*This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn commissions.*
Remember Eureka? The show featured a U.S. Marshal who became sheriff of a small tucked away village where the smartest people came up with new innovations for the U.S. Government. I remember one episode where a news alert hit and everyone whipped out their phones to watch. I was watching in 2006 – the iphone came out in 2007. Now, I can’t imagine a life without zoom :).
For my Mom, lack of zoom-savvy has been a bit of struggle. Doctors appointments and family parties were missed because she had trouble accessing zoom on her laptop. The Echo Show has made this much easier. If a meeting is on her calendar – she can zoom in just by telling Alexa “join my zoom class” – it’s literally magic!
Here are the steps on how to help your mom or grandma set up Zoom on her Echo Show:
- Download the Alexa app on your smartphone.
- Open the Alexa app and sign in to your account.
- Tap on the More tab and then tap Settings.
- Tap on Calendar & Email.
- Select your calendar provider and then tap Connect Account.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to link your calendar.
- Set up your Echo Show with your Alexa account.
- Log in to Zoom on your Echo Show.
Once Zoom is set up on your grandma’s Echo Show, she can join meetings by saying “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting.” Alexa will ask her for the meeting ID and passcode.
Here are some frequently asked questions about using Zoom on an Echo Show:
- What devices are supported? As of today, the Echo Show 8 (1st and 2nd generations) and Echo Show 10 (3rd generation) are supported for video meetings.
- What happens if someone tries to join a meeting without a Zoom account? Alexa will join the meeting anonymously and pass the name of the household member identified by voice or the name associated with the Alexa account.
- What voice commands are supported for Zoom meetings? To start or join Zoom meetings: “start my zoom meeting”, “begin the zoom appointment”, “join my zoom call”, “start my zoom class”, “Join my Zoom Meeting”, “Join my next meeting”, “Start my next meeting”, “Join the meeting”. To the end/ leave the meeting: “end the zoom call”, “finish the zoom meeting”, “end the current call”, “end meeting”, “end the call”, “hang up”.
- What name will be presented in the Zoom meeting when I join through an Echo Show device? If you are signed in to Zoom for Home on the device, the name from your account will be presented. If you are not signed in, but you have a voice profile with Alexa and Alexa is able to identify your voice, the speaker name will be passed to the Zoom meeting. If you are not signed into Zoom and do not have a voice profile setup or Alexa is unable to identify your voice, the name on the Alexa account will be passed to the Zoom meeting roster.
- How do I mute my audio while in a meeting? To mute your microphone during a meeting, you can press the microphone off button on the Zoom app or the privacy button on the device. The privacy button mutes both audio and video on the device.
- How do I mute my video while in a meeting? To mute your video during a meeting, you can press the video off button on the Zoom app, press the privacy button, or close the privacy shutter on the device.
- What countries and languages are supported? Initially this feature is only available for customers using US English as their language for Alexa.
- Can I use headphones with the Echo device? Although the Echo Show 8 devices currently support wired headphones, they are not supported in the Zoom app.
Does the senior in your life use zoom? How is it working for them?