Amazon Alexa is one of the most popular voice assistants on the market. It offers a range of convenient features, including the ability to play music, set reminders, and answer questions using voice commands.
But what about making phone calls? Can Alexa make phone calls without a smartphone?
This question has been a topic of much discussion among users of virtual assistants, and the answer is not as straightforward as you might think.
In this article, we will explore the capabilities of Alexa when it comes to making phone calls, and provide a comprehensive guide to how you can use this feature with or without a smartphone.
There are 5 ways to make phone calls on Alexa:
- Calling between Echo devices
- Making outbound calls from an Echo device to a mobile or residential number
- Linking your mobile phone account to Alexa
- Making Skype calls from an Echo device
- Using Alexa Drop-In
How To Make Phone Calls On Alexa
Before using any of these methods, you first need to import your contacts into Alexa. It used to be that you could do this on the Amazon Alexa website. But that functionality has now been removed from the Amazon Alexa website.
And that’s why you do need a smartphone to begin with.
To import your contacts into Alexa, follow these steps:
Open the Alexa app and tap on the ‘Communicate’ icon in the bottom menu:
Then tap on the ‘Profile Icon’ on the top right corner:
On the next screen you’ll be asked if you want to allow access to your contacts. Tap ‘Yes’ and then ‘Import’:
Now that you’ve added your contacts to Alexa, let’s go through the five ways of making a phone call on Alexa without using a smartphone.
#1. Calling between Echo devices
Using this method you can make an Alexa-to-Alexa call to anyone in your Contacts who has an Echo device.
Just say ‘Alexa, call Dad’s mobile’. Remember: the name you use in the voice command to Alexa has to match the name in the Contacts that you imported from your smartphone.
#2. Making outbound calls from an Echo device
You can also use Alexa to call mobile or residential numbers from an Echo device. Just use the person’s name as it appears in your Contacts (e.g. ‘Alexa, call Peter’) or say the number in your voice command (e.g. ‘Alexa, call 02 4768 62743’).
#3. Linking your mobile phone account to Alexa
You can also link your mobile phone account to Alexa to make and receive phone calls via your Echo device.
To do this, open the Alexa app and tap on ‘More’ in the bottom menu and then tap on the Settings cog. In Settings, tap n Communication and choose your mobile network operator.
#4. Making Skype calls from an Echo device
Another way to make phone calls on Alexa is to use Skype on your Echo device.
To do this, open the Alexa app and tap on the Settings cog and then scroll down till you ‘Communication’:
On the next screen, tap on the plus sign to link your Skype account to Alexa:
You can now make Alexa phone calls via Skype by saying ‘Alexa, Skype (name) mobile’.
#5. Using Alexa Drop In
Drop In works like an intercom between Alexa-enabled devices.
You can use Drop In between speaker-only devices (Echo and Echo Dot), or with video-enabled devices (Echo Show).
To enable Drop In, follow these steps:
- Open the Alexa app and go to Devices > Echo & Alexa to display all the Echo devices on your account.
- Tap to select the device you want to enable.
- Tap the Settings (gear) icon
- Scroll down the screen and tap Communications
- Toggle on the Communications switch
- Tap ‘Announcements’ then toggle on that setting and then tap ‘Drop In’
You can use Drop In to talk with other Alexa devices in your household or to talk with an external Alexa device.
The Alexa command, if you want to talk with another device in your own household, is: ‘Alexa, Drop In on [device name]’. If you want to talk with an external Alexa device, say: ‘Alexa, Drop In on [contact name].”
Conclusion
Can Alexa make phone calls without a smartphone?
Absolutely!
There are various different ways to do it. But you will need a smartphone to get started because you need to access the settings in the Alexa smartphone app.
But after that, you’ll be able to make and receive phone calls without your smartphone.