Do we need intercom, Echo, walkie-talkie or ?
March 4, 2019 12:28 AM Subscribe
My partner and I live in a 2 story house and due to a recent health scare, we need to communicate between floors when our cell phones are on silent. It needs to be easy to purchase, install and operate. Suggestions? (the best would be the Downton Abbey Bell Board!) :) Thanks in advance.
cells on vibrate and also use the VIP setting as DarlingBri suggested? I can easily communicate while at work via sms, whatsapp although my cell is on silent, the vibration can be felt - also iphones have a setting to make the camera flash when a message is received.
from: https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/set-up-led-flash-alerts-your-iphone-never-miss-another-notification-again-0155121/
but without the annoying cookie/consent message....
"Head to your "Settings" app, then tap on "General." Next, select "Accessibility, then scroll down and tap on "LED Flash for Alerts" under the Hearing section.
When you're on the LED Flash for Alerts screen, simply toggle the feature on. If you also want to make sure the LED flashes during a notification when you have the ring switch set to silent (red), then make sure "Flash on Silent" is also toggled on."
posted by alchemist at 3:01 AM on March 4, 2019
from: https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/set-up-led-flash-alerts-your-iphone-never-miss-another-notification-again-0155121/
but without the annoying cookie/consent message....
"Head to your "Settings" app, then tap on "General." Next, select "Accessibility, then scroll down and tap on "LED Flash for Alerts" under the Hearing section.
When you're on the LED Flash for Alerts screen, simply toggle the feature on. If you also want to make sure the LED flashes during a notification when you have the ring switch set to silent (red), then make sure "Flash on Silent" is also toggled on."
posted by alchemist at 3:01 AM on March 4, 2019
FWIW my household has multiple Echos and we are happy with them. You can accomplish what you are describing using Echo's "Announce" function. More info here.
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 3:42 AM on March 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 3:42 AM on March 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
When a relative was recovering from surgery we got her a wireless doorbell (not this particular model, but there are many). Foolproof dinosaur technology.
But depending on the kind of health scare, also consider whether you need a medical alert system.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:46 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
But depending on the kind of health scare, also consider whether you need a medical alert system.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:46 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
would whatsapp work? you can make calls, send texts, and send snippets of voice recordings.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 4:04 AM on March 4, 2019
posted by pseudostrabismus at 4:04 AM on March 4, 2019
Seconding Amazon echo devices. Simple, easy to setup. If you have more than 2 you can call all from one or call point to point (just like a real intercom). You can also, if you choose, allow the echo to call externally to phones, and allow something called "drop in" where, from a phone that you allow, you can call the echo device and be connected without the person you're calling having to do anything. I use it to check in on my elderly parents when they don't answer multiple calls from 200 miles away...
posted by chasles at 4:32 AM on March 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by chasles at 4:32 AM on March 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
My parents use baby monitors to communicate across floors (my dad has a Serious Health Problem).
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:13 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:13 AM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
We have Echos in every room and use the Drop In and Announce functions all the time, and this would work, if your wifi is super-stable. Our isn't terrific so about once a week they'll be offline for a few minutes. But mostly we're just using them to announce that dinner is ready and to get the kids out of bed so our use is much lower stakes than yours.
Baby monitor would work and maybe be more stable than the Echos, depending on model, but also is ALWAYS on so less privacy than just using Alexa to communicate between rooms when you need to.
We also have walkie-talkies that we use with our kid when he's out and about in the neighborhood, and these would be a PITA as a long-term all-the-time solution because they have to be charged frequently and they are a pain to carry around so we frequently set them down and then have to look around to find them again.
If you have iPhones, Apple Watches have walkie-talkie functionality and these are nice because it's a wearable so you're not likely to misplace it somewhere. But it's a much higher-cost option and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're interested in the Apple Watch for other reasons. (It also has a heart rate monitor function, if that's in the neighborhood of your medical issue. A coworker's husband wears his constantly specifically for the heart monitor.)
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:09 AM on March 4, 2019
Baby monitor would work and maybe be more stable than the Echos, depending on model, but also is ALWAYS on so less privacy than just using Alexa to communicate between rooms when you need to.
We also have walkie-talkies that we use with our kid when he's out and about in the neighborhood, and these would be a PITA as a long-term all-the-time solution because they have to be charged frequently and they are a pain to carry around so we frequently set them down and then have to look around to find them again.
If you have iPhones, Apple Watches have walkie-talkie functionality and these are nice because it's a wearable so you're not likely to misplace it somewhere. But it's a much higher-cost option and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're interested in the Apple Watch for other reasons. (It also has a heart rate monitor function, if that's in the neighborhood of your medical issue. A coworker's husband wears his constantly specifically for the heart monitor.)
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:09 AM on March 4, 2019
Another vote for Echo. We've been using it for this purpose and it's great.
posted by slogger at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2019
posted by slogger at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2019
I just got my parents some walkie-talkies for this. We talked about Echoes but a) my dad's hearing isn't great so he's not going to be able to understand (or, maybe, hear) one in the next room over, b) occasionally someone needs to go outside to deal with trash cans or the lawn or whatever. They also live where there's pretty frequent storms/tornadoes/hurricanes and the power goes out.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:53 AM on March 4, 2019
posted by Lyn Never at 7:53 AM on March 4, 2019
I don't know if you have a landline, but if you do, some cordless phone systems have an intercom/walkie talkie function where you can call from one handset to another. That would be a way to communicate that wouldn't require you using your cell phone minutes (if you're not on an unlimited plan).
posted by sardonyx at 8:26 AM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 8:26 AM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
One of the nice things about the Apple Watch is that I no longer miss calls when my phone is on silent. (I don’t have the walkie-talkie feature turned on because I’m afraid my husband would accidentally use it when I’m in a meeting...)
posted by leahwrenn at 8:40 AM on March 4, 2019
posted by leahwrenn at 8:40 AM on March 4, 2019
Echo dot. Easy. My son has one in his room and I send him messages to it all the time. Even as simple as, dinner's ready! :)
posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah at 10:19 AM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah at 10:19 AM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Was thinking about this today (related to parents) and the one real advantage to Amazon devices beyond being an intercom is that it's verbal only. Ie you can trigger from across the room (say after a fall or something) so you never have to have the "thing" to get help... Good luck.
Edit for clarity.
posted by chasles at 12:54 PM on March 4, 2019
Edit for clarity.
posted by chasles at 12:54 PM on March 4, 2019
You don't need a landline to use a cordless phone to make/receive calls from a mobile. My phone is on silent, but the mobile bluetooths to the cordless and I use it all the time to make and receive calls while the mobile sits charging, or just sits. Mine also has an intercom function (Uniden, but I am sure there will be others). It comes with a belt clip, if you want to keep it on yourself, eg gardening or chatting to neighbors.
posted by GeeEmm at 3:03 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by GeeEmm at 3:03 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I think we'll get two Echo Dots and see if that works for us. Cheers.
posted by lois1950 at 9:32 PM on March 6, 2019
posted by lois1950 at 9:32 PM on March 6, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:49 AM on March 4, 2019 [7 favorites]