an Echo Show and an Echo device that is not an Echo show, you can still monitor your baby. An Echo device can also connect to another Echo device easily. However, with this method, you won’t be accessing the video recording, but the audio recording will work fine. Here’s is how this can be done:
Have one Echo Show and another Echo device
Another Echo device could be the general Echo product, i.e., Echo Dot or Echo Spot. An Echo Dot is a smart speaker with no touch screen but is Alexa enabled. Echo Spot is a smart clock with a 2.5inch of screen.
So, if you only want to use the audio component, you can go with Echo Dot. However, Echo Spot is a good option if you want a different Echo device other than Echo Show with a small screen. Echo Spot will also provide a video feature.
Position both the devices
Connecting an Echo Show with Echo Dot or Echo Spot is easy. Position your Echo Dot in your baby’s room such that it covers the sounds made by the baby. You need to place Echo Spot strategically to provide your baby’s view over the 2.5-inch screen of Echo Spot.
The Echo Show can be kept wherever you are.
Connect the devices together
To connect the devices and provide two-way communication, just use the Drop-in feature of the Echo Show, as mentioned above. Make sure you have other Echo devices turned on to be detected under the list of Echo devices you have at home.
Connecting An Echo Show To Echo Compatible Webcam
If you already have a Webcam compatible with Alexa or Echo i.e., it is wifi-enabled then, you don’t need to purchase a baby monitor at all. All you need is an Echo Show and the compatible webcam to have this setup. Here are the steps to follow:
Have one Echo Show and wifi enabled webcam
A wifi-enabled webcam should work just fine with your Echo Show, which can provide access to your baby’s room video and audio. However, for a sure-shot search for Echo compatible security camera and you will find numerous options within your budget to get started with.
Place the webcam in your baby’s room
Once you have the desired webcam, just position it well in your baby’s room to get a good angle as it will display both video and audio on Echo Show. Also, before making the webcam purchase choose for yourself if a battery-operated or chargeable webcam will be the right fit.
Connect the two devices together
Connecting your Echo show to a wifi-enabled webcam is easy. Your webcam has to be Alexa enabled for the same. Open Alexa on Echo Show and follow the steps for pairing.
If your webcam supports Bluetooth, connecting to it becomes even easier. Open the Bluetooth of your Echo Show your webcam as well. Pair them together when you see your webcam on Echo Show Bluetooth pairing list.
Connecting Echo Show With Alexa Skills
As Echo Show supports Alexa, you can actually make use of Alexa skills for baby monitoring. There are various Alexa skills like Nest and Miku Smart baby monitor that works well even though they are free to download.
As these skills are compatible with Alexa, all you need to do is to enable them from your Amazon account for free. Once you enable the skill, you can access it on all your Alexa enabled devices.
When the skill is enabled, you need to ask Alexa on your Echo Show how your baby is doing or the temperature of his room, etc. Isn’t that cool!
Advantages Of Using Echo Show As A Baby Monitor
Echo Show is a versatile device that, along with working as a baby monitor for you, also provides all the other benefits of having a technological device.
It can work as a smart speaker, as a tablet, and even as a smartphone. Moreover, Echo Show comes with good background support that makes it sit well in all places.
Additionally, if you have elderly who don’t feel good with other technological devices, this one can suit them well as it sits like a table clock. It also suitably works for video calls without any hassles.
Security Concerns About Using Echo Show As A Baby Monitor
It’s understandable to be worried about the safety concerns of the device when your baby is being recorded over wifi enabled device. Moreover, leaving a machine on for the whole night is another crack in the armor.
However, if you use Echo Show with all safety precautions, it poses no danger to your child’s safety. Some of the few protocols to follow include always having a good antivirus to protect it from being hacked.
It should fully be updated when needed; your passwords should be long and difficult to crack, and, if necessary, you should use it for the basic purpose only and avoid downloading unnecessary apps from untrusted sources.
If you play safe and with responsibility, there is no danger in using Echo Show as a baby monitor. Also, the wifi should be turned off when the device is not in use. Less than that, there are no safety concerns in using Echo Show as opposed to using traditional baby monitors.