A smarter phone for your home with Alexa built-in

SeanD · ‎20-07-2021

Hi everyone,

I want to share with you some information about a digital home phone available on BT’s Digital Voice service. This particular home phone comes with Alexa built-in 😃

Our most helpful home phone

The Advanced Digital Home Phone with Alexa built-in is a real game-changer for your home. Available only on Digital Voice our new home phone service. Giving you a future-ready connection at home that makes keeping in touch with loved ones even better.

This brand-new handset is cordless and comes with a voice command feature, so you can take Alexa around your home with you. Simply tap the Alexa button and ask to call one of your contacts, play music, hear the news, or check the weather. You can do it all from this handset, even controlling smart devices around your home.

A better, clearer connection

It’s not just about the handset features. Digital Voice also gives you crystal clear HD calling. This means incredible sound quality on your home phone – almost as if the person you’re speaking to is in the room with you.

And with our enhanced Call Protect service it’s never been easier to block nuisance calls. Just add any number to your personal blacklist with one touch of a button.

Digital Voice also comes with our Call Diversion Feature too. If you’re heading out, you can simply divert calls to your mobile and never miss an important conversation.

Easy to upgrade

The Advanced Digital Home Phone with Alexa built-in is only available on Digital Voice. But because we want everyone to experience our best possible service all you have to do is pick the right calling plan for you and you’ll get a handset upgrade for free

Advanced Digital Home Phone with Alexa built-in FAQS

How do I set up Alexa on my BT Advanced Digital Phone?

If you didn't choose to set up Alexa when you set up your new handset for the first time, press the Alexa button and follow the on-screen steps. You’ll need a device with internet access like a smartphone or tablet to set up Alexa.

Open a web browser on your other device and type in the web address shown on the handset.
Sign in to your Amazon account or create a new one and follow the instructions. Make sure that you tick "Allow" on the Amazon web page, to ensure that your BT Advanced Digital Home Phone contacts are shares with Alexa.
The Amazon website and your phone will show you that Alexa has been set up successfully.
To try out Alexa, press the Alexa button, wait for the Alexa listening screen and ask a question such as “How’s the weather today?”.

How do I share my contacts with Alexa so I can use voice commands to call my saved contacts by name?

When you first set up your Alexa service on your Advanced Digital Home Phone, the web browser page will ask you to “tick and allow” access to the contacts you have stored on your hub. By doing this, you will always be able to use the Alexa feature to dial these contacts from your Advanced Digital Home Phone.

If you did not set up contact sharing during the initial Alexa set-up, you can do so by pressing Menu on your phone and scroll to Alexa settings and then press Select. Here Contact Sharing is highlighted; press Select and then press Select again to either Share or Unshare your Hub Contacts. Follow the on-screen instructions.

How do I remove permissions for sharing my hub contacts with Alexa?

You can fully remove your permission to share your hub contacts with Alexa. Once you have done this, you will need to go back through the Alexa set-up journey to be able to continue to use the other Alexa features

Press Menu when your phone is on the home screen and scroll to Alexa settings, press Select
Contact sharing is highlighted, press Select and then scroll down to Remove Permission and press Select. Follow the on-screen instructions, using a web browser on a separate device to complete the final steps. You will see your BT Hub and the option to "remove". Click on remove.

Your Hub contacts are no longer accessible to Alexa and you will not be able to call them by name using the Alexa feature.

How do I deregister Alexa from my BT Advanced Digital Home Phone and Hub?

If you want to remove the Alexa service completely from your hub.

Press Menu when your phone is on the home screen and scroll to Alexa settings, press Select.
Scroll down to Deregister Alexa and press Select.
Follow the on-screen instructions. Alexa is now deregistered from your hub. If you want to use the Alexa service again. Press the Alexa button and follow the set-up instructions.

Can I get Alexa notifications on my handset and other Alexa enabled devices?

Yes, Alexa can send notifications to your handset (and other Alexa enabled devices). For example, it can update you on when your Amazon order will arrive. If you see the yellow circle at the top of the display, press the Alexa button on your handset and say, “What are my notifications?” You can turn this feature off in your Alexa app settings on another device.

How many people can use the Alexa feature at the same time?

The Alexa feature can only be used on one BT Advanced Digital Home Phone at a time. If you have other BT Advanced Digital Home Phones with Alexa built-in, you will see a blue circle at the top of the display to show at a glance that someone is already using the Alexa feature

To make calls with Alexa do I need to use the keypad or can I use voice commands?

When using Alexa on your BT Advanced Digital Home Phone handset, you'll need to use a Voice command. You can either ask Alexa to call someone by name or ask Alexa to dial a specific phone number (e.g. Call Mum, or call "020 1234567").

Can Alexa be used to block calls?

You can't use Alexa to block calls on your BT Advanced Digital Home Phone. Calls can be blocked by using the BT Call Protect feature. Full details can be found in the online user guide which you'll find at bt.com/help/digital-voice.

How can I add additional handsets to the line?

The default Digital Voice service comes with a single Alexa enabled handset; however, you can order additional ones by calling 0800 800 150. You can connect up to 5 Digital Voice Handsets to your Smart Hub 2.

Does the Alexa service come with a caller ID? Is the caller ID displayed or does it announce caller name?

The BT Advanced Digital Home Phone comes with BT Caller ID, so you will see a number, or a name (if they are stored in your Contacts) when a call comes through. The phone doesn’t announce the caller’s name.

Is the volume adjustable on the phone?

Yes. Your phone is set to ring at volume 3 by default but you can change that and the ringtone it plays.

From the Menu, go to Phone Settings, press Select when Sounds is highlighted.
Scroll to Ringing and press Select.
Choose whether you want to change the ringtone of an internal or external call and scroll to that option.
Then use the right and left navigation buttons to choose a tone that you like and scroll down to Volume and choose whether to increase or decrease it.

If you are on a call, you can also change the volume, by pressing the navigation button up or down.

Full details can be found in the online user guide which you'll find at bt.com/help/digital-voice

How do I block/unblock a number?

With your BT Advanced Digital Home phone with Alexa built-in, there are three ways that you can block calls:

Block a number before answering it. Press Block on the left-hand soft key as the incoming call rings. You'll hear your phone answer the call and add the number to your Personal Blacklist.
Block the number during the call Press Options during the call and then select Block. The number will be added to your Personal Blacklist
Block the number after the call. After you've hung up, press Menu and then Select. The handset will dial into your BT Call Protect menu and you have the option to add the last number to your Personal Blacklist.

Does the BT Advanced Home phone with Alexa built-in have voicemail?

Digital Voice customers have free access to BT 1571. It answers your phone when you can't. Callers can leave a message, which you can hear by pressing the Voicemail button on the handset or dialling 1571. If you’ve got messages waiting for you to listen to, you’ll see an icon on the home screen of the phone, showing the number of messages and depending on your settings, you can also hear an alert.

How far away can the handset be from its base?

The product uses DECT Technology, therefore, each handset has a range of up to 50m indoors/300m outdoors from the base station (in ideal conditions).

Can I use my voice to answer my phone remotely?

No, the BT Advanced Home Phone with Alexa built-in, uses push to talk functionality, so you need to press the button to answer a call.

If my broadband goes down, can I still use my phone and Alexa functionality?

BT’s Digital Voice service is powered via broadband and if the internet goes down, you won't be able to use your phone or Alexa features. Please make sure that you have another way to call for help in an emergency.

Can I use Alexa to make emergency calls?

No, you should not use the Alexa service for dialling the emergency services and if there is a power cut or a problem with your Broadband please make sure that you have another way to call for help in an emergency.

How many numbers can be stored in the phone book?

You can store up to 500 contacts in total. They’ll be shared with any other Digital Home Phone handsets you’ve got registered to your hub. If a caller is in your Contacts, you’ll be able to see their name on the display when they call you. And the screen colour will change to green.

Can I listen to Alexa music from one handset and use another Alexa built-in handset to make calls using Alexa?

You can only have one active Alexa session at a time. Playing music would be the single active Alexa session. The second handset would not respond to the Alexa button press and it will show a blue circle next to it to show Alexa is active on the other handset. The second handset will be able to make calls using BT as usual.

What happens when I am on a call and someone calls me?

If you have other Digital Voice handsets and have Multi Call set up, they will ring when another call comes in. Even if you only have one handset, either way, you'll hear Call Waiting beeps on the handset that's being used and can choose to answer or not. More information on Multi Call can be found in the online user guide which you'll find at bt.com/help/digital-voice