Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • Alexa, Kindle, and Nook Help
  • Can I Use My Amazon Echo Alexa for Home Security?

Can I Use My Amazon Echo Alexa for Home Security?

March 31, 2023 / Dave Taylor / Alexa, Kindle, and Nook Help / No Comments

I remember reading that some new features on the Amazon Echo line let it be used as a home security device. What are these features and how do I enable them for myself?

It doesn’t seem logical if you don’t have door sensors and the ability to set home or away, but yes, it turns out that the smart engineers at Amazon have figured out some features that let your Echo device act as a security device.

Admittedly, it’s a bit crude when compared to a full-blown home security system with an alarm code pad, sirens, and an array of door and window sensors, but it’s also free if you already have an Alexa or two in your home, apartment, or dorm.

Shortcuts: Alexa Settings | Alexa Guard | Away Lighting | Setting Up Routines

There are also sensor systems that are compatible with the Amazon Alexa system, and they can indeed serve as a more legit security installation, but odds are good that you’ll be using their own proprietary security software, not the Alexa app itself. Not to worry, though, Amazon also has a subscription security monitoring service too, since it’s a company that quickly moves into new market segments if there’s a chance of making a profit. My favorite part of the Amazon solution? Digital barking dog. I kid you not. Let’s have a look!

AMAZON ALEXA BASIC SETTINGS

Start with the Alexa app on your smartphone, after having logged into the same Amazon account that has the Echo devices (and similar) connected. Along the bottom are five buttons, you’ll want to tap on the rightmost, the stack of horizontal lines (I like to call that the “pancake stack” button!). You’ll get here:

amazon alexa echo home security guard - basic configuration

I’ve highlighted two different elements on this screen because we’re going to go down both paths, though we’ll start with “Settings”. Tap on the “Settings” entry near the bottom. Later we’ll come back to this screen and explore a basic routine that can turn on and off your lights to mimic you being home, very useful if you’re on a trip.

For now, when you get to “Settings” swipe to scroll down to the very bottom of the screen. There are lots of settings, but you seek “Guard“:

amazon alexa echo home security guard - settings

Tap on “Guard” to get to the Amazon Guard featureset.

AMAZON ALEXA GUARD ON DUTY

There are other areas to explore in settings, of course, including the interesting “Hunches” feature, but “Guard” is where the security features can be found…

amazon alexa echo home security guard - GUARD notifications

You can see that I have it configured to listen for smoke and CO2 alarms and glass breaking, sending me notifications if either is identified. Lower down you can see that it did detect “possible breaking glass sound”. From what? From the action movies I enjoy watching. Having an Alexa unit immediately adjacent to the TV can be a bit of a problem in this regard, but at least the police aren’t automatically called when this sound is detected!

Whether you have any enabled or not, the big blue button on the top “Set up more Guard features” is where you can see what options there are. Tap on it.

amazon alexa echo home security guard - set up guard features

The subscription service I was talking about earlier is front-and-center: “Guard Plus”. It runs $4.99/month or $49.99 for the year [which works out to $4.16/mo]. Learn more: All about Amazon Guard Plus. Features with the “PLUS” icon, like Dog barking sounds (!!!) are clearly denoted. In fact, let’s tap on Dog barking sounds to learn a bit more:

amazon alexa echo home security guard - dog barking sounds

Okay, not much more about the digital guard dog, but I still want to know what breed? Super angry wacko or just a growl-y bark? Can you record your own dog barking? Customers want to know!

AMAZON ALEXA GUARD AND AWAY LIGHTING

More seriously, go back and tap on the “Away Lighting” feature to see something that’s actually free and useful…

amazon alexa echo home security guard - away lighting

Basically, this can easily let you set up lights to go on at sunset and off at sunrise – even prompting for your zipcode so it can figure out the correct times throughout the year. Then select which light or lights are controlled through this mechanism. Easy, really.

But there’s a better way to set up away lights in my opinion, and that’s through a Routine. let’s back up and check that alternative out instead.

AMAZON ALEXA LIGHTS ON/OFF ROUTINE

Turn on the other Guard features you’d like, including having it listen for smoke and CO2 alarms, then go all the way back to the initial Settings page where I highlighted both Routines and Settings. This time, however, tap on “Routines” to get here:

amazon alexa echo home security guard - set up routine lights on/off

You can see that I have two routines set up and active, and two that are disabled. “Alexa, bedtime” turns off various lights and checks the status of a few locks, and “Morning volume” automatically resets all speakers to a quiet level so I don’t accidentally wake up other people if I want some morning background music. “couch light schedule” is my away light schedule, and “bedroom lamp schedule” is the same for a different light. Between them, they mimic me turning on the main lights for the evening, then “moving” upstairs to have light in my bedroom for an hour or so, then sleep.

I’ve actually written about how to set up these routines in great detail: Set up Away Lights with Amazon Alexa. For now, let’s just have a peek at the couch light schedule:

amazon alexa echo home security guard - couch light schedule routine

Unfortunately, routines can’t access sunrise/sunset hours, nor can you have a random amount of wait time (both of which would be really easy to add, but as of yet, just aren’t options. Amazon? Are you listening?) Since I usually only enable this for a specific trip, it’s not too hard to adjust the start time based on season, but it really would be cool to have a range of time between light on and light off.

Ah well, either way, you can see, it’s pretty easy to set up time-based routines in the Alexa app as an additional part of your home security too.

If you’re curious, I also have a completely independent garage door opener system that also has a set routine to close the garage every night at 10pm. If it’s already closed, no worries, the request is ignored, but if for some reason one of my kids or I forget to close it, that helps ensure it’s not left open overnight. Very helpful!

Between these different settings, you can see that the Amazon Alexa has a lot of different settings and features that can help you increase the security of your dwelling, whether you want to pay for Guard Plus or just stick with free features and options.

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Amazon products, from Kindle to Echo, for quite a while now. Please check out my extensive Amazon Alexa help area for lots more tutorials. Thanks!

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
alexa guard, amazon alexa, home security

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How Can I Use a VPN for Privacy on My Android Phone?
  • How to Hide the Copilot Button in Microsoft Edge
  • How to Convert Data from OST Files to PST Format
  • How to Stop the Deletion Confirmation Window in Win11?
  • How Can I Block Event Invitation Notifications on Facebook?

On Our YouTube Channel

Benks iPhone Protective Phone Case -- ROUNDUP & REVIEW

Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Smart Watch -- DEMO & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Alexa, Kindle, and Nook Help (104)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help (166)
  • Android Help (251)
  • Apple iPad Help (152)
  • Apple Watch & Smartwatch Help (57)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (352)
  • Auto Tech Help (21)
  • Business Advice (201)
  • Chromebook & ChromeOS Help (53)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (803)
  • d) None of the Above (168)
  • Facebook Help (388)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (200)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (248)
  • Instagram & Threads Help (54)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (650)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • LinkedIn Help (91)
  • Linux Help (181)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (91)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (943)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (42)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (54)
  • Reddit Help (21)
  • SEO & Marketing (82)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (105)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (225)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (994)
  • Wordpress Help (206)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (48)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (67)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2023 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy