The short answer
- Free hands-free calls to any UK numberOnce it is set up, saying a name calls a mobile or landline for free, with no dialling and no need to find reading glasses.
- Reminders set once, repeated automaticallyA daily medication or mealtime reminder is set by a family member and keeps running without anyone opening the app again.
- It cannot call 999Alexa’s free calling does not cover emergency numbers, so it is not a substitute for a personal alarm if a fall is the worry.
- It answers a task, not an afternoonA speaker can play the radio and set a reminder, but it will not notice a change in someone or sit with them for an hour.
An Echo Dot typically costs from around £30 to £55 depending on when you buy. Companionship carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, for the company a speaker cannot give.
Quick reference
What to say, and what it does
Print this list or keep it by the speaker. Each phrase is exact, and each one is covered in more detail further down the page.
Call a family member
“Alexa, call Mum’s mobile”
Free to any UK mobile or landline, once contacts are linked.
Check in without waiting for an answer
“Alexa, drop in on Mum”
Only works once the other person has approved the connection.
Remember the tablets
“Alexa, remind me to take my tablets at 8 and 6 every day”
Set once, it repeats without anyone opening the app again.
Know what day it is
“Alexa, what is the date today?”
A quick, private way to check, without having to ask someone.
Listen to the radio
“Alexa, play Radio 4”
Works the same way for any station, by name.
Check the weather before going out
“Alexa, what is the weather like today?”
One of a handful of everyday questions Alexa answers well.
Pass a quiet afternoon
“Alexa, open the magic door”
A gentle interactive story read aloud, free to start.
Alexa does not need the exact wording every time, but starting with these phrases while your parent is learning what it can do makes it far more likely to work first time, which matters for someone who might otherwise give up after one failed attempt.
Getting started
Getting Alexa into the home
Buying and connecting the speaker is the easy part. The setup worth doing properly is linking contacts and permissions, and that only has to happen once.
- 1
Buy an Echo speaker
From about £30An Echo Dot is the cheapest and smallest option and does everything covered in this guide. An Echo Show adds a screen, useful for video calls and for Drop In, and costs more. Prices move around with sales, so it is worth comparing a couple of retailers rather than buying the first one you see. - 2
Connect it to the home wifi
10 minutesThe Alexa app, on any phone or tablet, walks through this in a few taps and only needs doing once. If nobody in the family has set one up before, the app's own setup guide is the clearest route through it. - 3
Link the account and import contacts
Done by a family memberThis is the step that makes calling and reminders work, and it does not need your parent to touch a smartphone at all. Whoever sets it up signs in with an Amazon account, verifies a mobile number, and imports the contacts Alexa should be able to call. - 4
Test a call together before you leave
Worth two minutesSay the exact phrase together once, such as "Alexa, call Mum's mobile," so your parent has heard it work and knows what to expect if they want to use it after you have gone.
The most useful thing it does
Hands-free calls, and their one serious limit
A voice command that starts a call without dialling is the feature most families use most, especially for someone who finds a phone screen fiddly. It has one limit worth knowing before you rely on it for anything serious.
Calling any UK number
Free
Drop In, for a quicker check
Needs approval first
It cannot call 999
Important
Choose who can reach in
Worth doing early
Reminders that keep the day on track
Reminders that keep the day on track
A reminder set once by a family member keeps repeating without anyone having to remember to set it again, which is often the single biggest use of a speaker in an older person's home.
Reminders worth setting up in the first week
0 of 7 ticked
Health and safety
Meals and routine
Who can set them
If tablets are the main worry, a dosette box organises the physical pills as well as reminding when to take them, and the fuller guide to medicines in later life covers what to do when doses are missed. Elderly hydration has more on why a simple drinks reminder matters more than it sounds.
Music, questions and something to do
Music, questions and something to do
The rest of what a speaker does is smaller than a phone call or a reminder, but it fills the quieter parts of the day and gives your parent something to do without needing anyone else in the room.
Radio and music
No dial or aerial to fiddle with
Quick, everyday questions
Answered without asking anyone
Stories and simple games
Free to start
A note on what changed
Since 2025
Where technology stops
What Alexa cannot do, and when it is time for a person
None of this replaces someone calling in. A speaker cannot notice that your parent seems more tired than usual, cook a meal, or sit with them through a difficult afternoon, and it is worth being clear about that before it becomes the only thing checking in.
What a speaker does well
- Repeats a reminder at the same time every day, without anyone having to set it twice
- Starts a call hands-free, which suits someone who finds a phone screen difficult to use
- Answers small questions, the time, the date, the weather, without anyone having to be asked
- Fills a quiet hour with the radio, music or a story
What still needs a person
- Notice that someone seems more confused, breathless or low than they were last week
- Cook a meal, help with washing or dressing, or manage medication that has already been missed
- Call 999 in a fall or a medical emergency
- Sit with someone through a difficult hour the way a visit does
If the worry behind buying a speaker is your parent being alone for long stretches of the day, companionship carers visit for exactly that, from £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, and activities to try with a companionship carer has ideas for what a visit like that looks like. For the mornings and evenings a phone call cannot cover, hourly care starts at £18 an hour with our fee included, and you can search vetted carers near you for free.
Alexa is one small part of a home set up to help someone stay independent for longer. Making a home safer and home security for an older person cover the rest, from grab rails to who holds a key, and the wider guide to home technology worth buying for an older parent sets alarms, cameras and GPS trackers alongside it.
Questions
Questions families ask about using Alexa
No. Alexa’s free calling covers UK mobiles and landlines but does not support 999 or premium-rate numbers. If a fall or a medical emergency is the worry, a monitored personal alarm is the right device, and personal alarms and sensor mats covers what to look for.
No. The one-off setup, linking the Amazon account, verifying a phone number and importing contacts, is normally done by a family member on their own phone or a computer. Once that is finished, your parent only needs to speak to the speaker itself.
An Echo Dot typically costs from around £30 to £55 depending on retailer and time of year, and it does everything in this guide. An Echo Show, with a screen, costs more and is worth it mainly for video calls and Drop In.
No. Amazon closed Alexa Together in 2025. The reminders, calling and Drop In features in this guide are unaffected and remain free, but the specific caregiver activity feed and emergency-call subscription that replaced it, Alexa Emergency Assist, is only available in the US and not in the UK.
Alexa+ is a more conversational upgrade to Alexa that reached the UK in early 2026, free for Amazon Prime members and £19.99 a month otherwise. It can hold a longer conversation and take actions like booking a table. None of the uses in this guide, calling, reminders, music or games, need it.
Yes. Once your parent's Echo is linked to a shared Amazon household account, a family member can add, change or cancel a reminder from their own phone at any time, and it will play out on your parent's speaker at the time set.
Start with the one thing that solves the worry that bothers them most, usually calling or a single reminder, rather than presenting the whole list at once. Many people who are unsure at first come round once they have seen it do one useful thing reliably.
No. It can remind, call and entertain, but it cannot cook a meal, help someone wash or dress, or notice a change in them over a week the way a person visiting does. Companionship carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, and hourly carers from £18 to £25, both with our fee included, for the parts of the day a speaker cannot cover.