Picture of the Echo Generation 3 smart speaker original packaging front, shown sideways.

How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

This piece describes how to connect an Amazon Echo speaker to WiFi.  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.

Before you Start How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

1. A Compatible 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 Amazon Echo devices built to date has an Ethernet RJ45 port.  So, you may only connect them to the Alexa service through a WiFi network.  That network must have internet access. Also note that Alexa on your Amazon Echo will not work without this.

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, one way to get one is to visit https://amazon.com/ .  Follow the prompts there to set one up.

Or, when you run the Alexa app in Step 2 under the How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi: Step-by-Step Instructions 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 Amazon Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Login prompt.
Amazon 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, Alexa walks you through that account setup procedure.  Note that you must have an account to proceed past this point.

5. Bluetooth

Turn on Bluetooth on your mobile device.  Why?  Because the Alexa app uses Bluetooth to detect nearby Amazon Echo speakers in some situations. Connecting the speaker requires this.





How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi, Step-by-Step 

1. Connect your Amazon Echo to AC Power

Back view of the Amazon Echo speaker, showing the AC power cord connected.
Back view of the Amazon Echo 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 11 home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted. How to Setup Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation.
iOS home screen, showing the Amazon 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 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 Amazon Echo device, the app will ask you to set up a new device.

3. Enter Amazon Account Id and Password to Continue with How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

Should the Alexa app prompt, enter your Amazon account credentials.  Then  you’ll be signed in via the Alexa app.  The app then remembers your Amazon account information whenever you run it again, so that you won’t have to enter this data every time.





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

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

Picture of the Amazon Alexa app Home screen on iOS, with the main menu button highlighted.
Amazon Alexa 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.

Picture of the Amazon Alexa app on iOS, showing its main menu, with the Settings option highlighted.
Amazon 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 Alexa App on iOS, showing its Settings screen, with the Device Settings option highlighted. How to Setup Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation.
Alexa App on iOS, showing its Settings screen, with the Device Settings option highlighted.

7. Visit the Device Settings Page to Continue with How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

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 Amazon Echo speakers and other 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.
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. How to Setup Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation.
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 setting up anew.  In this case, we’re setting up and Echo Dot 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 How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

Touching the Echo device brings up the Which Echo Dot are you setting 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 Amazon Echo into Setup Mode

If your Amazon 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 the Amazon Echo smart speaker, showing the spinning orange light ring.
Top view of the Amazon Echo smart speaker, showing the spinning orange light ring.

If this is a brand new Amazon Echo speaker that you just took out of the box, just plug it into AC power.  Then after a a quarter minute it automatically enters Setup mode and announces this.

On the other hand, if this is not a brand new Echo, it may not right away go into Setup mode.  In that case, you need to reset it.  In short, to reset, press and hold the Action button until the unit starts resetting.  After a hard reset, the smart speaker automatically enters Setup mode.

At any rate, how ever you get there, once you have the speaker in Setup mode, 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.
Alexa App on iOS, showing its -Select Amazon Echo- page while it searches for Echo devices to set up.

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

If your speaker is indeed in Setup mode, 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 on your mobile device that’s running the Alexa app.  Check again that your speaker flashing its light ring in orange.

Note that the Amazon Echo 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 How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

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 Alexa showing this screen, it runs a WiFi scan from your selected speaker, 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. How to Setup Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation.
Alexa app on iOS showing its -Select Your WiFi Network- screen, with the network we want highlighted.

15. Choose the WiFi Network To Connect your Speaker With

Tap the WiFi network you want your speaker to log 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 prompt you to enter the password for that network.  Skip to Step 17 if you don’t see this prompt.

The Alexa app may not prompt you, if you’ve previously saved this network’s information to your Amazon 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 correct WiFi password for the WiFi network you chose, and then move ahead to the next step.

17. Wait for your Amazon Echo to Connect to Chosen WiFi Network

While your Echo tries to connect to the WiFi network you picked above, the Alexa app 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.
Alexa app displaying the -Your Echo is Now Connected- page, with the blue -Continue- bar highlighted.

 

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

But if your speaker does not connect and you get errors, follow any directions the app displays give.  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 investigate and resolve that issue on your router.  In that case, once you’ve fixed that problem, try rerunning this routine again.  We suggest that you close the Alexa app and start it anew first.  Then, again, be sure that your Amazon Echo is in Setup mode before doing the setup routine again.

18. Choose the Room Where you will Place your Amazon Echo

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 Amazon Echo, to Continue with How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

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.
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 Speaker’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 Amazon Echo.

21. Tap the Blue Continue Bar 

Once you bump the Continue strip, your Amazon Echo has been completely set up and is now ready to accept 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. How to Setup Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation.
Alexa App on iOS, displaying its -Home- page.

You may now close the Alexa app if you wish.

22. Test Out your Amazon Echo Speaker

Once you’ve finished the setup procedure described above, your speaker is 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 How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi !

Enjoy your Echo speaker by Amazon.  It’s an amazingly great sounding mid-sized speaker, with its improved bass and volume, belying its small size!

Other Posts About the Amazon Echo Speaker

  1. Spotify Setup on Amazon Echo Alexa
  2. Update Amazon Echo Firmware Instructions
  3. Echo Spotify Commands List for Amazon Echo Speakers
  4. Factory Reset Amazon Echo Instructions, How to Hard Reset
  5. Amazon Echo Reset Button, Where to Find It

Related Posts to How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

  1. How to Connect Echo Dot to WiFi
  2. Connect Pandora to Echo Dot, How To
  3. How to Connect Amazon Dot to Spotify
  4. Connect Google Home Mini to Bluetooth Speakers, How To
  5. Connect JBL Speaker to Echo Dot, How To

References for How to Connect Amazon Echo to WiFi

  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

  • 2020-05-30: First published.