If you want to receive calls from legitimate numbers, you’ll need the new $35 Connect box that Amazon revealed on Wednesday, which also supports you to use your home telephone number for Echo calls and dial emergency services like 911 or premium rate / international numbers.
But this is still a nice rise from the original version of Alexa calling that Amazon turned out, which only let you call other Echo buyers or people with the Alexa app connected and set up on their smartphone. Now you can just tell your Echo to call anyone in your communications or speak out a specific number to dial.
Once you’ve set up Alexa calling and messaging, your own Phone number is linked to the device and will show up to receivers when you call. This is actually a bit odd since it lets you call yourself with your own phone number from an Echo. You’ve got the choice to opt out of displaying your number, in which case other forms will see “unknown caller” when your Echo rings them. I’m not sure why you’d really want to do that, as this “unknown caller” caller ID issue is the extreme annoyance with Google Home’s voice calls right now. The business only shows a recognizable phone number to people you’re turning if you’re a Google Voice user. Google has said it will be able to present mobile numbers for other users soon, but Amazon has beaten it to the punch.
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