Learn how to restart and reset your Amazon Echo speaker

You have a amazon echo speaker and for whatever reason you need to return to its factory settings? Sometimes it may be because you see that something is wrong and you want to reconfigure it from scratch; others because the product has not convinced you and you are going to return it; and it may also be the case that you are going to pass it on to a relative or friend or you are going to sell it, and you also want to leave it "clean" and delete so all your personal settings. Whatever the case, today we are going to explain how to reset it to bring it back to its starting point, using the two days available for it: using "software" (with the app from Alexa) or manually. Aim.

• Differences between reboot or reset.
• Erase your Echo with the Alexa app.
• How to reset an Echo manually:
  • Echo Dot
  • Echo and Echo Plus
  • Echo Studio
  • echo with screen (Sport and Show)
  • Echo Flex

Reboot or reset?

The difference seems obvious but perhaps it is convenient that we review both concepts in order to understand what we are talking about at all times.

And it is that many times the term restart is used as a synonym for reset, which can lead to confusion:

• Restart: It is simply a question of turning off the equipment and turning it back on, like when you do it with your phone because something is wrong. Sometimes it may be the only thing the Echo needs to keep working, if you see that something is not going as it should or is not responding. Simply unplug the device's power adapter from the power outlet and plug it back in. The settings will remain intact.
• Reset or hard reset: it is about returning the gadget to the factory settings as if you had taken it out of the box for the first time. All your settings will be gone and you will start from scratch. Use it if you see that the reset has not taken effect or in case you are going to get rid of the speaker.

Erase an Echo through the Alexa app

As we have anticipated, there are two ways to reset an Amazon smart speaker to zero, one of them being through the Alexa app on your mobile phone. The result is the same as if you did it manually: you will delete any existing configuration on the device, leaving it completely clean, as if you took it out of the box for the first time.

In case you want to do it this way, the steps to follow They are very simple and we detail them below:

1. Grab your smartphone (either Android or an iPhone) and open the Alexa app.
2. Tap the Devices icon -in the bottom bar, the house icon.
3. Once inside, select the first big button you see: "Echo and Alexa."
4. All the devices that you have associated with your account and with the application will appear. Select the Echo that interests you.
5. Scroll down to the penultimate option: «Cancel registration«. Tap on it.
6. A warning message will appear that the device is about to be unregistered and if you want to continue. Tap on “Deregister”.
7. The device will instantly disappear from the app and within seconds, Alexa will speak to you from the Echo letting you know that it's going to reset while emitting an orange light. The process will take about a minute.
8. Once the "reset" is finished, Alexa will speak in several languages ​​again, inviting you to download the Alexa app and register it. The device will then be reset.

Manually reset your Amazon Echo

The other way you have to reset an Amazon Echo device is manually, that is, by pressing a specific combination of physical buttons (or just one if it's a recent version) on your computer. Obviously each speaker is different, so the buttons that you must activate are different. We are going to list them all and explain where to play in each case.

Echo Dot

The Echo Dot have already gone through several generations (and designs), so we will detail below the brief actions to be carried out in each model. In all of them there is always a detail in common: the activation of the orange light, which indicates that the speaker has entered setup mode.

4th generation Echo Dot

The most modern Echo of all, shaped like a ball, has four physical buttons on its surface. To reset it you have to press the "Action", which has the shape of a point:

1. Hold down the Action button for about 25 seconds.
2. The bottom ring of light will turn orange.
3. After that it will turn off, turn blue, turn off again and then turn orange again. Ready.

This procedure is of course applicable to the version of the Echo Dot 4th Gen with a clock. Versions that, by the way, we analyze in depth on our YouTube channel. So, if you want to know them in depth, we recommend that you take a look at the video that we leave you right up here.

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3th generation Echo Dot

In this Echo there is also an "Action" button with the icon of a dot at the top:

1. Press the aforementioned button for about 20-25 seconds until the light ring on the speaker turns orange.
2. After that, it will turn off, it will turn on in blue and again it will return to orange, indicating that they are already in configuration mode.

Now, you can detect it with the Alexa app and associate it with a new Amazon account.

2th generation Echo Dot

In the 2nd gen Echo you will have to press the upper microphone button and the volume down button for about 20-25 seconds, until the orange light on the speaker comes on. Then you have to wait for said lighting to turn blue for a few seconds and orange again.

1th generation Echo Dot

It is the least likely that you have at home, but just in case, we also include it in the list. This Echo, unlike its brothers, has a dedicated mini "button" for reset, the typical hole in the lower area of ​​the equipment that you must press with a thin and sharp object. Hold it down for a few seconds until the Echo lights up orange. Then it will turn blue, turn off, and turn on again (orange).

Echo and Echo Plus

These two speakers so similar to each other have a similar way of being reset so we have grouped them under the same group, differentiating only the available generations.

Echo 3rd and 4th generation

On both the third and fourth generation Echo speakers, what you need to do is the following:

1. Press the dot-shaped button (it's the Action button) and hold for 25 seconds.
2. The light ring will begin to blink orange and then turn off.
3. The light will come on, turn blue, then orange, and then the device will go into setup mode.

Echo and Echo Plus 2nd generation

In both cases it will be the microphone and volume down buttons that come into play. You will already be imagining the procedure:

1. Press both at the same time for about 20 seconds.
2. Wait for the light ring (orange) to turn off and turn on again.

Echo Studio

In case you have this equipment, the most expensive speaker in the Amazon catalog, you have to take into account that the buttons are slightly different in their layout but that the keys to press are the same. Therefore:

1. You have to hold down the buttons lower volume y turn off the microphone for about 20 seconds.
2. The ring of light will turn orange.
3. Continue to hold and wait for the light ring to turn off and turn orange again.

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Echo Spot and Echo Show

Both the Echo Spot and the Echo Show models have a screen, so getting to the restore options is quite simple and intuitive, since they involve navigating through the menu until you find the option you want.

you already have a Spot with its small round screen or a Echo Show 5, 8, 10 or 15, The steps to follow are those:

1. Slide your finger on the screen up (in the case of the Spot) or down (in the case of the Show) and display the team's shortcut bar.
2. Tap on the gear icon "Settings".
3. Scroll until you find “Device Options”. Touch and enter.
4. Scroll all the way to the bottom again until “Restore default settings” is displayed.
5. Tap on this option and get ready for your reset.

If you prefer to use your voice, you can also replace points 1 and 2 with a command, by saying “Alexa, go to settings”, which will take you directly to point 3 that we described and from there you will have to manually follow through the screen.

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Echo Flex

It may happen that the smallest of the Echo family also ends up giving you some kind of problem. Or that you simply want to give it to a relative now that you have managed to replace it with an Amazon device with better capabilities. Whether you have problems with the Flex or want it to change ownership, the solution is through reset your memory to factory state.

In case we only have connectivity problems, the first thing we will do is restart our device to see if the problem is resolved. Just unplug the power adapter from the device or from the power outlet and plug it back in. If it does not work, we will proceed to return it to the factory state by doing the following steps that we show you below:

1. With the device connected to the current, press and hold the Action button (the one with the dot) for about 20 seconds.
2. The LED will start blinking orange and then turn off.
3. Wait for the LED to turn blue.
4. The LED will then return to orange and the device will enter configuration mode.

Already at this point, the Echo Flex can be detected by the Alexa app to be set up again or in a new Amazon account. This process will have removed all personal information from the device, so you can even sell your Echo Flex without fear that the new owner can access or interfere with your home automation devices.

What to do if this does not solve the problem?

If your Amazon Echo did not work correctly and after restarting it or doing the reset process, it still does not work, it is most likely that you have a hardware problem. If your device is still under warranty, the best thing you can do is use it through the Amazon website. Search for your device among the purchases made, and ask for technical assistance.

If, on the contrary, your Amazon Echo was a gift or you do not have access to the account that bought said device, you must go to the website of Amazon Help and Customer Service. In this section you will have to search for your corresponding device and follow the steps to be able to process the guarantee of your Amazon Echo.

In the event that your device is no longer under warranty, your options are drastically reduced. If it's completely unusable, Amazon recommends unregister of the device from your Amazon account. This process will eliminate all the registration of the device, so that you guarantee that there will be no trace of your information on the device for recycling. To do the process, do the following:

1. Enter the Amazon website from a browser.
2. Go to My account.
3. Within this section, go to the 'Digital Content and Devices' section. Click on the 'Content and devices' option.
4. Select the Amazon Echo device you want to remove and click 'Deregister'.

With this, the Echo in question will no longer be associated with our Amazon account. This is the most drastic measure you can do. Even so, most of the time, you will be able to fix the problem simply by doing a factory reset of your Amazon Echo or simply unplugging and plugging it from power. All explained. Now you just have to put it into practice.

When should you hard reset your Echo?

We usually apply a full reset of a device when it is not working properly. However, it is also the method that should be applied if we are going to get rid of one of these devices.

If you have multiple Amazon Echos at home and want to sell the extra ones—or have upgraded to newer models of this device—you need to make sure you put the device back to factory condition before handing it over to someone else. Otherwise, it will remain associated with your account.

For this reason, if you are going to give an Echo to a relative, or have thought of putting your old Echo Dot 3 on Wallapop, do not forget to follow the steps that we have explained in this extensive tutorial beforehand. Unregister it is vital so that other people do not have access to our home automation system and can make correct use of Alexa with their account.

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