Since the debut of the first Echo smart speaker, Amazon’s distinguishing design feature has been the glowing ring. But Alexa sometimes starts blinking yellow, green, white, or other colors.
Alexa glowing yellow? A spinning yellow ring light indicates that your Echo is trying to connect to your Wi-Fi network. If this has been happening for a while, you must open the Alexa app and check whether you need to re-enter the password. While the yellow flashing ring means you have a notification or a message from an Alexa contact.
The blinking lights exhibited by Echo speakers might be perplexing. But there is some reasoning for it. Every colored light represents specific information about your Echo device, but they’re all quite simple to fix if you know how to interpret them.
The Alexa Yellow Ring Explained
You may have seen the yellow flashing ring if you have an Amazon Echo. It can annoy a lot of folks, and it’s a significant problem since what causes it might readily disclose your spending patterns to other people in your family. That’s an issue as it compromises your privacy.
Amazon has held back on publicizing this feature, and it seems to switch on automatically. Alexa understands what you’re buying because of the seamless integration with your Amazon account. You’re undoubtedly used to receiving emails confirming item shipment and notifications from the Amazon app on your phone – now Alexa has joined the fray, eager to notify you when your next delivery will come.
If the yellow light flashes, it indicates you have an Alexa notification waiting for you. Say, “Alexa, read my messages,” to read and reply to it.
How To Turn Off Yellow Ring Notifications
So, first and foremost, let’s get rid of the yellow ring on Alexa. If you’re just curious, ask Alexa on your Echo if you have any alerts. It might be either a notification or a message.
The yellow ring should go away once you’ve received the message. But here’s how to turn off yellow ring notifications:
- Launch the Alexa app on your smartphone.
- Tap “Settings” from the “More” menu.
- Choose Notifications, followed by Amazon Shopping.
- You may manage Delivery Alerts here, as well as turn off “out for delivery” and “delivered” notifications.
Furthermore, if you live in a neighborhood where deliveries are dropped on your doorstep, such notifications may be handy – but now you know how to turn them off.
How To Hide Your Orders From Alexa
Let’s take it a step beyond. Since Alexa will openly declare what items are getting shipped to you, it is also easy for anyone in your home to summon Alexa and find out your buying list. The best way to dodge this bullet is by hiding your order information from Alexa.
Here’s how you can hide your order list from Alexa:
- Launch the Alexa app on your smartphone.
- Select “Settings” from the menu
- Select “Notifications,” and then select “Amazon Shopping.”
- Turn off “Say or Show Item Titles” in the section labeled “Say or Show Item Titles” so Alexa doesn’t say things like “Your Marvel Infinity Gauntlet will be delivered tomorrow.”
That’s all there is to it. You may still ask Alexa, “where’s my stuff?” and she’ll tell you when your next delivery is expected, but she won’t tell you what item will be delivered.
Also Read: What To Do If Your Alexa Device Is Unresponsive
Other Alexa Ring Light Colors
Each color light represents a distinct signal about Alexa, and they’re all quite simple to use if you know how to interpret them.
When Alexa Starts Flashing Blue and Cyan
- If you wake Alexa, the light ring turns solid blue, with a section of cyan pointing to the person speaking.
- After you’ve spoken a command, solid blue with swirling cyan indicates that Alexa is executing your request. This also occurs when the speaker is turned on.
- Alexa is responding to a command or question when the colors alternate between blue and cyan.
When Alexa Flashes Green
- A blinking green light means that you are getting an incoming call.
- Spinning green light means that you are on a call or an ongoing Drop-In.
For more in-depth information, see our full write-up on the Alexa Flashing Green Light!
When Alexa Turns White
- When you physically turn the light ring on the Amazon Echo or the first-gen Echo Dot, push the volume down or up on the second-gen Echo Dot, or ask Alexa to adjust the level, the volume percentage will display in White.
- A continually spinning white light indicates that Alexa Guard is in Away Mode.
When Alexa Turns Purple
- Flashing violet suggests that there was an issue with the Wi-Fi setup.
- Spinning blue ending with purple flashes means that the Do Not Disturb (DND) mode has been activated.
- Purple flashing light means that Do Not Disturb mode is still in active mode.
When Alexa Flashes Yellow
A flashing yellow ring on Alexa means you have unread or new messages in your inbox or new notifications. You can give voice commands like “Play my messages” or “Check my notifications” to hear them.
When Alexa Flashes Red
A solid red light indicates that your microphone is disabled, and Alexa cannot hear your voice commands.
When Alexa Flashes Orange
A spinning orange light indicates that the device is trying to connect to your Wi-Fi network.
What Color Bars Indicate on the Echo Show
In contrast to Echo smart speakers, the Echo Show features a full-screen display. However, the device emits identical light signals to its speaker as other Echo speakers, and they display in a narrow band at the edge of the screen.
Here’s a quick rundown of what each color signifies:
- Blue with a cyan band on the screen indicates the person speaking.
- The red band indicates that the microphone and camera are disabled. These lights go off, and you can see the microphone/camera symbol in the top right corner of the display.
- An orange band means that your device is facing connectivity issues.
- A violet band indicates that you have DND mode turned on. After some time, the light goes off, showing a crescent moon symbol in the right corner of the screen.
How the Alexa Yellow Ring Light Could Be Beneficial
The Yellow notification ring might come in handy in some situations. It can save your package from greedy pedestrians who pick up the package dropped at your doorstep. Yellow ring alert will notify you when the package arrives so that you can claim it as soon as it arrives at your doorstep.
Unfortunately, this is becoming quite common in the US and abroad. You can check out the video below to see how strangers and even neighbors can take advantage of packages lying at your doorstep.
Conclusion
Amazon Alexa is frequently updated with new features. The goal is to improve the user experience. The yellow ring light feature was not included with the initial edition of Alexa. It is a relatively new feature.
Don’t freak out the next time you see the blinking Alexa yellow ring. It simply indicates that there is a new notification. You can also ask your Alexa smart speaker to read it to you, or you can check it yourself by signing into your Amazon account.
While we’re talking about speakers, check out our awesome buying guide to choose your next Bluetooth speaker.
We hope our guide helps you decode the Alexa yellow ring and what the other colors indicate. Let us know in the comments!
