Echo & Alexa Forums
General Category => Amazon Echo Discussion => Topic started by: Kellstr on July 05, 2017, 07:56:09 am
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I'd like to check out the calling features of the Echo but I don't have the conversation icon. I have been updating my Alexa app, most recently yesterday. I look on the home screen between the house and the equalizer but there is no conversation icon there. Is there something I need to do to turn on the conversation icon? TIA.
Kelly
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If your not logged in with a US account you'll not see it.
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I will check that but everything in my account should point to North Carolina. I've never shipped or billed to an address outside the US.
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I'd like to check out the calling features of the Echo but I don't have the conversation icon. I have been updating my Alexa app, most recently yesterday. I look on the home screen between the house and the equalizer but there is no conversation icon there. Is there something I need to do to turn on the conversation icon? TIA.
Kelly
I had this problem today and spent an entertaining 15 minutes with customer service as a result.
The first thing you need to check is your Android or IOS version. You will only see the conversation icon if you have Android 5 or IOS 9, or higher - something Amazon does not mention in their "help" section.
Their suggestion was to set it up through someone else's phone to which I more or less politely replied with an "I don't think so!"
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I just spent over an hour with tech support. With through 2 people. No luck. That icon is supposed to be between the home button and the equalizer icon. Mines not there.
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I had the same issue and contacted Amazon and found out that the conversation icon is not in the ipad version of the app. I opened up the Alexa app on my phone and it was there.
Hope this helps.
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No conversation icon for me either when I tried to setup the drop-in feature a couple of weeks ago on my Samsung Galaxy Note Pro tablet. I had tried various suggestions on this and other forums and finally found a comment somewhere that calling features can only be set up from the Alexa app installed on a "phone". So I installed the app on my Samsung smartphone, and there was the offer to setup calling and the conversation icon. My Note Pro is activated on Verizon LTE for data but of course it is not a "phone". The setup procedure needs to verify a phone number by sending a confirmation text message to the device you are using!
After posting this, I noticed a better explanation of the phone requirement in this topic in the Echo Technical Support category, "Can't set up home intercom among my devices w/o cell phones???". See restamp's Reply #4.
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I've been trying to sort this out for weeks and finally got some information.
If you have a Fire phone, the Alexa app has not been updated to work with calling/messaging - yet. I've been told the are working on an update.
If you have an Android phone, with Android 5 or higher, you might think you should have the conversation icon. I did, I bought a burner phone with Android 7. Alas, it seems the Alexa app is not hardware agnostic. You have to have specific phones to get the updated app. IPhone and Samsung Galaxy were recommended to me by an Amazon CSR. LG is on the no-go list. By the way, there is no "list" as such, I asked and was told no list of compatible phones is available. No word on whether or not the app will ever really work with all Android 5+ phones.
Did Amazon mess this one up? I think so.
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Apparently there are a lot of different versions of the Alexa app and not all of them are updated at the same time.
Just off the top of my head, there are differences between the Alexa app on iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire tablet, web app. I'm not sure if there are differences on Android between a tablet and a smartphone. If I had to guess, I'd say there are differences. As a former Android developer, I've always hated making different versions for smartphones and tablets.
Even if a new feature is already enabled on your Echo device, it does not necessarily mean that the Alexa app you are using has been updated to use that new feature.
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If you have a Fire phone, the Alexa app has not been updated to work with calling/messaging - yet. I've been told the are working on an update.
Amazon already gave up on the Fire Phone. They don't even sell it any more, except from some 3rd party merchants. I would not be surprised if they scrapped everything on the Fire phone including any of their own Amazon-branded apps.
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I have tried everything.
I have a Blu Life One X2 Android phone. I have uninstalled the Alexa App and reinstalled it. No conversation icon.
I tried installing the Alexa app on my iPad Air... no conversation icon.
Installed the Alexa app on my wifes iPhone 6S and logged in as myself... There is the icon!!! But still, why won't it show up for me?
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I have tried everything.
I have a Blu Life One X2 Android phone. I have uninstalled the Alexa App and reinstalled it. No conversation icon.
I tried installing the Alexa app on my iPad Air... no conversation icon.
Installed the Alexa app on my wifes iPhone 6S and logged in as myself... There is the icon!!! But still, why won't it show up for me?
I checked and you are running Marshmallow. I thought initially maybe your Blu wasn't running the latest operating system. I have to use apk apps for Alexa as I am in Canada. Maybe try an apk Alexa app on your android? I use this site which is safe and I have the conversation icon on my android phone. http://www.apkmonk.com/app/com.amazon.dee.app/
Hi, Thank you. Just installed the APK... no luck. Conversation Icon still not showing up (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4hhJRW_Y0q4M0I1eDhaVmpvVW8/view?usp=sharing)
This phone is actually running Android 6.0.1
James
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Hi, Thank you. Just installed the APK... no luck. Conversation Icon still not showing up (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4hhJRW_Y0q4M0I1eDhaVmpvVW8/view?usp=sharing)
This phone is actually running Android 6.0.1
James
If you are game to try one more updated apk from pure (safe site) here it is, https://apkpure.com/amazon-alexa/com.amazon.dee.app
Laurel
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Thank you for all your help. But that APK didnt work either. It must be either something wrong with my account, or my cell is not compatible.
James
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This problem is absolutely infuriating to me. I have both an iPhone and an iPad. The icon is present on my iPhone and not on my iPad. My father has an iPad but only has a cheap flip phone. He barely knows how to use the iPad but I got him the Alexa so he could communicate with other Alexa users in my family but now he can't get this stupid icon on the iPad and he can't communicate with any of us.
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This problem is absolutely infuriating to me. I have both an iPhone and an iPad. The icon is present on my iPhone and not on my iPad. My father has an iPad but only has a cheap flip phone. He barely knows how to use the iPad but I got him the Alexa so he could communicate with other Alexa users in my family but now he can't get this stupid icon on the iPad and he can't communicate with any of us.
Didn't we decide that not only does the device have to have WIFI, some won't load that version unless it has cellular capabilities as well? Does your iPad have Cellular?
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This problem is absolutely infuriating to me. I have both an iPhone and an iPad. The icon is present on my iPhone and not on my iPad. My father has an iPad but only has a cheap flip phone. He barely knows how to use the iPad but I got him the Alexa so he could communicate with other Alexa users in my family but now he can't get this stupid icon on the iPad and he can't communicate with any of us.
Didn't we decide that not only does the device have to have WIFI, some won't load that version unless it has cellular capabilities as well? Does your iPad have Cellular?
Yes. I know that now but it is no less infuriating. He does have wifi just not a phone attached.
*I* have an iphone attached to my iPad and I can't get the icon on my ipad either. It's only on my iPhone. Still annoying.
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I have the exact same problem as NancySue2. My dad has an non-cellular ipad and a flip phone. No way to activate calling as best as I can tell.
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Too bad it can't be used as a Bluetooth Speakerphone like the Google.
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Not sure if this helps.
I have multiple echo devices around my house on different Amazon accounts.
Account 1: I have a "Show", "Dot", "Wand"
Account 2: "2 * Dots"
Using the same app on my phone logging in on different accounts.
Account 1: I see the icon and can use Drop In etc
Account 2: I can;t see the icon.
I don't think it's app specific it must be something else. It is doing my head in trying to figure it out.
I am using from Australia so not sure if it has to do with where the account was created? Account 1 was created years a go. The others are only new.
SOLVED MY OWN ISSUE: Hope this helps someone else.
MY assumptions/solution
I found that if I created an Amazon account separate to the one that purchased the device from the Alexa app it did not link this account to a physical location. As some of the features are geo based and it did not have an address associated with the account some features were missing.
If I logged into the Amazon account www.amazon.com added a US based address to the account "Manage Your Content and Devices" Section. Not a postal address. When I logged back into the Alexa app the conversation icon appeared.
Hope this helps someone else.
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Not sure if this helps.
I have multiple echo devices around my house on different Amazon accounts.
Account 1: I have a "Show", "Dot", "Wand"
Account 2: "2 * Dots"
Using the same app on my phone logging in on different accounts.
Account 1: I see the icon and can use Drop In etc
Account 2: I can;t see the icon.
I don't think it's app specific it must be something else. It is doing my head in trying to figure it out.
I am using from Australia so not sure if it has to do with where the account was created? Account 1 was created years a go. The others are only new.
SOLVED MY OWN ISSUE: Hope this helps someone else.
MY assumptions/solution
I found that if I created an Amazon account separate to the one that purchased the device from the Alexa app it did not link this account to a physical location. As some of the features are geo based and it did not have an address associated with the account some features were missing.
If I logged into the Amazon account www.amazon.com added a US based address to the account "Manage Your Content and Devices" Section. Not a postal address. When I logged back into the Alexa app the conversation icon appeared.
Hope this helps someone else.
This is how you do it.
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So... If I understand this right... You give it a US "time zone" and the icon appears?
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I discovered that the Alexa App on my iPad Pro does not have a Conversation icon. However, I do have a Conversation icon on the Alexa App on my iPhone. So I set up messages through my iPhone, instead of my iPad Pro. Hope that helps.
--brite_lite54
I'd like to check out the calling features of the Echo but I don't have the conversation icon. I have been updating my Alexa app, most recently yesterday. I look on the home screen between the house and the equalizer but there is no conversation icon there. Is there something I need to do to turn on the conversation icon? TIA.
Kelly
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This problem is absolutely infuriating to me. I have both an iPhone and an iPad. The icon is present on my iPhone and not on my iPad. My father has an iPad but only has a cheap flip phone. He barely knows how to use the iPad but I got him the Alexa so he could communicate with other Alexa users in my family but now he can't get this stupid icon on the iPad and he can't communicate with any of us.
I had a long talk with Amazon support yesterday, after talking to a few people it became clear that they do not support a number of features on the iPad app that are involved with phoning someone. That includes, Conversation, Drop In and even Your Voice training. These are only supported on phone apps like iPhone or Android. Their logic is that iPads do not have phone numbers associated with them. I explained that this was not logical since I use my iPad to set up lots of other systems involving phone numbers, but they did not want to hear it.
I also agree that this is confusing and frustrating, but that is the way it is for now.
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Their logic is that iPads do not have phone numbers associated with them.
I have a New iPad that has it's own phone number... so I call Bullshit too. The cellular ones require their own phone number to be activated and used with LTE service.
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How do I update the Alexa app
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I have one Echo, 2 or 3 Dots, and 3 Shows. I have wanted to do the Drop In for some time, but couldn't find the Conversation Icon either. Last night I was on Amazon reading instructions. I answered the survey at the bottom - "did this help, yes or no." I was able to leave a brief note and I got an email reply. So, today I used the Live Chat link from the email, and I had a great Chat with someone. I told him my problem (I first write it in Word and copy & paste. Gives me time to write a long message initially.) I have a Samsung Note 3 using Android 5.0 and a version of Alexa app that is at least one year old. He had me UNINSTALL & INSTALL THE ALEXA APP. Bingo! That worked. I now have the BOTTOM MENU that includes the CONVERSATION ICON. From there I was able to ENABLE the DROP IN feature and I got all of my devices to Drop In. I may need to rename my devices though. They still have the default names given to them. I think a unique name will make it easier to remember which one is which. I hope this helps someone else who hasn't been able to find the CONVERSATION ICON. I'm waiting for my daughters to set up their Echos so we can call & message too. (I have a few Fire devices too, but I haven't even tried them with Alexa much yet. So far, Alexa works well with my Phillips Hue lights. Alexa is a lot of fun, and she doesn't eat much!)
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On my Galaxy 9 Plus, I had to uninstall the app and then reinstall it. It is there now. :)
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I found this thread, searching for why I didn't have the "Communicate" icon in my Alexa app, on my iPhone 8 Plus, with iOS 13.6.1.
I too uninstalled and reinstalled the Alexa app and this corrected my issue.
Dave