Amazon Echo, Whole House Audio and Echo Connect
First, did you know
Before we get into the review, a few items that you might not be aware of.
- Echo’s can call each other’s
- Echo’s can call the Alexa App (thus Echo to iPhone)
- Echo’s can ‘ drop in’ to each other. This is a call that you do not need to answer, just pop in…
- Echo’s can call anyone in the USA, Canada or Mexico at no charge !!!
That last one is interesting. ‘Alexa, call my mother’ and it makes a call to the phone line….
- Contacts are synced from the Alexa App on you Phone (so call ‘bob’ will be from you phone contacts)
- The caller ID will appears as you cell phone.
What is an Echo Connect?
- A small box that connects to YOUR phone line (assuming you have one)
- Connects to your WiFi
- Permits the Echo’s to use your home phone line to make the calls not the included ‘Free’ ones
Why would you do this?
- The caller ID is you home phone
- The Echo’s can take an incoming call (someone calls you house, you answer it on your Echo)
- Alexa announces who is calling “Dad would like to talk to you” when the phone rings.
Now the Review
Small box that set up is identical to the Echo. Use the App to join it’s WiFi, then tell it your home WiFi, and it is on your network.
- Voice quality is a 7 out of 10
- Voice volume is a 3 out of 10
my Echo will respond to ‘Alexa, what is the temperature’ from 18 feet away. To use it as a phone, you need to be 18″ from the Echo Spot??This is a device that you probably can avoid. My use case is a bit different. In a previous Blog Post, I put an Echo Dot as part of my whole house audio. With the Echo Connect, when my phone rings, the whole house audio announces who is calling. That is cool. If I am out by the pool, or in it, the cordless phone on the table, listening to music over the whole house audio, and the phone rings. Do I answer it, or not. The audio is paused and “Brandon would like to talk”……
Conclusion
A product that is for a small part of the market. More people are removing a -48v Land line everyday. This product is of use if you have some special international long distance package, that you use. If you want to use Alexa to call, and use that discount, this product meets the need. If your calling in the USA, Canada and Mexico, you already get out bound calls for free….Poor Audio quality, and poor distance that you can use for the Echo, makes me not recommend this product.I am 90% sure that mine is going back to Amazon.
Update January 1, 2018 – RMA the Connect. Amazon never got back to me on the voice quality issues, so back it goes.
About the Author
Kevin Cossaboon
A networking profesional located in Northren Virginia, USA. My hobbies are Technology and Photography. Love playing with the latest technology, and will try to post reviews of them. Also love my life long journey of learning to capture light, to trigger emotions, through photography.