How your smart speaker can help during an emergency

Your smart speaker can keep track of your schedule, tell you the weather and control your smart device, but can also help in an emergency. These features can be life-saving for you, for people living alone or with disabilities, or even for first-time lone college students.

And like any listening device, you need to make sure you are able to maintain control over your privacy.

Let’s take a look at how your smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Nest and Apple Homepod can help you in an emergency. A word of wisdom: Set up these features right now when you’re thinking about it, before you use them.

What emergency powers do smart speakers provide?

You can assume that your smart speaker can call 911 in case of an emergency for you, but if you use Amazon Echo it may not be – at least not by itself. The only smart speakers that can call 911 are Apple HomePod and Google Nest 7

Although your Echo won’t be able to dial 911, it will be able to assist you in those other ways. Some smart speakers can be programmed to send alerts to loved ones through various apps, others can call non-emergency numbers when you or a loved one needs help.

Each smart speaker has its own unique capabilities, so keep reading to see how you can help.

Amazon Echo

Your Amazon Echo can be set up to help in an emergency in a variety of ways, but “Alexa, Call 911” is not one of them. You have the option to use additional tools with your smart speaker so that you can call 911 through the speaker and set up your Echo to send alerts through a third party app in case of an emergency. To be able to.

You can also choose to use the app to send alerts through your Echo device. To do this, you need to download the app of your choice. My SOS Family and Ask My Buddy, a personalized alert network, are two of the choices. Then, make it possible for the talents to collaborate with them.

To call 911 via your Echo, you need a landline and you need an Echo connection. These devices have been turned off, so the only option to get it is through a third party vendor.

Google Home, aka Google Nest

If you’re using a Google Home (now known as Google Nest) smart speaker, you’re in luck, because Nest has historically not been able to call 911 for you, but this is not necessarily the case if you’re a Nest Aware customer. Can When you’re on vacation, you can quickly call an emergency call center near your home using the Google Home app.

When you first set up a feature for your Nest Aware subscription, you will set up an emergency call, so it may have been set up for you in advance.

You need to verify your address in order to route your 911 calls to the nearest call center If this is not verified, check out this troubleshooting article for more help.

Apple Homepod

Homepods aren’t as common or cheap as Apple’s smart speakers, Amazon Echo and Google Nest devices, but if you use a homepod, you can use it to quickly and easily call 911 in an emergency. This speaker would be a good choice for technology-challenged or older people who may have trouble setting up a third-party app or additional device.

However, the option to quickly call 911 via your homepod is easy but also a bit expensive. You’ll pay 299 per homepod for new devices, while Echo, Echo Dot and Google Nest will run you for just $ 50 to $ 150 to buy.