Alexa App Echo Device Configuration screen, with Update WiFi option circled
How to connect Alexa to a Different WiFi network? Well, to do that you must put that Alexa speaker into Setup mode first. There, you choose the WiFi network you’d like to have the speaker log into. You can set a different WiFi connection that Alexa uses on either your desktop computer or mobile device. Now below, we walk you through this process with an Alexa Echo Dot 2 speaker. But the routine is about the same for connecting the other Alexa speakers. These include the Dot 1 and 3, the Echo 1 and Echo 2, the Tap, and the Spot. We ran this demo on our iPad iOS-based tablet.
If you’ve previously linked this particular Alexa speaker to your Amazon account, you can keep some of its settings. Indeed, you need not completely erase these account settings for that speaker. Not if you’re just changing it to a different WiFi.
We’ll cover both cases here. Case one is where you connect the speaker to WiFi for the first time on your Amazon account. The second case is where you’ve previously connected the speaker on your account. But now, you simply wish the speaker to connect to a different Wi-Fi network.
With your tablet and the Alexa app, changing the WiFi network your Amazon smart speaker connects to is painless.
We assume that you have linked the Alexa App to your Amazon account. Note also that we took the screen shots below with an Apple iPad Air. But a similar Alexa app for Android is also available from the Google Play store.
If not already running, plug your speaker into a power source. You must power on the speaker first. Why? Because you’ll need to access the network parameters stored in its memory, as described below.
Start by running this app on your tablet. The Alexa app lets you access your Alexa devices and settings. The app Home screen then shows, as pictured next.
Find this item pointed at by the blue arrow in the last picture.
Tapping this control once brings up the main menu, as shown next.
We’ve circled the Settings item in blue in the last picture, found in the black-background menu at left-screen. The Settings screen then appears as pictured next.
Note on the Settings screen shown above, that the app lists all of my Alexa devices. These are the speakers that my Amazon account currently knows about.
If the speaker you’re changing shows on your Settings screen, then tap that entry. Then jump down to step 6 below. There, you update the saved Wi-Fi network to another. This skips some of the early steps needed to do a full setup of a brand new speaker.
But if your speaker is not on the list, then you’ll need to get it into setup mode. This prepares the speaker to connect to Wi-Fi first. This is just as you would do if you were adding a new Alexa speaker to your Amazon account. In that case, continue on with the next step (Step 5a) to do that.
Find this button pointed at by the blue arrow in the last picture. The Alexa app then displays the Set Up a New Device screen, as shown in the next picture.
Pick this from the list of available speakers and accessories displayed in the last screenshot. The Alexa app then shows the Choose Language screen, as displayed next.
In our case, the English language choice already shows in blue in the last picture. But if you wanted to change this, tap on this link. A list of available language options will then appear, with the current language choice checked. There, you can simply tap on your preferred language. The blue link will then reappear, and show the language you selected. Once the desired language is showing, tap the blue Continue button. Alexa then displays the Begin Echo Dot Setup screen, as shown in the next step.
This screen appears next.
Note that setting up a new speaker, or simply changing to another Wi-Fi network, both wind up at this screen.
The Setup->Wait for the Orange Light Ring screen then displays, as shown next.
Wait for a minute or so for your Alexa speaker light ring to glow in a spinning orange-yellow pattern.
If the orange light ring does not come on after a few minutes, locate the Action button on your speaker. Then press and hold it for roughly five seconds. The Action button is the one with the small white circle. This forces the Alexa speaker to enter Wi-Fi setup mode. It then announces, “Now in setup mode. Follow the instructions in the Alexa app.”
A rotating orange blip then appears on the light ring, as pictured next. But do not proceed to the next step until you’ve heard this announcement, and see this rotating orange glow.
Do not place the smart speaker into WiFi setup mode until the screen above shows on your tablet. If you do this too early, and then advance the Alexa app to this point, sometimes this can confuse Alexa. This might force you to set up the speaker as a brand new device. However this may not be what you wanted. So be careful.
Find this button back in the Alexa app.
This brings up the Echo Dot Setup->Connect your iPad to Echo Dot screen, as shown next. This screen stays up until you connect your mobile device to the Amazon-xxx WiFi network. The speaker creates this network for setup purposes.
Continue on with the next step to connect your iPad to the speaker.
Press the Home button on your mobile device. This minimizes the Alexa app. Then, locate the Settings app and tap it. In my iPad, we find the Settings app on the second home page as shown below. Note though, that you may find this app elsewhere on your mobile device.
This begins a scan for in-range Wi-Fi networks by your tablet. A partial list of networks that my iPad found appears next. Note that it found the Amazon-E9W wireless network. This WiFi SSID comes from our Echo Dot 2 speaker in setup mode. The Dot is in Setup when light ring glows orange.
If you do not see the Amazon-XXX network, move your tablet closer to your Alexa speaker. Then, wait some seconds for it to appear.
If you still do not see it, reboot your speaker. Then, once the light ring goes out, repeat from step 5 above. The orange ring must appear as described in that step. To see the Amazon-XXX network, the speaker must display the orange ring. That is, it must be in setup mode.
The connection should link immediately. No password prompt appears for this unsecured network.
Once connected, your Wi-Fi settings screen should appear something like the next picture. We’ve now connected to Amazon-E9W.
Your speaker should also announce something like the following: “You’ve connected to Echo Dot. Go ahead and finish the setup in the Alexa app.”
Press the Home button on your tablet to return to the Home page. Find the Alexa app. Ours is on Home Page 3, as shown below. Tap the Alexa app.
The following screen then appears. It shows the tablet now connected to your Alexa speaker.
on the screen pictured above. This starts a scan by your speaker, for available Wi-Fi networks from its vantage point. Once the scan finishes, the Choose Your Wi-Fi Network screen appears, as shown next. This screen shows a list of the in-range wireless networks found by your smart speaker during the scan.
Pick the Wi Fi network you’d like your speaker to connect to, on the Choose Your Wi-Fi Network screen above. In our case, we picked the 937T681J4059H_2G_Guest network.
Perhaps you’ve never linked with this network before in your current Amazon account. In that case, the Alexa app prompts for this network’s password, as shown next. The screen you see may differ slightly. But the password prompt function will indeed be the same.
Use that virtual keyboard to tap in your Wi-Fi network’s password. When finished, hide the keyboard. You should observe a screen similar to the following, showing the password entered.
This begins attempts by your Alexa speaker to connect to the wireless network you chose in step 13. During this connection process, the Preparing your Echo Dot screen appears, displaying an advancing progress bar, as shown next.
If all goes well, the Setup Complete screen appears, as pictured next. Your speaker has successfully connected to the WiFi that you chose. Plus, she was able to connect with the Alexa servers at Amazon as well.
Finally, your Alexa speaker should announce something like, “Your Echo Dot is now ready.”
This takes you out of the Setup Complete screen and back to the Alexa App Home screen, as shown next.
Ask, “Alexa, what time is it,” or “Alexa, what’s the weather?”
Then if she responds with appropriate answers, the speaker is thus ready for use.
Execute this procedure any time you wish to change your speaker’s preferred Wi-Fi network to another one.
You have now completed this task. Congratulations!
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