In addition to tones, chimes, and Alexa’s voice, Amazon Echo smart speakers light up with different colored rings as a means of communicating with you.
You can view these light rings in different locations depending on what model of Echo you have.
We’re taking a closer look at what the light ring colors mean on your Amazon Echo.
Conversation Colors
There are colors that show up when Alexa is listening to your command or engaging you in conversation.
No Light
If your Echo is plugged in but currently has no lights showing, that’s a good sign. This means your speaker is on and listening for a voice command. However, if you do see a colored light ring on your device, here’s what the Echo is trying to tell you.
Blue Light
You might see your Echo glow blue once you say “Alexa.” If your Echo’s light is a steady blue, this means Alexa heard the wake work and is listening to your request.
After the request is heard, the blue light might spin in circles to suggest that Alexa is “thinking,” or processing your command or request. Expect an answer shortly.
White Light
An Echo uses white light to display any changes in volume, whether you press the plus or minus buttons on the device or say, “Alexa, volume up/down.”
A constant white light indicates that Alexa Guard is turned on, meaning that your device will listen and report any suspicious noises.
Setup and Troubleshooting
These lights mean your Echo is being set up or there’s an issue with its Wi-Fi connectivity.
Teal Light
If your Echo has a spinning teal light, you’ve recently plugged in your device or restarted it. A spinning teal light means your Echo is starting up—its light will turn orange when it’s ready for setup.
Orange Light
An orange light means your Echo is in setup mode or is trying to connect to the internet. You might also see an orange light when you’re setting up your Echo for the first time or if you’ve performed a factory reset.
Red Light
If your Echo is showing a red light, this could mean one of two things: you’re having Wi-Fi trouble and the Echo has lost internet connection or your device has its microphone disabled and cannot listen for commands. If you have an Echo Show, a red light could also mean that your device’s camera is disabled.
Purple Light
Echo devices shine purple if they encounter an error during Wi-Fi setup that stops the setup process. You might also see a purple light if your Echo is on Do Not Disturb mode.
Similar to Do Not Disturb features on your phone, Alexa’s Do Not Disturb mode blocks all notifications, such as calls, messages, and reminders. It does not block alarms or timers.
To turn Do Not Disturb on or off, head to your Alexa app for Android or iOS, open Devices > Echo & Alexa > [Your device’s name] > Do Not Disturb, and toggle the feature on or off.
If your Echo stops listening or continues to display an orange, red, or purple light even after you check your Wi-Fi settings, your Echo needs a restart. Learn how to reset your Echo.
Notifications
These lights mean your Echo is trying to tell you something.
Yellow Light
If your Echo is flashing yellow, this means you have a new message, notification, or reminder waiting for you. Ask, “Alexa, what are my notifications?” or “Alexa, what are my messages?” to hear what Alexa has to tell you.
You might also see a yellow light if your Alexa has a status update about an incoming Amazon Prime delivery.
Green Light
A pulsing green light on your Echo means you have an incoming call. Someone could be calling you through the Alexa app or from another Echo device. You can say “Alexa, answer this call” or you can deny it. You will see solid green light shine from your Echo whenever you’re in the middle of a call.
If you see a spinning green light, this means that your Echo is in Drop In mode. Drop In allows approved contacts to “drop in” for a call or video chat to your Echo or Echo Show at any time. Don’t worry, you’ll still hear a chime before any call comes through, and there is a slight connection lag to give you some privacy.
If you don’t remember turning on your Echo’s Drop In feature but see a spinning green light, head to your Alexa app and check your conversation history (Settings > Alexa Privacy > Review Voice History) to see if Alexa misheard you and turned on Drop In.
Decoding Lights on the Echo Show
Unlike Echo speakers, the Echo Show benefits from having full displays that can communicate more information to you visually. However, the Echo Show uses similar light signals to communicate notifications, troubleshooting, and setup. These lights will appear on the bottom of your Show’s screen in a thin horizontal line.
- A solid blue line will shine once the Show hears its wake word. A cyan spot will pulse indicating the direction of the speaker.
- A solid red line means the device’s microphone and camera are turned off. After a while, the red light will turn off and a microphone-off symbol will appear in the upper right corner of the screen.
- A solid orange line means your Echo Show is having trouble connecting to the internet.
- A solid purple line means your Show is in Do Not Disturb Mode. After a few minutes, the solid purple line will disappear and you’ll see a simple moon in the upper right corner of the screen.
How to Turn Off Alexa’s Lights
You might not want Alexa to shine a light each time you have a call, notification, or connectivity issue. Maybe Alexa’s lights keep you up in the bedroom or you’re worried about them waking a nearby child.
To disable some lights, you can head into the Alexa app to change light settings. For example, to keep Alexa’s yellow lights from glowing, go to Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping to turn off notifications for items in transit.
However, you can’t turn off the orange, red, or purple troubleshooting lights because they’re designed to alert you of a problem with your device.
Making Better Sense of the Amazon Echo Lights
If you’re a new Amazon Echo owner, the different light colors might be confusing. But as you can see, the device can tell you a lot with just a change of color. Hopefully, we’ve helped you make better sense of what an Echo is telling you.
Once your Echo is set up and you have all its colors down pat, see which skills and games you can add to make the most of all the device’s features.
