How to Set Up New Amazon Echo Home Security Features

Amazon Echo has some new home security features that are now live. Among other things, Amazon Echo can make it look like a dog is barking inside your home if security cameras detect movement when you’re not at home.

The feature is part of Alexa Guard Plus, a subscription service that costs $ 4.99 a month or $ 49 a year after a 30-day free trial. It’s another way Amazon is using Echo to generate recurring revenue from its hardware, but it’s also useful for those who don’t want to pay for a complete security system.

Guard Plus can also alert you to any sound in your home using Amazon Echo and sound a siren if there is activity inside. You can also ask Echo to call an emergency helpline if you are at home and there is an intruder.

Here’s how to set it up:

• First, you need to sign up for the review on the Amazon website or say “Alexa, try Guard Plus” next to Amazon Echo.
• Open the Alexa app on your phone.
• Touch “More” in the bottom right corner.
• Choose Settings.
• Touch “Guard” at the bottom of the page.
• You will see an option to configure Guard with your existing devices, but it is easier to tap the Settings icon in the upper right corner of the page to scroll through all the options.
• Choose “Dog barking sounds” under “Stop” to set up Echo to try to scare intruders while you are away. This requires external or external cameras. Select the cameras you want to use.
• Choose “Sounds of activity with a siren” so that the Eco sounds a siren if you are away from home and hear someone inside. Amazon warns that a pet can cause this, so consider this.
• Finally, tap on “Emergency Helpline”. This is where you will enter your address in case you need to ask for help. If you have an emergency, just say “Alexa, ask for help”. He will dial “trained agents who can request the dispatch of emergency teams – such as the police, the fire department or an ambulance, on your behalf”. Please note that this is not 911 and is only available in the USA. Agents are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you don’t want to pay, there is also a free Alexa Guard tier which is very useful.

For example, you can select “Away Lighting” under “Deter”, which turns your smart lights on and off when you’re out to make it look like you’re at home. Amazon says it learns from its regular standards, so it’s not just random.

The free level can also alert you to smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sounds or if your Echo hears breaking glass. Just choose “Sound detection” in “Detect”.

After setting up, just say “Alexa, I’m leaving” to activate the absent mode.

You can also set up Alexa to protect your phone when you leave the house. When you get home, just say “Alexa, I’m home”.