You've set up one of Amazon's Echo smart speakers and it's great for listening to music, checking the weather, setting an hourglass, all hands-free. But then it starts flashing different colors at random times:red, green, yellow, orange...it's almost like it's trying to communicate with you. Which, in fact, is.
SummaryAlexa Blinks YellowAlexa Blinks BlueAlexa Blinks RedAlexa Blinks OrangeAlexa Blinks GreenAlexa Blinks PurpleAlexa Blinks WhiteHow to stop Alexa from blinking (as much)When your Echo speaker is blinking its LED at you, it there is a very simple way to figure out what he wants. Just say, "Alexa, what does your light mean?" But that would be a really short blog. So for those of us who don't like talking to our smart speakers, I've made this quick cheat sheet to explain what all those flashing lights mean.
The LED light is Alexa's status and notification indicator. Depending on the device you have, the LED light will be in a different location. For example, on the new Echo and Echo Dot, it's a ring at the bottom; on the Echo Studio, it's a ring up top; and on Echo Show smart displays, it appears as a line at the bottom of the screen.
Wherever he is, most of the time he hangs around doing nothing. But when you see it pulsating, spinning, or swirling, Alexa is listening or trying to tell you something. Here's what he wants you to know:
A slow yellow "burst" every few seconds means your voice assistant Alexa has something to say to you. Ask, "Alexa, what are my notifications?" Or "Alexa, what are my messages?" and all will be revealed.
A cyan spotlight on a blue ring means Alexa heard you – the cyan spotlight will actually point in the direction it heard your voice. It will then rotate as it processes your request. If it spins while you're not talking to it, it means the device is booting.
Photo by Dan Seifert / Means I/O
If the ringtone is solid red, the speakerphone microphone is muted and cannot hear you. Press the mute button to open these mics again.
A swirling orange light means the Echo speaker is in setup mode or trying to connect to the internet. An orange line on a smart display like an Echo Show means it's trying to connect to the internet but is currently offline.
Flashing green on an echo tells you someone is calling. It must be accompanied by an announcement indicating who is calling. Say "Alexa, answer" to connect to the call (assuming you want to answer it). During the call, the green LED begins to rotate until the call ends. A spinning green light will also appear if you are in a "Drop-In" with another speaker on your network.
Photo by Dan Seifert / Means I/O
A purple ring or line means Do Not Disturb is enabled on the speakerphone. This blocks notifications, calls, and messages, but not alarms, timers, or reminders. It will flash purple when you ask it to do something. You can ask Alexa to turn off Do Not Disturb or do it manually in the Alexa app. If it turns purple while you're setting up the device, it couldn't connect to Wi-Fi during setup (as opposed to trying to connect, which is represented by orange).
A white light moving up or down (or around) indicates that you are adjusting the volume on the device or in the app. A spinning white light means Alexa Guard is on and set to Away Mode. You can go to the app and change it to home mode or say "Alexa, I'm home".
If the constant flashing bothers you (which is most likely if you're using the device as a smart alarm clock by your bed), you can turn off all but essential notifications:
This will only stop the yellow and green rings from flashing, which are also the most likely to flash. But it will also disable Drop In and Announcements (where you can talk to an Echo in your house and everyone else will relay the message), and it will still flash if something goes wrong.
