Top view of the Alexa Echo Generation 3 speaker, showing the -Action- button highlighted.

Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup Instructions

This post gives Amazon Echo 3rd generation setup instructions.  We give and the steps to follow to complete speaker set up on a new WiFi network.  This applies to the Amazon Echo series 3rd generation speaker, released in 2019, and it works for brand new speakers as well as used ones that you want to put on a different network or account.

Before you Start Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

1. A Smart Mobile Device

You’ll need to run the Alexa app on a compatible mobile phone or tablet computer.  For this demo, we’re using an iPad Air tablet.

2. A WiFi Internet Connection

None of the Echo devices that we know of come with an RJ45 Ethernet port.  So, you may only set them up to the Alexa service via a WiFi network.  That network must have internet access.

3. The Alexa App

Get the Alexa app in the Google Play (Android) store, or the App Store (iOS).  Download and install the right version for your device, and then log into it with your Amazon account credentials.  If you just created an account, be sure to use those credentials.

4. An Amazon Account

If you do not already have an Amazon account for your speaker, get one at https://amazon.com/ .  Follow the prompts there to set one up.

Or, when you run the Alexa app in Step 2 under the Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup Instructions, Step-by-Step below, and you’ve never signed into the app with a valid account, Alexa will ask you to sign in, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Login prompt. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
The Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Login prompt.

There, the app lets you create a new account if you don’t already have one.  If you do not, then press the  Create a New Amazon Account  button in the lower center portion of the login screen.  Then, the app walks you through that account setup routine.  Note that you must have an account to run the following steps.

5. Bluetooth

Turn on Bluetooth on your mobile device.  Why?  Because the Alexa app uses Bluetooth to find nearby Amazon speakers in some situations. Speaker setup requires this.





Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup, Step-by-Step 

1. Plug your Amazon Echo Speaker into Mains Power

Back view of an Amazon Echo 3rd generation speaker, showing the AC power cord connected.
Back view of an Amazon Echo 3rd generation speaker, showing the AC power cord connected.

 

Top view of the speaker, shown connected to AC power and booting.
Top view of the speaker, shown connected to AC power and booting.

2. Run the Alexa App

Find the Alexa app on your mobile device, as we did on the iPad Air tablet, as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the iOS home screen, showing the Alexa app Icon highlighted. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
iOS home screen, showing the Alexa app Icon highlighted.

Tap the Alexa app icon to run it. If this is your first time starting the app, it will prompt you for your Amazon Echo account and password. Again, if you just set up a new account above, log into the app with those account credentials.

Plus, if this is your first Echo, the app will ask you to set up a new device.

3. Enter Account Id and Password to Continue with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

Should the Alexa app prompt, enter your Amazon account details.  Doing this will sign you in via the Alexa app.  The app then remembers your account information the next time you run it, so that you won’t have to punch in this data every time.





4. If you are Not Prompted to Set Up a New Device… 

If this Amazon Echo is not your first device, the app displays its Home screen.  We got the Home screen right away, since we have other devices on our Echo account.

Picture of the app -Home- screen on iOS, with the main menu button highlighted.
The app -Home- screen on iOS, with the main menu button highlighted.

5. Tap the Menu (Hamburger) Button

Find this called out by the green arrow in the last picture.

Hitting the menu button brings up the Alexa app’s main menu, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, showing its main menu, with the Settings option highlighted.
The Alexa app on iOS, showing its main menu, with the Settings option highlighted.

6. Go to the Settings Screen  

Visit the Settings page by tapping the Settings menu item (left side of screen), highlighted by the green arrow in the previous picture.

The Settings the screen displays as follows.

Picture of the -Settings- screen in the app, with the -Device Settings- option highlighted.
The -Settings- screen, in the app, with the -Device Settings- option highlighted.

7. Visit the Device Settings Page to Continue with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

Get to the Device Settings page by tapping the Device Settings menu item (left side of the Settings screen, near the top), highlighted by the green arrow in the last picture above.

Tapping Device Settings brings up the All Devices screen, which lists all your currently registered Echo Amazon speakers and devices. Shown next.

Picture of the Alexa App on iOS, displaying its -All Devices- page, with the -Add New Device (Plus)- button highlighted.
Alexa App on iOS, displaying its -All Devices- page, with the -Add New Device (Plus)- button highlighted.

8. Go to the Set Up New Device Menu  

Bring up the Set Up New Device menu by tapping the Plus button in the top right corner of the All Devices page, as highlighted by the green arrow in the last picture above.





The Set Up New Device menu then pops up as shown in the next screenshot.

Screenshot of the Alexa App on iOS, showing its -Set Up New Device- menu, with the -Add Device- option highlighted. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
Alexa App on iOS, showing its -Set Up New Device- menu, with the -Add Device- option highlighted.

9. Tap the  Add Device   Option

Touching the Add Device option brings up the   Setup->What type of device are you setting up?  screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -What Type of Device are you Setting Up- page, with the -Echo- device type highlighted.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -What Type of Device are you Setting Up- page, with the -Echo- device type highlighted.

10. Tap the Amazon Echo Device Type

Tapping the Amazon Echo item brings up the first Setup screen for Echo devices, as shown next, where you pick which model of the Echo you’re connecting.  In this case, we want to connect and Echo device.  So, we’ve pointed out that option with a green arrow in the next picture.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying the -Which Device Would You Like to Set Up- page, with the Echo entry highlighted.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying the -Which Device Would You Like to Set Up- page, with the Echo entry highlighted.

11. Tap the Echo Device Type Item to Continue with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

Touching the Echo device brings up the Echo Set Up  screen, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iPadOS, displaying its -Is Your Echo Plugged In- prompt page, with the blue -Yes- bar highlighted.
Alexa app on iPadOS, displaying its -Is Your Echo Plugged In- prompt page, with the blue -Yes- bar highlighted.

12. Now Put your 3rd Generation Amazon Echo into Setup Mode

If your Echo is powered up, as it should be if you did Step 2 above, it’s probably displaying its orange light ring, as shown next.  If you see the orange light, then skip ahead to Step 13. Or if not, then work through this step.

Top view of a 3rd generation Amazon Echo smart speaker, showing the spinning orange light ring.
Top view of a 3rd generation Amazon Echo smart speaker, showing the spinning orange light ring.

If this is a brand new Echo speaker you just unboxed, just plug it into AC power.  Then after a a quarter minute it automatically enters Setup mode and announces this.

But if this is not a new speaker, it may not right away go into Setup mode.  So in that case, you must reset it.  In short, to reset, press and hold the Action button until the unit starts resetting.  After a hard reset, the smart speaker then enters Setup mode.

At any rate, how ever you get it into Setup, once you have it there, move on to the next step.





13. Tap the Speaker in the List that Matches the One you’re Setting Up

Next. pick up your mobile device again and go back to the Alexa app.  You should see the screen pictured in Step 11 above.

Tap the blue Yes bar shown there.

This starts the Alexa app scanning for new Amazon Echo devices to set up, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa App on iOS, showing its -Select Amazon Echo- page while it searches for Echo devices to set up. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
Alexa App on iOS, showing its -Select Amazon Echo- page while it searches for Echo devices to set up.

Now at this point, the app is waiting to hear from the speaker you’re setting up.   It will hear it then, when you place your speaker into Setup mode.

If your speaker is indeed in Setup, then after a brief pause, Alexa should find your new speaker, as ours did, and display it in a found-devices list, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app, displaying its -Select your Amazon Echo- page, with an Echo speaker device highlighted.
Alexa app, displaying its -Select your Amazon Echo- page, with an Echo speaker device highlighted.

If Alexa does not find your speaker, make sure you have Bluetooth turned on in your mobile device that’s running the Alexa app.  Turn that on, and then check again that your speaker flashing its light ring in orange.

Note that the Amazon Echo 3rd generation only stays in Setup mode for several minutes, and times out after that.  If timeout occurs, then unplug the speaker from power for a few seconds and plug it back in.  This should re establish Setup mode.

14. Tap the Listed Amazon Echo to Set Up to Continue with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

In this demo, we tap the Echo-50U speaker, pointed at by the green arrow in the last picture above.

This brings up the  Select your Wi-Fi Network   page, as shown next.

Just prior to the app showing this screen, it runs a WiFi scan from the speaker you chose, for in-range WiFi networks that the speaker sees.  Then, it’s this list that the app displays for you.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS showing its -Select Your WiFi Network- screen, with the network we want highlighted.
Alexa app on iOS showing its -Select Your WiFi Network- screen, with the network we want highlighted.

15. Choose the WiFi Network To Setup your Echo Amazon Speaker With

Tap the WiFi network you want your speaker to sign into.  In our case, we’re choosing the 937T681J4059H_2G_Guests network.  That one is pointed out by the green arrow in the last picture.

16. Enter the Password for That WiFi Network

Tapping a WiFi network may ask you to enter the password for that network.  Skip to Step 17 if you don’t see this prompt.

The app may not prompt you, if you’ve previously saved this network’s information to your Alexa account.  This is true for us in this scenario.  So Alexa did not ask us for the password.

But if a password entry screen does appear, type in the right WiFi password for the WiFi network you chose, and then move ahead to the next step.





17. Wait for your Amazon Echo 3rd Generation to Connect to your WiFi Network

While your speaker tries to set itself up on the WiFi network you picked above, the Aapp shows the Connecting your Echo to Wi-Fi screen, as pictured next.

Screenshot of the the Alexa app, displaying the -Connecting your Echo to WiFi- page.
The Alexa app, displaying the -Connecting your Echo to WiFi- page.

After some seconds, and if all goes well, you see the following screen.  This shows that the speaker successfully connected to your WiFi network.

Screenshot of the Alexa app displaying the -Your Echo is Now Connected- page, with the blue -Continue- bar highlighted. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
Alexa app displaying the -Your Echo is Now Connected- page, with the blue -Continue- bar highlighted.

Also, the 3rd generation Amazon Echo then makes a sound, and announces that it’s ready for use.

But if it does not connect and you get errors, follow any instructions that the app displays.  If you entered the wrong WiFi password, the app prompts you to re-enter it.

Now if the problem connecting is network related, you may have to do some detective work to troubleshoot that issue on your router.  In that case, once you’ve fixed the problem, try rerunning this routine again.  We recommend that you close the Alexa app and start it anew first.  Then, again, be sure that your Amazon Echo 3rd generation is in Setup mode before doing the setup routine again.

18. Choose the Room Where you will Place your Speaker

When the speaker connects successfully, the app then takes you to the  Where is your Echo  screen, as pictured next.  This screen allows you to name the location in your home where you will place your speaker.

Screenshot of the Alexa app displaying its -Which Room is your Echo In- page, with the -Bedroom- choice checked and highlighted along with the blue -Continue- bar.
Alexa app displaying its -Which Room is your Echo In- page, with the -Bedroom- choice checked and highlighted along with the blue -Continue- bar.

19. Tap your Desired Location for your Speaker, to Continue with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

Pick the name of your desired location from the list displayed, as shown in the last picture.  In this demo, we tapped Bedroom, as shown in the last photo. Note the check mark that appears when you make a choice.

The system then prompts you for the street address where you’ll be using your speaker, as shown in the next screenshot.

Screenshot of the Alexa App displaying the -Where is your Echo Street Address- page, with the blue -Continue- bar highlighted. Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup.
Alexa App displaying the -Where is your Echo Street Address- page, with the blue -Continue- bar highlighted.

The default address, which is filled in, and which we covered up in our demo, is shown here.

Review this address, and if correct, move on to the next step.  If the address is not not the one you want, then tap the Enter a new address link on this screen, and follow the directions to type in the street address you want.  Once done, the system returns you to this screen, except that now, the correct street address for your speaker should be listed.





20. Tap the Listed Street Address to Set it as the Amazon Echo’s Default Address

When you touch the address you want, a check mark appears to the right of it, as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the Alexa app displaying the -Where is your Echo- page ,with the street address we want for our speaker checked and highlighted.
Alexa app displaying the -Where is your Echo- page ,with the street address we want for our speaker checked and highlighted.

Move on to the next step once you’ve checked the correct street address for your Echo.

21. Tap the Blue Continue Bar 

Once you bump the Continue strip, your 3rd generation Amazon Echo is now setup, and ready to answer voice commands.

Then, the Alexa app takes you back to its Home screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Alexa App on iOS, displaying its -Home- page.
Alexa App on iOS, displaying its -Home- page.

You may now close the Alexa app if you wish.

22. Test Out your Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Speaker

Your speaker is now ready to receive and respond to commands and questions once the orange light ring darkens.  Try asking it some questions like:

  • What’s the weather?
  • What time is it?
  • Give me my flash briefing.
  • How are you today?
  • Sing happy birthday.
  • Tell me a joke.

… and so on. Of course, be sure to precede each question with your Echo wake word.  The default is Alexa.  Or it could be Computer, Amazon, or Echo if you changed it.

23. Done with Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup !

Enjoy your speaker.  It’s a truly great sounding mid-sized speaker, with its improved bass and volume.

Other Posts About Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Speaker

  1. How to Factory Reset Amazon Echo 3rd Generation

Related Posts to Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

  1. Instant Pot WiFi Setup Instructions, Info, Help
  2. Honeywell Thermostat WiFi Setup RTH8580WF
  3. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 Setup Instructions
  4. Google Home Setup Instructions for their First Speaker
  5. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Setup Instructions

References for Amazon Echo 3rd Generation Setup

  1. 3rd Generation Amazon Echo Dot Product Page at Amazon.com
  2. Amazon Alexa Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  3. Amazon Echo Help Pages

Revision History

  • 2020-08-05: First published.