Alexa is a virtual assistant that works similarly to such popular programs as Siri or Google Now. In other words, Amazon Alexa is an assistant that responds to voice commands and performs user tasks.
Initially, Alexa was equipped with a small speaker-speaker Amazon Echo. The company began developing this device back in 2010, but it wasn’t released until five years later. The release of the Echo speaker equipped with Amazon Alexa wasn’t accompanied by a powerful advertising campaign, as such devices weren’t new for users.
However, it’s possible to discern the potential of Alexa already at a closer look. First of all, the device works all the time. To give it a voice command, the owner doesn’t have to press any buttons. All you have to do is say “Alexa” and the Amazon Echo is ready to do the job. Second, Alexa can’t only act as a music speaker but also manage a smart home, helping the user around the house like a little butler. With a smart home device like the Amazon Echo, you can turn on the lights, turn on the heat, or open the garage door with just voice commands.
Well, sometimes, especially if you’re a new user, Alexa can flash different colors. Each color means a certain action or signal of something. So, here’s what you should know about the situation when your Alexa is flashing yellow.
What is the reason for Alexa flashing yellow
If the light on your Alexa is blinking yellow, it means that there are unread messages in your inbox on your email.
If you want Alexa’s flashing yellow light to go out, just check your email. You can check your messages manually or have Alexa open your inbox for you and read new messages and notifications.
If the yellow light doesn’t fade even after checking all messages and notifications, you may have some issues to resolve. When something is incomprehensible and everything looks suspicious, try checking for any possible causes that may be causing the yellow light on the top ring of Alexa to flash.
How to turn off Alexa’s flashing yellow feature
If you want to turn off your Alexa’s flashing yellow feature, you have to follow these steps:
- First of all, open the Alexa app on your iOS or Android device.
- Then, tap on the “three lines” icon at the top left corner and go to the “Settings” menu.
- After that, tap on the “Device settings” tab and select your device.
- Next, tap on the “Communications” option and disable it.
Once you have completed these steps, you will turn off your Alexa’s flashing yellow feature.
Where else can Alexa be installed
For now, Amazon allows you to install the Alexa virtual assistant not only on the Echo speaker but also on a number of other devices:
- Amazon Tap portable speaker.
- Amazon Dot.
- Fire TV media player.
- CoWatch smart watch.
Looking at Amazon Alexa’s virtual assistant, it’s easy to see that it’s a really useful device. Imagine that right now you want to listen to music. If you have an Amazon Echo, all you would need to do is ask the assistant to play a song of your choice. Otherwise, you can ask it to play something from a certain band, and Alexa will find a song for you.
Alexa’s features go far beyond playing music. With the Echo speaker, equipped with a virtual assistant, you can:
- Make to-do lists for the current day or for the whole week using Google Calendar.
- Give the device tasks to control the smart home.
- Check the weather, news, results of sporting events, and interesting facts.
- Сall a cab.
- Use third-party entertainment services.
- Create playlists on Spotify.
- Make cocktails with The Bartender extension.
Alexa is initially limited to a standard set of features, but any user can develop their assistant using Skills extensions. These extensions are provided by Amazon or third-party developers.
Now there are more than three thousand different Skills available, so every owner of an Echo or other device compatible with the assistant can fully appreciate the benefits of Alexa. A central mobile app is used to control the virtual assistant and customize the system.
What do the other colored Alexa lights mean
There are other colored indicators on Alexa that indicate different things:
- Purple.
- Wi-Fi connection problem (blinking purple), “Do Not Disturb” feature activation (rotating blue light with purple flash), or interaction with Alexa when “Do Not Disturb” is on (purple flash).
- Orange.
- Your device is connected to the Wi-Fi network (orange spin).
- Red.
- Microphone off (solid red).
- Blue.
- When you wake Alexa (solid blue), when Alexa is processing your request (solid blue with spinning blue), or when Alexa responds to a command or question (alternating blue and blue).
That’s all you have to know about colored indicators on Alexa.
