How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi ?
Well, to do that you must enter the smart speaker into Alexa Setup mode first. There, you choose the wireless network you’d like to have the speaker reconnect with, via the Alexa app. You can do this on either your desktop computer or mobile device.
Now below, we walk you through this process with an Amazon Alexa Echo Dot 2 speaker. But the routine is almost the same for reconnecting the other Alexa speakers. These include the Dot 1, the Echo 1 and Echo 2, Echo Spot, and the Tap. We do this Alexa demo on our iPad iOS-based iPad Air 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 settings for that speaker. Not if you’re just reconnecting it to 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 reconnect to a new wireless network.
Armed with your mobile device and the Alexa app, reconnecting to WiFi network is indeed 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 Amazon Alexa app for Android is also available from the Google Play store.
How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi: Step by Step
1. Connect your Alexa Speaker to Power
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 next.
2. Run the Amazon Alexa App on your Tablet
Start by running this app on your mobile device. The Alexa Amazon app lets you access your Alexa devices and settings for each of your registered speakers.
The app Home screen then shows, as pictured next.
3. Tap the Hamburger Menu Control to Continue with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi
Find this item pointed at by the blue arrow in the last picture. Tapping this control once brings up the main menu.
4. Tap the Settings Menu Item
We’ve circled the Settings item in blue in the last picture, located in the black-background menu at left-screen.
The Settings screen then appears.
5. Look for your Alexa in the Resulting List
Note on the Settings screen shown above, that the app lists all of our Alexa devices. These are the speakers in our Amazon account.
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. This skips some of the early steps needed to do a full setup of a brand new Alexa smart speaker.
But if your Alexa unit is not on the list, then you’ll need to put into setup mode. This gets the smart speaker ready to reconnect to Wi-Fi. 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.
5a. Tap the Set Up a New Device Button
Find this button pointed at by the blue arrow in the last picture.
The Amazon Alexa app then shows the Set Up a New Device screen.
5b. Choose the Device Type you’re Setting Up to Continue with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi
Pick this from the list of available speakers and accessories displayed in the last screenshot.
The Alexa app then shows the Choose Language screen.
5c. Choose the Language for the New Alexa Speaker
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.
The Alexa app then displays the Begin Echo Dot Setup screen.
6. Observe the Begin Echo Dot Setup Screen
This screen appears next.
7. Tap the Connect to Wi-Fi Button
The Setup->Wait for the Orange Light Ring screen then displays.
Wait for a minute or so for your Alexa smart speaker light ring to glow in a spinning orange-yellow pattern.
If the orange light ring does not illuminate after a few minutes, find 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. Do not go on to the next step until you’ve heard this announcement, and see this rotating orange blip.
Do not place the smart speaker into WiFi setup mode until the screen above shows on your mobile device. If you do, and then advance the Alexa app to this point, this can sometimes confuse the app. If the app goes haywire here, this might force you to set up the speaker as a brand new device. But this may not be what you wanted. So be careful.
8. Tap the Continue Button to Continue with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi
Find this button back in the Alexa app.
This brings up the Echo Dot Setup->Connect your iPad to Echo Dot screen. 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 mobile device to the speaker.
9. Go into your Mobile Device’s Settings Page
Press the Home button on your mobile device. This minimizes the Alexa app.
Then, find the Settings app and tap it. In our iPad, we find the Settings app on the second home page. Note though, that you may find this app elsewhere on your mobile device.
10. Tap the Wi-Fi Settings Item
This begins a scan for in-range Wi-Fi networks by your tablet.
Then, a partial list of networks that our iPad found appeared next. Note that it found the Amazon-E9W wireless network. This WiFi SSID comes from our Echo Dot II speaker in setup mode. The speaker is in setup when light ring glows orange.
If you do not see the Amazon-XXX network, move your tablet closer to your Alexa smart 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.
11. Tap the Amazon-XXX Network to Continue with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi
The connection should link immediately. No password prompt appears for this unsecured network.
Once reconnected, your Wi-Fi settings screen should look 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.”
12. Go back to the Amazon Alexa App
Press the Home button on your mobile device to return to its Home page.
Then, find the Alexa app. Ours is on Home Page 3.
Then, tap the Alexa app to bring it up.
The following screen then appears. It shows the tablet now connected to your Alexa smart speaker.
13. Press the Blue Continue Button
on the screen pictured above. This starts a scan by your speaker, for available Wi-Fi networks in range of it.
Once the scan finishes, the Choose Your Wi-Fi Network screen appears. This screen shows a list of the in-range wireless networks found by your smart speaker during the scan.
14. Tap your Desired Network to Continue with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi
Pick the network you’d like your speaker to reconnect 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. The screen you see may differ slightly. But the password prompt function will indeed be the same.
15. Enter the WiFi Password if Prompted
Use that virtual keyboard to tap in your WiFi network’s password.
Then, when finished, hide the keyboard. You should observe a screen similar to the following, showing the password entered.
16. Press the Continue Button
This begins attempts by your Alexa speaker to reconnect to the wireless network you chose in step 13. During this reconnection process, the Preparing your Echo Dot screen displays, showing an advancing progress bar.
If all goes well, the Setup Complete screen appears, as pictured next. Your speaker has successfully connected to the WiFi you chose. Plus, she was also 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.”
17. Press the Continue Button
This takes you out of the Setup Complete screen and back to the Alexa App Home screen.
18. Test out your Alexa Smart Speaker
Ask, “Alexa, what time is it?” or “Alexa, what’s the weather?”
If she responds with appropriate answers, then the speaker is ready for use.
Run this routine whenever you want to reconnect your speaker to WiFi.
19. Done with How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi !
Qualifiers
This post pertains to the following software and hardware versions of the components referenced herein:
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- iOS 11.2.5
- Alexa App: Client Version 1.24.4244.0; Bridge version 2.2.2471.0
- Amazon Echo Dot, 2nd Generation, running device software version 599473420.