Amazon’s Echo devices are meant to be as simple to use as possible. A quick glance at your Echo Dot can tell you precisely what the device is currently doing. If something’s wrong, you don’t need to waste hours on Google trying to troubleshoot your smart speakers; all you need to do is memorize a couple of modes each Alexa-compatible device can enter.
To do that, you’ll need to understand what different colors on the Alexa device mean. Whether the ring light is spinning or pulsing, every color has a different meaning, and if you ever wondered what these lights are trying to tell you, you’ve come to the right place.
Today, I’ll give you a thorough explanation of Alexa’s color system and the modes each color corresponds to, so let’s start from the top.
Why Is My Alexa Yellow?
The ring light on Alexa blinking yellow appears when you have unread messages, notifications, or missed reminders. The yellow light will revert to the original state once you listen to them all. Just say “Alexa, tell me my notifications”.
To ensure that you know you have unread messages, your Echo speakers will show a yellow flashing light that is easy to spot even in pitch-black conditions.
Another reason why you’ll see a flashing yellow light (or a yellow ring) on your Alexa device is that you may have set a reminder and missed it. You can quickly access all of this information by asking Alexa to read you all the notifications, messages, and reminders.
Why Is My Alexa Green?
The Alexa flashing green light on the ring light appears when you are receiving a call on the Amazon Echo device. The ring will show a spinning green light when the Drop-In feature is used or when the Echo device initiated a phone call.
The symbol for phone calls is typically green on both Android and iOS devices. Whenever you see a pulsing green light on your Amazon Alexa Echo device, it means that someone is trying to call you.
All Alexa-compatible devices can be instructed to accept or ignore an incoming call via vocal commands (e.g. “Alexa, answer/ignore”). Sometimes, Alexa’s ring will show a spinning rather than a pulsing green light.
The spinning green light means that the Echo speaker is currently in a “Drop-in” or in an ongoing call.
What is a Drop-in Call?
As Amazon’s support describes it, this is an integrated but optional feature designed to help the owners of Alexa-compatible devices use them as intercoms. The main purpose of Drop-in calls is to emulate the main functions of an intercom – instant two-way conversation between Alexa devices.
You can even have your friends call you instantly by giving them in-app permissions, and vice versa.
There is no limit to how many devices can be reached aside from the prerequisite that they’re not in the “Do Not Disturb” mode. Your housemates can “drop in” on you, or you can call them wherever they are (if they’re in hearing range of the Alexa wireless speaker).
To use this feature, simply give your Alexa speaker the command “Alexa, drop in” and specify the area where the speaker you wish to call is.
Why Is My Alexa Red?
The red light on Alexa indicates that the microphone feature has been turned off and that Alexa will not be able to hear or respond to any vocal instructions. If you own an Echo device equipped with a built-in camera (such as the Echo Show), the red light can form into a bar instead of a circle indicating that the most recently captured video won’t be shared.
Red light usually means “stop”, but when it comes to Alexa devices, this doesn’t refer to calls. When the light on your Alexa’s ring displays a solid red color, this means its microphone was disconnected.
As you probably know, Amazon’s Alexa AI cannot work if it cannot “hear” the commands you are trying to give, meaning that this red light can be likened to temporarily shutting off all of its primary functions.
The red light on your Alexa device will turn to another color (depending on the currently active state) as soon as you press the mic button again.
What does a bar of red light mean on Alexa?
A red bar instead of a circle can appear on Alexa only if the device comes supplied with an integrated camera. For instance, if you are using an Echo Show device and have just captured a video, a red bar will appear if your Alexa device cannot share it.
This can occur for various reasons with the most common being a software-related issue. If your device didn’t receive an update (or if it was updated incorrectly), all you have to do is tell your Echo Show to search for available updates. It will automatically search and install it if it is available.
Alternatively, your Echo Show may be out of storage space. Echo Show devices have approximately 8 gigabytes of storage, so if you’ve saved a lot of videos, you may need to free up some space for new ones.
Why Is My Alexa Blue?
A spinning blue light on an Alexa device indicates that your Echo Dot is powering up. The ring will flicker once Alexa begins processing a command. A faint shining blue light on an Alexa Echo Dot speaker sometimes indicates that its software is being updated.
The blue light on Alexa-capable devices can mean several things depending on whether the light is shimmering, constantly spinning, or briefly flickering in and out.
If you see a blue light on the ring slowly rotating at a steady pace, it means that the speaker is booting. The only occasion when this light pattern on the ring has a different meaning is when your Echo has been updated; in this case, a cyan light will turn around in a counter-clockwise direction and pulsate a few times.
A quick cyan-blue ring will appear once when your Alexa starts listening to you as well. It will faintly shimmer with a blue light once Alexa understood and began processing a given task.
Why Is My Alexa Orange?
A spinning orange light on Amazon Alexa devices means that the device has entered the Setup Mode. Alternatively, you can see a spinning orange light on your Echo speaker if it is trying to establish a connection with your Wi-Fi network.
Before you can use your Echo device, you must pair it with your Alexa app (or your PC, if you’re using the browser approach). Once the initial preparations have been completed, your Echo will enter the “Setup Mode”. You can easily recognize this by the spinning orange light on your Echo device’s ring.
Additionally, an orange light will appear if you’re trying to change the Wi-Fi network of your Alexa, or if the device lost connection to the network and is trying to reestablish it.
Why Is My Alexa Purple?
The purple light on an Alexa device is telling you that the current action cannot be completed because the device is in “Do Not Disturb” mode. A glimmering purple light will also appear if internet-based issues are occurring during the setup phase.
If you just bought an Amazon Echo Dot and are trying to install it, a faintly shimmering purple light is trying to tell you that your Echo is facing difficulties connecting to your Wi-Fi network. Since you only need to complete the setup once, this is the only time that the purple light will have this meaning.
In every other scenario, a brief purple light will be shown if you are trying to give Alexa a command or someone else is trying to interact with it when the “Do Not Disturb” mode is active.
Why Is My Alexa White?
The white light on the Alexa device illustrates the changes made to its volume levels. If the white light is spinning, it means that the Alexa Guard feature has been activated and set to “Away” mode.
Many older music players feature quite unintuitive volume commands. Amazon wanted to ensure that its Alexa speakers are as easy to use as possible and eliminated all the guesswork by installing the white light feature. It appears when you’re adjusting volume levels, letting you know in real-time how high or low you’re going as the changes are being made.
The spinning white light has nothing to do with volume, though. It indicates that you’ve enabled the Alexa Guard mode. The circle will continue to spin until you return to the Home Mode on your Alexa app.
FAQ
There are many light patterns to memorize, regardless of which Alexa device you are using. If you have any other questions, feel free to submit them below; I will answer some of the most popular ones in the meantime.
What do Alexa colors mean?
There are eight colors that the light ring can shine, flicker, or spin in, including yellow, blue, red, orange, green, purple, white, and cyan. Each color gives the user insight into which mode is currently on, what Alexa is doing, or which issues it is troubled with.
The yellow light appears when the user has unread notifications/messages. A blue light appears when Alexa is either listening or processing the request. The red light indicates a disconnected microphone.
Orange-colored light tells you that your Alexa is either entering the Setup Mode or trying to link to your Wi-Fi. Green lights indicate that the user is receiving a phone call on the Alexa device. Purple light means that the “Do Not Disturb” mode is active (or if the device is having internet issues during setup). White light changes as the volume is shifted on the device.
Why is my Alexa flashing a yellow light but no messages?
Alexa will flash a yellow light if you have unread messages or notifications, but also if you have missed a reminder.
Why is my Alexa stuck on the orange light?
The orange light typically means that the device has entered the Setup Mode, but it can also mean that it is searching for a network to connect to. Unpair and reconnect, or try a different Wi-Fi network, and the problem should be solved.
Wrapping Up
With eight colors and at least two light pattern variations for each, memorizing all the lights that appear on your Alexa Echo device may take a bit of time. I hope that this guide has helped you understand what each color means on any Echo speaker model and that this knowledge will improve your Alexa experience.
