Can I just use my Amazon account?

[SMBeach]

So. I have an Alexa echo dot in dad’s care home 500 miles away. He uses it for music. It is connected to my Amazon account and I have the Alexa app on my phone.

I’m thinking of getting the echo show to see if it’s easier for dad to video call me or audio call me when it suits him.

So, can I do that by connecting the echo show to my Amazon account too? I don’t use Alexa’s or such devices myself so didn’t see any point opening up a separate Amazon account in dads name and just figured I could link everything to my account instead. That’s what I’ve done with the echo dot. No problems.

Will dad be able to call me using the echo show if we are both on the same account? I’d be accepting the call or video call on my mobile phone. Or will the echo show think dad is me trying to call myself given that my mobile number that he is calling is the number linked to my Amazon account?
Or do I need to open an Amazon account for dad too?
Hope I’m not confusing anyone as I’m starting to feel confused myself. lol.

Thank you.

 

[SeaSwallow]

@SMBeach i am sorry but i really don’t have a clue but am wondering if the Amazon help desk would be able to help you.

 

[I thank you for the years]

Hi @SMBeach

In case you have not found the answer to your query and/or this is of use to others:-

From my experience you would add the Echo Shows to your Amazon account and you would need to be at your Dad’s care home to do this.

i previously did this for 4 separate devices as I had two devices at each of my parents homes (one Echo Show 8 in each of their living areas which I generally used and one smaller Echo Show 5 in each of their bedrooms which were for emergency use).

I was able to communicate with each device separately via the Alexa App.

It is also possible to add one other person to your Amazon household to allow them to (separately) communicate with your device(s).

When you “drop in” for a video call the device emits a noise which hopefully gets the attention of the person in the vicinity of the device. For privacy reasons there is also a short period where the camera footage is blurred. During that time audio is connected. Your Dad would not have to do anything to accept the video call.

On the whole I found having the Echo Shows very helpful. I tended to use them for a daily morning drop in at my Dad’s and for both of them when I was on holiday.

Gething the device suitably located in the individual's line of sight is important as sometimes they either did not hear the noise indicating that a call was coming through or didn’t understand what the noise meant. On a couple of occasions both of them when hearing my voice went up to the door to let me in 😞

There are lots of other functions that may or may not be useful such as reminders which I didn’t fully explore.

i did look at seeing how the device could be used for my Dad to make a call to me but did not end up making use of this function aside from successfully testing it out myself. Basically you would need to make sure that the number that you want him to call you on is listed in your contacts as your name (e.g. Fred rather than My Phone). From memory your father would then have to say to the device “Alexa, call Fred” and this would result in the device commencing an audio call to you. He could also call anyone else in your Contacts in a similar way.

One unexpected thing encountered was that the devices automatically displayed notifications regarding my Amazon deliveries. There is a way of disabling this.

My Dad has recently moved into a care home and it is on my “To Do List” to engage with them about setting up the Amazon Echo in my Dad’s bedroom as I am going away for a fortnight next month and would want to use it then. I am conscious that they may be some sensitivities and concerns to work through with them about this. At the moment I haven’t even managed to get onto their internet yet! I will try to provide an update on this when I am able.

Best wishes x

 

[faengelm]

So. I have an Alexa echo dot in dad’s care home 500 miles away. He uses it for music. It is connected to my Amazon account and I have the Alexa app on my phone.

I’m thinking of getting the echo show to see if it’s easier for dad to video call me or audio call me when it suits him.

So, can I do that by connecting the echo show to my Amazon account too? I don’t use Alexa’s or such devices myself so didn’t see any point opening up a separate Amazon account in dads name and just figured I could link everything to my account instead. That’s what I’ve done with the echo dot. No problems.

Will dad be able to call me using the echo show if we are both on the same account? I’d be accepting the call or video call on my mobile phone. Or will the echo show think dad is me trying to call myself given that my mobile number that he is calling is the number linked to my Amazon account?
Or do I need to open an Amazon account for dad too?
Hope I’m not confusing anyone as I’m starting to feel confused myself. lol.

Thank you.

Yes, you can add an Echo Show to your account for your dad using just that one phone number, as you will be calling a "device" rather than a different Amazon account from your mobile phone.



When you call or drop in on him, you will use the name of his Echo Show, e.g. "Alexa, drop in on dad's Echo Show".

When you Dad wants to call you, he can audio place to your mobile device by saying "Alexa, call mobile". He won't be able to place a video call or a drop in call to your mobile, but you could call him right back and do a video call.

If you also had an Echo Show, he could place a video call or drop in using it's Echo Show name.

 

[SMBeach]

@SMBeach i am sorry but i really don’t have a clue but am wondering if the Amazon help desk would be able to help you.

Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that! lol.

 

[SMBeach]

Hi @SMBeach

In case you have not found the answer to your query and/or this is of use to others:-

From my experience you would add the Echo Shows to your Amazon account and you would need to be at your Dad’s care home to do this.

i previously did this for 4 separate devices as I had two devices at each of my parents homes (one Echo Show 8 in each of their living areas which I generally used and one smaller Echo Show 5 in each of their bedrooms which were for emergency use).

I was able to communicate with each device separately via the Alexa App.

It is also possible to add one other person to your Amazon household to allow them to (separately) communicate with your device(s).

When you “drop in” for a video call the device emits a noise which hopefully gets the attention of the person in the vicinity of the device. For privacy reasons there is also a short period where the camera footage is blurred. During that time audio is connected. Your Dad would not have to do anything to accept the video call.

On the whole I found having the Echo Shows very helpful. I tended to use them for a daily morning drop in at my Dad’s and for both of them when I was on holiday.

Gething the device suitably located in the individual's line of sight is important as sometimes they either did not hear the noise indicating that a call was coming through or didn’t understand what the noise meant. On a couple of occasions both of them when hearing my voice went up to the door to let me in 😞

There are lots of other functions that may or may not be useful such as reminders which I didn’t fully explore.

i did look at seeing how the device could be used for my Dad to make a call to me but did not end up making use of this function aside from successfully testing it out myself. Basically you would need to make sure that the number that you want him to call you on is listed in your contacts as your name (e.g. Fred rather than My Phone). From memory your father would then have to say to the device “Alexa, call Fred” and this would result in the device commencing an audio call to you. He could also call anyone else in your Contacts in a similar way.

One unexpected thing encountered was that the devices automatically displayed notifications regarding my Amazon deliveries. There is a way of disabling this.

My Dad has recently moved into a care home and it is on my “To Do List” to engage with them about setting up the Amazon Echo in my Dad’s bedroom as I am going away for a fortnight next month and would want to use it then. I am conscious that they may be some sensitivities and concerns to work through with them about this. At the moment I haven’t even managed to get onto their internet yet! I will try to provide an update on this when I am able.

Best wishes x

Thank you so much for all this information! That’s so good to hear. In theory dad should be able to call me by asking Siri on his mobile phone to call me, with a written prompt but he has only twice managed to call me following my written prompts and only twice managed to answer his phone by simply tapping the green button. So I’m still wary about purchasing more equipment only to discover he still can’t use it. What I’d really like is something that connects to his tv and displays me as a video call so I’m not looking at a blank wall or ceiling or curtains when I call his devices. He manages to move them out of vision all the time. I tried to connect his dementia friendly remote controls but they didn’t work with the tv provided at the home.

 

[SMBeach]

Yes, you can add an Echo Show to your account for your dad using just that one phone number, as you will be calling a "device" rather than a different Amazon account from your mobile phone.



When you call or drop in on him, you will use the name of his Echo Show, e.g. "Alexa, drop in on dad's Echo Show".

When you Dad wants to call you, he can audio place to your mobile device by saying "Alexa, call mobile". He won't be able to place a video call or a drop in call to your mobile, but you could call him right back and do a video call.

If you also had an Echo Show, he could place a video call or drop in using it's Echo Show name.

Thank you. I had a look at the Amazon cube for dad’s tv on a previous link you provided, thank you but it seemed quite complicated to set up? Can I ask if it allows video calls to display on his tv rather than an Alexa device?

 

[faengelm]

Adding a USB web camera to the Amazon Fire TV Cube supports video calls on a TV with an HDMI input. Amazon provides a guided TV setup experience when the Fire TV Cube is connected.

The Alexa Voice Remote Pro also offers a much better TV control https://frankseasytechcorner.substack.com/p/how-to-set-up-a-senior-friendly-fire

 

[SMBeach]

Adding a USB web camera to the Amazon Fire TV Cube supports video calls on a TV with an HDMI input. Amazon provides a guided TV setup experience when the Fire TV Cube is connected.

The Alexa Voice Remote Pro also offers a much better TV control https://frankseasytechcorner.substack.com/p/how-to-set-up-a-senior-friendly-fire

Thank you.

 

[Alisongs]

So. I have an Alexa echo dot in dad’s care home 500 miles away. He uses it for music. It is connected to my Amazon account and I have the Alexa app on my phone.

I’m thinking of getting the echo show to see if it’s easier for dad to video call me or audio call me when it suits him.

So, can I do that by connecting the echo show to my Amazon account too? I don’t use Alexa’s or such devices myself so didn’t see any point opening up a separate Amazon account in dads name and just figured I could link everything to my account instead. That’s what I’ve done with the echo dot. No problems.

Will dad be able to call me using the echo show if we are both on the same account? I’d be accepting the call or video call on my mobile phone. Or will the echo show think dad is me trying to call myself given that my mobile number that he is calling is the number linked to my Amazon account?
Or do I need to open an Amazon account for dad too?
Hope I’m not confusing anyone as I’m starting to feel confused myself. lol.

Thank you.

Alternatively, see if the Alcove Keep in Touch care phone might suit. Uses broadband or a 4g dongle

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