Did you get a chance to check out the newly launched Alexa Guard Plus? The latest device from Amazon is designed to keep your family safe and happy, as seamlessly as you can imagine.
The Alexa Guard Plus helps you to subscribe or have hands-free access to an Emergency Helpline. It can give smart alerts about activities and other probable emergencies inside your home while you are absent along with the features to prevent likely intruders.
You may require an Echo smart speaker or Echo Show to start using it. You can try this Guard Plus free for 30 days. You will have to subscribe to either a Monthly plan at 4.99$ after a free trial or an Annual Plan at 49$ after a free trial and save 18%.
The Alexa Guard Plus provides you with 24/7 access to an Emergency Helpline you can dial in with your voice. You have to say, “Alexa, call for help” to have a conversation with qualified agents who can appeal the dispatch of emergency respondents — such as police, the fire department, or an ambulance — based on information that you provide over the call.
If Alexa senses sound that could be an intruder while you are absent at home — like footsteps, a door closing, or glass breaking a Smart Alert mobile notification can be sent on your registered mobile number and a siren can be played on your Echo. Alexa can also alert you about the sound of smoke or carbon monoxide alarms.
From a Smart Alert received, you can listen to what Alexa had heard in for live audio. You can call the Emergency Helpline to request emergency services or send the alert to any nearby security provider.
Alexa Guard Plus works better with connected smart lights and selected outdoor-facing cameras. Alexa can turn on and off smart lights when you are away but you have to pretend like someone is present and, when the camera perceives motion outside, it can play the sound of a dog barking from your Echo to fright off potential burglars.
The Alexa Guard Plus is contained within Ring Protect Plus at no added cost. The subscribers need to link their Ring and Amazon accounts in the Ring app or on Ring.com and complete the whole setup in the Alexa app to enjoy the Guard Plus benefits. Guard Plus will also be accessible through other partners like Abode, Scout Alarm, Resideo, A3 Smart Home, and Wyze.
Alexa Guard can act as a pair of ears for your home when you’re absent. It can eavesdrop for sounds that specify some dangerous occurrence in your home, and then alert you about the same. If the far-field microphones hear any of those risky sounds, it will alert you by sending a 10-second clip of the sound. You have the option to choose which types of sounds you want to be warned about.
Alexa Guard can even work with your smart lighting to pretend like you’re home even when you’re not present or when you go on vacation. It uses machine algorithms to control the on and off patterns to present like you’re sitting on the couch watching Netflix when you’re not at all present at your home.
Let’s check out the various steps to get started with Guard and Guard Plus:
- You have to open the Alexa app and click on more in the bottom right corner.
- The next step is to click on settings and then click on more and scroll down to Settings.
- Click on Guardbeneath the Alexa Preferences heading.
You can see a list of options depending on which smart devices you have. If you’ve enabled the option of free Alexa Guard in the past, you can see a history of actions taken by Alexa Guard.
- You have to select from the Guard Plus options. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner to view upgrade options for Alexa Guard Plus. You can find premium features on the right-hand side of the screen.
Overall, Alexa Guard Plus entails a certain degree of assessment and conclusiveness on the part of any user. It is not a specialized monitoring service, but rather a cautionary system to receive from Alexa when it senses danger in the surrounding environment.
Along with the Alexa Guard Plus, you can also read our blog on another smart device for your home, the Google Nest.
