One of the Longevity Explorers found a problem when her mother (in a nursing home) kept inadvertebtly touching the screen of her Echo Show, disrupting the video call. Here is my solution to that problem.
Here is what the explorer said:
My mother, who is in a nursing home, keeps touching the Echo Show screen affecting our video calls
While your Amazon Echo Show has been great for your loved one for Alexa Video calls, sometimes they inadvertently touch icons on the screen or press buttons that may cause a problem. For example, if they mistakenly touch the “Do Not Disturb” icon, you will get a message when you try to call that they are in a Do Not Disturb mode or unavailable. While you can remotely log into their account using your Alexa app to turn this back off, it takes some time to do that.
Other common issues are turning off the microphone or camera, touching physical buttons and the on-screen mute icon during an Alexa or Zoom call.
These inadvertent touches can ruin a family video call.
Currently Amazon does not offer a way to disable the touchscreen on the Echo Show nor a way to prevent the physical buttons from being pushed.
So what can I do to minimize these issues?
A “Shield” to Prevent Touching
I have not found any physical “shields” available for the Echo Show, so I decided to make one of my own:
In my solution, I used a battery case to hold the Plexiglas for an 8” Echo Show, but there are also battery cases for the 5” Echo Show.
Caption- empty Echo Show 8 case
A “battery case” for the Echo Show buttons and to hold the sheets in place.
Caption- Fingernail file covering buttons
Caption- Showing supports for nail file
I used Alien tape to provide the fingernail file standoffs and to hold it in place (see the Kit List).
In my testing, one sheet was enough to stop the touches to be recognized by the touch screen with the screen remaining very visible.
To protect the physical buttons from being tapped, I used a thin wooden fingernail file inserted in the top cover with standoffs.
Please note that voice control operations and Alexa Routines were not impacted by this change.
If access to the buttons is required, the top of the battery case could be pulled back for access. In a similar manner, access to the touch screen is possible by temporarily removing the Plexiglas sheet.
Although the battery feature is not required, some loved ones might find it useful.
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Retired Intel Engineer wanting to share DIY technology tips for the children of parents wanting to remain living independently. I like posting ideas and answering technical questions. If a product or software has an issue making it hard for seniors to use, I try to offer workarounds and also try to contact the manufacturer for solutions. I write a column for this website in the Innovation- Homebrew Solutions & Ideas section
