Your smart home should keep you safe, especially when you are most at risk. When something bad happens and you can’t get to a phone, you should be able to call for help just by shouting. This is the dream, but is it possible to call 911 with Alexa right now?
Because of rules, Alexa can’t call 911 just yet. In this article, I’ll talk about other ways to get emergency help from your Echo, including skills and devices that put you in touch with EMTs, police, and other emergency responders. I’ll also show you how to set up Alexa skills and emergency contacts so that you can get in touch with your loved ones quickly if you need to.
Will Alexa Call 911 For You?
Alexa can’t make a direct call to 911, at least not yet. There are, however, Alexa skills that can call emergency services in a roundabout way. There are also phones that work with Alexa and let you call 911 with just your voice.
Why Can’t Alexa Call 911 Directly?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets standards for phones that can dial 911. One of these rules is that these phones must be able to automatically tell the caller’s location and callback number.
It’s easy to see why a 911 operator might need this information. What would happen if you called 911 but couldn’t tell them where you were? The person answering the 911 call has to know where to send help.
Alexa smart speakers don’t ask for your location when you first set them up. Because of this, they can’t send 911 calls. Luckily, the methods below can get around this problem by adding a middleman (like OnStar, Amazon, etc.) or a second device that has the location information needed.
How Can You Call 911 Using An Alexa-Enabled Phone?
Right now, the best way to have Alexa call 911 is to use a landline phone that works with Alexa. Right now, there aren’t that many Alexa phones to choose from. The Motorola AXH01 is by far the best.
You can call landlines, including 911, from these phones by pressing the Alexa button and saying “Alexa, call…”
With this method, you can’t use your other Alexa devices to make calls. To make the call, you’ll need to have your phone with Alexa on it.
Still, it’s the only way to get Alexa to directly call 911 at the moment. The rest of the ways we’ll talk about are either workarounds or require equipment that is no longer made.
Can Alexa Call 911 Using Echo Connect?
Alexa can call 911 with Echo Connect. But this device was taken off the market a few years ago. They are getting harder and harder to find, and even if you find one, you need a landline or voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) service to use it. The cell phone service doesn’t work with them.
If you already have an Amazon Echo Connect, you can keep using it with Echo devices from the first and second generations. It doesn’t work with some newer Echo devices, though, so you might want to try one of the other ways to call Alexa in an emergency that are described in this article.
Can You Add 911 As An Alexa contact?
By adding 911 to their list of contacts, people have found a way to trick Alexa into calling 911. Users have had very different experiences with this method. Some say it works great, while others say it doesn’t work at all.
I really think you shouldn’t use this method. It’s not reliable enough to use in a crisis. Also, there’s a good chance that it won’t work at all after the next firmware update for Alexa.
Other Ways Alexa Can Help In An Emergency
Use Alexa Guard Plus
Alexa Guard Plus is Amazon’s hands-free helpline for emergencies. It can be used on any Echo device. For a small fee each month, they let you:
- Say “Alexa, call for help” to get in touch with trained agents who can call for help on your behalf.
- Get smart alerts on your phone if Alexa hears footsteps, doors closing, or glass breaking while you’re away, or if your smoke alarm or carbon monoxide sensor goes off. You can also play the sounds that Alexa recorded to make sure that there really was a break-in.
- Turn on smart lights or play loud noises to keep intruders away (like a barking dog).
Guard Plus is the best way to get help in an emergency through an Amazon Echo device right now. It doesn’t directly call 911, though.
Call Your Alexa Emergency Contact
In the Alexa app, you can set up a person to call in case of an emergency. Then, you can use any of the following commands to call that person in case of an emergency:
- “Alexa, tell someone to help.”
- “Alexa, call my help person.”
- “Alexa, call my person who can help me.”
- “Alexa, call my emergency contact.”
You should add an emergency contact to your Alexa app even if you are using one of the other methods described in this article.
How To Add An Emergency Contact In Your Alexa App
It only takes a few seconds to set up an emergency contact in the Alexa app, especially if Alexa already has access to your contacts.
- Open the Alexa app and choose Communicate from the menu at the bottom.
- Click the icon of two people in the upper right corner of the screen to open Contacts.
- Choose the person you want to call in case of an emergency.
- Scroll down and click “Add as Emergency Contact.”
- Click OK to confirm that you want to add a contact for an emergency.
- Lastly, choose which phone number to call when you need help from your emergency contact.
Use The Ask My Buddy Alexa Skill
Alexa’s Ask My Buddy skill, which you can use for free, is like an Emergency Contact on steroids. Ask My Buddy lets you add up to five people you can call in an emergency. Then, if you have an emergency, you can use Ask My Buddy to send an email, text message, and phone call to one of those people at the same time.
Buddy Assist is a 24/7 emergency response network that is added to the paid version. It is similar to Alexa Guard or OnStar. The operators of Buddy Assist can connect you to 911 and other emergency services (police, EMT, etc.).
Use Echo As A Speaker For Emergency Calls
Alexa can’t make 911 calls on its own, but it can be used as a voice assistant and speaker for other devices that can. All you need is a phone with Bluetooth that can connect to Echo. In an emergency, you can use Alexa to talk to your device and make a phone call. You can hear the call through your Echo speaker from a distance.
Coming Soon: Call 911 Using Alexa’s On-Star Skill
General Motors, which makes OnStar, recently said that they are making an Alexa skill for all Echo devices that will work with OnStar. People who already have OnStar will be able to use it in the next few months, and anyone will be able to sign up for it in 2022.
The price of OnStar’s new Alexa skill is not known yet. We do know that you won’t be able to call 911 straight from your Amazon Alexa device. But, just like Alexa Guard, OnStar’s emergency-trained advisors can connect you to the police, an EMT, or any other service you need in an emergency.
Conclusion
Alexa can’t call 911 on its own, but it can still help in an emergency. You should set up an emergency contact in the app, and you might also want to think about these other devices and services. I would recommend them to your elderly relatives, people who live alone, or people who are at high risk.
Alexa can help keep you safe in more ways than just these emergency responses. Don’t forget Alexa’s smart locks and cameras, like my favorite, the Ring Video Doorbell (like the incredibly easy-to-install August smart lock). Connecting a few smart security devices to your Alexa can give you the peace of mind you need.