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- DictionaryDrop-in/ˈdräp ˌin/
adjective
- 1. visited on an informal basis without booking or appointments: "a drop-in disco"
- 2. (of an object such as a chair seat) designed to drop into position.
People also ask
What is the drop in?
Who owns the drop?
What is the opposite of drop?
The meaning of DROP-IN is a casual visit or brief stop.
- Overview
- What is Alexa Drop In?
- How to use Alexa Drop In?
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How-to
By Alistair Charlton
published 13 October 2021
Turn your Amazon Echo into an intercom for the household
(Image credit: Amazon)
A smart device with a built-in voice assistant can take on a range of tasks for you, from setting timers to getting the day’s weather, freeing up your hands so you can get on with other things. .
Firstly, it is worth explaining what Alexa Drop In is not. This feature does not work like a phone call, where one person uses an Echo device to call up the other, who then decides whether to answer their ringing Echo speaker or not. Instead, Drop In opens an audio link between two (or more) Echo devices right away, as soon as you ask Alexa to do so.
When you ask Alexa to drop-in on one of your Echo devices or that of one of your contacts, you immediately receive an audio feed from that device. Or if you are using Echo Show smart displays, a video feed between the two devices will open too.
Naturally, there are some critical privacy implications to be aware of here, and Alexa Drop In can only be set up with the permission of the person intended to be dropped in on. And, while it can be used by two people wishing to communicate between different homes (more on that later), most Drop In use cases happen between Echo devices in the same home.
Drop In is one of the few Alexa features that Amazon reserves for its own Echo devices. So while it doesn’t work on Alexa speakers from other companies, Drop In works on almost every Echo device, plus Amazon’s Fire tablets and the Alexa smartphone app. The only Echo products it doesn’t work on are the now-discontinued Echo Look and the battery-powered (and also now unavailable) Echo Tap.
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Alexa Drop In is switched off on all of your devices by default. To enable it on a specific Echo device, open the Alexa smartphone app, tap on the menu icon in the bottom-right corner, then tap on the settings icon in the top-right corner. Now tap on Communications, tap the toggle switch to the on position, then tap on Drop In and tap On or My Household. The former allows Drop In calls from contacts outside the home, while the second option limits Drop In to Echo devices attached to your Alexa account.
You will need to do this with every device you want to use Drop In with, and turning the feature off is simply a case of following the same instructions then tapping Off on the final menu page.
With Drop In switched on for a single device – an Echo speaker in the kitchen, for example – you can drop in on that speaker from the Alexa smartphone app. Just say: “Alexa, drop in on [Echo device name]” to open an audio feed between your phone and that Echo speaker. This can be a useful tool for quickly making an announcement in your kitchen while away from home; perhaps you’re leaving the office for the evening, or are out food shopping and want to check if something needs purchasing.
Alexa Drop In becomes even more useful when you have several Echo devices in the home. Once enabled on them all, you can drop in on certain rooms whenever you want. This can be useful for telling the whole family that dinner is ready, or that you are heading out. You can say: “Alexa, drop in on all devices” to open an audio feed between the Echo you spoke to and all others in your home.
Drop In doesn’t have to be used to deliver announcements or ask questions. You might also use the feature to check in on your young child while they have a bath, giving them the reassurance that you’re right there if they need you, but giving them the privacy they might also want. In these cases, Echo devices turn into a household intercom, making it easy to quickly communicate between rooms.
On that note, if you have more than one Echo in a room, we recommend only enabling Drop In on one of them, to prevent any annoying audio feedback.
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used to describe a place where people can go, usually to get help or advice, at any time without making an appointment (= an agreed date and time): a drop-in centre for the homeless. a drop-in clinic / shelter. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Places and locations.
Drop In is an optional feature that lets you connect instantly to supported Alexa-enabled devices, like an intercom. Use Drop In to open an instant conversation between your devices or with your Alexa contacts. When you receive a Drop In, the light indicator on your Echo pulses green and you connect to your contact automatically.
Sep 12, 2023 · A deferred retirement option plan, or DROP, is a way for an employee who would otherwise be eligible to retire to keep working. Instead of continuing to add new years of service – thereby increasing the employee’s pension benefit amount – the employer will begin placing lump sums into an interest-bearing account annually.
Heel-to-Toe Drop Explained: The heel-to-toe drop, also known as 'drop' or 'offset,' is the precise millimetric difference between the height of a shoe's heel and its forefoot. For instance, a popular running shoe like the women's Brooks Launch boasts a 10 millimeter heel-to-toe drop.
used to describe a place where people can go, usually to get help or advice, at any time without making an appointment (= an agreed date and time): a drop-in center for the homeless. a drop-in clinic / shelter. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.
