Amazon Echo & Alexa Intercom Drop in Feature

This video is about Amazon Echo & Alexa can be used as an intercom with the Drop in Feature. This can be used in and outside of your house. Check out some of my other Echo videos to learn even more.
This is 2nd video of my 2018 video challenge to make 52 Echo videos.
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**I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.#AmazonEcho #AmazonAlexa #CraigsTechTalk #TechChannel #TechTalk amazon echo 2nd gen echo show alexa setup echo dot home automation

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Amazon Echo Drop-in Question - Do you have multiple Echos and will you use Drop-in? 🙂👍 Please, follow me on twitter - twitter.com/craigpoulsen Facebook page - facebook.com/craigstechtalk/ Homepage - craigstechtalk.com/

[@cannon1690]

Will the echo tell you someone is trying to drop in?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hey Anderson. That is very cool. Glad to hear you were able to get that setup. Sounds like you are the tech of the house.

[@gerardlunow567]

Great feature. Thank you. Thank you too for adding your daughter to the conversation. Good dad!!!!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Gerald, thank you very much. I’m glad you enjoyed the video. It is fun to get my daughters involved. They sometimes are a little reluctant. But they are super sweet and help me out if I need it. Thanks for the nice comment and watching. Have a great day.

[@zechh.5349]

I recently bought a echo. Your videos have been extremely helpful, precise and not a snooze to watch. You do not have a ramble of information that other youtubers have when making video tutorials.. I commented on this one because this was the big question I had about my echo, and it was the most helpful to me. Thanks for all the tips and tricks about echo!!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Zech, Thank you very much for saying that these videos are helpful. That is always great to hear. My goal has been to make clear informative videos that will not put you to sleep. I also try to remember to keep it moving and cut anything unnecessary in editing. It’s about sharing information. Linus Tech Tips is a great example of this. Great information without getting bored listening to someone ramble. I’m glad that this one was able to help you with your question. I appreciate you watching and hopefully I’ll be able to keep bringing you helpful information. Thank you for your comment. Have a great weekend.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Almost to a 1000 subscribers and then this channel will be able to join the KZbin Partner Program. My channel automatically gets verified once I cross a 1000 subs. Please subscribe and join me for future videos. We are so close to crossing the 1k mark. Thank you for your help.

[@paulburden2156]

Great job Craig! The way you use the camera on your mobile device makes it particularly easy to follow the set-up process.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Paul, I appreciated you saying that. I am glad that it was that how I record the phone is helpful. I have really tried to incorporate screen recordings now if I am demonstrating something on my phone. I am glad that you enjoyed the video. Thank you for watching and for your comment. Have a great day Paul

[@saadsolaiman]

Hey Craig. I wanted to say thanks. I didn’t expect much going into the channel. Regular guy in a chair talking about stuff. Haha. But I am pleasantly surprised with how your videos have exactly the right mix of clarity of information. I just bought 2 Echo 2nd generations and your videos have given me all the information I need and more in the last 2 days. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Saad, My apologies in the delay in getting back to you. I have been traveling this week for work. Thank you very much. I am glad that you enjoyed the videos and they are providing some value for you. That is awesome that you were pleasantly surprised. I am glad that you gave me a shot. I really appreciate your comment and how you phrased that. That is very nice of you. I will be making a weekly echo video for the rest of the year. I hope you enjoy your Echos. Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day Saad.

[@foodtantric7297]

Your videos are soo helpful. Just bought two no’s of echo dots today. Learned soo much from your tutorials. Thank you for sharing your intel with us. Warm Regards from India 🇮🇳

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello, you are welcome. I am glad the videos have been helpful. Thank you for the nice comment. I hope you enjoy your new echos. Have a great day.

[@garyhunt-french6370]

Thank you so much for the videos, I now have Alexa everywhere in our home, thanks to you online demos.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Gary, thank you vey much. That is great that they have been helpful for you. Welcome to the world of Echo. Thank you for watching and the nice comment. Have a great day.

[@kelsiedaisley5626]

Hey Craig! Awesome and informative videos! We just got Alexa for our house and love it. These videos really helpful with tips and tricks!

[@townaboi]

Road to 1000+ subs!! You'll get there soon brother. Keep up the good work. Rooting for ya!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Townaboi, thank you very much for subbing. I appreciate the support and the encouragement. Almost there. Soon. Have a great day!

[@ppr824]

Awesome video...looking forward for more videos related to the Amazon Echo

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Fundador, thank you very much. That is very nice of you to say. I appreciate you sticking around to watch more echo videos. I have 50 more to do this year. Thanks for watching and commenting. Happy New Year.

[@Jweiss7939]

Great video. Thank you! Looking forward to your other videos in regards to Alexa devices.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello James, thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed it and are interesting in future videos. Thanks for watching. Happy New Year.

[@tripleplatinumllc]

I want to mesh all my Alexa stuff to play a song Simultaneously. And even different songs in different rooms do you have a video for that?

[@sherryalcott4303]

I must say you're wonderful teacher.Learn so much from you. Thank you for your hard work and time. Sherry👍

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Sherry. Thank you very much. That is nice of you to say. I am glad that you learned a lot and it was helpful. I appreciate you leaving a great comment and for watching. Have a great day.

[@herberthernandez4419]

Hi I love your videos. I have a question. I just got 3 echos dot 3rd generation and I don't know how to name them kitchen or bedroom like yours. Mine says my name fallow by echo dot 2 or 3 respectively. Could you help me with that?

[@Ssssrrrrrrrrr]

Does drop in have to be in the same building ? Like same household ?

[@rpgiuliani]

Question. Just received the echo dot as a gift. Set it up. Can the DropIn be used from more than one Android phone via the app. I had it set up on my phone. It worked. Later I set up on my wife's phone. It works but now in my phone it does not work..

[@Mr_Swag657]

Hi, Craig I know this is an older video but you mention that there is a way to give permission for a drop in on an echo device how would one set that up? Thanks

[@saurajgautam7916]

Hi Craig, Thanks for Amazing video, quick question i have a HQ and 3 location of retails on different network. can i drop in to various locations from HQ we do not have same network... also can dropin can be done by single mobile or multiple mobile users from HQ

[@TechTimeMass]

Great videos.. Came across your channel when you were on eazy stream and you have some great content.. Keep up great work

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Tech Time. That is very nice of you to say. Thank you for checking out my channel after watching eazy. I have a good time talking with him. He is a good guy. I am glad that you have enjoyed the videos. Thanks for the great comment. Have a great night!

[@nickjones3605]

Craig, I want to throw this out here only because I was in the acting / movie / TV biz some. In fact, our family owned a talent agency and I got a few gigs that were enough to get me Sag/AFTRA eligible. Your videos are great. The lighting you have set up is very good and I watch a lot of KZbin. Acting wise, you might look into it for voice over work & other personal appearances, etc. Could help promote your site & pick up some extra cash. And, the neat thing-you don’t have to do anything, and those checks keep on coming. It’s a pleasure to tune in! Could you do a tutorial on how you set up your lighting and studio? I'm new to using my Alexa system and trying to test drop-in. And, amazingly I have a lot of things work already. I see all kinds of ways that voice activation will streamline everything I do with computers and I have a LOT of computers and use Word a lot to take down notes and check spelling. Can you use a tablet and Alexa to send notes to Word?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Nick, that is great that you have done some acting to the point that you were SAG/AFTRA eligible. That is great that your family owned a talent agency. I have done some acting. Only independent/ non-union stuff. Unfortunately nothing that made me SAG eligible. I had been working on acting before starting my channel. I am open to doing more of it. Wind starting this channel, I have taken a break from it. I do need to get back out and do some more auditioning. Ideally, I would like to do more hosting and eventually appearances. It would be great to get deeper into the acting side and appearance side. Thank you for the nice words about my videos. I am glad that you have enjoyed them. I will look at doing a studio tour and show/talk about my setup. As a professional lighting designer, I have tried to make sure my lighting works well. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the echo world. Voice has so much potential and is the future of interacting with tech. As for getting notes to word, I do not know of anyway to use Alexa for that. It will be nice to see the bigger software companies figure out how to implement features like that and embrace writing skills for Alexa. There might be a third party skill that might do that. I have not been able to find one. Thanks for the acting recommendation and the nice comment. Have a great day Nick.

[@amyc.80]

Craig - Is the range between echo dots an issue? Wondering if this would work at my church where we would like to set up an intercom system between various parts of the building. We just installed a mesh system so the whole building now receives a wireless signal. But I don’t want to rely on someone having a smartphone to connect. Thanks.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Amy, there would not be a range issue if the devices all have good Wi-Fi. Everything they are doing is Wi-Fi-based and not really about connecting to each other through Bluetooth. You might have an issue if you’re trying to make a music group with them. But for intercom use they could be at different addresses. I hope this helps. Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@joycetatum5374]

Hi Craig, my cousin and I are trying to set up drop in. She is able to drop in on mine but I can't on hers. We both have the same settings but it still isn't working for me. Any suggestions? I resinstalled app and still nothing.

[@willswings]

Hi,thanks for your vid, I've just bought an echo show10 for this fonction for my mather who is 90' and starting an Alzheimer disease. So she doesn't have to make complicates things to answer our vidéos calls. Works amazingly at my home and she enjoy it. but I'm facing a problem: when I put the device in her house, she must have the Alexa app on her phone to autorize the drop-in . But her phone is too old and Alexa 's app isn't compatible with it. If I download alexa on my phone and connect with the account that I've create for her, just for the configuration purpose will it work? (in fact, Does the device works with the phone number or with the wifi network? )

[@jamesgomez9254]

Can Picture in picture be re positioned on fire cube video call ? it's default position is top right, i would like to move it to bottom left ? Any help would be appreciated

[@avairybird]

Does drop in only work at home

[@TheSeniorTuberCommunity]

Thank you! Can you call your Alexa app from one of your echo dots? If so how? I can't name it so that it'll call. Thanks.

[@jomeokeepark]

Craig, this video interests me for several reasons. I have an aging dad that has difficulty using his smart phone to contact me. Is it possible to set the Echo up in two different locations with separate phone lines to contact each other?

[@mia.s611]

nice job

[@denisfarzinassassi6518]

Wonder if you or anyone can tell me where to look for help regarding to pair two Echo Dots to Echo Studio

[@isaiahjefferson2083]

So glad I don't have to yell anymore to far away rooms!!!!❤

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Drip Drip, I know what you mean. I had to remind myself the other day to use the echo and stop getting louder for my wife and kids to hear me. Thank you for watching and for your comment. Have a great day.

[@SnowyPe]

I currently have 2 echo dot's 3rd gen and one echo show 5..Cannot get "Drop in" to work. Dr Google says none of these devices are supported. Is this true?

[@949surferdude]

I have 2 echos can you drop in on the 2nd using a short name instead of saying Alexa drop in the bedroom blah blah.?

[@usernamemykel]

Craig, I am happy with the Echo 3 I received as a gift, which I keep in my living room. I subsequently bought two more, one for my den, and one for my bedroom, to use as intercom devices. In the phone app, I named their locations as per their room location. QUESTION: If I want to "drop in" a call to my GF when she is in the den, when I command Alexa to drop in the den, how does Alexa know the physical difference between the den and the bedroom? IOW, does each and every Echo have to go through the setup process individually, if so, what is the procedure, please? Many thanks!!!!!!!

[@livinglifemyway7349]

I bought my wife a 2nd gen dot and she got me a 2nd gen dot.. I have prime we were going to put both dots on my account but we found that we could not use prime music on 2 different music channels ..so she is using her plain amazon account can we still use drop in ? if so can you show that we cant get it to work thanks

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Craig, You can still use drop in. You would have to allow access to permitted contacts. Since your two devices are not under the same account, they don’t show up as in the same household. You can go under your contacts, find each other’s contact and turn on the drop in option. Then go under each device settings, communications, select drop in and select On. This will allow permitted contacts to drop in. Since you permitted each other, you would then be able to say Drop-in and use the others name. That should work. I hope that helps. Have a great day.

[@1KingCal]

@@CraigsTechTalk helped me too thx

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Ravixx, glad to hear it was a help for you too. Thanks for watching. Have a great day

[@alexcomp99]

I use my Amazon unlimited music to feed my Nutone wholehouse intercom system. This allows me to play music throughout my house but what I found was that if I were in a room other than the echo system that fed the intercom , I was unable to stop or pause the music without going to that room . I found a workaround but I wonder if there is a more direct way to do it? Here's what I did - I told my local echo in the bedroom to "drop in" to the echo in the kitchen . then I told that echo to "stop" and believe it or not, it worked! I think I should also be able to initiate an audio stream from anywhere in the house using this drop in feature. I wonder however if there is a more direct way to do this?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Steve, I like the use of the Nutone intercom to have music through the whole house. I also like your work around with Drop in. I am surprise it worked. Have you set up Multi-room music? Since you Amazon unlimited, you should not be limited to which device plays the music. I would think if you had Multi-room music, you could ask the closet echo to stop or pause the stream. If you have not seen it, I did do a video on Multi-room music. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gme8qJqHeruNn6c Please, let me know if you that doesn't work. Thank you Steve for you question and for watching this video. Have a great Friday.

[@luke752010]

Great video. Is It possibile to drop-in between two echo device registered with different Amazon accounts ?

[@jackb6103]

The intercom feature of the Echo is intriguing. We have a very non technical person in the home and I want to make use of the feature in the event of an "I've fallen and can't get up" situation. At this point I am only interested in using the feature locally within the home and of course am assuming the event occurs within earshot of an Echo device. The phrase "Echo drop in on ...." is too complex in this situation. Can this phrase be replaced with something simpler such as “Echo call ..."?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Jackb6103, My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I did play around with the, "Alexa call, Living Room." What happens is that it calls the other device like a phone. I had to say, "Alexa, answer" to get the echo dot I was calling to pick up. the Alexa call phrase acts like a phone. Alexa, Drop in acts like an intercom. I hope this helps. Please, let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you for watching and for your question. Have a great day.

[@jackb6103]

Thanks Craig for your video. I appreciate your extra effort to help me and actually I think you got back to me in a very timely manner. I'll order 3 Dots and one Echo next week during Prime Day and have high hopes that I can somehow add this functionality. I'm confident that all the pieces and parts are there somewhere under the covers. I'll play around with IFTTT and if that fails I may write my own app or get one of my geeky grandsons to write it for me. I wrote up a spec and sent it to them yesterday.

[@AshleeJohnson-w6m]

Thanks!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Thank you. I appreciate the comment and you watching.

[@TeaTiff123st]

Excellent

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Tiffany, thank you very much. That is very nice of you to say. I am glad that you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comment and watching. Have a great day👍🏻

[@florizonefilm]

Cool stuff! I noticed Alexa is not talking. How can I Alexa to connect to my Bluetooth but not say “now connected” every time? So annoying. Thanks!

[@SNIFFMYBADGER]

What's it like on the recieving end? Does the receiver have to say "answer" or does Alexa just open a connection. e.g. I f I want to pretend I'm not in do I have to be dead silent?

[@jennycarbajal4181]

Yes you have to be silent bc as soon as they say drop in, it automatically opens the other persons speaker

[@jimroach4105]

Very good

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Jim, I appreciate you saying that. I am glad that you enjoyed the video. Thank you for watching and leaving a comment. Have a great day👍🏻

[@82michalko]

Hi Craig, could I set up another drop in echo device as a part of my network in another country? (in our flat in slovakia). It will connect to local wifi router. Cheers, Mike

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Michal, you should not have any issues with a device in another country. As long as that device is under the same prime account and purchased from the same country as your existing echos. It should connect up fine through drop in. When using my Alexa app for drop in, it does not care where I am, just that I am part of the household (Prime account) Without being able to try it out in multiple countries, I can’t guarantee it would work. But, it shouldn’t be an issue since it is still one of your devices. Thanks for the question and for watching. Have a great day.

[@82michalko]

Perfect, thank you very much

[@combat_medic_1854]

Can you drop in on more than one echo at the same time?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

No you cannot. Drop in is one device at a time.

[@enbp74]

What should I do if I can’t drop in from my phone to my echo dot? By the way Im not sure that depends on my country or what if someone know this pls tell me.

[@elonmust8859]

Does Drop In from a Mobile Phone to an Alexa only work within a certain radius of each other ? Allso is it still a big security risk has it been updated in anyway over the last year or so ? I do not want people Dropping In when i am watching Cartoons lol.

[@marcusrumm]

Craig, I just added an Echo Dot to the house to compliment my Echo and Echo Plus. Cannot get the Drop-in feature to work, everything is setup, do you think the distance from the wifi router could be an issue, everything else on the Dot works ok.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Marcus, my apologies for the delay getting back to you. I do not think it would be a Wifi issue. You may have already tried this. Did you go under the Dot settings and confirm that Drop-in was turned on. It is not under the general settings, but rather the device. If you tried that, I will keep looking for ideas. With that on and your Alexa app Drop-in turned on and working on other devices, it should all work. Thank you for your question. I hope this helps. Thank you for watching and have a great day.

[@marcusrumm]

No worries, I appreciate the help. I reset the Dot a couple of times and reviewed my router settings to see if I could boost the signal as a last ditch attempt. I made a few adjustments suggested by the Asus website and now the Dot Drop-in feature is working although I cannot confirm if it was due to a Dot reset or changing my router settings. The Dot is setup in my garage so having an intercom to communicate with the family while I'm doing car stuff is really handy. Keep up the great work with your videos, they are really helpful. Cheers Marcus

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Marcus. I am glad to hear that it is working. Having it in the garage is a great place for a hands free intercom. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am glad that my videos have been helpful. I am appreciate the nice words. Have a great day Marcus.

[@ndrarora]

I am guessing, it would work if my two Alexa devices are in different physical locations, but need to test it.

[@tanmaijain]

Hi… Can we drop in into a couple of Echo devices at the same time through the Amazon Alexa app on my iPhone?

[@loskeles8876]

I am looking an answer to this question. Did you ever find out?

[@RineshAndrews]

Thank you

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Rinesh, thank you for your comment and for watching. Have a great day.

[@edfaicco7633]

Hi I liked your video but I looking to access all dots at the same time as a intercom, it that possible?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Ed, I had heard from Gen 1 Echo users that was possible to call yourself and make all dots ring in the house. Currently, there is no global intercom option. That seems like something that should be there. The option to ring them all at once so it can be answered in any room. Sorry I do not have a better answer for you on this one. Thank you for watching and for your question. Have a great day.

[@4daluvofnikki]

Well a few months ago Amazon came out with a new feature called ANNOUNCEMENTS. It allows you to broadcast a message to all connected Echoes in your house at once. All you have to say is “Alexa, Broadcast/Announce [then say your message]”.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Nikki thank you for sharing your echo knowledge with others in the comments. It is much appreciated.

[@love4lovers911]

Dear craig. Can this intercom feature work from a remote location using the smart phone. M talking about 1000miles away.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Riy@z, I have used mine from my phone when I was out of town for work to talk to my kids. If you have a wifi connection and on your smart phone with the Alexa app, you should be good. THanks for watching. Have a great day.

[@russ123xyz]

@@CraigsTechTalk Can you do the reverse? I have a remote observatory that I want to drop an echo dot into so I can speak with someone working at the telescope.

[@carlosenafricasud]

@@CraigsTechTalk your phone was on 4g or wifi network? it doesnt matter?

[@ddp2049]

Thank you for this video. You are very good with explaining how things works w the Alexa/echo devices. Question the echo device language is English right now correct? I would like to buy a echo dot 3 for my grandparents so I can drop in when they don’t pick up the phone calls. The issue is they speak mostly Spanish. Please let me know

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Josed D, thank you very much. I appreciate the kind review and am glad that you are enjoying the videos. There are Spanish versions of the echo for Spain and they are releasing a Spanish version for Mexico. I have read that Spanish is supposed to be coming as a second language choice for American echos. If your primary use would be for drop-in, they wouldn't have to talk to Alexa. At the price point, its not a bad safety communication device. If that was all you used it for, the peace of mind would be good. Thank you for watching and leaving a comment. Have a great day.

[@elwinvanalst7948]

How long can you stay on intercom for? Is it indefinite until you ask Alexa to hang up? Or will it ultimately time out?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Elwin, I have not tried for an extended period of time. But I found it was not disconnecting until I told it too. If neither my kids or myself was speaking it just stayed on connected. I will have to try an extended test. I will follow up when I know more. Thank you for watching and for your question. Have a great day.

[@ratataran]

@@CraigsTechTalk follow up? it d/c's after about 30 min

[@alexcomp99]

Big house - One Echo and 5 dots. What if I'm downstairs and want to drop in on my wife but not sure what room she's in? This seems to be a hole in this system. We also have a Nutone intercom system with multiple stations and when any station talks (drops in), every other station hears the message. The only workaround I've found is that you can call yourself and all stations will ring but then the nearest station has to be told to answer. This is not quite intercom....

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Steve, my apologies for the delay in getting back to you. After looking, I cannot find a good solution other then the calling yourself. Before Drop-in that was the way to connect to your echos was to ring them all. That is a horrible solution when you should be able to say “drop in on all echos” and speak to the whole house. I will keep an eye if anything like that comes up. I am sorry I cannot be of more help. Thank you for watching and for your question. Have a great day.

[@alexcomp99]

Honest answer Craig - I'm a retired computer tech and I couldn't find anything either. I've got an improvement request out to Amazon because this feature lack severely compromises the ability to use multiple echos as an intercom system. I'm subscribed and look forward to your posts. Here's another "want" - is there anyway to create a timed turn on? Scenario - going upstairs down a hallway then up stairs. Two different smart switch zones made into a group. I want a chained event "Echo - turn on hallstairs (after 45 seconds the group turns off). I do this 50 times a day easily and it would be a great streamline. IFTTT maybe? My smartlink has schedules and wonder if a schedule that could be initiated at any time and last x seconds might be possible (but don't think so)

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Steve. My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I did not want to rush a response. Thank you for subscribing. Being a computer tech puts your thoroughness into perspective for me. I appreciate you telling me a little about that. I like that you put an improvement request to Amazon. You are right on that one. Being able to say, "Drop in on all echos" and have them all respond should be feature number one. It is bizarre that it doesn't and makes me wonder why its not being done. As for you other want. Any chance you can put in Philips Hue bulbs for your hallway? I got tired of turning on an annoying overhead light in my office, to then turn on a desk lamp and then turn off the overhead light. Or, I could walk across the dark room. I bought a 2 - pack of White, dimmable bulbs for $30 and a philips hue motion sensor $45. You can also get a hub and 2 white bulbs for $69. It is not a cheap solution, but now the 20 times a day I walk into my office and pull out my chair, the light turns on and then off if there is no motion for 30 minutes. The time could be set to 1 minute of no motion and then it fades out. The nice thing about the motion sensor is that with apples homekit, I am able to program the motion sensor to trigger a non hue smart switch. I have an ihome smart switch with some LEDs plugged into it. That and the hue bulb is triggered with the motion sensor. With Home kit I have the motion sensor set so it ignores motion between sunrise and sunset. I do not know much about IFTTT. I feel like I should learn more about it. But, I feel like this stuff should not be that much work for the cost of it. Like the way Home Kit, Hue bulbs and a motion sensor solved my problem relatively easy. Please, let me know if you come up with a solution to your hallway want. Thanks Steve. Have a good day.

[@alexcomp99]

Craig's Tech Talk my stairs have two LED bulbs and my hallway has two used to be fluorescent four tube fixtures that have had led tubes installed. Your solution is interesting ( but costly ) and probably inconsistent with the four tube fixtures that are already installed. after 50 years in the computer business, I have a clear understanding that things are evolutionary and probably my solution will come along. I tried to do this with a bunch of old X10 equipment that I had including motion sensors but X10 has always been a difficult proposition. You have given me a thought and that is motion sensors that would trip my smart switches might be possible. Have to check that out...

[@thomascronkhite5558]

First, Love your videos they are very informative and entertaining. Second, I have some questions about microphone during drop in. With two devises say, one in parents room and one in babies room that you are dropping in. In parents room have engaged microphone off (mic light turns red) so baby is not disturbed. After some time about 15 to 20 minutes the drop-in disconnects. Is this normal? Is there a way to allow mic to stay off and leave drop-in active until turned off by request? Thank you for your brilliance!

[@JayDanhong]

New subscriber here❤️😊😊😊

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Jay, Welcome to the channel and thank you for subscribing. I appreciate you sticking around to check out future video. Thank you for leaving a comment too. Have a great day Jay.

[@czpv2128]

Great video, but I can't find the drop in button in the conversation tab (I did turn drop in on)

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello, thank you very much. I had the same problem when I first did my setup. I could not get drop in to show up at all. I have an iPhone and uninstalled the app. I went through the settings, general, iPhone storage menu and deleted it from there. Once I reinstalled the app, it showed up fine. Have you tried a reinstall? I hope that helps, if not I can investigate further. Thanks for watching and for your questions.

[@czpv2128]

I'll try now, thanks for the reply

[@czpv2128]

It didn't work.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

I am sorry to hear that. Where are you located? I can do some research and see if region has anything to do with the feature.

[@czpv2128]

The uk

[@maryschaefer3980]

Can I drop in without them hearing the drop in sound? How? I drop in on my kids as intercom but sometimes I don't want them to know because, example, I just want to hear if they are sleeping or up late

[@heraoine4828]

I honestly love your videos. They have really helped me transition into the Echo world. I do have one issue with the drop in though. Every time I drop in from my bedroom Echo to my kitchen Echo or vice versa, whoever is in the kitchen cannot hear me very well (it sounds as if I’m talking very low) but I can hear them almost perfectly. This happens with all three of my Echo devices. If I drop in i can hear pretty well, but the receiving end can not hear me. I was wondering if you have this issue or have any tips to fix this?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Hera, thank you very much. That is great to hear you are loving the videos. I appreciate you watching. I have the same problem too. I think it comes down to the volume that the device is set to that you are calling. I always here my kids when I call them. But, I don’t think they are expecting me to call and the volume on the device may be too low. Beyond that, it does not make sense that it is hard for the other side to hear when you are talking on it. I have been frustrated trying to use it and my kids still can’t hear me on there end. I wish I had a better answer then saying turn up the device. I need to look further into this. Thank you for watching and sharing this. Have a great day.

[@stephenhelton7709]

Hey Craig hopefully you can help. I cannot seem to activate / enable intercom on my Alexa input. Instead it calls. Eg living room to garage. Maybe it’s not a function that is not available for the Alexa input?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Stephen, I have not use the echo input. I would think that it still works. Have you gone under the echo import settings and confirm to the drop in is turned on. You would go under the input settings, select communications and then look to see what the drop in menu says. It might be a limitation of the import if that is already turned on. Is drop in working from other echo devices? Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@carlosenafricasud]

Hey Craig, from the office, I tried with my smartphone on a 4g , and the echo dot(at home) on wifi, and didn´t work. Should both devices be on wifi ?

[@vkruin]

Same question. I hope we get a response

[@kavonp9484]

Drop in works for me from my phone to echo dot but I can't hear any audio, any help would be much appreciated

[@haroldfinkel6583]

if the intercom caller does not end. the call at their end does the line stay active? can the receiver of the ibntercom call lso hang up. his is a privacy issue as either party may forget to hang up. Amazon should flex top in should self terminate after long period of silence. Comment

[@LeenaBusan1980]

Thank you for the great info I think I get more help from you Vs calling amazon... I needed help finding out with my echo dot had color rings flashing I called 4 times and no one was ever able to help me lol I had to google it - also do you think echo dot is less smart then google home?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Dani L, thank you for the nice compliment. I am glad that I have been able to help with my videos. That is a shame that after 4 calls they could not help you. I think Amazon depends on their website for support. Even then the site can be vague. I think that is because it is always changing. Here is the complete guide that I have seen of light ring flashing and color meaning. www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201601790 As for google or echo for who is smarter. I would say the Echo. I think google has the search and knowledge at their hands. But, I think Amazon sees more value in voice and growing these devices. There are over 20,000 devices that work with Alexa and 5,000 that work with google. Amazon is pushing hard to partner up with developers and manufacturers. They want to be the leader and I think it shows. They have also been at this the longest. To me everyone is playing catch up. I do think google assistant sounds better and they may be leading in the AI virtual assistant side. But functionality and compatibility Amazon is ahead. To me it is those things that make it smarter. That is my 2 cents. Thank you for your comment and question. Also for watching the video. Have a great day.

[@SimpLeeBeth]

Cool!

[@dalemckeown6433]

Hi, i just got a 4th gen echo to replace my 1st gen echo, but now i want to put my 1st gen in another room and be able to drop-in and/or call each other from the 1st gen to the 4th gen both ways, however both echo's are on the exact same network, same account and both use the same mobile Phone number... how do i do this?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You would be able to use drop in to connect between the echos. You would want them on the same network to talk to each other. You would drop in by saying 'Alexa, Drop in on NAME OF ECHO" Then it is a direct connection.

[@cissianderson]

Can you be at work or just away from your house and do a drop In?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Cissi, you can use drop in outside of the house. You can use it from your phone on the Alexa app. You can also setup another echo outside the house under your account and reach your other echos. Drop-in can be used outside of your household too. You can give family or friends permission to drop in to your echos. This could be great for checking on family members if necessary. I hope this helps. Thank you for your question and for watching. Have a great day Cissi

[@cissianderson]

Craig's Tech Talk , thank you so much Craig! I love all your videos on the echo/Alexa. I’ve learned so much from you 😊

[@tomhillpot1473]

@@CraigsTechTalk I use 2 echo's on the same account. Each in houses hundreds of mile apart. I control many echo devices in either location with either echo. Very slick automation.

[@davidhigginbottom3637]

Can my echo work with my chrome cast?thankyou

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello David, I have not found a skill to make that work. They are competitors trying to build their own ecosystem. There might be an IFTTT options, but I am not familiar with IFTTT to recommend anything. Thanks for your question. I wish I could be more help. Happy New Year!

[@CandyLV72]

Hi Craig, awesome work, thanks. I’d like to know if you have any tips for reverb. I have an upstairs and a downstairs dot but drop in creates an awful reverb echo. However, I don’t feel the volume is overly loud.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Candi, thank you. I am glad that it worked for you. I do not know of anything that would help that other then volume on the devices. It is weird, if you can kind of hear the echo upstairs while you are talking on the other one. I don’t know of anyway to get pass the delay that occurs when connected. The echo also picks up a lot of background noise. Sorry I don’t have a better answer. Thanks for checking out the video. Have a great weekend.

[@ST4R_ON_PAWZZ-t7g]

I have 2 echos in my house an echo dot 2nd generation and a big one 2nd generation

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Very cool. I hope you are enjoying them. Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@ST4R_ON_PAWZZ-t7g]

@@CraigsTechTalk my echos both work fine they have the same name and the same voice but different kind of echos they’re both 2nd generation have a great time with yours:)

[@TheLifeOfACreator]

She so cute 😍❤️

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Michelle, thank you. She is very cute. Thanks for checking out the video. Have a great day.

[@toribrewer9944]

So each of my kids have an echo dot and I set up the intercom. But one of my kids whom I’ve named Henry in the app, will only respond to “mom” any ideas why?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Tori, Thank you for your question. First, I would check the settings on the "Henry" echo and see if Drop in is turned on. Drop-in is found under the General section for the device. It might be that simple. The only other thing that pops into mind is that Henry might be a name or word she has difficulty with. I had an issue getting her to connect to a bluetooth device until I changed the named. I would request the device, she didn't find it and connected to another bluetooth device instead. Along with trouble understanding, I wonder if your request is moving to the next echo on the list, "mom"? I would say to change the name from Henry and see if it responds. If the device connects fine. Then its an understanding issue. I hope one of these things helps narrow it down. Please, follow up and let me know if either worked. If not I can help look further. Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@toribrewer9944]

Wow you’re awesome! Changing the name worked! Never even occurred to me that Henry was a hard name! So thank you! It only took me all day! Thanks for responding!!!!!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Tori, thank you. I am glad that worked. That can be frustrating when it doesn’t make sense why it’s not working. But it is nice when it is a simple fix. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you stick around to check out future videos. Have a great night.

[@toribrewer9944]

Ok so now both my kids name goes to the one echo named henry. Even though they are named different. Any ideas???

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That is weird. Drop in is enabled under settings for both Echo's? Any chance it does not like one of the names and is defaulted to a name it understands? Similar to Henry? I initially feel like a device has drop-in turned off or it is being really picky with the names. Then there is the fall back, power down the echos for a couple minutes, plug them back in and see if a reboot helps. Also, have you ran the "Your Voice" setup under settings in the App? With mine, I felt it was not always getting the specific names I was asking for such as my bluetooth devices. I went to "Your Voice" and did the "Edit Your Voice". Just to make sure it was recognizing me specifically. I don't know if it helped or if it was just the name change I did on my device. But, I have had pretty good accuracy with mine. I hope one of these things helps. If you not, please let me know. Thank you. Good luck.

[@landapanda1]

Is there any announcement if someone is dropping in?? Can someone just drop in and be silently listening! ( I’m here watching this vid because that’s exactly what I think is going on) ( I’m not the acct holder when it was set up)

[@CraigsTechTalk]

There is a chime when connected and a green light spins on top.

[@landapanda1]

@@CraigsTechTalk 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ wow .... thanx very much that’s everyone needed to know .,,

[@elledio9730]

Can your kids drop in from an echo to your phone/Alexa app?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

You can only drop in from a phone to an echo. Not from a echo to a phone. You would have to do a call from an echo to a phone.

[@shyreetaallen2306]

What if we have different accounts

[@thomaswolf5919]

Did not describe Announcement feature.

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Thomas. This video was made before announcements was introduce. Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@quarantinaakalillian7359]

👍Will the drop in feature keep a written text history of my bi-polar girlfriend's conversations with me? because that ain't cool

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Lillian, No there’s no recorded history of your conversations using drop in. At least there’s been no reports of that happening. That definitely would not be cool. Hope this helps. Thank you for watching. Have a great day.

[@tsnstt]

Can you find a non bi-polar girlfriend perhaps?

[@usernamemykel]

@@tsnstt How many guys are fortunate enough to have a two-in-one package?????

[@grkellis]

Hi Craig - we have installed two Echos in my parents home (kitchen and garage). They have provided permission and enabled Drop In feature for both me and my sister. My question to you is, how can we drop in to one device vs the other. I would love to say "Alexa, drop in on Dad's Garage" or "Alexa, drop in on Mom's Kitchen" but it can't seem to differentiate between my parent's devices, only my home devices. Any advice?

[@jasperfredrickson4420]

Dude, subscribing for renaming it so you don't trigger our Alexa's. So annoying when watching KZbin. Well, just being honest, I would have subscribed anyway, the information is great!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Michael, Thank you. I like your reason for subscribing. I made the mistake on my second, and most popular echo video, of not changing the name. I had some grumpy comments. Most people have been very nice and understanding. For those people, I have tried to be respectful and not trigger their devices. I feel where you are coming from though. Amazon Echo clips trigger my devices if I leave the names as Alexa. Thank you for watching this video and sticking around to check out future videos. Have a great day Michael.

[@lucioclaudiovalladares5485]

Pelo amor de Deus : Como desativar atendimento automático da Alexa drop in?

[@brotega4500]

I recommend that you censor out your address!

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Brotega, I appreciate you catching that and for the heads up. I should have caught that before uploading. Thank you for watching. Have a great day Brotega

[@emmy7188]

Why did you put iroman in the back is because he died in end game because they bet thouns in End Game by have the crystals

[@thnhtexas383]

If someone is dropped in and my Alexa is mute, can they still hear me?

[@CraigsTechTalk]

The should not be able to hear you if your echo is muted.

[@FiloLopez]

His name is Robert Poulsen

[@CraigsTechTalk]

That’s awesome.

[@FiloLopez]

@@CraigsTechTalk Hahaha thanx, too bad the first rule is we cannot talk about project… m

[@urmom3731]

Can you review the the Apple Watch series 3? 😃

[@CraigsTechTalk]

Hello Ur Mom, I would love to. I don’t think my wife is going to be cool with that purchase after all of my video equipment to get this channel going. I think now, I would hold off until fall and see what series 4 is.

[@urmom3731]

Craig's Tech Talk I would love to see that!

[@iggwhy5380]

I just did the drop in to my daughter and she called me back. She called me under private number 🤯 I didn't know Alexa could do that.

[@RaphaelBenero]

😊

[@anandhababu9955]

U r look in Elon Musk bro☺️

[@roseworld8091]

You called 'computer' instead of ' Alexa'....why?

[@kelsiedaisley5626]

So as to not trigger anyone who's watching's Alexa.

[@roseworld8091]

Ok! Thanks I have found in the Alexa's app, you can change this trigger word

[@kelsiedaisley5626]

@Roseworld 80 yea sometimes he will make videos where he mutes the word Alexa to not trigger our devices but he will also just set the wake word to computer so it doesn't activate our alexas

[@harrishussain6045]

mmmmm