As COVID numbers rise across the nation, many states have placed restrictions on traveling, visiting long-term care facilities, etc. This means you may not be able to see your loved ones in person during the holidays this year.
Depending on the age and mental status of your relatives, learning new video-calling technology may be challenging, at best. By using drop-in calling, you can video call your loved ones during the holidays, and any time, without having to teach (and re-teach) them new technology.
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Give drop-in video calling a try with these devices:
Video Call with Amazon Echo Show or Echo Spot
Both are powered by Alexa and can be set up to do drop-in calling with voice activation. It can be a bit tricky to get the person you want to call set up remotely, but once that’s done, the rest is easy. For help getting them going, you can ask their caretakers if there is one. Also, check out these resources:
If you still need help, you can chat with an Echo representative online or on the phone.
Tip: Do not use your mobile phone number for your loved one’s device. If they don’t have a mobile phone, you can ask someone who will never be video calling them to use their number. If you’re using your mobile number on your device and then use it again on your loved one’s device, Alexa gets confused and can’t complete the call. She thinks she’s calling herself!
So, if you have a mobile number that you’ve used to set up your family’s Echo device and then your spouse or child has a different number that’s not used on an Echo device, you can use that one to set up the device of the loved one you want to drop-in call.
Another option would be to ask the caretaker (if there is one) to use their mobile number during the setup process.
ViewClix Smart Frame
You can set up the “auto-answer” feature so that the person you want to “drop-in” on doesn’t have to do anything to receive your call. And, because it’s a picture frame when a call is not in progress, digital photos are displayed. These frames are easier to set up than Echo devices, but are also more expensive. Check out this link to see how the frames work.
Do you use drop-in calling? How has it worked for you?
