Features:

  • Connect your home phone to your compatible Alexa-enabled device to call any phone number, using just your voice.
  • Echo Connect uses your existing home phone service (analog landline or VoIP) to make and receive calls (carrier charges may apply). You can control if Alexa dials a ‘1’ for local calls or not.
  • Plug Echo Connect into your home phone jack, complete setup with the Alexa App or on alexa.amazon.com, and you’re ready to make and receive calls.
  • Sync all your contacts from a smartphone or tablet. Don’t have an existing address book or mobile device? Use alexa.amazon.com to quickly add the contacts you need from any internet-connected PC or Mac.
  • Call contacts and voice dial numbers hands-free. And navigate automated phone systems with your voice.
  • Echo Connect will work with your compatible Alexa-enabled devices.
Great for seniors, but still requires a cell phone for setup

I bought this for my mother- and father-in-law for safety reasons. My father in law had a stroke last summer and couldn’t get to a phone. Luckily my husband dropped by to check on him, otherwise he would have died. We bought him an Echo and this Echo Connect so he can make emergency calls if he ever cannot get to a phone. Since you can make calls using your voice, he can now ask it to calll 911 if he falls or has another health event. Sound quality is decent, and when testing it, I didn’t notice the lag that others mentioned. It is easy to use - even my technologically impaired father-in-law can make and end calls. It even responds most of the time when he calls it Alexis. One big drawback - it still requires a cell phone for setup. My mother-in-law has a smart phone, so I was still able to set it up on her phone. Theoretically you could use a family members phone just for set up, but you wouldn’t be able to add your own contacts since it imports them from the phone it uses for set up. Overall, great product, and a great solution for elderly folks who may need it for safety reasons.

Easy to setup, decent sound quality, inexpensive

Very cool. Today I got 6 echo dots, an echo and an echo connect. In order to start the Connect setup, you need to have at least 1 echo device setup first. So that took about 5 minutes from the Alexa app on my iPad. I had read that the Connect needs to be configured from a mobile phone, so I ran Alexa from my Samsung S7 to add the Connect, . Setup would have been a snap except I kept getting an error message to disable "smart network switch" on my Samsung S7. Since I had never heard of this option on the phone, it took me quite while to find what was needed. For those with a similar phone, here's where you will find it: SETTINGS | CONNECTIONS | WIFI (select your connected wifi connection -- I know, it's weird) | ADVANCED (in the upper right hand corner in blue) | SWITCH TO MOBILE DATA (on/off ---> turn off) ... Pretty intuitive (huh) Once I did that and got rid of the error message, it took about 5 minutes to get Connect working. Follow the instructions in ALEXA. The connect is configured like any other Echo device. I connected my iPad to the device first. Like all Echo devices, it generates an SSID that you can connect to wirelessly.You then define the SSID for your wireless network and get connected to your wifi SSID/PASSWORD. Now I make sure my iPad is connected to my wifi SSID, along with the Connect. Follow the instructions in Alexa and in another 10-15 minutes after a firmware update it will reboot a few times. Connect lights will blink on/off serveral times during the startup process. Once all of the lights on the Connect turned white I plugged the phone jack into my OOMA phone jack (my guess is that could be any jack that has a dial tone like an OBIHAI, NETTALK, MAGICJACK or POTS line) (a telephone line duplex jack and a telephone wire are provided to split the phone line with the dialtone jack). I then went to the Echo I setup at the beginning and said "Alexa, call mom". That didn't work, so I said "Alexa, ask connect to call mom" and that worked. Now I need to figure out the other connect commands (like how to hang up). I just ordered another on that I will setup for mom.

Even had an added bonus for my use!

I’ve had this device for several months and it does more than I even purchased it for. Mine does work well with my landline from verizon Fios and using it to call 911 is not a problem. An added bonus for me is that it rings my Echo at another location when I’m receiving a call at home. Since my echo device at the remote location is on my Amazon account they all ring. Great since we have medical issues in our family and I can always get help quickly from any location. Oh and I noticed some saying that every echo you own alerts you of a call and also your phones ring. I have several echos and that is true and it does become overwhelming but if you want to eliminate some of the alerts just turn off the ringers to your phones. That has made a big difference for me. Now just my echos alert me of an incoming call.

Works great! Rings all Echo devices on the network. Requires a mobile phone to set up.

This is a great device! Just plugged it into the land line phone outlet and connect it up through the Alexa App on his mobile phone and Voila! It rings when the phone rings and announces callers out loud. I bought the Echo Connect for my elderly father who is visually impaired. He has Echo devices in every room in the house to help him with everything from turning on/off lights to listening to music and audiobooks, alarm clocks, reminders, lists, and more. I added this Echo Connect so that he could more easily answer and make phone calls through the normal home phone line. All of the Echo devices on the network ring and can be used to make and receive calls on the phone line. (No more concerns about his accidentally losing the cordless phone and not being able to find it).

And your car is not a boat, either.

Most of the negative reviews that I have read are complaints that the device did not do something the buyer wanted. But the tasks they wanted were not in the description of the Echo Connect abilities. Do these reviewers yell at their dog for not doing the dishes? Do they ride their car into the lake and then complain that it is a lousy boat? The device does what it says, and very well. I got it mostly to add safety for my disabled family member, but it has been useful, and amusing, well beyond that. Turning an Echo Dot into a hands-free intercom and caregiver monitor has been worth every penny. The following exchange was worth the cost: Alexa, drop in on So-and-so......(connection made)....Hey, dude, I have a migraine. Please take care of the dogs? Whoa, that sucks. Of course I will. Can I get you anything? Thanks, yeah. Two ibuprofen and strong black coffee. Comin' up. Let me put on the kettle and release the hounds. So-and-so, you are an angel.....Alexa, drop out....(intercom off).

No Brainer

I’m not sure what the negative reviews are about, but this is a great product that significantly extends the functionality of Amazon Echo for those who still have a home or office landline. In my experience, Connect is easy to set up (similar to adding an Echo) and works flawlessly. Every Echo in my home is now a high quality, far field, voice activated speakerphone, which is fantastic. Granted, my home is heavily automated, incorporating eight Amazon Echoes, and I have a gigabit fiber optic internet connection. However, I can’t imagine such throughput is necessary to facilitate the Connect. What is important, I think, is placing the connect close to your Wi-Fi router or access point. It doesn’t matter how close the Connect is to the Echo(es), since communication between the Echo(es) and the Connect is through the router. My Connect sits beside my WiFi access point, and I have noticed no delay or lag in phone calls made or answered using any of my Echoes, even those furthest from the Connect. I do think a hardwire internet option for the Connect would be helpful, since it can only be set up through WiFi as implemented, but that would add cost. If you have an Amazon Echo and a landline, you want the Connect. At such a low cost, this is a no brainer.

The best for my lazy live...!!!, this is great.

Looking for the best as lazy way to talk with my family outside the country. Well this was an excellent decision. Now the phone is connected to my Alexa devices (Echo Plus and Echo mini), I avoid to dial any phone from my contact list, only I need to remember the nicknames of fiend and families, and then just said "Alexa call NONA"...!!! in loud voice and then Alexa respond "...Do you mean NONA?", I said "YES", and Alexa said "Calling NONA now...", dial for me and than I can use my neurons to remember something else. Thanks to Alexa now I don't remember the phone of my friends, families and others. I never has to pickup the phone because Alexa warning me about the call in loud voice. Thanks to the GPS I don't use my brain for any address or to remember a particular number. THANKS.

Inexpensive and very functional. Good for people with disabilities

The Echo connect was very easy to setup to work with my wife's Echo Dot, My wife is permanently disabled and spends much time in bed. Her trusty Echo Dot is right on her pillow and she has used it regularly to call out to my cell phone and to talk with her friends. The calls are reliable and go through the built in service on the Echo. After adding the Echo Connect, the outgoing calls go through our home system and, therefore, show our home residence number on the caller ID's of recipients. She can now answer calls to our home phone simply by telling Alexa to answer the incoming call and the call quality is perfect. If you want the ease of use and power of Alexa on your Echo devices to integrate easily with your home phone system, the Echo Connect is for you!

Works exactly as you would expect it to...

Giving the Echo Connect five starts though caveating because I just set it up today. I'll update the review if I run into any new issues. The previous reviews made me nervous that it might now work properly though I didn't run into any issues. It basically works as you would expect it to. Also, I am using it with a land line so I am not sure if that makes any difference. You need to plug in the power and connect it to your phone line. The setup is basically the same as any other Echo device. The Connect uses your contacts from your mobile phone. If you have multiple members of your household it merges the contacts between the two devices. You can place calls from Echo devices or the Alexa app. When the phone ring it announces the caller and you can say "Alexa, answer the call" to talk. Talk quality is pretty much as I expected. I am able to hear the people speaking fine. I believe I read a previous review stating that the call volume was too low though I didn't run into any issues with volume.

Now Ready for Prime Time

There are many bad reviews for this product, and the information provided in those reviews led me to seriously considering whether I should buy one or not. The most important question I had was whether you needed a mobile device with phone service (like an actual smartphone with a phone number) to setup the device, or if you can simply use a WiFi enabled tablet or PC. Many people claim that you must have mobile phone service, and a few even said they had to buy a cheap prepaid phone or borrow a relatives phone just for the initial setup. These posts are also from a year ago when the device was new. Even the Amazon documentation can be a little unclear on the requirement. The little booklet that comes with the Connect even says, "Step 1. Set up calling and messaging in the Alexa app". On the side of the box it says "Required for setup: Mobile phone (iOS or Android)". I just finished setup and testing of the Connect, and at no time did I activate "Alexa Calling and Messaging". I didn't provide a phone number other than my landline phone number. First I tried to setup the device on my PC by navigating to https://alexa.amazon.com with a browser, and this would have worked if my PC had a Wi-Fi adapter, but it doesn't. Next I used my WiFi only tablet and the Alexa app and everything went flawlessly, except for a couple minutes of 3 flashing lights (all but power). I assume this was a firmware update or something. I just waited and eventually all the light lit up solid. I also noticed the lights on my phone that indicate a line in use blinked momentarily. So to sum it up you need a WiFi equipped device with an Android app, an iOS app, or a web browser (so you can use Windows, Mac, Linux, etc). You do not need a mobile phone number. You can ignore directions to activate Alexa calling and messaging to sync your contacts if you want to and just go to alexa.amazon.com to setup your contacts manually, or you can just not use contacts and dial by number. I'll update the review when I have more information about performance and call quality.

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