If you’re experiencing Alexa Wifi issues, you’ll soon learn how to fix the problem on your own!
Amazon’s Echo smart speaker and the integrated Alexa voice assistant has become a natural presence in many homes since its launch in 2014.
This means that if something goes wrong, having Alexa taken offline can be a frustrating experience.
One of the most common problems you may encounter is for Alexa to be unable to make a stable connection to your wifi.
Unfortunately, ‘Alexa, heal thyself’, is not yet a recognized command (we’ve tried), so if this happens to you, check out our suggestions below to learn how to diagnose and solve your wifi trouble.
After all, you don’t want to leave Alexa speechless!
First, we’ll assume that Alexa still responds to your voice commands. A lack of internet connection will usually be indicated by an orange ring light on the device.
You can verify this by simply asking Alexa whether it is connected to the internet.
Fix Alexa WiFi Issues Now
1. Your wifi is not connected to the internet.
Alexa will often drop connections to routers if it cannot get internet access via them.
Check your wifi has an internet connection and is working normally by using a different wifi-connected device to access the internet.
If necessary, restart your router and/or modem.
While a full diagnosis of the causes of internet connection issues is beyond the scope of this article if you are still not able to connect to the internet, perform a full reboot of both your wifi router and the Echo speaker.
Switch your router off and unplug, wait a short time – no more than 10 seconds, then plug back in and switch it back on.
Having done this, wait a few minutes for the router to restart itself, then perform the same on your Echo speaker and try to reconnect it to wifi.
If you still can’t connect successfully, try resetting your router to factory settings.
How this is done will depend on your router. It is also worth contacting your internet provider to see if they have service outages in your area.
If not, try waiting a few hours – rarely the issue may be caused by a factor such as abnormally high local internet traffic, and this should resolve itself naturally.
If you can get internet access via your wifi, the problem is related to your Echo speaker itself.
2. Your wifi password is incorrect or you are connecting to the wrong network
This is one of the more common issues – ensure you are using the right password. Has anyone in your house changed it recently?
If so, you’ll need to update this using the Alexa app. Use a different device to connect to your wifi using the same password as you are using for Alexa.
A related issue might be that you are using the wrong network. If you are using a dual-band router, with 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz signals, try connecting your Echo to each band in turn and seeing if that resolves the issue.
Typically, 2.4GHz has a longer range and is the default connection, but the higher 5GHz frequency will generally be faster and more stable.
Ensure that your smartphone is connected to the same network, as your Echo will receive your wifi network information from the Alexa app on your phone.
It may help to turn off the data connection on your phone before attempting to connect Alexa to wifi, as if your phone cannot establish a stable wifi connection, it may fall back onto its data connection, and be unable to connect to Alexa.
Also note that Echo connects to devices using the 802.11 a/b/g/n standard, which all home wifi routers from major ISPs will meet.
But, if you are trying to use a non-standard device or peer-to-peer connection, you may be out of luck.
3. Your Echo speaker is too far away from your router
Sometimes, like Scotty in Star Trek, you just don’t have the power.
This is especially important if you have an older, less powerful router, or if your Echo is not in the same room as your router – concrete or brick walls can reduce the signal strength.
Amazon advises ensuring your speaker is within 30ft (or 10m) of your router.
If moving your Echo speaker closer to the router does solve the problem, you might like to think about investing in mesh wifi, to ensure you get wifi coverage throughout your home.
4. Other electronic devices are causing interference
Move your Echo speaker away from anything that could cause interference with the wifi signal (such as radios, Bluetooth devices, microwaves or baby monitors).
Many modern homes are extremely networked, and since Bluetooth is ubiquitous in devices from TVs to headphones, this can be a challenge.
Placing the Echo on a high shelf can often be a good solution.
5. You have too many devices connected to your wifi network
If you home is anything like ours, the wifi router is handling a range of PCs, laptops, TVs, games consoles, tablets, and phones, all at once.
Your wifi could be overloaded and be dropping the Alexa connection in order to cope. Try turning off all devices except your smartphone to give Alexa a fighting chance to connect.
If this works, you could upgrade your wifi, to ensure all you home electronics can operate simultaneously.
If none of these solutions allows Alexa to connect to your wifi, our final suggestion is to reset your Echo to factory settings.
To reset your Echo speaker, you’ll first need to make sure it is registered on your Amazon account and then use the Alexa website or smartphone app.
If you don’t have access to either, it is possible to do a factory reset via the Echo speaker itself, but the specifics of how to do so vary with each version of the Echo.
Bottom Line
Finally, if you have tried everything and still aren’t having any luck with Alexa wifi issues, it is possibly a problem with the device itself, and the best option is to contact Amazon customer support.
Read Next: How to Unlink Phone Number From Alexa?
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues.