How to enable Alexa person and package announcements from security cameras on Echo smart speakers

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

You may already be used to telling your smart speaker what to do, for example, play your favorite music, set a timer for hard-boiled eggs, or turn on your lights. You might not know that the voice assistant has a number of proactive features.

When motion is detected on a compatible security camera, an Amazon Echo speaker will announce. As of last week, motion announcements work on a number of cameras that are compatible with the Amazon.com voice assistant. Thanks to a recent update, the speakers can announce when a smart camera sees a person or a package. It can also show a live feed from the security camera on any device, so you can take a look without having to say anything.

Currently, only certain models from Ring are able to detect person and package, with support for cameras coming soon. The announcement features are the same regardless of which camera you have.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Before you can enable this feature, you will need to have at least one smart speaker, a display, and an Amazon account. You will need package detection on your compatible camera. Ring cameras require a Ring Protect Plan starting at $3 a month, and this may require paying for a subscription to the camera manufacturer.

• Open the Alexa smartphone app
• Tap Devices
• Scroll through the list at the top of the app and select Cameras
• Select the camera that you want to detect the person and / or package
• Tap the Settings icon on the top right-hand corner
• Under Camera Events, toggle on Person Detection Announcements and/or Package Detection Announcements (if it’s an option)
• Tip: Tap Camera Events Settings > Person Detection > Cameras to quickly enable the feature on all compatible cameras you have

• To select which Echo device(s) in your home makes the announcement, go to the same settings page and tap Announcement Devices
• Select which Echo speaker or display you want to make the announcement. You can select more than one. If you select a smart display, it will pull up a live feed from the camera as well as make the announcement.

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You can use an announcement as a triggering point for a routine, for example, if the camera catches a person, you can turn on the porch light. Ring cameras can be used to see a timeline of all the events that triggered an announcement and can be used to review them.

The following security cameras will soon have person and package detection announcements.

Person detection announcements.

• Ring Video Doorbell Wired
• Ring Video Doorbell (2020)
• Ring Video Doorbell Pro
• Ring Video Doorbell 3
• Ring Video Doorbell 4
• Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2
• Ring Video Doorbell Elite
• Ring Spotlight Cam
• Ring Floodlight Cam
• Ring Stick Up Cam
• Ring Indoor Cam
• Abode IOTA (coming soon)
• Abode Outdoor camera (coming soon)
• Google Nest Cam, outdoor or indoor, battery (coming soon)
• Google Nest Cam, indoor, wired (coming soon)
• Google Nest Cam with floodlight (coming soon)
• Google Nest Doorbell, battery (coming soon)

There are package detection announcements.

• Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2
• Ring Video Doorbell (2020 release)
• Abode IOTA (coming soon)
• Abode Outdoor camera (coming soon)