On 2026/1/13 15:12:25, Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disable neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

Can anybody here advise how this can be resolved, please?

My first reaction would be to say "why not?" (or "Alexa, why not?"); I
don't know if it remembers what it has just said, though. If it doesn't,
then I'd try "(Alexa,) how do I enable you to answer incoming calls?"
(or "why can't you ...").

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The makers may make
and the users may use,
but the fixers must fix
with but minimal clues

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Tue, 1/13/2026 10:12 AM, Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disable neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

Can anybody here advise how this can be resolved, please?

There are some slight variations on commands available.

https://www.myvision.org.uk/setting-up-alexa/

I could find a reference in another country, to an "approved list"
of phone providers that work with this. You would think the behavior
would be symmetric (if you can call, you can receive).

In official pages, it might be referred to as the Alexa App,
but in one thread a person referenced an "Alexa Calling" App.
I expect that's just made up.

Paul

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disable neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

Can anybody here advise how this can be resolved, please?

OP here.

The actual message is "There is no incoming call."

Alexa is clearly lying, since the phone is ringing.

Have not yet identified the make and model of the phone. Will go back
this afternoon. Would be good to have ideas of things to try.

TIA

--
Graham J

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Graham J wrote:

Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disabled neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a
message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

OP here.

The actual message is "There is no incoming call."

Alexa is clearly lying, since the phone is ringing.

OP here ...

Phone is Samsung Galaxy A16 5G model SM--A166B/DS
UI = 8.0
Android = 16
Notifications = Alexa all
Bluetooth was off, now ON
Paired with Echo Dot-BT4

"Alexa, call Graham" - continues to work as expected.
"Alexa, hang up" - terminates the call as expected.

I ring her phone, it shows an incoming call, a tinted blue screen with a
green button to accept, red to cancel.

"Alexa, answer the phone."
The response from Alexa is still: "There is no incoming call."

The user is virtually paralysed (probably carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists) so tapping a button on the phone is basically impossible.

Ideas?

--
Graham J

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Wed, 1/14/2026 10:39 AM, Graham J wrote:

Graham J wrote:

Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disabled neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

OP here.

The actual message is "There is no incoming call."

Alexa is clearly lying, since the phone is ringing.

OP here ...

Phone is Samsung Galaxy A16 5G model SM--A166B/DS
UI = 8.0
Android = 16
Notifications = Alexa all
Bluetooth was off, now ON
Paired with Echo Dot-BT4

"Alexa, call Graham" - continues to work as expected.
"Alexa, hang up" - terminates the call as expected.

I ring her phone, it shows an incoming call, a tinted blue screen with a green button to accept, red to cancel.

"Alexa, answer the phone."
The response from Alexa is still: "There is no incoming call."

The user is virtually paralysed (probably carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists) so tapping a button on the phone is basically impossible.

Ideas?

The AI training set is a faster way to get some idea about what gears
and levers are hiding in this Home Automation question. I could never
track down this level of detail on my own, because userspace does not know
such things. Maybe one of the home automation forums would have the info,
but it's also partially a phone question, and the smartphone users don't
know stuff like this.

********** CoPilot Question ***************

A user has the following problem.
This involves Amazon Alexa home automation.
The Amazon hardware in the home is Echo Dot-BT4.
The smartphone interacting with the Echo device is Samsung Galaxy A16 5G model SM--A166B/DS

During an outgoing call, where the user says "Alexa, call John", the automation works, and the phone call with John is conducted through the audio I/O of the Echo device.
This proves that much of the plumbing in the automation is working. That
is what is a trifle disturbing about this situation, is the outgoing call progression works.

During an incoming call, the user give the voice command "Alexa, answer the phone" .
The Echo speaker output in response is "There is no incoming call" .

The phone is paired via Bluetooth to the Echo device.

UI = 8.0
Android = 16
Notifications = Alexa all

While the Alexa automation does not necessarily work with
absolutely all smartphones, what would be the most likely
permission issue or protocol issue causing this failure,
and what would your recommendation be to fix this, such
that Alexa can accept the incoming phone call for the user ?

********** CoPilot Answer ***************

The fact that **outgoing calls work perfectly through the Echo Dot**, but **incoming calls cannot be answered**, is a very strong diagnostic clue. It tells us that:

- Bluetooth audio routing (A2DP + HFP) is working.
- Alexa *can* control the phone for outbound dialing.
- The failure is specifically in **Alexa detecting the incoming call event**.

That narrows the problem to **one of two causes**:

---

# Most Likely Cause
## **Alexa is not receiving the CALL_STATE / telecom notifications from the Samsung phone.**

Even though you enabled "Notifications = Alexa all," Samsung phones - especially newer
One UI versions - often **block or restrict "Call & Call Status" access** unless a
very specific permission is granted.

For Alexa to answer incoming calls, the phone must broadcast:

- **android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE**
- **android.permission.BIND_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SERVICE**
- **android.permission.ANSWER_PHONE_CALLS** (Android 10+)
- **Bluetooth HFP call control** (Hands-Free Profile)

If *any one* of these is missing or blocked, Alexa will say:

"There is no incoming call."

This is exactly what happens when the Echo never receives the ?RINGING? event from the phone.

---

# Why Outgoing Works but Incoming Fails
Outgoing calls only require:

- Alexa -> Bluetooth -> Phone (HFP dial command)

Incoming calls require:

- Phone -> Alexa (notification of incoming call

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:18:48 +0000, Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:

Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disable neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a
message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

Can anybody here advise how this can be resolved, please?

OP here.

The actual message is "There is no incoming call."

Alexa is clearly lying, since the phone is ringing.

She never got moral training. Her parents should have sent her to Sunday School.

Have not yet identified the make and model of the phone. Will go back
this afternoon. Would be good to have ideas of things to try.

TIA

Software that can give you all you want can take away all you've got.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Paul wrote:

On Wed, 1/14/2026 10:39 AM, Graham J wrote:

Graham J wrote:

Graham J wrote:

This on behalf of a disabled neighbour.

So: "Alexa, call Graham" - this works, so Alexa is correctly set up.

But when there is an incoming call: "Alexa, answer the phone" gives a message of the form "Can't answer incoming calls".

OP here.

The actual message is "There is no incoming call."

Alexa is clearly lying, since the phone is ringing.

[snip]

It's a hodge podge of bodgery for sure.

Thanks Paul for your investigation. I will print out the CoPilot
suggestions and take them with me next time I visit.

I note
" The Samsung A16 is a newer budget model, and some carriers disable
**Bluetooth HFP call control** for third?party devices. In that case:"

The carrier is Tesco. Here in the UK Tesco is a large budget
supermarket and it would not surprise me that **Bluetooth HFP call
control** is disabled.

--
Graham J

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)