What is Amazon Sidewalk? (All You Need to Know)

Amazon has a lot of exciting services for the public, including its Prime Video and Echo line of products. While talking about Echo, amazon has an amazon sidewalk product that works in conjunction with Amazon Echo. Continue reading to learn more.

Amazon is one of the most popular online marketplaces in the world, selling products ranging from food to books to adorable dog sweaters. It's also known for creating several devices and software to bring entertainment into your home. Amazon has a new service in the works called Sidewalk. I'm guessing this is just one of many entries in their "services" market. If you’re interested in learning more about amazon Sidewalk, read on.

Table Of Contents

What Is Amazon Sidewalk?

Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps devices like your Echo, Ring security cameras, and Tile trackers work better and stay connected even when they’re far from home. When Sidewalk is enabled, your devices share a small portion of their bandwidth with compatible devices nearby. The low-bandwidth shared network expands the coverage of low-cost IoT devices so they can stay connected even when they’re out of range of their home network.

How Does Amazon Sidewalk Work?

Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps Amazon devices work better together and with other people’s devices. Sidewalk bridges gaps in your home’s Wi-Fi so your Echo devices can stay connected to the cloud, even if your router is far away or your internet service is unreliable. And if your Echo device loses its connection to the cloud, Sidewalk can help it reconnect.

Sidewalk also extends the coverage of low-cost outdoor security cameras and smart lights so they can stay connected even when they’re out of your home’s Wi-Fi range. Sidewalk will soon enable new experiences like finding lost pets with Tile trackers or keeping an eye on packages with Amazon Cloud Cam Security Cameras.

Does Amazon Sidewalk Replace the Need for a Home WIFI Network?

If you have a home Wi-Fi network, Amazon Sidewalk won’t replace it. The Sidewalk is designed to supplement your home network and help devices stay connected even when they’re outside the range of your Wi-Fi router. Sidewalk can also be used as a backup for your home network. If your internet goes down, Sidewalk can keep your devices connected so you can still use them.

To use Amazon Sidewalk, you’ll need an Echo or a Ring device. These devices will connect to the Sidewalk network and act as bridges for other devices to connect. Sidewalk is designed to be safe and secure, using multiple layers of encryption to keep your data private. Amazon also promises that Sidewalk won’t use more bandwidth than what’s available on your device and will only connect to your authorized devices.

How Much Does Amazon Charge for the Amazon Network?

Amazon Sidewalk is a new network that helps Amazon devices work better together. It also helps other devices connect to the internet. The network uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the 900Mhz spectrum, and Wi-Fi to create a low-bandwidth network that can reach up to half a mile from an Amazon device. To use Sidewalk, customers must opt into the service and have an eligible device.

Opting in is free for customers and helps support the community of connected devices. However, you may incur data charges from your service provider. Sidewalk will automatically connect eligible devices when they come within range of each other or an Amazon Sidewalk Bridge—a gateway device that connects Sidewalk to the broader internet.

When connected, these devices can share small amounts of data with each other so they can work better together. For example, if your Echo is having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi, it can borrow your Ring’s connection instead.

What Devices Support Amazon Sidewalk?

A device to use Amazon Sidewalk must have an Amazon Sidewalk Bridge. Eligible devices include:

Amazon Echo
Ring security cameras
Amazon outdoor smart lighting systems
FireTV
Tile trackers
Amazon motion sensors

More devices will be added by Amazon in the future. Once a device has an Amazon Sidewalk Bridge, it can start using the network immediately. There's no need to set up or configure anything - start using your device as usual, and it will automatically connect to the nearest Sidewalk Bridge when it's in range.

Why Should Users Join the Amazon Sidewalk Program?

When customers join the program, they can choose to extend their device's range to help others in their community stay connected. The program is free to join, and customers can opt-out anytime. By joining the Amazon Sidewalk Program, users can:

Stay Connected: The program helps devices stay connected to each other and the internet.
Extend Range: Customers can extend their device's range to help others in their community stay connected.
Free to Join: There is no cost to join the Amazon Sidewalk Program.
Customer Support: Customer support can troubleshoot problems with devices that Alexa enables.

Additionally, as more and more devices are enabled with Alexa technology (which utilizes Amazon Sidewalk), the range of those devices will extend – giving users even more value for participating in the program.

How Does Amazon Sidewalk Impact Wireless Bandwidth and Personal Data Usage?

When Amazon Sidewalk was announced, many people were concerned about its potential impact on their wireless bandwidth and personal data usage. When you enable the feature, your devices will automatically connect to nearby devices using Sidewalk. It creates a shared network that you can use for things like low-bandwidth internet connections or sending small amounts of data between devices.

One concern around Sidewalk is that it could potentially use up a lot of bandwidth if many devices are connected to it at once. However, the bandwidth is at a limit of 80k/ps will only use as much as necessary. In addition, you can set limits on how much bandwidth your devices can use for Sidewalk, so you can make sure it doesn't impact your regular internet usage.

Another concern is personal data usage. When you enable Sidewalk, your devices will share basic information about their location and battery level with the network. However, Amazon says that all this data is anonymized and cannot be used to identify individual users personally. In addition, you can choose to opt out of sharing this data entirely if you'd prefer.

How Can Users Turn Off Amazon Sidewalk?

You can turn off Amazon Sidewalk by unplugging the power cord from the modem. It is the most common way to turn off Amazon Sidewalk, but it is not always effective. When you turn off the appliance in this way, it does not shut down and will stay on in a low-power mode. You can manually turn it off by accessing its settings page via your mobile device or computer. You can also turn it off manually by going into your Amazon Sidewalk app.

Where Is Amazon Sidewalk Available?

Amazon Sidewalk is a new, shared network that helps low-cost devices connect to the internet. It’s available in the US and will come to other countries soon. Your device must be turned on and within range of an eligible router or gateway to use Amazon Sidewalk — no wire setup is required. When you’re not using your device, it can automatically connect to Amazon Sidewalk and help route traffic to other nearby devices. Amazon Sidewalk is available free of charge to all customers.

Conclusion

Amazon Sidewalk is a new shared network for low-bandwidth Echo devices that promises to extend the reach of your smart home products. It's still in its early stages, but it has the potential to make a significant impact on how we use and connect to smart devices in our homes.