Amazon Echo – how to fix issues

A short time ago we asked for suggestions of articles to post on here, and a helpful reader suggested to us fixes for common smart home problems. Most people with smart home devices have a voice assistant either at the centre of your smart home or contributing to it in some way, and when it stops working, this can seriously affect the convenience of such a device.

Today we will focus on the Amazon devices, which includes smart speakers and screen based displays. We are also writing articles on Google Home and Homekit issues, and will release these shortly.

The device is either not responding at all, or is displaying a coloured light.

If your device is showing a colour on the LED ring, or a coloured bar on the bottom of the screen, then this tells you if there is a problem and what is wrong.

If there is no light on the device, this is normal and is the default state. Its listening for the wake word. Depending on your settings, use the wake word and it should show blue. Normally this is “Alexa” unless changed in the Alexa app.

A blue light normally means everything is ok and that it is listening. You may have called out ‘Alexa’ or something that sounds like it. There will normally be a blue light in the direction of where your Echo heard the wake word.

If you’ve stopped speaking, and it’s still showing blue, then it’s processing what you’ve just said. Normally this may take a few seconds, longer if your internet speed is low.

If it’s a red light, then you’ve muted the device. On a number of devices, there is a microphone switch on the top of the unit. Press it again to unmute.

If the red light is pulsing, then you’re having internet issues. Your Wifi might be down or Amazon can’t be reached (occasionally AWS problems occur).

If it’s a yellow pulsing light, Echo has a notification for you. Say “Alexa, play my messages” or “Alexa, what are my notifications” to find out what’s waiting for you. If you’re waiting for an Amazon order, it might be telling you it’s due for delivery today.

if it’s a green pulsing light, then someone is calling your Alexa speaker via Alexa voice call or using the Drop-in function. Say “Alexa, answer” to answer the call. When you pick up the call, the green light will spin.

A purple light indicates that you’ve turned on Do Not Disturb on that speaker. Say “Alexa, turn of do not disturb” to disable it.

A spinning white light is shown when you’ve enabled Away mode and Alexa Guard is listening for any issues.

An orange light means that the device is in Wifi pairing mode. Normally it is in this state during initial setup. If the light is spinning, then it’s trying to connect to the Wifi network.

If it is not responding at all, the best and most effective fix is to disconnect power and to leave for 30 seconds, before plugging the device back in. In most cases this is all that is needed. Most temporary software related problems respond well to this method.

If the device is not responding and you’ve checked for any lights, then the next most effective method is to perform a hard or factory reset. A hard reset puts the device back to factory settings, so you will need to set the device up again. This method is also useful if you are selling the device or giving it away.

Factory reset

To factory reset, open the Alexa app on your phone. Go to Devices. Tap the Echo and Alexa icon at the top. Choose the speaker you want to reset. Scroll down to Factory Reset and tap it. Click “Factory Reset” on the popup.

If you don’t have the app, or just want to reset on the device, this differs from device to device:

First generation Echo and Echo plus

Use a paperclip or something similar to press and hold the Reset button. Wait for the light ring to turn off then back on again.

Second generation Echo and Echo Dot

Press and hold the Microphone Off and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Wait until the light ring turns orange (about 20 seconds).

Second generation Echo Plus

Press and hold the Action button until the light ring turns off and on again (about 20 seconds).

Third and Fourth generation Echo and Echo Dot

Press and hold the Action button for 25 seconds. The light ring will pulse orange, then turn off.

First generation Echo Show and Echo Spot

Say “Alexa, go to settings” or swipe from the top of the screen and select Settings. Select Device Options and then Reset to Factory Defaults.

Second generation Echo Show, Echo Show 5, Show 8, Show 10 and Show 15

Similar to the other Show devices, however you also have an option to retain your device connections (light bulbs etc.). Say “Alexa, go to settings” or swipe from the top of the screen and select Settings. Select Device Options and then Reset to Factory Defaults, but retain you Smart Home Device Connections.

Echo Sub

A new device that isn’t available in all markets as yet, this is an add-on to your Echo setup. If you need to reset, press and hold the action button (just above the power connection) for 25 seconds.

Featured image: “Amazon Echo” by adambowie is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0