Picture of the Amazon Alexa Echo Gen 2 smart speaker, top front view, showing ready for factory default reset.

How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi Internet

How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi and the internet?

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 if you’re just reconnecting it to a different WiFi network.

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 an updated 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 

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.

How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi. Picture of the unboxed Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Gen Speaker, plugged in and booting. Powering up.
How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi. Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Gen Speaker, plugged in and booting. Powering up.

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.

Picture of the Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its Home screen, with the hamburger (Main) menu button highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Home screen, with the hamburger (Main) menu button highlighted.

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, as shown next.

Picture of the Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its main menu, with the -Settings- item Highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its main menu, with the -Settings- item Highlighted.




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 as pictured next.

Picture of the Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Settings- screen, with the -Set Up A New Device- button highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Settings- screen, with the -Set Up A New Device- button highlighted.

5. Look for your Alexa Smart Speaker in the Resulting List

Note on the Settings screen shown above, that the app lists all of our Alexa devices. These are the speakers that have been registered 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, as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Set Up A New Device- screen, with the -Echo Dot- choice highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Set Up A New Device- screen, with the -Echo Dot- choice highlighted.

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, as displayed next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Choose Language- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Alexa app on iOS in 2018, displaying its -Choose Language- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.

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, as shown in the next step.





6. Observe the Begin Echo Dot Setup Screen

This screen appears next.

Note that setting up a new speaker, or simply reconnecting to a new Wi-Fi network, both wind up at this screen.

Screenshot of the -Begin Echo Dot Setup- screen, with the -Connect To Wi-Fi- button highlighted.
The -Begin Echo Dot Setup- screen, with the -Connect To Wi-Fi- button highlighted.

7. Tap the Connect to Wi-Fi Button

The Setup->Wait for the Orange Light Ring screen then displays, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Setup-Wait For Orange Light- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.
The -Setup-Wait For Orange Light- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.

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, as shown next. 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. Do not enter Setup on the speaker until your Alexa app is on the screen shown above.

Picture of the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 2 in Setup Mode, showing Light Ring with orange blip circling. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
Amazon Echo Dot Gen 2 in Setup Mode, showing Light Ring with orange blip circling.

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, 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 mobile device to the speaker.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Echo Dot Setup-Connect Your iPad To Echo Dot- screen.
The Alexa app, displaying its -Echo Dot Setup-Connect Your iPad To Echo Dot- screen.




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 as shown below. Note though, that you may find this app elsewhere on your mobile device.

Picture of an iPad Home screen, with the Settings app highlighted by an arrow. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
iOS Home screen with Settings App Highlighted.

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.

Picture of the iOS Settings WiFi Screen, showing the available AMAZON-XXX Network Highlighted though not yet connected.
iOS Settings WiFi Screen, showing the available AMAZON-XXX Network Highlighted though not yet connected.

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.

Picture of the iOS Settings WiFi Screen, showing successful connection with the AMAZON-XXX network.
iOS Settings WiFi Screen, showing successful connection with the AMAZON-XXX network.

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, as shown below.

Then, tap the Alexa app to bring it up.

Screenshot of the iOS home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted.
iOS home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted.

The following screen then appears. It shows the tablet now connected to your Alexa smart speaker.

Screenshot of the -Connected To Echo Dot- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted. How to reconnect Alexa to WiFi.
The -Connected To Echo Dot- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.




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, as shown next. This screen shows a list of the in-range wireless networks found by your smart speaker during the scan.

Screenshot of the -Setup-Select Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, with the desired network circled.
The -Setup-Select Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, with the desired network circled.

14. Tap your Desired WiFi 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, as shown next. The screen you see may differ slightly. But the password prompt function will indeed be the same.

Screenshot of the prompt for WiFi password.
The prompt for WiFi password, and virtual keyboard displaying too.

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.

Picture of the Amazon Alexa App, displaying the WiFi Password Entry screen.
Amazon Alexa App, displaying the WiFi Password Entry screen.

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, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Setup-Preparing Your Echo Dot- screen.
The -Setup-Preparing Your Echo Dot- screen.

If all goes well, the Setup Complete screen appears, as pictured next. Your speaker has successfully connected to the WiFi network you chose. Plus, she was also able to connect with the Alexa servers at Amazon as well.

Screenshot of the -Setup Complete- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.
The -Setup Complete- screen, with the -Continue- button highlighted.

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, as shown next.

Screenshot of the Alexa app -Home- screen.
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 a new WiFi network.

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:
    • 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.

Other Posts About Alexa Speakers

  1. How to Connect Pandora to Alexa
  2. Amazon Alexa Echo Dot Setup Help Instructions
  3. How to Connect Alexa to Another WiFi Network
  4. Echo Spot Change WiFi Network Instructions Amazon Alexa Spot Speaker
  5. How to Connect Alexa to Internet

Related Posts to How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi

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References for How to Reconnect Alexa to WiFi

  1. What is Amazon Alexa? on Wikipedia

Revision History

  • 2020-07-12: Optimized text and added more tags.
  • 2020-03-25: Added more tags.
  • 2019-03-30: Shortened post URL and improved key phrase targeting.
  • 2018-07-28: First published.