Echo as a baby monitor

[rcciren]

Hi. I have an Echo in the lounge and a couple of Dots in my bedrooms. Can I use "drop-in" to act as a baby monitor when the grandkids come to stay? By this I mean that I can hear the bedroom but they can't hear the hub-bub going on in the lounge.

[mike27oct]

This is a good idea.  You can.  I just tested it using two Dots in different rooms.

First, call other room from room you want to listen from.
On device in other room tell alexa to answer. Next, return to first room amd press the mic button on top to mute that device's mic.
The Mic is still on in second room and sounds from second room can be heard on on first device, but not vice versa.  Don't forget to return things to normal when finished by turning mic back on and asking alexa to hang up or disconnect from same room.

This all works if the devices are all named after the room they are in.
 
Example:  From Master Bedroom say Alexa call Kids Room  (go answer Kids room Dot.)  Then return to Master Bedroom and turn off the mic button -- it glows red.  All finished.

Have fun.

[fstbusa]

You don't need to "call" and then go answer if you have drop-in setup.  Just drop-in on the echo you want and mute the mic on the one near you and there you go.

[mike27oct]

I do not use Drop in, but it is on by default on all my devices.  I tried to use it and I did not figure it out.  When I ask from master bedroom to other room called bedroom.  When I ask alexa to drop in to bedroom, she barfs at me and says go to alexa app, choose my contact name and enable drop in (which is enabled,)

So, what is the trick?

[rcciren]

Thanks both. I'll give it a try this evening. Much appreciated :-)

[renegade600]

one thing to consider.  if your service provider has a data cap, using echos as baby monitors could kill it since everything goes through the cloud.  regular baby monitors just use local wifi and will be available even when the internet is down.