Amazon will discontinue its Echo Connect at the end of February, leaving those who still use a landline just over three weeks to find another way to make voice calls through Alexa.
The Echo Connect is an adaptor that lets users make landline calls through Alexa using voice commands. While Amazon has already stopped selling the device, consumers have been able to continue using it. In recent days, users received emails alerting them that the device will no longer be supported as of February 29.
This includes emergency calls to 911, leaving those who use this method to make calls little time to purchase an alternative.
Amazon posted a notice on its website and is offering a $10 gift card for the inconvenience.
Instead, Amazon encourages subscribing to Alexa Emergency Assist for $5.99 a month to continue placing calls. It can also keep a digital ear out for breaking glass or smoke alarms. This was previously a free feature through Alexa Guard, which was shuttered last September at the launch of Alexa Emergency Assist.
This isn’t the first time Alexa has discontinued features, though it is one of the less expensive cancelations. In 2020, Amazon shut down the Echo Look, a $200 camera that lets users snap pictures of their outfits and get style suggestions. Last March, Amazon nixed Alexa’s celebrity voices, only $4.99 each, leaving users without updates, jokes, and stories from the digital versions of Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Amazon said users can still use the Alexa app or Alexa-enabled devices to make voice or video calls. The change won’t affect features through the Alexa app. Users can connect AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon services with Alexa to make hands-free calls over WiFi, including 911.
The Echo Connect launched in 2018 and cost $35. It lets landline customers use their Alexa to make voice calls, and the Echo serves as a speakerphone. Now, landline users need to connect their mobile phones to Alexa or use Alexa-to-Phone, which limits users to a maximum of 10 contacts for outgoing calls, and it can’t receive incoming calls or contact 911.