Using an Alexa device to connect to a zoom meeting - any info on how to do this please

[Lulubell]

We have an elderly sister who is totally blind and not in good health, she currently uses KH Conf to connect to our meetings but she has to hold the phone to her ear for the whole meeting as she cannot see which buttons to press to get hands free.  We understand that its possible to use some Alexa devices to connect to a zoom meeting using speech only, this would obviously be much better for our sister.  The problem is we don’t know how to make that connection or even if its possible to do so in the UK. Does anyone have any instruction or information that could help us care better for our sister please, thank you very much.  

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Based on the lack of instructions on how to do this on our website, I believe this is not possible without advanced technical skills (if at all).

 

https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=702022299&srcid=share

 

Here is the updated November list of what it can do:

https://www.jw.org/en/online-help/using-jw-org/use-voice-assistant-to-play-content/skills-for-amazon-alexa/

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

2 hours ago, Lulubell said:

… she has to hold the phone to her ear for the whole meeting as she cannot see which buttons to press to get hands free...  

 

Perhaps a 'work-around' is to have a 3.5mm jack with a speaker attached to it. Once she has logged into the meeting, if she plugs the 3.5mm speaker jack into her phone, the phone 'should' automatically direct the sound to the speaker. This is what happens to my headset when I plug it into my android phone.

[AndreaC]

Very nice of you that you want to help her in this way!
I have zero experience using Zoom from Alexa, but I did a search on google and found this article:

 

https://www.techenhancedlife.com/solutions/how-use-zoom-echo-show

 

It seems that on the Amazon Echo you can put the meeting in the calendar, and then have it start automatically by simply saying "join meeting" or something like that.
I don't have any devices with Alexa, so I can't make any tests. Try to take a look at it, I hope it can be useful for you and for that dear sister ☺️

[carlos]

It seems it can be done, and the sister only has to say “Alexa, join my meeting.”

A brother kindly sent this link to the mods:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360053161571-Getting-Started-with-Zoom-on-Echo-Show

 

[Lulubell]

Hi everybody, thank you so much for your helpful suggestions.  I have been trying out the Alexa device for the last couple of days and you need a degree in science to get it to do many things!!!  
Not to be deterred, we have had a long chat with Zoom tonight and they have told us that it can be used for joining Zoom rooms but not video conferencing.  The other suggestion they made is to add an Audio plan to our zoom package at a cost of $1200 per year.   We dearly love our sister and want her to be able to listen but that is just too much for one person so we’re investigating how to get a smart phone to call Zoom as an Alexa device can have contacts added which it will then call by voice control.  We will keep trying, thanks again for your help and encouragement, Jehovah’s rich blessing to our whole worldwide family 

[carlos]

8 minutes ago, Lulubell said:

we’re investigating how to get a smart phone to call Zoom as an Alexa device can have contacts added which it will then call by voice control. 

 

Wendy, in my sister's congregation there is an elderly sister who is an absolute disaster with technology. She doesn't even know how to answer an incoming call. The solution they found during the pandemic was to install Teamviewer's Android Remote Access module on her Android smartphone. Then my sister would use the normal Teamviewer app at her phone or computer to access the sister's phone and start Zoom a few minutes before the meeting.

 

I think both products are free for non-business use. I remember that I gave my sister instructions on how to set up the connection and it was really simple. Of course, that gives you full access to the sister's phone, including her emails, messages, bank apps and everything, so that's an important aspect that needs discussed with her first.

 

Another option without using any additional software is to generate a Zoom invitation with an embedded password. The brother in charge of Zoom has to change an option in the Zoom settings so that the link includes the encrypted password. That link can be placed as a direct access on her phone's main screen. I have no idea of the way blind people use their phone, but I assume they can easily click an icon on their main page. This link requires no interaction at all: You click it and it directly opens the Zoom session, automatically entering the password and everything.

[Lulubell]

Hi Carlos

 

Thanks for your suggestion, its much appreciated.  I don’t think our sister would manage the email link, we had thought of that but she is totally blind so it would be very difficult for her.  However, the idea of using team viewer sounds like it would work, we don’t have an android phone but we do have an iphone that could be used just for meeting connection.  I’ve looked at the app and I think it should work but I’m not sure how to set it up, could you give me some instructions please,  we’re all excited at the prospect of finding a way forward for her.  Thank you again, I look forward to hearing from you again, 

 

Christian Love,

 

Wendy

[carlos]

18 hours ago, Lulubell said:

 I’ve looked at the app and I think it should work but I’m not sure how to set it up, could you give me some instructions please,

 

This documents contains a very easy four-step process if you already have made a Teamviewer account:

https://download.teamviewer.com/docs/en/first-steps-unattended-access-en.pdf?p=21826

 

I don't think that's the procedure we followed, though. I can try installing it again and document the process if that doesn't work.

[carlos]

On 11/27/2022 at 5:33 PM, Lulubell said:

Thank you again, I look forward to hearing from you again

 

The same brother pointed out to me that remote control is not possible on an iPhone. Sorry for the red herring.