Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant technology, is designed to provide consumers with a plethora of possibilities. But have you ever considered what Alexa can and cannot do for you in an emergency, or how Alexa responds when you ask her to call 911? Is Alexa capable of dialing 911?
So, we’ve put together this post to tell you whether Alexa can handle such requests. So let’s find out if Alexa can call 911 and, if so, how to make Alexa call 911; if not, what alternative options are available.
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About Amazon Alexa – An Overview
Amazon Alexa, usually known as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology created by Amazon. It was first utilized with Amazon Lab126’s smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Studio, and Amazon Tap. Alexa is designed to control your voice, play music, podcasts, or audiobooks, stream videos, movies, and shows for you, set alarms to remind or notify you about important events, provide real-time information on topics such as weather and traffic, keep you up to date on the latest news, and much more. Aside from that, Alexa can handle many smart devices and serve as an excellent home automation system.
But, if you’re wondering, is “Alexa phoning 911” possible? Let’s go check it out.
The following section of the post will explain how Alexa will respond when asked to call 911 and what has to be done to get Alexa to call 911.
Can Alex call 911?
Regrettably, the answer is no. Alexa is unable to dial 911 directly. But there is still a chance. It requires a small hack to get Alexa (with your Amazon Echo) to answer emergency calls. Devices such as the Amazon Echo Link may connect Alexa devices directly to landlines, allowing you to dial 911.
Aside from that, you can use a few Alexa skills to link you with help in an emergency by sending notifications through various apps such as Ask My Buddy, My SOS Family, and so on.
Even if Alexa is unable to dial 911, it can manage an emergency situation using extra hardware and Alexa skills.
How Alexa can help in an emergency?
It is important to understand that Alexa cannot dial 911. Nonetheless, it can provide you with the next best thing. Alexa can assist you in making direct 911 calls using Amazon’s Echo Connect device. Alexa can call any number on your contact list, whether it’s a landline or a mobile number. There are two alternatives:
- To place a call on a specific phone number in the contact list,
- simply say “Alexa, Call (name of the person on the contact list)”.
- The second step is to contact several contacts; use My Buddy Skills to contact and message multiple people at once.
How does Alexa respond If asked to Call 911?
Have you ever, for fun or otherwise, asked Alexa to dial 911? What would Alexa do if you asked her to contact 911 without the help of Echo or any other add-on skills? Here’s a solution.
When you utter these words to Alexa and request that she dials 911. “You can’t make this call,” she would remark in response. Please contact your local emergency hotline.”
It goes without saying that with the Alexa Calling feature, users of Amazon Echo devices will be able to make phone calls, both device-to-device, and device-to-phone. However, it is unable to dial 911. It’s because regulatory compliance prevents you from using Alexa to call 911 at the moment.
But don’t despair; you can connect an Amazon Echo Connect device to your landline phone or VoIP service and use Alexa to dial 911. To make it happen, you will need to visit the Alexa app on a smartphone or log in to alexa.amazon.com on a computer, in addition to an Echo device and an existing landline or VoIP subscription.
As a result, if you use the Echo Connect in conjunction with your Echo device and say, “Alexa, call 911,” Alexa will route your call to local emergency services.
How to use Echo Connect to let Alexa call 911?
To set up the Echo Connect and use it with Alexa to call 911, follow the steps below.
- Connect the Echo Connect to a power outlet near your modem or phone jack.
- If you want to connect a regular telephone handset in addition to the Echo Connect, you must use the telephone jack splitter adapter, which allows two connections at once.
- After that, launch the Alexa app on your smartphone (be it Android or iPhone).
- Navigate to the Settings menu.
- Then, choose Add Device, followed by Amazon Echo.
- Finally, choose Echo Connect to finish the setup.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll be able to ask your Echo device to contact any landline, mobile phone, or emergency number, such as 911.
How to use Alexa Skills to seek help?
If you don’t want to connect several devices or don’t have a home phone service, you can utilize this way to receive aid in an emergency. There are various Alexa skills that can help you reach out and contact someone who can assist you. However, none of these abilities can directly connect you to 911 emergency assistance. Here’s how these abilities can benefit you:
Ask My Buddy
If you’ve added this ability and configured your contacts, you’ll be able to tell Alexa, “Ask My Buddy to send aid,” and your phone’s specified contacts will receive an alert message through text/SMS or voice call.
My SOS Family Skill
After you set up this skill, you can create an account on My SOS family and add an unlimited number of contacts from which to seek assistance. The emergency will be notified to the selected contacts via text/SMS and voice call.
SafeTrek Skill
It appears to be a better option when there aren’t enough people in your immediate vicinity to reach out to you for assistance. With the SafeTrek skill active on your device, if you ask for assistance by saying “Alexa, notify SafeTrek to provide assistance,” a qualified SafeTrek agent will shortly arrive to assist you.
Wrapping Up:
That’s all. You no longer have to wonder whether Alexa can contact 911 or not. We’ve got you covered with the answer and a few additional possible ways to call 911 using Alexa. Though Alexa cannot directly call 911 at the moment, with continued technological improvement, you may see it in the near future. By that point, you should feel comfortable instructing Alexa to dial 911 for assistance.