All Amazon Echo speakers use status lights to help Alexa communicate with you – and there are actually plenty of different colors and light displays the AI uses to get your attention.
On most of the older speakers – such as the Echo Studio – the LED ring is on the top of the device. On smart displays such as the Echo Show 8 or Show 10, or on newer designs like the latest Echo Dot, it’s displayed around the bottom.
It’s easy to miss all the subtle differences as you interact with Alexa, but every color tells a story.
For example, on the round speakers, the cyan light actually points in your direction when you speak to the speaker for example – pretty neat.
If your speaker is glowing green, yellow or – heaven forbid – purple or red, however, you are going to want to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, Alexa itself isn’t always so great at letting you know what they mean.
Read on for a full rundown of Alexa ring colors and what the lights mean.
No light on the Amazon Echo speaker
Let’s start with the basics. If your Echo is operating normally and there are no lights, it’s waiting for your command. Or maybe it’s off. Say “Alexa” and you’ll find out.
Blue light (interactions)
A blue light on your Echo speaker, with spinning cyan, appears happens when you start up your Alexa speaker and systems are initializing.
If that cyan is still and pointing in your direction, it effectively means Alexa is thinking before responding. This will also happen when your Echo speaker is starting up normally. When it starts flashing blue it means Alexa is responding to your request.
Orange light (status)
If you put your Alexa into Wi-Fi pairing mode during setup, the orange light will come on. When your Alexa speaker is connecting to the Wi-Fi network, it will spin orange.
Red light (status)
If Alexa is showing a solid red light, it means the microphone has been muted with the privacy button on the top. Press it again (marked with a microphone) to unmute.
Red light pulsing (problem)
A pulsing red light on your Echo smart speaker means it can’t connect to the internet. The Amazon server may be down or your Wi-Fi may be out. Investigate immediately!
Yellow light (notification)
If your Amazon Echo speaker is pulsing yellow, don’t panic – you’ve been left a message.
Say “Alexa, play my messages” or “Alexa, what are my notifications?” to find out what’s been happening while you were away.
Green light (notification)
When pulsing green, it means that someone is calling your Alexa speaker. This indicates either an Alexa voice call or a Drop-in – say “Alexa, answer” to connect and find out who’s there.
When you’re connected, the green light will spin for the duration of the call.
Purple light (status)
If you see a purple light when you speak to Alexa, you’ve enabled Do Not Disturb. Say “Alexa, turn off do not disturb” in order to get back to normal.
If the purple light is pulsing, then there’s a Wi-Fi error. Try reconnecting the device to Wi-Fi.
White light (Alexa Guard)
A continuously spinning white light means your Alexa device is in Away Mode and Alexa Guard is on and listening for any trouble.
More Amazon Alexa how-tos
