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How to Add an Emergency Contact to Your Alexa Device - Speak2Family

Written by Jillian Guerra | May 17, 2021

Why it is Important to Have Emergency Contacts on Alexa

Everyone needs to have someone that they can call when they need help. This is especially crucial for seniors who live independently to ensure that they can live safely in their homes. In a moment of crisis, it becomes troublesome for an aging adult to open their phone, navigate their contacts and call for help. They may have fallen and cannot reach their phone; they can’t locate their cell phone; they are not wearing their emergency pendant; or it is nighttime, and they can’t reach a light or see where anything is. With Amazon’s Alexa devices and voice technology, calling for a family member, neighbor, or caregiver in a challenging situation is more accessible than using a phone. All the user has to say is, “Alexa, I need help!” and Alexa will immediately call their noted Alexa emergency contact. Furthermore, making Alexa an indispensable device to ensure the safety of seniors choosing to age in place. 

How to Add an Alexa Emergency Contact 

In our recent ‘Ask Laura!’ Webinar, Speak2’s co-founder Matt Smith demonstrates how to create an emergency contact in the Alexa App. He answers questions from Speak2’s Laura Anastasia, a beginner Alexa user who wants to make sure her in-laws can easily ask Alexa to call her if they need help. Watch the step-by-step video and follow along with the instructions below: 

 

Steps to Create Contacts on the Alexa App

  1. Open the Alexa App.
  2. Click on the ‘Communicate’ tab on the bottom left of the Alexa App screen. 
  3. Go to the top right corner of the screen and click the person-shaped icon. The next screen is where your contacts will be.
  4. Click the three vertical dots on the top right corner to add a new contact.
  5. Fill in the contact information and click save. 
  6. Click the back arrow located on the top left corner of the screen, which will take you back to the ‘Communicate’ screen. 
  7. Now you can call your contact from your Alexa device by saying, “Alexa, call ‘name of contact’.”

Steps to Create an Emergency Contact on the Alexa App

  1. Open the Alexa App.
  2. Click on the ‘Communicate’ tab on the bottom left of the Alexa App screen. 
  3. Go to the top right corner of the screen and click the person-shaped icon. This is where your contacts are. 
  4. Select the contact that you would like to make your emergency contact. By selecting the contact, it will bring you to the screen with your contact’s information.
  5. Under ‘Contact Information,’ select ‘Add As Emergency Contact.’
  6. Now you can call your Alexa emergency contact on your Alexa device by simply saying, “Alexa, I need help.”

More On Communicating Through Alexa

Amazon’s Alexa emergency contacts feature can help seniors living alone get the help they need quickly and easily. Along with calling emergency contacts, Alexa enables other ways for seniors to communicate with their family, friends, and caregivers on a daily basis. 

To learn more about Alexa and communicating through Speak2 Family, click here. 

 
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