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Amazon Alexa speakers can be a tremendous amount of help, but if they're acting up or being slower than expected, changing the Wi-Fi network is an essential troubleshooting tip to know. Whether it be the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show, there's a lot to like about Alexa gadgets. They're easy to use, available at a wide array of price tags, and are among the most popular smart speakers on the market. From asking about the weather to controlling all of your smart home devices, Alexa's usefulness has never been more prominent than it is today.

But the iconic digital assistant isn't perfect. Just like any connected device, it's not uncommon for things with Alexa to go wrong. Glitches pop up, random issues appear, and this often demands some troubleshooting to get Alexa working again as expected. The good news? Enacting Alexa's best troubleshooting tools is very easy to do — so long as folks know where to look.

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One situation that may pop up is needing to change your Alexa speaker to a different Wi-Fi network. To do this with an Echo, Echo Dot, or any other Alexa speaker without a display, the process is as follows: Open the Alexa mobile app (on Android or iOS), tap the 'Devices' button, tap 'Echo & Alexa,' tap the speaker from the list, tap the gear icon at the top-right of the screen, tap 'Wi-Fi network,' and follow the step-by-step instructions in the app. Changing the Wi-Fi network for an Echo Show is slightly different, though it accomplishes the same thing. On any screen-touting Alexa speaker, swipe down from the top of the display, tap 'Settings,' tap 'Network,' and choose one of the available Wi-Fi networks from the list that appears. Additionally, users can scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and tap 'Add a Network' to manually add a Wi-Fi network that isn't appearing.

Why You Should Change Your Alexa's Wi-Fi Network

But that only answers half of the question. Knowing how to change an Alexa speaker's Wi-Fi network is easy enough — but why would anyone want to do this in the first place? There are a couple of situations where this may prove useful. For starters, if an Alexa gadget isn't seeing/controlling smart home devices, it may be on a different Wi-Fi network than they are. If a smart light bulb and Alexa speaker are using different networks, they won't be able to talk with each other and work as intended. Get everything on the same connection, and smart home controls should work just fine.

Changing the Wi-Fi network can also be helpful if an Alexa speaker is having trouble streaming music, playing videos, or doing anything else that requires an internet connection. Most Wi-Fi routers today offer two connection options — including a 2.4GHz band and a 5GHz one. If someone's home router is named 'HomeInternet,' these two connections are likely referred to as 'HomeInternet' and 'HomeInternet5G,' respectively. The 2.4GHz band is slower than the 5GHz one, but it offers substantially better range. By comparison, 5GHz Wi-Fi networks sacrifice range in the name of powerful speeds.

For Alexa speakers that are far away from their router — whether they're on different floors or separated by multiple walls — connecting them to the 2.4GHz band is a good idea. They'll technically get slower speeds than the 5GHz option, but the enhanced range should still deliver a smooth overall experience. Comparatively, a nearby Echo Show that's frequently used for streaming music, watching movies, and making video calls, should be kept on the faster 5GHz network. Keep these tips in mind, and your Amazon Alexa devices should work better than ever.

Next: Amazon Echo Show 15 Review

Source: Amazon

Joe has been actively writing and talking about consumer tech since 2012. His biggest passion lies with smartphones, but he's happy to talk your ear off about just about anything with a CPU. He lives in Kalamazoo, MI with hiswife, two cats, and pit bull/boxer mix.