Confused by Alexa's light rings on your Echo? Here’s what the colors mean

One of the most confounding moments after I got my first Amazon Echo Dot was when its light ring began pulsing yellow, signaling… well, what exactly?

Indeed, Echo devices such as the standard Echo, the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop, and the Echo Show can display flashing indicator lights in a range of different colors, and they can be pretty confusing–even aggravating–if you don’t know what they mean, or how to make them stop.

Luckily, deciphering the flashing lights on your Echo device is simple, and once you know the code, the lights can warn you when something’s amiss with your Echo, let you know when you have incoming messages, alert you when Alexa is listening, and more.

Pulsing yellow light

Let’s start with the light that confused me the most when I got my first Echo (the ever-popular Echo Dot). Generally accompanied by a cheerful “bum, bum!” alert tone, the flashing yellow light lets you know when Alexa has a notification for you, or if you missed a reminder.

One of the most common times you’ll see the yellow light is when Alexa wants to tell you that a package from Amazon has been delivered, or when Amazon is about to ship a “Subscribe & save” item.

Just say “Alexa, tell me my notifications” to hear your Alexa alerts, and the yellow light will disappear once Alexa has read them to you. If you want to delete all your notifications without hearing them, just say, “Alexa, delete all my notifications.”

Solid red light

Ben Patterson/Foundry

Here’s another common and confusing Echo indicator light: the mysterious solid red light. The most likely culprit for the red light is a pressed microphone mute and/or camera-off button. Press the mic mute button again, and the red light should disappear.

Seeing the red light, but no one pressed the mic mute button? If so, the red light means that there’s some kind of error, such as a glitchy Wi-Fi connection or a problem with Alexa.

Blue light with spinning light-blue segment

Ben Patterson/Foundry

This one’s pretty simple. Whenever you speak to Alexa, a blue light will appear with a light-blue segment that’s facing the direction in which she’s listening.

You’ll also see the blue light when Alexa is processing what you just said. If there’s no blue light, Alexa isn’t listening (or didn’t hear you).

You might also see a brief glimmering blue light if your Echo device is receiving a software update.

Spinning orange light

Ben Patterson/Foundry

When you first plug in a brand-new Echo speaker or display, the spinning orange light will let you know that the Echo device is in setup mode.

If you see the spinning orange light and you’re not setting up your Echo for the first time, it means that the device is trying to connect to the internet, indicating that you might have a internet service outage.

Pulsing or spinning green light

Ben Patterson/Foundry

A pulsing green light means that you have an incoming call on your Echo device. Just ask Alexa to answer the call, or say “Alexa, ignore” to ghost the caller.

If the green light is spinning rather than pulsing, it means that someone just did a “drop-in” on your Echo device or that your Echo just started a call (either because you asked her to call someone or because she misheard you). To end the drop-in or call, just say “Hang up.”

Purple light

Ben Patterson/Foundry

Putting your Echo speaker in “do not disturb” mode (which blocks incoming calls and notifications, but not timers or alarms–more on this in a moment) will make a purple light briefly flash.

A steady purple light while you’re initially setting up an Echo means something went wrong during the Wi-Fi setup process.

Spinning white light

Ben Patterson/Foundry

If you’re an Alexa Emergency Assist subscriber, did you set Alexa to “away” mode before leaving the house? If so, that’s the reason there’s a spinning white light on your Echo speaker.

Just say “Alexa, I’m home” to make the white light disappear.

The only other time you’ll see a while light on your Echo device is when you’re adjusting the volume.

This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers.

How can you turn off Alexa’s light ring?

You can’t completely turn off Alexa’s light ring, but (as I noted earlier) you can keep the lights to a minimum by putting your Echo speaker into Do Not Disturb mode. While in this mode, Alexa won’t bother you with lights or other notifications unless an alarm or timer goes off.

1. Open the Alexa app, tap the Devices tab, tap the Device Type filter, tap Echo & Alexa, tap Apply, then select an Alexa device from the list.
2. Tap the Do Not Disturb button.
3. To put Do Not Disturb on a schedule, go to the Settings screen for your Echo speaker, scroll down to Do Not Disturb, flick the Scheduled toggle, then enter the daily Start and End times for Do Not Disturb mode.