Here’s what the Echo red ring light means and how to make it go away, so you can continue to use your Echo like normal.
Why Does My Alexa Have a Red Ring?
Almost all Echo speakers display the light ring on the top. The exceptions are the newest Echo Dot and Echo speakers. The 4th-generation Echo Dot and Echo light ring is at the base of the sphere but is just as easy to see. All Echo Show smart displays have a light bar instead of a ring, running along the bottom of the screen.
When you see a red light on an Echo device it usually means the device can’t hear you. That could mean the microphone isn’t working or has been turned off. Alexa will no longer listen to your commands until the microphone has been turned back on.
A red circle can also appear because the microphone button on the Echo was pressed and it disabled the function. There could also be something wrong with your internet connection or device. The worst-case scenario is that your Echo device has been knocked or dropped, causing physical damage to the microphones. If this is the case, and none of the remedies below help, you will likely need to buy a new Echo device.
How to Fix Your Alexa Red Ring
Enable Your Echo Microphone
Simply press the button and the red light on your Alexa device will automatically turn off. Alexa should now be able to hear your commands but if that doesn’t work, try restarting the device. You can restart any Echo device by unplugging it from the mains, waiting 20 seconds, and then plugging it in again.
Open the Alexa app and select Devices on the bottom bar Choose Echo & Alexa and select the name of your Echo device Tap the Settings button (the gear icon) to see the device settings Scroll down to Registered To, tap Deregister and confirm the action.
Once the orange light turns off and on, the device has reset and is in setup mode. Go through the setup process like normal and your device should be back to working status.
Certain glitches or bugs can be unresolved in previous versions of the device software. This can lead to your red light coming on without a reason.
By upgrading the software version your Echo device is using, you will get rid of any technical problems to hopefully get rid of the red ring light. Here’s how:
Open the Alexa app and tap Devices Go to Echo & Alexa and select your device Tap the Settings button (the gear icon) and select About If there is a software update available, it can be installed from here.
If the microphone was working, you could simply say “Alexa, update yourself”. If an available update was found, Alexa would then ask if you wanted the update installed. Obviously, this isn’t useful if you have a red light on your Echo, but it is a useful command for the future.
Connecting Alexa to Wi-Fi
If your internet connection is down or running slowly, Alexa will have trouble hearing your commands and may display the red light ring.
Check your router for connection strength or try to visit a website on your phone to see how quickly it loads.
Reset your router if you are having trouble, to see if this is the reason for your Alexa red circle.
Fixing the Alexa Red Ring
If your Echo speaker is showing a red ring light then it’s likely your microphone has been turned off. You can simply turn them back on using the top of the device or factory reset it to get back to the original factory settings.
But there are a number of other potential ways to fix the issue.
