Read on to learn how to set it up and use it in your home.
How Drop In Works
Alexa’s Drop In feature is essentially a two-way intercom. When you activate Drop In on one Echo device, you tell Alexa to “drop in” to another specified device. Alexa then opens a direct line between to the devices, and you can carry on a conversation with whoever is on the other end. When you’re done talking, you simply “hang up” and Alexa ends the connection.
Using Drop In between one speaker-only device and an Echo Show is an audio-only conversation, of course.
How to Enable Drop In On Your Echo Devices
Follow these steps to enable Drop In from the Alexa app:
Select Devices > Echo & Alexa to display all the Echo devices on your account. Tap to select the device you want to enable. Tap the Settings (gear) icon. Scroll down the screen and tap Communications. Toggle on the Communications switch. Tap Announcements then toggle on that setting. Tap Drop In. Select My Household to enable dropping in from devices in your household only, or select On to enable dropping in from anyone on your contacts list, even outside your household.
Repeat this process for all the devices you want to enable.
How to Drop In On Other Echo Devices In Your Home
Just like practically everything else you do with an Echo device, you use convenient voice commands to enable the Drop In feature. Dropping in from an Echo device is as easy as telling Alexa which device you want to drop into.
For example, you might say “Alexa, drop in on the bedroom Echo Dot.” Alexa would then connect your current Echo device to the one you specified, and you start talking. When you’re done talking, close out the Drop In session by saying “Alexa, hang up.”
When you tell Alexa to drop in, your device’s light ring turns green. Once the Drop In session is connected, the light ring turns blue. The light ring turns off when you end the Drop In session.
How to Drop In On Echo Devices Outside Your Home
As noted, you can also use Drop In to drop into other people’s Echo devices outside your home. To do this, the other person must first activate Drop In for their device and enable calls from outside their household. They do this from the Drop In page in the Alexa app, by selecting On (instead of just My Household).
Both of you also have to specifically permit the other person to drop into your device. To do this, follow these steps:
From within the Alexa app, tap the Communicate icon. Tap the Contact icon in the top right corner of the Communicate page. Scroll to and tap the contact you want to enable. Toggle on Allow Drop In.
You can now drop in on that contact by saying “Alexa, drop in on (contact name).” You’ll need to say the name exactly as it is in your contacts list.
How to Use Drop In From Your Smartphone
You can also use Drop In from the Alexa app on your smartphone. You can connect to any Echo device on your account from the Alexa app, and if you’re connecting to an Echo Show device, it becomes a video call.
To Drop In from the Alexa app, all you have to do is tap the Communications icon to display the Communications screen, then tap the Drop In icon. Tap the Echo device you want to drop in on and the conversation starts. Tap the red Hang Up button to end the call.
How to Have a Group Drop In Session
In addition to the traditional one-on-one Drop In feature, Alexa also enables you to drop into all the Echo devices in your home at the same time for a group session. With Group Drop In, all the Echo devices in your home are called simultaneously and each answered individually. Everyone on their own Echo devices can talk to and hear everyone else on their Echo devices, in real-time. It’s just like a group phone call.
To initiate a Group Drop In, all you have to do is say “Alexa, drop in everywhere.” This will ping all your Echo devices and, when everyone answers, you can start chatting as a group. When you’re done talking, each participant can then hang up individually.
How to Use Alexa’s Announce Feature
Alexa has another communications feature, similar to Drop In, that lets you make one-way announcements to all the Echo devices in your household. It’s a way to broadcast messages to everyone in your home without them having to answer or connect individually.
All you have to do is say “Alexa, announce” and then Alexa will prompt you for your message. Say what you want to say, and Alexa will announce it. Everyone will hear a short chime from their Echo devices, followed by the announcement in your voice.
Alternately, you can say “Alexa, announce (your message)” and Alexa doesn’t need to prompt you. If you say “Alexa, announce dinnertime,” she’ll precede the announcement with the sound of a dinner triangle ringing to get everyone’s attention.
Alexa Lets You Have Your Own Whole-House Intercom
If you have more than one Echo device in your household, Alexa’s Drop In feature adds a lot of functionality.
t’s just like having an old-school wired intercom in your home, except it’s very high-tech and completely wireless. Plus, you can use it from your phone, too.
