You can activate and set up Alexa Drop in to use your echo devices as a hands-free kit. By giving family and friends permission to drop in, they can reach you by phone call or text message even if they don’t have echo devices, as long as they are connected to the Alexa App.
Alexa: Activate Drop in – step by step
Time needed: 5 minutes.
Before you can communicate with contacts via Alexa Drop in, you must activate the function on your own Alexa device or devices. By giving yourself the authorization, all devices in your household will automatically receive authorization. You can then dial your own echo devices, if you have more than one, and communicate hands-free with members of your household. To do this, say “Alexa, drop in on [device name]”. You can see the device names in the settings of the Alexa app.
- How to give permission for Drop in
Open the Alexa app and tap the balloon icon at the bottom. To give permission for Drop in on Echo Show, say clearly: “Alexa, show me my contacts.”
- How to sign in for calls and messages
Sign in for calls and messages with Alexa to make the Drop in feature available.
- How to choose your own contact card
Then select “Communicate” (the speech bubble icon) again in the Alexa app and tap “Contacts” at the top. Choose your own contact card.
- How to activate Drop in at any time
Move the slider for “Contact can drop in at any time” or “Drop in” on the Echo Show to the right to activate the function.
Adding Drop in contacts
To be able to communicate not only between your own devices but also with your contacts, you need to add them to your Alexa contact list. With the drop in authorization your contacts can reach you at any time. Alexa lights up green when you call. If you want to disable this function temporarily, you can set your echo device to “Do not disturb” mode via the settings in the Alexa App and it will remain silent when you drop in. Unfortunately, contacts currently have no way to leave messages if you are not available.
- Open the Alexa app and tap on “Contacts” or say “Alexa, show me my contacts” on the Echo Show.
- Now select a contact from the list.
- You activate Drop in by moving the slider to the right.
What to do when Drop in is not working
Should Drop in not work at some point, there are a few things to check that could have caused the problem:
- Make sure you have the latest version of the Alexa operating system installed. You can check thin information via the Alexa app.
- Usually, the device installs updates automatically. If this isn’t the case for some reason, disconnect the device from the internet before reconnecting. Your Alexa device will now install any pending updates.
- Check your internet connection and make sure your device is connected.
- Make sure your device is actually Drop in compatible.
- Confirm you are using the correct name for the device or contact you want to Drop in on.
- Check to ensure you have set up Drop in correctly
