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Mayday! Mayday! Amazon ends 24/7 live video support for its Fire tablets

By Alan Friedman

Published: Jun 17, 2018, 8:00 PM

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In September 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos introduced the company's live 24/7 live video support service called Mayday. It was one of those innovations that at first glance appeared to be more useful than it turned out to be. Not only was Mayday available on certain Fire Tablets, it also was offered on the Amazon Fire Phone. A year after being introduced, 75% of the Fire HDX tablet owners were using Mayday to get answers to a wide range of questions. While users could see the Amazon representative in a small box on the screen, the rep was unable to see the owner of the device in order to preserve his/her privacy.

The reason we bring up Mayday today is because Amazon announced on its support site that the 24/7 video help feature will no longer be offered starting sometime this month. The company says that customer service can be reached via email, phone, or chat. The User Guide and Help videos for Amazon devices can be found in the Help section on each slate, and using a swipe down from the top of the screen on an Amazon tablet will also offer users access to Help. Lastly, the Help app can be found on the Home screen of a Fire Tablet. If you need technical support, Amazon says that contacting customer service will allow a representative to take control of your screen with Mayday Screen Sharing. The latter will help the rep you're assigned to, diagnose your problem and offer solutions.

Mayday video support was available on legacy devices no longer sold by Amazon, which the company cites as the reason for ending the feature. Those with an older slate that still supported it will have the button removed by an automatic update to device settings.

Amazon support page announces the end to Mayday video support

source: Amazon via GeekWire

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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Mayday! Mayday! Amazon ends 24/7 live video support for its Fire tablets

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