The most common Amazon Alexa problems and how to solve them

A smart home can make you more productive and complement your family's life, but it can be frustrating when it doesn't work correctly. An Alexa-compatible smart home system seems the logical choice for those beginning to build their smart home thanks to its ease of use and low cost. But Alexa devices sometimes run into trouble. Most of these issues are easy to fix. Here's how.

What to do when your Alexa can't play music on your Amazon Echo device

There could be a few reasons why Alexa might not play your music. The most common is because your streaming service isn't connected to your Amazon Alexa account. Here's how you can set it up.

Download the Alexa app to your Android or iOS device.
Sign in to your Amazon account on the app.
From the home screen, tap the hamburger menu in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Tap Music & More.
Choose Link Services on the pop-up.
Select your music service (if your service isn't listed, you can't use it).
Turn on the music service skill.
Tap Allow to give Alexa access to the service.
Tap Close.
Tap Visit Music Settings.
Choose Change under Music and Artist and Genre Stations.
Select your service from the pop-up.

What to do when Alexa doesn't connect your smart speakers or smart displays to Wi-Fi

If Alexa doesn't manage a stable Wi-Fi connection, your Echo can't play nice with any of your smart home gear or stream any tunes. If other devices on your network have issues, you may need to power cycle your router. If everything else is on Wi-Fi with no issue, the first thing to try is power cycling your Alexa device.

If your Echo device still doesn't connect to Wi-Fi, re-enter the router info in your Alexa app. To do this, follow these steps:

Go to the Devices tab.
Select Echo & Alexa.
Select the device that has the problem.
Select the Settings icon in the upper-right corner.
Go to the Wi-Fi Network section and select Change.
The Alexa app guides you through the setup process from there.

As a last resort, factory reset your Echo device. Hold down the Volume Down and Microphone Off buttons for approximately 20 seconds. When the light turns off and back on, your Echo is reset and needs to go through the setup process again.

What to do when Alexa doesn't respond to your questions

If Alexa has difficulty understanding your voice commands, check out our tips and tricks to help your smart speaker understand you.

If your Echo device heard the wake word but didn't respond, you might need to say your command more clearly.

Double-check that your Echo's microphone isn't muted. The light ring is red if that's the case, and you'll press the Mute button again to toggle it back on. If your Alexa device is unresponsive, try the Wake button. If this still calls up Alexa, the issue may be that someone changed the wake word. To change the wake word in the Alexa app:

Go to the Devices tab.
Select Echo & Alexa.
Select the device that has the problem.
Tap the Settings icon.
Tap Wake Word.
Select a new wake word.
An on-screen message that lets you know that your Echo has changed its wake word.

Like with most electronics, if none of these things fix the problem, your next step is to unplug your Echo for a few seconds.

What to do if you can't set up your Amazon Echo smart speaker or smart display in the Alexa app

The first thing to do when you have trouble setting up an Echo device is to double-check that your Alexa app is up-to-date. If issues persist, it may be a Wi-Fi signal issue. Make sure your Echo is close enough to your router and not too close to devices that put off a lot of interference, like baby monitors. If other devices have issues connecting to the router, power cycle the router. If all else fails, unplug your Echo device for a few seconds and try the setup process again from the beginning.

What to do when your Amazon Echo and other Alexa-connected devices don't cooperate

You're about to go to sleep, you pull the covers over yourself, say "Alexa, goodnight" to turn your lights off, and one bulb stays on at full brightness. The problem probably wasn't Alexa since your other lights turned off, so your next step is to troubleshoot your light or whatever your particular offending device is.

Start by power cycling the device. Light switches make this the fastest troubleshooting option at your disposal, as well as the most common fix. Here's how:

Go to Devices.
Select Lights.
Select your unresponsive device.
Power it off and on.
It behaves normally again if this works.

If that doesn't do the trick, follow these steps:

Go to the Devices tab.
Select Lights.
Choose the light that has the problem.
Make sure that the device is turned on. Toggle it back on if it's deactivated.
If that doesn't work, delete and set up the device as new again. The same options page has the option to delete the offending device.
Go through the setup process for that particular device again.

Fewer snafus thanks to a new smart home standard

The Matter smart home standard is evolving. As Amazon implements new generative AI into Alexa, expect fewer complications with your Alexa smart home devices. This is all around a good thing for your home and your family.