So you just purchased a new Alexa-powered Echo device or someone gifted it to you, but unfortunately, you cannot set it up. You factory reset your Alexa device to troubleshoot only to be left completely out of Alexa because you cannot set it up again. You aren’t alone. Many Alexa users are facing the issue where their Echo devices are stuck on ‘Searching for Wi-Fi’ screen or they see a purple light on the device during the setup process. We found some solutions that should help when Alexa is not connecting to your Wi-Fi network during setup.
Table of Contents
1. Restart the Echo and Modem
If your Alexa device isn’t connecting to Wi-Fi during the setup process, simply restart your Echo device. For that, unplug it from the power supply for 30 seconds and then plug it back. Now, start the setup process again.
2. Connect to Amazon Wi-Fi During Set Up
During the set-up process, if you are asked to manually connect to Echo, leave the Alexa app and go to the Wi-Fi settings of your phone. Here, look for a Wi-Fi named Amazon. Tap on that to connect. Basically, you need to connect to Amazon’s Wi-Fi before you can actually connect to the home Wi-Fi.
Pro Tip: In some cases, you might need to allow the pop-up that says ‘Allow Device Connections via Local Network’ before you can connect to Amazon’s Wi-Fi.
3. Acknowledge Amazon Wi-Fi (Android)
Once connected to Amazon’s Wi-Fi, you might see a pop-up on Android phones saying ‘Wi-Fi has no access’. Tap on it and select Yes on the pop-up that says ‘This network has no internet access’. Make sure you select Yes. This is an important step. Go back to the Alexa app and follow the instructions where you will be asked to select your actual Wi-Fi network.
Tip: Learn how to make Alexa say anything you want with this simple trick.
4. Disable Limit IP Address Tracking (iPhone)
On iPhone, during the setup process, after you have connected to the Amazon Wi-Fi, tap on the Amazon Wi-Fi network name and turn off the toggle next to Limit IP Address Tracking. Go back to the Alexa app and follow the instructions.
5. Turn off Bluetooth on Your Phone
Next, if Alexa still won’t connect to Wi-Fi during setup, you should try turning off Bluetooth on your phone from which you are trying to set up the Echo device and restart the setup process without Bluetooth connection. Often this simple fix is enough to make your Alexa connect to Wi-Fi. For Android phones, open the Quick Settings panel and tap on the Bluetooth icon to turn it off. Similarly, tap on the Bluetooth icon in the Control Center of your iPhone to disable it. Then, restart your Echo device and begin the setup process.
6. Turn off the Phone’s Mobile Data
If Alexa can’t find your Wi-Fi network during the setup process, you should try turning off the cellular aka mobile data on the phone. That way your phone can only use Wi-Fi internet without any distractions during the setup process.
7. Check You Are Entering the Right Password
Do you know how many times we enter the wrong password in one of our social media accounts only to freak out that someone has hacked our account? What I’m trying to say is that as humans, we are bound to make mistakes. So double-check the Wi-Fi password that you are entering while setting up Alexa. Or, view the Wi-Fi password on your Android phone including Samsung Galaxy phones. That would help in verifying that you are entering the correct details.
8. Change Wi-Fi Band (2.4Ghz/5Ghz)
Most modern Wi-Fi modems now support dual-band Wi-Fi networks. If you have such a modem, try setting up Alexa using another band than the current one. So if you are currently trying to connect from a 2.4Ghz network, switch to 5Ghz or vice versa.
9. Switch to WPA2 Security
Another reason why your Echo device doesn’t detect your Wi-Fi network during the setup process could be because of its security. Echo devices work well with routers using WPA2 security over WPA3. So go into the router settings and change the security from WPA3 to WPA2.
10. Update Alexa App
You should also try updating the Alexa app on your Android or iPhone. There are chances that some change has been implemented in the app or there’s a bug that’s causing Wi-Fi issues. So go to the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android) and search for Alexa. Press the Update button.
11. Reinstall Alexa App
Next, you should reinstall the Alexa app if merely updating the app doesn’t fix the issue. For that, uninstall the app first followed by installing it again from the respective app store of your phone.
12. Remove Saved Wi-Fi Passwords from Amazon Account
Amazon remembers your Wi-Fi passwords. So if you have connected to any other device using an Amazon account, sometimes these saved passwords can also be the reason why Alexa isn’t connecting to your Wi-Fi network during setup. All you need to do is delete all the saved Wi-Fi passwords from your account and then try setting up the Alexa device again.
1. For that, open the Amazon website and click on Account & lists at the top followed by Content & Devices (or Manage Content & devices). Alternatively, go to the Amazon Content and Devices page.
2. Click on Preferences at the top followed by Saved Network Passwords.
Note: If you don’t see the Preferences tab, you might see a link that says go to Manage your Content & devices. Click on that followed by Preferences.
3. Click on Delete next to Your Saved Wi-Fi Passwords.
4. Now, restart your Echo device and begin the setup process again. This time your Echo will connect to Wi-Fi without any issue.
13. Connect Using a Mobile Hotspot
If the Echo device won’t connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network, you should try setting it up using your phone’s hotspot. Once it is set up, change the Wi-Fi to your home network in the Alexa app.
Turn on Mobile Hotspot or Personal Hotspot on your Android or iPhone and follow the setup process of Echo device using it. Hopefully, Alexa will set it up without any issues.
Once that happens, open the Alexa app and tap on your Echo device under Devices. Tap on the Settings icon at the top and press Change next to Wi-Fi network. Select a different Wi-Fi network.
Pro Tip: Once you have set up Echo using a mobile hotspot, do not immediately switch to your home Wi-Fi. Sometimes, Echo devices are still updating. So wait at least half an hour or 15 minutes before you change the Wi-Fi.
14. Deregister Echo Device
If removing saved Wi-Fi passwords doesn’t do much, you should try deregistering your Echo device from your Amazon account, especially if you are trying to set it up after resetting it.
To do so, open the Amazon’s Manage Devices page. It’s the same screen that you used for deleting saved Wi-Fi passwords. Once on the screen, click on the Devices tab at the top and select your Echo device.
Click on the Deregister button next to your Echo device.
15. More Troubleshooting Tips to Try Before Reset
If Alexa is still not connecting to Wi-Fi during setup, try these tips as well:
- Bring your Echo device near to your modem. It should be within 30 feet or 10 meters of your Wi-Fi router.
- Turn off unnecessary devices connected to your Wi-Fi router to reduce congestion.
- Turn off the VPN on your phone.
- Use an Android device to set up Echo if you are trying on an iPhone or vice versa.
- Turn off all the Wi-Fi extenders or Access points when setting up the Echo device.
- Uninstall the Alexa app and use a different Amazon account to set up the Echo device.
Tip: Learn how to fix Alexa keeps saying something went wrong message.
16. Factory Reset the Echo
Finally, if nothing helps, you should factory reset your Echo device. There’s a high probability that factory resetting will resolve the issue. For most devices, you will need to hold the Microphone and Volume Down button for at least 20-30 seconds to reset it.
Tip: Know which is better between Google Home and Amazon Echo.
Relax With Alexa
I hope you were able to connect to Wi-Fi during setup using the above fixes. Once everything is set up and running, you can relax by listening to some relaxing sounds from Alexa. You can also try some daily routines that will automate several small but repetitive tasks that you have to do manually every single day.
