I recently discovered one of my favorite smart home automations when I had my hands slathered in bread dough and my Ring doorbell chimed.
Luckily, I had an Echo Show within earshot and had connected my Ring doorbell to it after setting it up.
Alexa showed me the front door and I saw someone standing on my porch who looked like a salesperson, so I didn’t have to leave my “kneady” dough and answer. I asked Alexa to talk to the front door, and I said I wasn’t interested. Then I quickly turned off my doorbell mic and went back to business.
FYI: If I’m being honest, my motivation for answering unexpected visitors at the door is up there with scheduling painful dental work. Actually, I may go with the dental work first because my dentist has a great sense of humor.
If you’re curious about connecting your Ring camera to your Echo Show, let’s take a look at how simple it is to pair the two. If you haven’t done so yet, you can install your Ring Video Doorbell in six easy steps by following our guide.
Getting Started
First, make sure your Ring camera and Echo Show use the same network.
Most folks only have one network at home but my neighbor runs two. If you’re doing the same, your devices need to be on the same network.
FYI: If you’re running into issues with your Ring doorbell camera, you’re not alone. But thankfully, we can help you troubleshoot Ring issues and get you going again.
Step 1: Link Your Accounts
Open the Ring app on your phone or tablet and press the three-lined icon (or hamburger menu, as lots of people call it) in the top left of the screen. You’ll see the main menu. Look for “Accounts” about halfway down, and press it.
On your Account Settings page, press “Link Your Amazon Account” about halfway down. It will ask you to verify your Ring password and then sign in to your Amazon account. Be sure to use the Amazon username and password associated with your Alexa and Echo Show.
Before you press “Link Accounts,” be sure “Enable Ring Alexa Skill” is checked.
Step 2: Find Your Device on Echo
After linking your Ring and Amazon accounts, it should automatically connect any Ring devices you’ve set up to your Alexa through the Ring skill. That’s why it’s important to make sure the “Enable Ring Alexa Skill” option is checked.
Alexa Skills add new functionality to Alexa’s offerings, and come in a variety of categories:
- Education and reference
- Productivity
- Smart home
- Games and trivia
- Health and fitness
FYI: Think of Alexa Skills as similar to apps on mobile devices. They let you connect to other services — such as Ring, Hulu, or YouTube — and help you do things easier. One of my all-time favorite skills is a word game called Puzzle of the Day, where Alexa gives you a five-word daily puzzle to solve. It doesn’t save me time, but it sure is fun.
You can swipe down on your Echo touch screen and press “Smart Home” to see all your smart devices and groups. Scroll through the options and press “Cameras,” or swipe through the index cards and search for the name of your camera.
If you don’t see your Ring camera listed, I found that it’s easier to use the Alexa app to add a device.
To do that, open the Alexa app on your phone or tablet, press “Devices,” press the “+” icon, and select “Add Device.” You can search for it there or press “Discover Devices” and Alexa will search your network for the Ring camera.
Ring Cameras
>> Check Out: Best Home Security Systems That Work With Alexa
Once Alexa adds your camera, press “Setup Device” and follow the prompts. It should ask a few questions, such as if you’d like to add the camera to a group.
Did You Know? Smart home groups allow Alexa to control multiple devices at once. You could, for example, add smart lights and speakers to a group in your living room to help create the perfect party ambience.
Step 3: Camera Setup Options
To view your camera on Echo Show, you’ll just need to say, “Alexa, show me the front door” (or whatever your camera’s name is) and Echo will display the camera’s live view.
For Ring Doorbell Cameras
Ring doorbell cameras may need additional settings in order to get them functioning the way you want. To tweak their settings, press the name of your doorbell camera in the Alexa app or on the Echo Show touch screen.
Press the gear icon in the top right of the Alexa app. In the Settings area, you’ll see an example of how to ask Alexa for access to the camera (e.g. “Alexa, show me the front door.”). Beneath that, you’ll see the Announcements section.
These are the options we want to tweak.
“Motion Announcements” alert you anytime something triggers your doorbell camera. I prefer to keep this toggle off for my doorbell camera because I have a busy front sidewalk and it can make my Echo Show the kind of show I don’t want to watch, but you can experiment with it to see what works for you.
The next toggle, “Doorbell Press Announcements,” alerts you anytime someone presses your doorbell. This is what I recommend you have toggled on.
With this option enabled, whenever someone rings your doorbell, Echo Show will automatically display a live feed of your doorbell camera and alert you with whatever sound you’ve selected for your doorbell.
When the live feed pops up, you’ll also see a button on the touch screen to toggle your microphone on or off. You can also ask Alexa to talk to the front door, which will turn on your mic as well.
FYI: You can select which kind of doorbell sound you’d like to hear from Echo Show via the Alexa app. The sound can be anything from a typical ding-dong to season-specific jingles (mostly holiday tunes). The default setting sounds nice, so I haven’t changed mine.
For Any Other Ring Cameras
You won’t see the “Doorbell Press Announcements” in the setup options for other Ring cameras, so you’ll probably want to toggle the “Motion Announcements” on.
If someone walks near your Ring security camera, Alexa will say something like, “Motion detected at your spotlight cam,” and automatically connect to the live view.
If you have a lot of motion alerts and you don’t want to hear and see them constantly, you may want to keep this setting on only during specific times. Likewise if your camera is battery-powered and you want to save its charge, because the more it triggers, the more battery it consumes.
Step 4: Alexa, Show Me the Money
The coolest part of having a voice-activated device such as an Echo Show is that you can ask Alexa to do most of this process itself. You’ll still need to authorize the account linking through either the Ring or Alexa app.
Give these voice commands a try:
- “Alexa, install and enable the Ring Alexa skill.”
- “Alexa, discover my devices.”
- “Alexa, show my [Ring Device Name].”
- “Alexa, talk to the front door.”
- “Alexa, hang up.”
Connecting your Ring camera and Echo Show takes minutes, but it can go beyond simply avoiding salespeople at your front door. You can monitor deliveries from your couch or greet guests.
You could even group your Ring doorbell camera with a lamp plugged into a smart power strip near your front door, and then set up an Alexa routine so the lamp turns on anytime someone triggers your doorbell camera at night.
That gives you another tool in your thief-deterrent arsenal for when you’re out on the town or away on vacation.
>> Read More: Can Smart Lights Really Deter Burglars?
There can be downsides to having voice-activated technology in your house though. We wrote about five smart home dangers to look out for, but I recently discovered a variety of weird items in my Amazon cart after hosting a party for some friends.
Be sure voice purchasing is off on your voice-activated devices, especially if you have kids (or friends who act like them).
The Power of Ring
Ring was one of the first companies to make video doorbells, and it has remained the biggest contender in the space. We rated it best overall in our list of the best video doorbell cameras for 2024. Its security cameras are great choices as well.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or a smart-home-security connoisseur, connecting your Ring camera and Echo Show can provide a hands-free way to stay alert and communicate with guests and uninvited visitors.
It’s also an improvement in user experience and accessibility, because you don’t have to have your phone on hand to check alerts — and if you’re anything like me, any excuse to use your phone less is probably welcome.
Overall, you just can’t beat the convenience. The next time I throw a party, I won’t have to stop what I’m doing to greet guests at the door. I can keep doing those last-minute party tasks and tell people to come in and find me in the kitchen, because that’s where my kind of party starts.
