Echo Connect – requires compatible Alexa-enabled device and home phone service

The Amazon Connect is basically a device able to turn any of your Amazon Echo devices into:1) Extensions to your home (VoIP or regular wired landline) phone and2) Makes them into speaker phones.The installation is so easy, I thought it was hard. 1) You wire the Echo Connect to your phone system, as you would any hardwired phone. 2) You connect power to the Echo Connect. 3) You wait for the device to come online. This means you wait till all four (4) indicator lights come on a solid white.When someone calls you, the Amazon devices without a screen will announce the call (e.g. phone number or name). You can answer or decline the call. You can hang up, when done with the call. Special note: At the present time, Amazon doesn't give non-screen customers a way to access the phone keypad. Basically, you're using a phone before even the rotary dial phone! Sigh, Amazon gives one great step forward and two steps back, no wait, its three steps back.I should note I submitted a request Amazon should provide a voice keypad (or something) for non-screen Amazon devices. Non-screen can dial a number and they should be able to access a keypad in some manner, too.In the case of those devices with a screen, you'll hear and see the information. You can answer via voice or an onscreen icon. Unlike the non-screen versions, the screen versions gives you a keypad!The other area of improvement is the forced limitation of only one device per account. There are reasons I can think of for people to need three devices. 1) Home 2) Vacation Home 3) Cellphone (there are Bluetooth 2 wired phone line adapters)You need them in your home, your vacation home, and your cellphone. Cellphone? Yes, cellphone. When you come home, you should be able to: 1) Plug into charger (or set down for wireless charging) 2) Connect to a Bluetooth to Wired Phone line adapter (sold on Amazon)This way a person could soak in a tub, be out by the pool, with the children, etc., and should a cell phone call come in the person can get it wherever they are in the home without carrying it. ** Think of how many home accidents with a cellphone this might prevent. ** How many times you won't misplace the phone somewhere in the home. ** How easy it will be doing stuff without having to carry the phone with you. ** How easy it will be to find time to charge the phone verses now. ** You won't need to worry about having greasy, dirty, or otherwise messy hands while carrying or using the phone. ** and the list goes on as I'm sure each person has their own issue(s).Yes, you can do it with multiple Amazon accounts, but an Amazon Echo can't connect to more than one Amazon Account. There in lies the other issue. You will want multiple phone types / locations on one account and with multiple devices.Bottom line: 5 stars for it working and working well, today. This device needs some major improvements for the future, though. This review only presented two of these improvements / new features.

Very cool. Today I got 6 echo dots, an echo and an echo connect. In order to start the Connect setup, you need to have at least 1 echo device setup first. So that took about 5 minutes from the Alexa app on my iPad. I had read that the Connect needs to be configured from a mobile phone, so I ran Alexa from my Samsung S7 to add the Connect, .Setup would have been a snap except I kept getting an error message to disable "smart network switch" on my Samsung S7. Since I had never heard of this option on the phone, it took me quite while to find what was needed.For those with a similar phone, here's where you will find it: SETTINGS | CONNECTIONS | WIFI (select your connected wifi connection -- I know, it's weird) | ADVANCED (in the upper right hand corner in blue) | SWITCH TO MOBILE DATA (on/off ---> turn off) ... Pretty intuitive (huh)Once I did that and got rid of the error message, it took about 5 minutes to get Connect working. Follow the instructions in ALEXA. The connect is configured like any other Echo device. I connected my iPad to the device first. Like all Echo devices, it generates an SSID that you can connect to wirelessly.You then define the SSID for your wireless network and get connected to your wifi SSID/PASSWORD. Now I make sure my iPad is connected to my wifi SSID, along with the Connect. Follow the instructions in Alexa and in another 10-15 minutes after a firmware update it will reboot a few times. Connect lights will blink on/off serveral times during the startup process. Once all of the lights on the Connect turned white I plugged the phone jack into my OOMA phone jack (my guess is that could be any jack that has a dial tone like an OBIHAI, NETTALK, MAGICJACK or POTS line) (a telephone line duplex jack and a telephone wire are provided to split the phone line with the dialtone jack). I then went to the Echo I setup at the beginning and said "Alexa, call mom". That didn't work, so I said "Alexa, ask connect to call mom" and that worked.Now I need to figure out the other connect commands (like how to hang up). I just ordered another on that I will setup for mom.