Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Set Up A New Device- screen, with the -Echo Dot- choice highlighted.
In order to hook up Alexa to a new WiFi router, put the speaker into Setup mode first. There, you choose the desired WiFi network for the speaker.
Below, we walk through hooking up Alexa with an Amazon Alexa Echo Dot 2 speaker. But, the hook up Alexa process is alike for the other speakers. These include the Dot 1, the Echo 1 and Echo 2, and the Tap. We do this hook up Alexa demo on our iPad iOS tablet.
If you’ve hooked this Alexa speaker to your Amazon account before, setup can erase all settings for this speaker. But if you’re just changing the WiFi network, use the less involved procedure. This keeps other settings for the speaker saved. We cover both cases here. Armed with your mobile device and the Alexa app, hooking up Alexa smart speaker is painless, as follows.
We assume that you linked the Alexa App to your Amazon account before.
Note also that we took the screen shots below from an Apple iPad Air. However, a similar Alexa app for Android is available from the Google Play store.
If not already running, plug your speaker into a power source. You must power on the speaker to access the network settings stored in it, as described below.
To begin, run this app on your tablet or phone. Doing so grants access to your current Alexa settings.
The Alexa app Home screen then appears as pictured next.
The blue arrow in the last picture points at the menu control. Tapping it brings up the main menu, shown next.
We circled the Settings menu item in blue in the last picture, located in the black-background menu at left-screen. The Settings screen then appears pictured next.
Note on the Settings screen in the last picture. The Alexa app lists all our previously hooked up speakers.
If the speaker you’re hooking up to a different WiFi router appears, then tap that entry. Then jump down to step 6 below. There, you can update the saved WiFi router network. Also there, you avoid steps to connect a new speaker.
However, if your speaker does not show, then you must set it up from scratch. In that case, you’ll prepare the speaker to hook up Alexa to WiFi first. Do this if adding a new smart speaker to your Amazon account. In that case, continue on with the next step (Step 5a) to do that.
The blue arrow in the last picture points at the Set Up a New Device button. The app then shows the Set Up a New Device screen, as shown in the next picture.
From the list of devices shown in the last screenshot, tap the speaker type to set up. We picked Amazon Echo for this demo. The app then shows the Choose Language screen, as seen next.
In our case, the correct language choice already shows in blue in the last picture: English (United States). However, to change this, tap on this link. A list of language options then appears, with the current language choice checked. There, you tap your preferred language. The blue link then reappears, showing the language you picked. Once the desired language displays, tap the blue Continue button. Alexa then shows the Begin Echo Dot Setup screen, as seen in the next step.
See this screen as shown next. From here, connecting to WiFi is the same for both a new speaker, and one with which you’re working.
The Setup->Wait for the Orange Light Ring screen then shows, as seen next.
Wait for a minute or so. Your Alexa speaker light ring should then glow in a slowly spinning orange-yellow pattern.
If the orange light does not appear after a couple minutes, force setup mode as follows. Find the Action button on your speaker. Press and hold it for roughly five seconds. The Action button has the small white circle in its center. Holding this button in forces the speaker to enter WiFi setup mode. When that happens, the speaker says, “Now in setup mode. Follow the instructions in the Alexa app.” You cannot hook up Alexa without your speaker in setup mode.
The spinning orange blip then appears on the light ring, as seen next. 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 appears on your mobile device. If you do, and then advance the Alexa app to this point, you might confuse the app sometimes. This confusion forces you to set up the speaker as a new device, though you may not have wanted that.
This brings up the Echo Dot Setup->Connect your iPad to Echo Dot screen, as shown next. This screen stays up until you link your mobile device to the speaker’s WiFi network. Do that in the next step. The speaker sets up this Amazon-xxx ad hoc network for setup purposes. Continue with the next step to link your mobile device to the speaker.
Press the Home button on your mobile device. This hides the Alexa app.
Then, locate the Settings app and tap it. O our iPad, we find the Settings app on the second home page as seen next. Note that this app may appear elsewhere on your device.
This starts a scan for in-range Wi-Fi networks by your device to which you can hook up Alexa wirelessly. Our iPad found the list of networks, shown next. Note that it found the Amazon-E9W network. Our Echo Dot, running in setup mode, broadcasts this WiFi SSID when the 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 the network 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 show, to see the Amazon-XXX network.
The connection should occur quickly to the unsecured Amazon-XXX network. Unsecured WiFi networks need no password.
Once linked as seen next, your Wi-Fi settings screen should look like the next picture.
Your speaker should also say the following: “You’ve connected to Echo Dot. Go ahead and finish the setup in the Alexa app.”
To go back to the Alexa app, press the Home button. This brings up the Home page. There, find the Alexa app. Ours is on Home Page 3, as shown below. Tap the Alexa app to bring it up.
The following screen then appears. It shows the mobile device linked to your Alexa speaker.
Find this button on the screen seen above. This starts a scan by your speaker for Wi-Fi networks.
Once the scan completes, the Choose Your Wi-Fi Network screen shows, as seen next. This shows a list of in-range WiFi networks found by your smart speaker.
Pick the network to which to hook up Alexa speaker, on the Choose Your Wi-Fi Network screen above. In our case, we picked the 937T681J4059H_2G_Guest network. If you never linked with this network before in your Amazon account, the app asks for a password, shown next. The screen you see may differ slightly. But the password prompt function is the same.
A password request may not appear to hook up Alexa. Why not? When you’ve previously entered this WiFi network on Amazon, the system remembers that password for this network. You probably saved WiFi networks to Amazon when you connected any Alexa speaker before. So, the app issues no password prompt if your account has this WiFi network saved.
Use that virtual keyboard to peck in your WiFi network’s password. When finished, hide the keyboard. You should see a screen similar to the following, showing the password entered.
Pressing Continue begins attempts by your Alexa speaker to link to the WiFi network chosen in step 13.
During this process, the Preparing your Echo Dot screen appears. It shows a progress bar as the hook up Alexa process proceeds, seen next.
If all goes well, the Setup Complete screen appears, as shown next. Your speaker has successfully connected to the WiFi network you set. Plus, Alexa connected successfully with the Alexa servers at Amazon as well.
Finally, your Alexa speaker should say, “Your Echo Dot is now ready.”
Tapping Continue here returns you to the Alexa App Home screen, as shown next.
Ask, “Alexa, what time is it?” or “Alexa, what’s the weather?” If she responds correctly, then the speaker is ready for use.
Follow this procedure any time you wish to change your speaker’s Wi-Fi network.
The Honeywell thermostat waiting for equipment condition sometimes happens on these smart thermostats. So these…
When your JBL Boombox won't turn ON, this has several possible causes. Either it is…
You can adjust the bass of the JBL Flip 5 speaker by turning ON and…
Gives the hard reset JBL Clip 2 speaker procedure, to restore its default settings and…
Gives the reset JBL Clip 2 procedure, to restore its default settings and state. This…
Gives the hard reset JBL Clip 2 procedure, to restore its default settings and state. …