We have meticulously developed an in-depth assessment that provides precise understanding of what the dual signals indicated by Alexa's purple light mean. We genuinely encourage you to delve deeper into this intricate topic.
- The first is a quick purple flash which signifies that the “Do Not Disturb” mode is currently active
- The second is the Alexa pulsing purple light which communicates that there has been a Wi-Fi issue while setting up your device.
1. Alexa’s “Do Not Disturb” Mode to Disable the Alexa Purple Light
Every Amazon Echo Device comes with the “Do Not Disturb” mode. Similar to your smartphone, the “Do Not Disturb” feature on your Alexa device prevents announcements, notifications or calls from interrupting your day.
When the mode is enabled, you will see a quick flash of the Alexa purple light. Furthermore, any subsequent commands you issue to Alexa while it's still in this mode will also be accompanied by the Alexa purple ring flash as a reminder.
You have the option to activate or deactivate “Do Not Disturb” either through voice commands or by using the Alexa app. Moreover, you can establish a daily schedule to specify the times when this feature should automatically turn on and off.
Upon deactivating the “Do Not Disturb” mode, you can promptly access all the notifications that Alexa has been storing.
Lastly, it's important to note that alarms, reminders, and timers continue to be delivered even when “Do Not Disturb” mode is enabled.
How to Enable “Do Not Disturb” Mode
If you would like to stop Alexa disturbing you with calls, drop-ins or notifications …
- Simply say, “Alexa, turn on Do Not Disturb Mode.”
- Or open your Alexa app on your smartphone
- Go to the Devices tab
- Click on Echo & Alexa
- Select your specific speaker
- Press on Do Not Disturb to enable it
“Do Not Disturb” Schedule
To avoid calls or notifications during work hours or at night, you can create a “do not disturb” schedule. To set this,
- Click on the settings cog in the top right corner
- Go to Do Not Disturb under General
- Enable Schedule and enter a start and end time
You can also sync your “Do Not Disturb” settings to all of your Echo devices by clicking Sync in the top right corner.
How to Disable “Do Not Disturb” Mode
If you'd like to stop the Alexa purple ring glowing and receive calls and notifications again …
- Simply say, “Alexa, turn off Do Not Disturb Mode.”
- or Open your Alexa app on your smartphone
- Go to the Devices tab
- Click on Echo & Alexa
- Select your specific speaker
- Press on Do Not Disturb to disable it
2. Alexa Purple Light: Wi-Fi issues During Setup
While not a common occurrence, the Alexa purple ring can pulse if it encounters Wi-Fi issues during device setup.
In my experience, this usually requires performing a full reset of your Echo device and starting the setup process again.
To perform a hard reset, you simply hold the action button on your speaker for 30 seconds. The action button is the one with the solid circle. You need to keep holding the button even after set up mode is entered to fully reset it.
Other Tips to Disable the Alexa Purple Ring
To make life easier when setting up an Echo speaker, it’s best to have Bluetooth enabled. This speeds up device provisioning as you don’t need to swap over to the Echo speaker's temporary Wi-Fi network.
Wi-Fi range and interference can be a cause of this Alexa purple light pulsing during setup. So I recommend standing close to the Wi-Fi router until setup is complete.
Your Wi-Fi configuration or security protocols may also be a factor to consider. It’s worth reviewing any firewall settings, MAC address filtering, Host configuration settings, etc. which may be blocking the connection.
See more information on this issue here.
Alexa Purple Light: Conclusion
I hope the above sheds some light on the Alexa purple ring (pun intended!). If you’ve encountered the Wi-Fi issues mentioned, let us know in the comments your experience with what worked and what didn’t. Or check out our troubleshooting which can be found here.