One of Amazon’s most anachronistic smart home devices, the Echo Connect landline adapter, will stop working on February 29th. Remaining Echo Connect users are now tasked to find a replacement or join the Alexa Emergency Assist service.
All of Amazon’s smart speakers are capable of placing calls through your mobile number. The Echo Connect serves an auxiliary purpose—it allows you to dial and take landline phone calls from an Echo speaker, functioning like a landline speakerphone adapter. But, like an Echo speaker, it’s controlled using voice commands and integrates with the Alexa smart home ecosystem. It also announces the names of incoming callers, and notably, it’s the only Amazon product that can actually dial 911. Amazon’s Alexa Emergency Assist program may dispatch police or medical services to your home, but calls placed through Emergency Assist are handled by a private team.
The Amazon Echo Connect has enjoyed a pretty good run. It originally launched in 2017, yet it has continued to receive software support from Amazon. Niche smart home devices rarely last for more than a few years, let alone seven years.
However, many of Echo Connect’s users are elderly or physically disabled. These users weren’t told about the Echo Connect shutdown until February 8th, effectively giving them just three weeks to find and set up a new hands-free landline speakerphone. It shouldn’t be a difficult task—there are plenty of hands-free calling solutions—but Echo Connect is uniquely intuitive, it’s the only Alexa device that can dial 911, and it’s something that people have grown comfortable using.
There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for Echo Connect’s retirement. Some customers believe that Amazon is anticipating the POTS shutdown, which will replace traditional copper phone line with VoIP. But the Echo Connect is capable of VoIP calling, so any association with the POTS shutdown is unlikely.
All remaining Echo Connect users will receive a $10 credit from Amazon. If you need a direct replacement for Echo Connect’s emergency calling feature, your only option is Alexa Emergency Assist, which starts at $6 a month and allows you to call trained professionals during an emergency. These professionals will dispatch police, the fire department, or medical services when needed.
Source: Amazon
