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“All the Echos Under One Household Profile Setup” This is the best mouthful anyone using Echo devices with an elderly family member should learn today.
I didn’t invent this setup. Amazon did.
As far as making a dollar go far for a family of voice tech geeks, this is the best setup plan to date!
Set your brand new Echo that just arrived - with the smiley on the brown Amazon package turned upside down…
With your new Echo to keep you company, you won't be lonely for long.
To set up an Echo device is easy enough for most adults who are tech-savvy enough to have downloaded the Amazon App on their phones then registered an Amazon Account and ordered an Echo device.
If you can buy it by yourself, I’m confident you can set it up yourself too.
You need wifi and a plug outlet.
That’s it.
In 2023, your Echo device will talk you through the rest. *kinda like that*
Responsible adult children who use Echo device and want their parents to do the same? What we really want is to stay connected and care for each other.
Before you setup a new Echo Device.
Before you install the Amazon Alexa App on your phone.
For families with aging family members, a good setup philosophy starts with your Amazon Account.
Specifically, the Amazon Households feature of your Amazon Account.
View your Amazon Household Profiles in the Amazon App or on Amazon.com in the browser.
View your Profiles from inside the Amazon Alexa App on your phone (Apple App Store for iPhone or Google Play Store for Android).
Let me break it down for you.
It took me almost a year of first-hand Echo in my home and on my phone to learn how it’s all connected.
You need to know: FIRST setup Household Profiles in your Amazon Account (to share shopping and subscription benefits with family members), and the same Profiles will be found when you open up the Amazon Alexa App, so NOW you can setup your Voice ID, Visual ID (face), and Telephone Number to get even more connected - particularly when using your Echo device, but also when shopping on Amazon.
Read Amazon.com knowledge base official Voice ID help guides:
DON'T WORRY: People can only buy stuff on your Echo if you enable Voice Shopping from inside the App. If you don't turn it on, there's they can't. This is a most common worry, but you don't have to worry.
For a long-term solution, that’s also a long-term commitment, and not always easy to get the whole family on board…
Please hear me out!
You’ll be better off as a family with aging members (like 70+, 80+, 90+, 100+, 110+ into the future) if you designate your most trusted and tech-savvy adult family member to be your Amazon Tech Helper.
Responsible adult children take ownership of Echo, Internet, and Electricity needs of that aging family member.
You hold the key to All Family Echos.
It is with great responsibility you accept this duty.
You are a family member.
You may identify as a family caregiver.
You deliver emotional delight and family connection together and remote.
You are the ONE.
You are your family’s ONE Amazon Tech Helper.
It doesn’t matter which you have - an Echo Smart Display (with a screen) or an Echo Smart Speaker (without a screen) - because it worked for both...
Tiny and Important - Keep the CHECKBOX checked when you buy you Echo on Amazon: When buying the Echo device on Amazon. When the Echo is in your Cart, make sure the checkbox for "Connect this to my Amazon/Alexa/Household" is checked. For me it is checked blue automatically when I buy Echos. It'll make setup *almost* complete as soon as you plug it in. The Amazon Alexa App will know when the package has arrive and know when you plug it in. That simple.
As long as you (1) have an Amazon Account which you used to purchase the Echo and (2) have good wifi for internet and a plug for electricity (3) have the Amazon Alexa App installed on your phone logged into the same Amazon Account…
THEN… You just need to (4) plug in your Echo device (5) open the Amazon Alexa App > Devices Tab and smash that PLUS (+) sign (6) Alexa App on-screen instructions will either (6a) tell you “Next, Next, Setup Success” and/or Alexa will ask you Plain English questions herself or else (6b) you’ll have to long-press the Echo Button and try to add the device again.
Who in Your Family Shall Become The Family Tech Helper?
I’m confident most people can do it.
The best family member for the job is trusted to respect privacy and good at using apps and gadgets.
They should think of it as a long-term commitment.
The depth of communication features like Drop-In, Announcements, Skills, and Routines to keep a family happy alone and together is a mighty power for one Family Tech Helper to harness.
With Amazon's devices, tech help is a worthy service to others in need, indeed.
Think of it like this.
Amazon Household lets your family members shop using the owner’s payment method and enjoy subscriptions like Prime (shopping, video, music subscription and more). People in your Amazon Household get the same Amazon shopping and subscription benefits as the Household owner.
If you already have an Amazon account (for shopping and subscriptions), you can manage your Household on your computer at Amazon.com > Your Account > Households or in the Amazon App on your phone.
The device is called an "Echo".
The voice service is called "Alexa".
The wake word can be changed to "Alexa", "Echo", "Amazon", "Computer" or "Ziggy".
Echos are the made-by-Amazon series of smart speakers and displays, like the Dot, the Pop, and the Show, the Echo is the electronic device you buy from Amazon and plug into the wall in your home.
For shopping, you can ask to search, add-to-cart, or order products on the Amazon App.
For entertainment, you can ask to search, play, or pause a movie with your Amazon Prime subscription, and the same goes for your Amazon Music subscription.
*Kinda free* Limited versions of both (Prime Video and Amazon Music) are included in a regular Prime subscription.
I say *kinda free* because the Prime subscription costs every month, but most people buy it to save time on shipping and get exclusive savings, so the subscriptions seem like a freebie in that regard.
With Household Profiles, you can add another adult to your Amazon Household and share eligible digital content: Kindle Books, Audiobooks, Music, You can also manage shared features (like lists). You use your Amazon account to buy Echo devices, and Audio/Video Services, and many of them work well.
Say "Echo, learn my voice." to setup Voice ID.
Say "Echo, learn my face." to setup Visual ID (face).
You get a more personalized experience when interacting with your Amazon devices and apps.
If you're worried about privacy, you can choose not to setup your Profile, Voice ID, or Visual ID - and you can still use the Amazon Alexa App (to control an Echo device).
Having one tech-savvy family member manage the both Echos is the best long-term approach, even if you live apart, even if your parent shops on Amazon.
Paid subscription service "Alexa Together" is described as “a remote caregiving service to help care for those you love.”
I live WITH my elderly dad and retired mother, so I don’t need some remote care features included, like fall detection for example, because my house is small with creaky floors enough to hear my dad if something were to happen. Me living with my dad, I just don’t need those "Alexa Together" paid extras.
I’m not an "Alexa Together" expert (yet).
I'm experienced in setting up and maintaining my "Family Account" - which we now understand to be a combination of Amazon Household beneficiaries and extra NameVoice/Visual optimization when using Alexa.
This strongly suggested “All the Echos Under One Household Profile Setup” is conceptually close to Amazon Together, and the “Care Part” doesn’t cost extra the way I’m telling you.
When one Household owner manages all Echo and other smart devices under one single account - it’s the closest thing to an "Alexa Together" subscription and doesn’t cost more than a new Echo for someone in your family.
Yes, it works for people living under one roof and also those living in different houses with different wifi networks.
You got distant family members too?
Non-investors would get bored reading this post by now.
From a business revenue perspective, Amazon is one of America’s services integrated from birth to death. Since Amazon sells everything, their products and services cover every age group.
Getting a person to start using your services is called adoption, and business people want to get young people using Amazon, so they make their kids services free.
Keeping a person to using your services over time is called retention, and business people want to keep people using Amazon services their whole life, so they make their services for adults really awesome.
Making money from a person using your service is called monetization, and the monthly subscription service of "Alexa Together" makes Amazon money every month.
UPDATE: This post was updated in April 2024 to reflect Amazon Alexa technology’s feature which allows you to change the wake word from default “Alexa” to preferred “Echo,” “Amazon,” “Computer,” or “Ziggy”. You can change yours using Amazon official instructions, here.
