Amazon Echo products are home to Alexa, Amazon’s widely-known virtual helper. As such, they are mostly voice-activated, and most Echo products can only be operated via voice. This is a good thing because of the fewer potential complications. However, like any other device, Amazon Echo products can malfunction and turn unresponsive.
In these cases, performing a hard factory reset is just about the only surefire way to go if you want to fix the issue. Factory reset, however, is done differently across Echo devices.
Before the Reset
To avoid unnecessary hassles, you should make sure that you actually need a hard factory reset.
Check and see if perhaps someone interfered with your Alexa commands. The fact that Alexa doesn’t respond to “Hey, Alexa” doesn’t necessarily mean that your device is malfunctioning. Before resorting to a factory reset, ask your household members whether they made any changes. If they did, you can easily go back to the default commands, rather than doing the reset and having to set everything up again.
Also, check trivial things such as your Wi-Fi connection, the power source, etc. These can all cause Alexa to be unresponsive even if everything else is fine with your Echo. So, before going through with any doesn’t respondreset, check all the basics just to be safe.
Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Plus
The Amazon Echo is the standard Alexa device. It’s the original and the most recognizable. The Echo Plus looks virtually the same but comes with an upgraded speaker and a built-in Zigbee hub. They’re also not the only ones.
The various Echo products may have different factory reset procedures, not unlike smartphones of different brands and models. If you own the first generation Amazon Echo or Echo Plus, you’re going to need a paper clip (or something equally thin) to reach the reset button. Simply wait until the light ring turns off and on again. Do not release the button until this happens.
With the 2nd-gen Amazon Echo (Plus), all you need is to press and hold the Volume Down and Microphone Off buttons and wait for about 20 seconds until the light turns orange.
Amazon Echo Dot
The Echo Dot is by far the most affordable and therefore the top seller. It is small and compact, but you may find that the sound quality belies its size.
Depending on whether you have the second or the third generation Echo Dot, you’re going to have to perform different actions for a hard reset.
As you might recall from the second generation Echo and Echo Plus, the 2nd-gen Echo Dot works the same way. Press and hold the Volume Down and the Microphone Off buttons for about 20 seconds until you can an orange light ring.
If you own the 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Dot, you only need to hold one button (the Action button) for about 25 seconds to trigger the factory reset.
Amazon Echo Show and Amazon Echo Spot
The Echo Show and the Echo Spot feature a touchscreen display. The former is perhaps the most advanced, which might be obvious from the price tag alone. In any event, these two are packed with fantastic features that allow you to browse the internet, play YouTube videos, access your Ring Doorbell and similar surveillance devices, on top of the standard Echo features.
To factory reset the first generation Echo Show or Echo Spot, you can either say “Alexa, go to settings,” or simply swipe down and manually tap Settings. Go to Device Options, followed by Reset to Factory Defaults.
It’s the same as the above for the second-gen Echo Show except it allows you to reset without messing up your pre-configured smart home device connections. To do this, select Reset to Factory Defaults, but retain Smart Home Device Connections.
Amazon Echo Sub
The Echo Sub is a subwoofer add-on that extends the low frequency reproduction of a regular Echo smart speaker. It doesn’t work on its own but requires pairing with a compatible Echo speaker.
To reset this thing, simply press the Action button for about 25 seconds. This button is located above the power cord.
Resetting Amazon Echo Devices
Although the reset process varies from device to device and generation to generation, it is all pretty straightforward. The only problem here is that you’ll need to set things up all over again, which can be somewhat frustrating. To avoid the tedium of repeated setups, you might want to ascertain that your device is really malfunctioning before moving ahead.
Have you ever had to reset your Echo? What was the underlying issue? Did you find the reset at all complicated? Feel free to join the discussion in the comments section and don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you may have.
