A bright blue ring often lights up when you talk to Alexa using your Echo speaker. This glowing blue circle shows that Alexa is busy following your command.
You can also get the blue and cyan light ring if your device is installing a firmware update or if the Alexa device has restarted and is in the process of booting up. Once it’s finished, you’ll no longer see it.
Please note that Echo speakers can perform restarts on their own from time to time.
Unlike other spinning colors (such as the yellow ring which signifies that you have a message), the Alexa blue ring generally doesn't require you to take any action. But there are some exceptions where the Echo speaker glitches, which I discuss below.
Variations of the Alexa Blue Ring
There are five varieties of blue ring on your Echo speaker.
- A solid blue ring with a smaller static cyan light means Alexa is awaiting your request.
- A quick flash of the cyan and blue light means Alexa has just heard your request and is processing it.
- A pulsing cyan and blue light shows when Alexa is speaking.
- A rotating cyan on blue light means Alexa is booting up or installing a firmware update.
- A rotating blue light without cyan means Alexa is in Bluetooth pairing mode.
Accidentally Triggering Alexa
From time to time, your Amazon Alexa device might pick up noises from outside or from other family members who are talking in another room. In these cases, the Echo device has misinterpreted noises from your surroundings as voice commands. Alexa cycles through some of the blue ring variations above as it captures and processes the noise.
If you haven’t made a request to your Echo device, you can simply wait for it to go off or say
- “Alexa, stop”
The blue ring will disappear immediately.
Voice History
You can view a list of these misfires in the Alexa App by going to More > Activity > Voice History and scanning through the recordings. Recordings tagged as “Audio was not intended for this device” are examples of where Alexa recorded audio but determined it was not meant for it.
Alexa Restarting and Firmware Updates
If you have just powered on your Echo speaker, you will see the rotating cyan on blue light appear on the top (or on the bottom of 4th and 5th generation devices).
Echo devices periodically install firmware updates to keep their software up to date. During this process, the blue light ring can also be seen and it's usual for your Echo speaker to restart on its own if such an update is taking place.
If you see the pulsing blue light for a long uninterrupted period of time, then you may need to restart the Echo speaker manually. This can happen if there is an issue with a firmware update.
I generally restart my Echo device by plugging it out of the outlet, leaving it unplugged for 30-60 seconds and plugging it back in. Once it fully boots up, the blue ring should disappear.
If that doesn’t work, it can sometimes be worth restoring the Echo speaker to its factory default settings. This clears any configuration within the device and can solve any corruption issues related to firmware updates.
For this you press the action button for 30 seconds and after it boots back up, follow the instructions in the Alexa App to install the speaker again. You will need to connect the device to Wi-Fi again as part of the installation process.
Follow-Up Mode
Alexa has an optional feature where you can continue asking her questions, without prefacing each question with the wake word. This is called the Follow-Up mode and it is switched off by default.
When enabled; after Alexa answers a question you ask, she keeps listening and leaves the blue and cyan light on for a few seconds.
You can disable this by going to the Alexa App > Devices > Echo & Alexa > Select your Speaker > Setting Cog > Follow Up Mode > Toggle Off
Bluetooth Pairing Mode
Echo speakers can be connected to Bluetooth devices to act as an external speaker.
This is configured by pairing a new device in the Alexa App. When searching for a device to pair with, the Echo speaker displays a rotating blue ring, which unlike the other variations does not have a cyan color.
To disable this pairing, go to Alexa App > Devices > Echo & Alexa > Select your Speaker > Bluetooth > Press the X button or close device pairing.
This should stop the Echo speaker from looking for a new Bluetooth device, and the spinning blue ring should stop.
Echo Power Supply
While it hasn’t personally happened to me, I’ve seen scenarios online where people have encountered a solid blue ring because their device was not getting enough power. This usually happens where an underpowered third party power supply is being used as opposed to the one provided in the box. Or an underpowered USB cable is being used for older generation Echo devices.
The smaller Echo Dot devices generally require 15 Watts while the larger Echo speakers need 30 Watts. Echo speakers should always be powered from a mains electrical outlet. If you’re not using the original power supply then I recommend replacing what you have with an official one as that will have the correct voltage and amperage required.
Other Issues to Consider
Alexa Not Showing the Blue Ring
If your Echo device does not illuminate blue when you use the wake word, then I recommend you check out my troubleshooting guide here to fix this problem.
Purple Light
If your Echo speaker is showing a purple light, this signifies that either DND (Do not disturb) is enabled or Wi-Fi problems are stopping the speaker from setting up successfully. Check out my purple light ring guide here for more.
Rotating White Light
In some lighting conditions, the rotating white light which signifies that Guard Mode is enabled can look like the cyan color.
If none of the above has worked for you, try saying “Alexa, Disable Guard Mode”, just in case it's configured. More information on the Alexa White Ring is available here.
Conclusion
So as you can see, the blue light generally doesn’t require you to take any action to resolve it. I hope this article helps in explaining the various functions that the light represents. If I’ve missed anything, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!