The good news is that Amazon is working on improving their network for their Amazon Echo and RING doorbell users, the not-so-great news is that they are doing it by allowing all connected devices to share internet connections. The new "Amazon SIdewalks" technology basically means that your neighbors can and will be sharing your internet connection unless you opt-out. The retail giant is giving users 1 week to opt-out. If you are an Amazon device user you have until June 8th to disable Sidewalk in the settings section of the Alexa or Ring apps. After June 8th, the network will be turned on and your devices will become “Sidewalk Bridges”. Sharing the internet connections will keep devices online even if they’re out of range of home wifi, and extend the range of tracking devices. Here's how to opt-out:
ALEXA
- Open Alexa App
- ‘More’ in bottom right*
- ‘Settings’ near the bottom
- ‘Account Setting’
- ‘Amazon Sidewalk’
- Tap the little switch to ‘Disable’ and opt-out
RING
- Open your Ring App
- Tap the three-lined icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
- Tap Control Center.
- Tap Sidewalk
- Tap the Sidewalk slider button to disable it
- You will see a screen asking you to confirm that you want to disable Sidewalk
- Confirm that you wish to disable Sidewalk.