Alexa sometimes has some issues. One of the most common mistakes is that Alexa doesn’t recognize voice commands. In this tutorial, kwgeek shows you three solutions to the problem of Alexa not recognizing voice commands.
Why is Alexa no longer responding to voice commands?
One of the basic principles of virtual assistants is to listen to a voice command, recognize it, and provide a response. However, if you’re using an Alexa-enabled device, you may encounter things like “Sorry, I don’t know that” or “Sorry, I can’t understand your question right now.. try again later, please”.
Errors responding to voice commands are very common and can be caused by a variety of reasons, from internet connection issues to failed software updates. In order to find the cause of the error in response to a voice command, it is therefore necessary to go through the basic protocol. Here are three common voice command response errors and their solutions.
Small suggestion: This seems simple enough, but a common mistake is forgetting that the microphone is off. This is easy to check because your Echo device will display a red light ring or bar when the microphone is muted. To activate the microphone, just press the microphone button on the top of the Echo device.
The echo device shows a red light bar when the microphone is muted / © kwgeek
How to fix Alexa not responding to voice commands?
1. Internet connection issues
“Sorry, I can’t understand you right now. Please try again later” is the most common error you will face, which occurs when Alexa can’t connect to the internet. To work, the virtual assistant must be online, which means it must be connected to the Internet.
To resolve this issue, check your Internet connection, if your modem indicates unstable network access, wait for the connection to stabilize and try again. You can also unplug the modem and Echo device for a few seconds and wait for it to restart.
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If you’re using a mesh network to optimize your network signal (like Google Nest Wi-Fi), it’s common for your smartphone to be on a different network than the rest of your home. If so, the installed Alexa app and the Echo smart speaker may be using different Wi-Fi networks and causing problems.
To fix this, make sure your smartphone and Echo device are on the same Wi-Fi network. To do this, go to the network settings of your smartphone and the Alexa app, and try speaking the command with your voice again. If Alexa still doesn’t respond to voice commands, move on to the next solution.
2. Understand the problem
“Sorry, I don’t know that”. Comprehension issues are one of the classic mistakes made by voice assistants. To determine if this is your problem, check what Alexa hears.To do this, access the history of voice commands by Launch the Alexa app on your mobile device > more > Settings > Alexa Privacy > View voice history.
Access Alexa’s voice command history and check for misunderstandings / © kwgeek.
If Alexa and your Echo device become unresponsive due to a misunderstanding, another option is to change the wake word used to activate the voice assistant.You can do this directly in the Alexa app on your smartphone by going to more > Settings > Device Settings > Select the device you want to change the wake word on > Settings > General > wake word.
3. Operating system problems
In the worst case, your device may experience OS-level issues, such as update bugs. In these cases, the solution is to reset the Alexa-equipped device to factory defaults. Once done, you’ll need to enroll the device to your Amazon account and re-enter using the Alexa app.
You will be able to reset your Echo device using the Alexa app on your smartphone by visiting more > Settings > Device Settings > Select the device you want to reset, then scroll to reset and press before Confirm reset. Keep in mind that these steps may vary depending on which version of Echo device you have.
As you can see, the cause of Alexa’s problem with recognizing voice commands isn’t too far from a basic checklist. However, by following these steps, you’re sure to be able to get Amazon’s virtual assistant to recognize your voice commands.
Have you encountered these problems? Did these solutions work for you? Feel free to suggest other solutions in the comments!