It’s not hard to see why either, with a user-friendly setup and access to an ever-growing range of skills, but tweaking settings can be confusing – especially if you’ve got an Echo without a touchscreen display. One of the biggest questions relates to Wi-Fi connectivity and how to connect an already-setup Echo to a different network.
While it might not be immediately clear, changing your Echo’s Wi-Fi settings is a relatively straightforward process – and here’s where we show you how.
In summary:
Open the Alexa app. Tap the Devices tab. Tap the Echo & Alexa icon. Select your Echo device. Tap Change Network and follow on-screen instructions.
Changing Echo Wi-Fi via the Alexa app
If, for whatever reason, you don’t already have the app installed, you can download it via the App Store or Google Play.
Once in the app, tap the Devices icon in the bottom-right of the app, and tap the Echo & Alexa icon to access all Echo devices linked to your account.
From here, you should be able to tap your Echo device and access its settings menu. The experience will differ depending on the device in question, as devices like the Echo Plus display the current temperature by default and require you to tap the Settings cog to access the Settings menu, while more basic Echo devices will take you directly to the Settings menu with no extra steps.
From the Settings menu, tap Change next to the Wi-Fi Network setting and follow the on-screen instructions. It’ll tell you to hold the Action button for six seconds to activate the setup mode (indicated by an orange light), and you’ll then be able to connect to the device and change the Wi-Fi settings.
Newer devices should automatically connect via Bluetooth, but older devices may require you to manually connect via the Wi-Fi menu of your smartphone.
Once connected, you’ll be presented with a list of all available Wi-Fi networks in the local area. Tap the new Wi-Fi network you’d like to connect to, enter the password and tap Connect. Your device will then connect to the Wi-Fi network, and you should receive a confirmation message to let you know that the newly-connected device is ready to use once again.
Changing Echo Wi-Fi via touchscreen
While the go-to way to change the Wi-Fi settings of an Echo device is via the Alexa app, owners of the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5 and Echo Spot have screens that make the process a lot simpler.
The first step is to swipe down from the top of the display and tap the Settings cog to access the Settings menu. You can also ask Alexa to do it for you by saying something along the lines of “Alexa, go to Settings” – dealers choice. Once you’ve accessed the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Wi-Fi.
If you want to update your existing Wi-Fi credentials with a new password, tap the connected network and then tap Forget. Once it has been removed, simply tap the network in the list of Wi-Fi networks again and enter the new password. If you want to connect to an entirely new network, you need only select it from the list – there’s no need to remove the old network first.
It should then connect to the new Wi-Fi network and continue to operate as usual. Yep, it’s as simple as that!
Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
