How does Drop In work?

[jonimelo]

Hi everybody,

I've been reading quite a lot about the drop in functionality, and it is still not clear (in my head) how it works.

First, let's try to categorize two different situations:

1) you have more than one echo show connected to your wifi, and all the devices are registered to your amazon user account. Here things are smooth and present no problem if I want to communicate between devices, or do they? Do I need to use the alexa app on my phone to get things going?

2) I want to communicate with several devices that are in several places (maybe even different countries) using the drop-in facility. Is it mandatory to have a smartphone for each installation in each household? I mean, if I want to talk with my mother that lives in another city, must she have a smartphone to configure her own echo show device?  I want to be able to call several different members of my family (sister, nieces, mother) that could be living in different homes.

There seems to be missing some explanation about how this system works. What I mean is how is each device uniquely identified by the echo system? Is it through the phone number? Why does amazon use such an akward  way of doing things? Wouldn't it be much simpler if it was like Skype, where you can call individual people by their username in the skype system? why do they have to complicate things by introducing the necessity of a phone?  I just cant understand... maybe someone knows the answer to my question.

Thanx in advance

Joao Melo

[renegade600]

so you think amazons way is awkward even though you  know absolutely nothing about it?  If you like skype so much, then use it.  Nobody is forcing you to stop.  just setup skype in alexa settings. 

you can make regular phone calls with alexa.  just give alexa the number.

you can call those in your phones address book.  That is one of the reasons you need alexa on your phone.  It is connected to your amazon account when you set up for calling. 

you can choose which devices can answer calls, you can disable drop ins on individual echo devices you don't want to receive calls on. 

there can be international calling but it is limited to certain countries.   

If you want to communicate between echo devices on your network, just call it using the name you gave it when it was setup. 

best way to learn is to play with it and see what works for you and what don't.