How to Set Up Your Amazon Echo Device

Amazon’s Echo devices – the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show – are the most popular digital assistant speakers. Since many different generations of devices have been launched, you may not know how to get started with your particular Amazon Echo device. Luckily, we have simplified the process, so that you can learn how to set up your Amazon Echo device by following these seven quick, easy steps.

1. Know Your Echo Device

If you’re using an Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Dot with Clock speakers, it will have four physical buttons on the top panel:

• Action button: turns the speaker on/off instantly. It is also used for setup mode, factory reset, and other controls.
• Volume up: increases the speaker’s volume.
• Volume down: decreases the speaker’s volume.
• Microphone button: turns off the Alexa speaker as indicated by a red light. Press it again to put Alexa in listening mode.

Your Echo speaker has two charging ports at its bottom. Before starting, always ensure that the power cable port is connected to your house’s electrical source via the provided charging cable. There is also a 3.5 mm jack for connecting the device to your headphones or another wired speaker in your home.

Other Alexa speakers may have slightly different configurations, namely, only three physical buttons are standard with the Echo and Echo Dot.

For example, you won’t find any action button with an Amazon Echo Show device. Instead, these devices have a combined microphone and camera on and off button. Additionally, there is a touchscreen and a micro USB port.

FYI: you can also use your Echo Show to see what your Ring doorbell displays.

2. Download and Install the Alexa App

Download and launch Amazon’s Alexa app from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Amazon App Store and sign in with your Amazon account. Alexa devices require an Amazon account for use. If you do not have one, it is free to get one.

The Alexa app is one of the primary ways you will interact with your Alexa device, but once the device has been set up, you don’t need the app much except to enable newer skills or smart home connections.

FYI: if you want to teach your Amazon device a skill but can’t find it, you can create your own Alexa skill (no coding required).

3. Put Your Echo Speaker in Setup Mode

After installing the Alexa app and signing in to your Amazon account, it is time to set up the Alexa speaker. Plug in the device, and after a short while, you will notice spinning cyan lights glowing at the bottom of the speaker. Wait for the lights to turn orange. If you haven’t switched off the microphone, Alexa will beam a greeting message: “Now in setup mode. Follow the instructions in your Alexa app.”

4. Choose Your Echo Device From Your Alexa App

Return to the Alexa app on your phone or tablet and start the setup process, as shown below.

1. As soon as the Echo device flashes an orange light, a pop-up message on the Alexa app will state, “Echo is ready for setup.”
2. Press “Continue” to begin the setup process.

3. Alternatively, manually select your Echo speaker from the “Devices” button on the Alexa home screen by selecting the “Echo & Alexa” option.

4. Select the Echo speaker you want to add to your Alexa network from the “Echo Smart Speakers” menu.

Tip: once you finalize the setup, you can personalize your Amazon Echo.

5. Connect Alexa App and Speaker to Wi-Fi

Once you have told your Alexa app which Echo device you want to set up, it’s time to connect the device to your home Wi-Fi network through the Alexa app.

This is the most essential step. Without your Alexa app and speaker on the same Wi-Fi network, it is not possible to establish a pairing. If you set up your Wi-Fi network on the app, the speaker will import the SSID and password credentials.

1. Select your preferred Wi-Fi network on the Alexa app.

2. Enter the password for your Wi-Fi network in the assigned field. It will automatically save to your Amazon account.

3. Wait a few seconds for the Alexa app to connect your Alexa speaker to the Wi-Fi network to.

4. The app will greet you with a “Your Echo is now connected” message.

While you may have successfully connected your Echo speaker to a Wi-Fi network, only half the work is done.

Tip: if you have problems setting up or using your device, check out these common Amazon Echo problems and their solutions.

6. Finish Setting Up Your Echo Speaker

1. Add your favorite language to the Alexa app. If you’re bilingual or multilingual, Alexa lets you communicate in as many languages as you want.

2. Select the room in which you plan to operate your Alexa speaker. Note that you may move the speaker at a later time.

3. Wait a few more seconds for the setup screen to finish loading your information in the app and speaker.

4. Select an address for your Alexa speaker to fetch local information, such as weather details. It is set as your default Amazon delivery address, but you can change it easily.

5. Give a name to the address and select it as either a home or work address.

6. When the Echo installation process is over, you will see a message that says, “Get started with Alexa. Your Echo is ready.” However, one crucial step remains.

7. Create Your Voice Profile in Alexa

While you can control many things directly from the Alexa app, you need to create your voice profile to get the full benefits of the smart speaker.

1. Clear your throat and practice speaking loudly before you begin. This is very important, as you don’t want Alexa to fail to understand you later.
2. Tap “Agree and Continue” to create a voice ID.

3. Alexa will initiate a series of test messages. You must read the message on the screen verbatim. Use your everyday accent as you read to help Alexa learn your voice.

4. If Alexa fails to understand you, don’t give up. It took five attempts to remove the failure message.

5. Finish all the voice tests in succession.

6. You will see a status message that says, “Your voice ID has been created,” confirming that the Echo speaker can now understand you fully.

7. To verify that the voice ID is successful, you should notice a blue ring of light, indicating that Alexa is listening to you.

There are many other ways to test Alexa’s listening mode. Just use a few wake sentences such as “Alexa, are you there?” or “Alexa, what is the time?” To interrupt Alexa anytime, use “Alexa, stop.”

You may also want to change your wake word using voice commands given to the AI bot, which is set as “Alexa” by default. This would prevent Alexa from getting activated accidentally by others on television or your computer. We use the Russian phrase “do svidaniya” as our wake word, as no one speaks Russian around here.

FYI: you can reset your Alexa device anytime if you experience issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I reset my Echo device?

Press the action button on top of the panel to reset your Amazon Echo or Echo Dot device. Hold it down for 20 seconds. Wait for the light to turn off and on and become orange. This means it is now in setup mode. Continue pressing it, and the device will automatically start resetting itself. Follow the setup instructions to create a new Amazon ID and voice profile. If you’re using an Echo Show device, click the Mute and Volume down buttons simultaneously. This will allow you to reset the device on your screen itself.

Why won't my Echo device connect to my phone?

To connect your smartphone or tablet to an Echo device, they must be in Bluetooth pairing mode and using the same Wi-Fi connection. Toggle the Bluetooth switch on in your Echo device.

Why won't my Echo connect to Wi-Fi?

The main reason Echo fails to connect to Wi-Fi is too many connected devices, which can saturate the available bandwidth, especially if you’re on a slow or metered connection. This is one of the more common Echo problems that can be easily fixed.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.