You can call family, friends, and other contacts who have an Echo or the Alexa app.
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Alexa isn’t the only one you can talk to on your Echo.
You can place a voice call to someone with an Echo device or the Alexa app, and you can receive such calls as well. The Alexa app supports Alexa-to-Alexa calling on an iPhone with iOS 9.0 or higher and an Android phone with Android 5.0 or higher.
With an Echo Show, you can place and receive video calls. You can also use an intercom-like feature called Drop In to call someone else’s Echo device directly, either in your own home or another household. And you can call most mobile phones and landlines in the US and certain other countries.
Let’s go over the steps for enlisting Alexa as a phone operator.
To get started, open the Alexa app on your mobile phone and tap the Communicate icon (the dialogue balloon icon). If you haven’t already registered for Alexa-to-Alexa calling, you’re asked to confirm your name, allow access to your contacts, and verify your phone number. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter and verify your mobile phone information.
You can now call someone in your contacts list. To do this, just ask Alexa to make the call through your Echo device. Say: «Alexa, call [name of contact],» and Alexa places the call.
To make a call with the Alexa app on your phone, make sure you’re at the Communicate screen. Tap the Call icon. Browse through your list of contacts to find the person you want to call. Tap the person’s name. If that person is set up to receive calls through an Echo device or the Alexa app, you’ll see entries for Alexa Audio Call and Alexa Video Call. Tap the type of call you want to make.
The call is then routed to the Echo devices owned by the person you’re calling. It’s also routed to the Alexa app on the individual’s phone (assuming notifications are enabled for the app). That person can then answer via an Echo or the Alexa app.
If you’re using an Echo Show or the Alexa app to make a video call, you can toggle the video on and off any time during the call. To end the call from the Alexa app, tap the End button. To end a call through your Echo, say: «Alexa, hang up.»
If you receive a voice or video call, the light ring on your Echo device turns green, the Alexa app notifies you of the call, and Alexa tells you who’s calling. On an Echo Show or in the Alexa app, you can see the contact name of the caller. You can then either answer the call by saying: «Alexa, answer» or reject the call by saying: «Alexa, ignore.
