Your Alexa Speaker May Already Have An Emergency Assist Feature You Probably Never Used

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Imagine that you are at home and have a bad accident — a real "I've fallen and I can't get up" moment. If you have an Apple Watch, its little-known safety feature, Fall Detection, could help you quickly contact emergency services. Turns out, with an Alexa speaker, there is also a relatively unknown emergency help feature. As of September of 2023, Amazon added Alexa Emergency Assist to a range of devices, including Alexa-powered speakers. With this subscription-based system, you can contact emergency services by saying "Alexa, call for help." 

A trained agent will answer your call, connect you with the appropriate first responders — police, fire, or ambulance — and send them to your location. Don't confuse Alexa Emergency Assist for a dedicated home monitoring service though, as Alexa speakers are not smoke alarms for smart homes. However, if an Alexa device detects the sound of glass breaking or an alarm, the emergency assist feature will send a notification to your phone. Of course, you still have to review the notice to determine whether help is needed. 

While Amazon sells tons of items and offers plenty of services, some are locked behind a subscription fee, like Alexa's first responder assist capability. Compatible devices let you call a designated emergency contact out of the box, no subscription needed. But with Alexa Emergency Assist, one of those hidden Amazon Echo Show features you need to start using, up to 25 emergency contacts can be added and you can get a hold of first responders with voice commands. 

However, Alexa Emergency Assist costs $5.99 a month, or $59 if you subscribe for the year. Be aware that while Alexa Emergency Assist works with many Alexa devices, it doesn't work with every device. To use the service, you need an Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Flex, Echo Studio, Echo Spot, Echo Show, or Echo Hub. And while you can't use the Echo Auto, Echo Buds, or Echo Frames for monitoring, these on-the-go devices can be used to call emergency services via the Alexa app.