Welcome to Amazon Sidewalk
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network, coming later this year, that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, and motion sensors work better at home and beyond the front door. When enabled, Sidewalk can unlock unique benefits for your device, support other Sidewalk devices in your community, and even open the door to new innovations like locating items connected to Sidewalk.
The benefits of Amazon Sidewalk
Amazon Sidewalk creates a low-bandwidth network with the help of Sidewalk Bridge devices including select Echo and Ring devices. These Bridge devices share a small portion of your internet bandwidth which is pooled together to provide these services to you and your neighbors. And when more neighbors participate, the network becomes even stronger.
Peace of mind
Keep Sidewalk-enabled devices that are outdoors or in garages connected. You can even help locate items connected to Sidewalk.
Stay connected
If your Sidewalk Bridge device loses wifi connection, Amazon Sidewalk can simplify reconnecting to your router.
Designed to protect your privacy
Sidewalk is designed with multiple layers of encryption.
It's all on your own terms
Don’t think you need Amazon Sidewalk? No worries. You can update this anytime from the Ring or Alexa mobile apps.
Be the first to know
If you're a product manufacturer interested in creating devices with Amazon Sidewalk access,
click here for more information.
Frequently asked questions
What is Amazon Sidewalk?
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?
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.
Where can I change my Amazon Sidewalk preferences?
Available later this year, Ring customers who own an eligible device can choose to update their Amazon Sidewalk preferences anytime from the Control Center in the Ring app or Ring website. Echo customers who own an eligible device can update their Amazon Sidewalk preferences anytime 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.
How does Amazon Sidewalk work?
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.
What are Sidewalk Bridges, and which devices are able to become Sidewalk Bridges?
Sidewalk Bridges are devices that provide connections to Amazon Sidewalk. Today, Sidewalk Bridges include many Echo devices and select Ring Floodlight and Spotlight Cams. A comprehensive list of Sidewalk devices includes: Ring Floodlight Cam (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Mount (2019), Echo (2nd Gen), Echo (3rd Gen), Echo (4th Gen), Echo Dot (2nd Gen), Echo Dot (3rd Gen), Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Dot (2nd Gen) for Kids, Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for Kids, Echo Dot (4th Gen) for Kids, Echo Dot with Clock (3rd Gen), Echo Dot with Clock (4th Gen), Echo Plus (1st Gen), Echo Plus (2nd Gen), Echo Show (1st Gen), Echo Show (2nd Gen), Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Spot, Echo Studio.
What is a Sidewalk-enabled device?
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.
Is Amazon Sidewalk a replacement for a home wifi network?
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.
What does Amazon charge for use of the network?
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.
How will Amazon Sidewalk impact my personal wireless bandwidth and data usage?
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 disable Amazon Sidewalk, will my Sidewalk Bridges still work?
Yes. All of your Sidewalk Bridges will continue to have their original functionality even if you decide to disable Amazon Sidewalk. However, 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?
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.
How does Amazon Sidewalk protect customer information?
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 traveling 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.
Will I know what other Sidewalk-enabled devices are connected to my Bridge?
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?
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 image below. This setting will apply to all of your Sidewalk Bridges.
What types of devices can connect to Amazon Sidewalk?
Only devices authorized by Amazon to use Sidewalk’s low-bandwidth connections are allowed to connect to Amazon Sidewalk.
What can developers do today if they want their devices to have access to Sidewalk?
Device manufacturers can consider new chipsets available, learn about our privacy and security requirements detailed in our new whitepaper and sign up at http://bit.ly/AmazonSidewalk to be notified when more information is available.
