Amazon Sidewalk | Extended Outdoor Device Connectivity
What is Amazon Sidewalk?
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Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps devices work better. Operated by Amazon at no charge to customers, Sidewalk can help simplify new device setup, extend the low-bandwidth working range of devices, and help devices stay online even if they are outside the range of their home wifi. In the future, Sidewalk will support a range of experiences from using Sidewalk-enabled devices to help find pets or valuables, to smart security and lighting, to diagnostics for appliances and tools.
Why should I participate in Amazon Sidewalk?
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Amazon Sidewalk helps your devices get connected and stay connected. For example, if your Echo device loses its wifi connection, Sidewalk can simplify reconnecting to your router. For select Ring devices, you can continue to receive motion alerts from your Ring Security Cams and customer support can still troubleshoot problems even if your devices lose their wifi connection. Sidewalk can also extend the working range for your Sidewalk-enabled devices, such as Ring smart lights, pet locators or smart locks, so they can stay connected and continue to work over longer distances. Amazon does not charge any fees to join Sidewalk.
What are Sidewalk Bridges, and which devices are able to become Sidewalk Bridges?
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Sidewalk Bridges are devices that provide connections to Amazon Sidewalk. Today, Sidewalk Bridges include many Echo devices and select Ring Floodlight and Spotlight Cams. For a comprehensive list of Sidewalk devices, visit Help Page.
How do I turn Amazon Sidewalk on or off?
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Ring customers who own an eligible device can choose to update their Amazon Sidewalk preferences at any time from the Control Center in the Ring app or Ring website. Echo customers who own an eligible device can update their Amazon Sidewalk preferences at any time from Settings in the Alexa app. If you have linked your Ring and Amazon accounts, your Sidewalk preferences on either your Alexa or Ring app will apply to all of your eligible Echo and Ring devices. When customers complete setup on a Sidewalk Bridge device (or when an existing device becomes Sidewalk capable) for the first time, they will be asked whether they want to join the network. For customers who had already set up Sidewalk Bridge devices at the time Sidewalk was initially launched, an Over-The-Air (OTA) update connected the devices to the network. These customers received email notifications prior to the pending update and instructions for how to turn it off, if that was their choice. Sidewalk will also be turned on for customers who do not complete setup, unless they have previously turned off the setting.
How will Amazon Sidewalk impact my personal wireless bandwidth and data usage?
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The maximum bandwidth of a Sidewalk Bridge to the Sidewalk server is 80Kbps, which is about 1/40th of the bandwidth used to stream a typical high definition video. Today, when you share your Bridge’s connection with Sidewalk, total monthly data used by Sidewalk, per account, is capped at 500MB, which is equivalent to streaming about 10 minutes of high definition video.
If I turn off Amazon Sidewalk, will my Sidewalk Bridges still work?
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Yes. All of your Sidewalk Bridges will continue to have their original functionality even if you decide to turn off Amazon Sidewalk. However, turning it off disabling means missing out on Sidewalk’s connectivity and location related benefits. You also will no longer contribute your internet bandwidth to support community extended coverage benefits such as locating pets and valuables with Sidewalk-enabled devices.
What happens if there are not a lot of Bridges in my neighborhood?
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Amazon Sidewalk coverage may vary by location based on the number of participating Bridges in a location. The more Sidewalk Bridge customers who participate, the better the network becomes.
What Sidewalk Bridges benefit from the reconnect to router feature?
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All Echo devices that are Sidewalk Bridges benefit from this feature.
How does Amazon Sidewalk protect customer information?
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Preserving customer privacy and security is foundational to how we’ve built Amazon Sidewalk. Sidewalk is designed with multiple layers of privacy and security to secure data travelling on the network and to keep customers safe and in control. For example, Sidewalk Bridge owners do not receive any information about devices owned by others connected to Sidewalk. Learn more here
How does Amazon Sidewalk work?
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Customers with a Sidewalk Bridge (today, many Echo devices, Ring Floodlight Cams and Ring Spotlight Cams) can contribute a small portion of their internet bandwidth, which is pooled together to create a shared network that benefits all Sidewalk-enabled devices in a community. Amazon Sidewalk uses Bluetooth, the 900 MHz spectrum and other frequencies to extend coverage and provide these benefits.
Will I know what other Sidewalk-enabled devices are connected to my Bridge?
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Preserving customer privacy and security is foundational to how we’ve built Amazon Sidewalk. Information transferred over Sidewalk Bridges is encrypted and Bridge customers are not able to see that Sidewalk-enabled devices are connected to their Bridge. Customers who own Sidewalk-enabled devices will know they are connected to Sidewalk but will not be able to identify which Bridge they are connected to. For more information, visit our whitepaper here
What does it mean to share the location of my Sidewalk Bridge?
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You’ll have the option to help your neighbors by sharing your Bridge’s approximate location to provide benefits like helping them locate their pet. Neighbors with Sidewalk-enabled devices won’t be able to see the exact street address of your Sidewalk Bridge. They will only see an approximate location, like the nearest intersection. This setting will apply to all of your Sidewalk Bridges.
What is a Sidewalk-enabled device?
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Sidewalk-enabled devices are devices that connect to Sidewalk Bridges to access Amazon Sidewalk. Sidewalk-enabled devices will support a range of experiences from helping find pets or valuables, to smart security and lighting, to diagnostics for appliances and tools. We are working with device manufacturers on new low-bandwidth devices that can run on or benefit from Sidewalk, with no recurring fees to access Sidewalk. Sidewalk-enabled devices include Sidewalk Bridges because they can benefit from connecting to other Sidewalk Bridges too.
What types of devices can connect to Amazon Sidewalk?
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Only devices authorized by Amazon to use Sidewalk’s low-bandwidth connections are allowed to connect to Amazon Sidewalk.
Is Amazon Sidewalk a replacement for a home wifi network?
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No. Sidewalk Bridges require wifi access for normal operation. When Sidewalk is on, your Bridge can share a low-bandwidth connection with Sidewalk-enabled devices, like sensors and smart lights that are installed in locations around and outside your home where wifi may not be available. Amazon Sidewalk does not support high-bandwidth connections like a wifi or cellular network would, so you would still use those connections for streaming movies, posting on social media or sending email.
How does Sidewalk help in finding Tile trackers?
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Tile uses Bluetooth technology to locate lost items, and with Sidewalk, your Bridge is able to extend Tile’s network coverage even further to help you locate your misplaced keys, wallets, and other items.Alexa securely obtains the last known location of the item either from the Tile service or from a nearby Sidewalk Bridge.
When a Tile is near a Sidewalk Bridge associated with your Alexa account, Alexa will tell you the name of that Bridge, making the Tile easier to find even if you don’t have your mobile phone nearby. Sidewalk also extends the Tile network beyond your home by using other Sidewalk Bridges in your neighborhood that participate in Sidewalk’s Community Finding feature.
What is the Community Finding feature in Sidewalk?
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Community Finding helps neighbors find important items connected to Sidewalk by sharing the approximate location of the Sidewalk Bridge that the compatible Sidewalk-enabled device is close to, such as within a block. It requires the owners of those Bridges to have enabled the Community Finding feature within Sidewalk (Alexa app > More > Amazon Sidewalk > Enabled > Community finding enabled).
Do you need to turn on Sidewalk for the in-home finding experience?
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No. The in-home finding experience is not impacted by the Sidewalk setting and works out of the boxwith your Sidewalk Bridges.The Sidewalk setting controls the sharing of your Internet bandwidth with others for them to receive Sidewalk benefits.If you also use the Tile app to find your Tile, the ‘Device address’ permission in your Tile skill must be enabled to ensure the location is synced in your Tile app.To learn more about Amazon’s Find My feature, from the Alexa app see Devices > Trackers > Settings > About Find My
Do I need to share my bandwidth through Sidewalk to get the benefits from neighbors for finding my Tile trackers?
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No. You do not need to enable Sidewalk and Community Finding to get the benefits of finding your own Tile devices. However, the value of the network grows for everyone as more participate.
What Sidewalk Bridges support Community Finding with Tile?
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All Echo devices that are Sidewalk Bridges support this feature.
What does Amazon charge for use of the network?
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Amazon does not charge any fees to join Amazon Sidewalk, which uses a small portion of bandwidth from a Sidewalk Bridge’s existing internet service. Standard data rates from internet providers may apply.
What is Sidewalk Developer Service (SDS)?
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SDS is a collection of approved silicon chipsets along with purchasable development boards, device software development kits (SDKs), device provisioning tools, technical documentation, and a cloud integration (see Amazon Sidewalk Integration for AWS IoT). Collectively, these tools help device manufacturers develop, and easily launch, devices that are Sidewalk-enabled.
How do manufacturers start using SDS, to begin building Sidewalk-enabled devices?
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To get started building a proof of concept Sidewalk-enabled device, first review the Quick Start Guide on the SDS Console, then review technical documentation, decide which approved development board and Sidewalk Bridge to purchase, and then download an SDK.
Are you a device manufacturer, ready to get started, but have more questions?
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Where is Amazon Sidewalk available?
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Sidewalk is currently only available in the US.
