- I'm Andru Edwards and you're watching Gear Live.
(funky hip-hop music)
This is the time of year where package delivery
is on overdrive as millions of people place orders
to take advantage of great deals for themselves
and to buy gifts for their loved ones.
Shopping online is convenient
but there are still some annoyances with the process.
Sometimes your packages get left out in the rain
or you have to ask a neighbor to grab it for you
and the biggest one of all, when a package goes missing.
Amazon is addressing these concerns and more
with a service called Key by Amazon
and I've been testing out having my packages delivered
directly into my garage.
Here's how it works.
What is going on Tech Squad, Andru Edwards here,
Editor in Chief of gearlive.com
and as I mentioned today,
we are talking about Key by Amazon.
This is a new delivery option that Amazon offers
to give you the choice of more secure package delivery.
Now like I said I've been having my packages delivered
directly inside of my garage.
And I have quickly become a huge fan of this service
so I'm gonna tell you about what you need to set it up
and how it works.
Before it gets started, big shout out to Amazon
for sending over everything I needed to get set up
and for sponsoring this video.
Now as the vast majority of you know who've watched me
for any length of time, I work here from home
out of my home office and home studio.
So when I'm here in the house and a package gets delivered,
I generally can get it right away.
I don't have to wait until come home from an office
when my packages get left outside.
However, a lot of you also know that I travel quite a bit.
And when I'm traveling, if a package doesn't require
a signature, it'll typically just get left at the front door
while I'm out of town.
And in fact just a few days ago
I had to ask my neighbor next door
if they could come over to my house
and grab the three packages that were just sitting
at my front door, one of which was a huge expensive
Yamaha sound bar, video coming on that in the future.
If you wanna see it, hit the subscribe button down below.
Now there are also instances where maybe I'm not traveling
but I know I have an important package coming that day
and since I don't know when the delivery people
are going to show up,
I pretty much become a prisoner in my home.
I can't go anywhere until the package shows up
because again, I don't want it just sitting outside
especially living here in the Seattle area
packages get rained on when they're sitting outside
and I've even had a package or two go missing in the past.
And, hey, if you can feel my pain,
drop a comment down below.
Let me know your biggest package delivery woes
that you've experienced.
But on to the subject of this video.
I now have a better way, a more secure way,
and a way that gives me way more peace of mind
when it comes to package deliveries,
thanks to Key by Amazon.
And in fact this is so good that I wish it worked
for any delivery that was coming to my house,
not just Amazon packages.
Key by Amazon is definitely a game-changer
because now Amazon delivers my packages directly
into my garage, where they stay absolutely
safe and secure until I grab them.
So here's what you need to get this set up in your home
First you're gonna need a myQ Smart Garage Hub,
the Amazon Cloud Cam Key Edition,
and an Amazon Prime account.
The Cloud Cam is used to capture video of what it sees
and in this instance you set it up in your garage,
facing the garage door and the delivery area.
The myQ Smart Garage Hub works
with Chamberlain garage door openers,
allowing you to control them remotely.
And if you already have a Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage
that you control remotely already, like I did,
then you don't need to buy the myQ Smart Garage Hub.
Once you have the hardware set up you go into the myQ app
and link it to your Key by Amazon app,
allowing the two to talk to each other.
This process just takes a minute or two
and you're all set.
Now once this was all set up
I immediately was able to log into Amazon
and I bought something for free next-day delivery
and during the check out process
you'll see that you're offered the opportunity
to have it delivered directly into your garage.
You don't have to do that,
it just becomes an additional option.
Now in some cases I did see that taking advantage
of in-garage delivery with Key by Amazon
would take an extra day or two for the delivery to arrive
but in most cases it was just as fast to use
the Key by Amazon service.
And of course if you select in-garage delivery
then you have that extra peace of mind,
knowing your packages will be waiting for you
inside of your garage and not left out in the elements.
When the driver's close you'll get a notification
that they'll be there soon and then when they arrive,
you get another notification.
You can go into the Key by Amazon app
to see and hear the delivery video.
In each case, the delivery person puts the packages
in the garage, takes a photo, and closes the garage.
The delivery people don't walk away from your garage
until it is closed fully.
Even as the garage door closes, if you watch the video,
their feet stay in the same place until the garage is shut.
In the Key by Amazon app, you can rate the delivery
and contact customer service
if there's an issue with your order,
any you can even download and share
the video recordings themselves.
The Key by Amazon app will also show you a running list
of the times that your garage door was open and closed,
even if it's not related to a delivery at all.
Just some nice extra information to have
for keeping an eye on your smart home.
Now the best part about this for me
as I said earlier, is that I no longer have to worry about
what might happen to expensive deliveries.
And if I'm home, great, the package will still get delivered
into the garage which means less doorbell ringing
and door knocking when I'm shooting videos.
Check, check.
(doorbell rings)
(dogs barking)
And of course even better if I'm away,
I can see the delivery take place on my phone
and I know my package is definitely waiting for me
safe and sound when I get back.
Key by Amazon is the best way to get peace of mind
if you're an Amazon shopper, especially during the holidays
when frequency of orders tends to increase.
There you have it, guys.
That was your look at Key by Amazon in-garage delivery.
I am personally super happy with it.
Any questions you have about the service, please do
drop them down in the comments below
and I will meet you there for further discussion.
We'll also be talking about this a little more
on the Geared Up podcast.
That's a podcast that me and Jon Rettinger do every week,
talking about the latest in tech, gadgets, and gaming.
Check out the podcast.
If you love tech videos,
just another way to get that gadget fix.
Thanks again for watching us always, guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards and I will catch you in the next video.
(upbeat rock music)