PSTN calling over Amazon Echo

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › PSTN calling over Amazon Echo - how?

Boxdog

28 posts

Geek

ID Verified

#296099 21-May-2022 12:11

Has anyone found a way to use the awesome speaker/mic combo built into Amazon Echos to make PSTN calls apart from Skype out? I would love to have my Echo 4th Gen act as a Bluetooth speakerphone (think like how your car stereo does it) but damned if I can work out how. I don’t think the Echo gives the right Bluetooth profile. It would be great to use it like a conference phone style thing in Zoom/Teams meetings too. In the US and a few other NA nations you can use the Echo to send/receive calls in place of your iPhone through AT&T or Verizon, but obviously that’s useless here in nz!

I could use Skype-out, I guess, but that’s a bit of a ballache…still doesn’t help with Teams or Zoom meetings that I join from my computer..

Goosey

2773 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2916778 21-May-2022 12:49

So, are you just wanting to use the echo as a speaker / mic in place of your laptop speakers and mic?

Bluetooth should work if you have followed the steps to set it up and obviously when making a call from your handset, switch it over to the bluetooth speaker (being the echo).

As for asking for alexa to dial out (using your iphone) as the connection... im not sure and also not sure if it actually has the capability to dial out using your ISP connection (unless you have a VOIP skill set)??

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79000 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2916791 21-May-2022 13:26

I only managed Skype Out but even so the address book is a bit of pain to manage.

My technology disclosure

smcc

205 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#2916794 21-May-2022 13:53

This is available natively in the US, but I, don't think it will work for NZ numbers.

I think you can call Echo to Echo if you have the right contact details recorded by amazon (amazon account) I believe, but I haven't tried it.

Boxdog

28 posts

Geek

ID Verified

#2916945 21-May-2022 19:31

Goosey:
So, are you just wanting to use the echo as a speaker / mic in place of your laptop speakers and mic?

Bluetooth should work if you have followed the steps to set it up and obviously when making a call from your handset, switch it over to the bluetooth speaker (being the echo).

As for asking for alexa to dial out (using your iphone) as the connection... im not sure and also not sure if it actually has the capability to dial out using your ISP connection (unless you have a VOIP skill set)??

Yeah - you’d think this would be natively possible. This is exactly what I wanna do in lieu of not being able to have my Alexa do some kind of tie in with Vodafone/spark to act as a mobile itself or something. But when I do this, and attempt to select it as a sound device after I’ve paired it and it’s connected and I try to make a call… no go, it’s just not present in the list. Really annoying…

Boxdog

28 posts

Geek

ID Verified

#2916946 21-May-2022 19:32

smcc:
This is available natively in the US, but I, don't think it will work for NZ numbers.

I think you can call Echo to Echo if you have the right contact details recorded by amazon (amazon account) I believe, but I haven't tried it.

Neither. I don’t have any friends let alone friends that have Echos 🤣

tieke

673 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2917499 23-May-2022 09:41

smcc:

I think you can call Echo to Echo if you have the right contact details recorded by amazon (amazon account) I believe, but I haven't tried it.

This works here and quite well too, but as pointed out, both parties need to have an echo/use the alexa app. I used it as a cheap simple video call setup during lockdown with my parents - got them a cheap echo show while I used a phone or tablet.