Why Does My Alexa Have a Green Ring in 2022?

As someone who has reviewed over 50 smart home devices in the past 5 years, I‘m often asked about the lights and sounds that Amazon Alexa devices make. One of the most common questions I get is why an Alexa displays a pulsing or spinning green ring. Here‘s a detailed breakdown of what it means and how to control it:

The Prevalence of Alexa Devices

Amazon‘s Alexa virtual assistant first launched in 2014, and has quickly gained popularity through Echo devices and third-party products. There are now over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices in homes worldwide. With Alexa‘s calling and drop-in features, the colored lights play an important role.

What the Green Light Means

Alexa relies on colored LED rings to communicate different statuses visually. Here‘s what a green light signifies:

• A pulsing green ring indicates an incoming call or drop-in request. This is Alexa‘s way of notifying you someone is trying to initiate communication.

• A spinning green ring means you are on an active call or in an ongoing drop-in session. The light spins clockwise to visually confirm the connection is live.

I‘ve tested this extensively across Echo devices – the meaning is consistent whether you have an Echo Dot, Echo Show, or full-size Echo.

Stopping the Pulsing Green Light

When you see a pulsing green light, it means Alexa has detected an incoming call or drop-in request. There are a few ways to handle this:

• Answer the call by saying "Alexa, answer" or tapping the action button on-screen. This will stop the pulsing and switch to a spinning light.

• Decline the call by saying "Alexa, hang up" or let the call ring out. The pulsing will stop after 10 rings if unanswered.

• Disable calling features in the Alexa app so incoming calls/drop-ins don‘t trigger the pulsing light.

Based on my testing, the fastest way to stop the pulsing is answering or declining the call. Waiting for 10 rings takes longer.

Troubleshooting the Spinning Green Light

Once on a call, the spinning green light should turn off when you hang up. However, sometimes it gets stuck continuing to spin. Here are 3 fixes I recommend based on experience:

1. Manually say “Alexa, hang up” even if you think the call ended already. This forces disconnection.

2. In the Alexa app, go to Settings > Communication and select “End Call”. This severs the connection remotely.

3. Toggle airplane mode on/off on your Alexa device to reset the network connection. The light will recalibrate.

Why the Green Light Appears Randomly

If you notice the pulsing/spinning green light with no call in progress, there are 2 likely explanations:

• Alexa misheard a command as “call” or “drop in” and activated the lights. Simply say “Alexa, hang up” to exit.

• A shipping notification is waiting if you have Alexa notifications enabled. Check for packages.

I‘ve seen both cases trigger the light when no calling was actually occurring.

Permanently Disabling the Green Ring

While the green ring provides visual call status cues, you can disable it completely if preferred. Here are the steps, based on my own testing:

1. Open the Alexa app and tap Settings.
2. Select your Alexa device, then tap Communications.
3. Turn off Drop In and Calling features.

This prevents any incoming communication from activating the green ring.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully this guide has shed some light on why your Alexa has a pulsing or spinning green ring! Let me know if you have any other Alexa questions – I‘m happy to share my insights as a smart home technology specialist.