Alexa can tell you if someone broke into your home break-in

When it comes to home safety, most of us are not looking to renovate panic rooms or put in place high-end home surveillance systems. We just want a little peace of mind. It turns out that one of the cheapest options for this purpose is a $ 20 Amazon Echo Dot. ($ 30 at Amazon). Using Alexa Guard – a recently added and completely free feature for each Echo device available – your smart speaker will listen with the help of remote microphones to detect broken windows and alarms. In addition, the device can turn on and off all smart lights connected to simulate a person walking around the house, and send any notification to the ADT and Ring security services if you use them.

So, if you leave for a few weeks or head to the store for a few minutes, your Echo can help you monitor the house. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Open the Alexa app and tap the hamburger menu (the icon in three lines in the upper left corner).

2nd step: Tap Settings and scroll down.

Step 3: Press Guard and follow the instructions for setup. If you want to use the intelligent lighting function, you must confirm your postal code.

Step 4: From now on, saying "Alexa, I'm leaving" will activate the guard mode.

Note: If Alexa wants to break the glass or sound an alarm, she will record the sound and send you an excerpt. If you wish, you can then connect to your Echo device to listen for other sounds, such as an intruder moving around the house.

Step 5: To adjust the Guard settings, return to the Guard screen from the settings menu.

Step 6: Touch the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen. From there, you can set the Guard features that you want to enable or disable, including connecting to an ADT or Ring security service.