Joined Nov 2009
L3: Novice
Forum Thread
Need some guidance on Alexa devices and Amazon Fire TVs
March 26, 2024 at
07:20 AM
My 83 year old mother loves Alexa. It's truly been a boon to her. She lives alone, has trouble with short term memory, tech has gotten hard for her. Alexa helps her with weather, the occasional joke, music, schedule reminders for things like garbage pickup, and as a general reference tool.
Alexa is in her kitchen at the center of her house.
Just recently, we were discussing a makeover of her bedroom, including a new TV. We also discussed putting an Echo Dot in the bedroom, since Alexa is so useful to her.
Like many elders, my mom struggles with tech. It would probably be very helpful if Alexa could help her with tuning the TV to her favorite shows and streaming services. Is this something that an Amazon Fire TV does in concert with Alexa? I don't use Alexa, so I'm at a bit of a loss.
She gets along great with Alexa, loves using it, and I want to keep this super simple.
Alexa is in her kitchen at the center of her house.
Just recently, we were discussing a makeover of her bedroom, including a new TV. We also discussed putting an Echo Dot in the bedroom, since Alexa is so useful to her.
Like many elders, my mom struggles with tech. It would probably be very helpful if Alexa could help her with tuning the TV to her favorite shows and streaming services. Is this something that an Amazon Fire TV does in concert with Alexa? I don't use Alexa, so I'm at a bit of a loss.
She gets along great with Alexa, loves using it, and I want to keep this super simple.
About the OP
5 Comments
Your comment cannot be blank.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
The bathroom is can be surprisingly useful place to have an Echo.
You have to go through some steps to make it work, but some of the communication functions can be quite useful. You have to verify her phone number and allow Amazon access to contacts (I suggest a limited set of contacts), but it's possible to call an actual phone number as well as an echo device in your home or alexa app on your phone. The drop in function allows you to 'call' her without her doing anything and if there's an Echo show, potentially see into her house. The audio quality of these calls isn't great especially for the first 5-10 seconds and it's important to understand that IT CANNOT CALL 911. https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-h...deo-chats/
Amazon has a monthly subscription service called Alexa Together that you might want to look at (some kind of medical alert pendant may be more useful and might even be covered by her insurance).
Alternatively, you may (no guarantees) be able to set up ROUTINES for phrases like "Alexa I need help", "Alexa I've fallen", "Alexa I'm hurt" that call or message you. I doubt it would let you set a routine that redirects "Alexa Call 911" to a different function.
The bathroom is can be surprisingly useful place to have an Echo.
You have to go through some steps to make it work, but some of the communication functions can be quite useful. You have to verify her phone number and allow Amazon access to contacts (I suggest a limited set of contacts), but it's possible to call an actual phone number as well as an echo device in your home or alexa app on your phone. The drop in function allows you to 'call' her without her doing anything and if there's an Echo show, potentially see into her house. The audio quality of these calls isn't great especially for the first 5-10 seconds and it's important to understand that IT CANNOT CALL 911. https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-h...deo-chats/ [cnet.com]
Amazon has a monthly subscription service called Alexa Together that you might want to look at (some kind of medical alert pendant may be more useful and might even be covered by her insurance).
Alternatively, you may (no guarantees) be able to set up ROUTINES for phrases like "Alexa I need help", "Alexa I've fallen", "Alexa I'm hurt" that call or message you. I doubt it would let you set a routine that redirects "Alexa Call 911" to a different function.
look at this but does not need to be a Sony
https://www.sony.com/electronics/...es/S1F1709
Panasonic even has an Alexa enabled microwave
https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-...KB28X?th=1
For 300 bucks she will love you
Alexa reheat spaghetti , cook a cup of soup, reheat my coffee no issue trying to read a small screen or buttons.
I was a beta tester for Panasonic and at first i thought it was more gimmick like a smart faucet but it really does work well.