As Amazon‘s Alexa continues its meteoric rise with over 100 million devices sold, many users are still getting accustomed to their new voice-powered assistants. One common question from Alexa owners:
"Hey Alexa, why do you keep randomly blinking green?"
It‘s confusing and even frustrating when your Alexa lights up with no prompt. But don‘t worry – that green glow is trying to tell you something. And if you find it annoying, I‘ve got four great ways to make it stop.
In this detailed guide, you‘ll learn exactly why Alexa blinks green and how to disable that behavior through quick settings tweaks or more permanent solutions. Soon you‘ll have the info to resolve those pesky green flashes and enjoy Alexa without pointless distractions.
Let‘s get started!
Why Is My Alexa Blinking Green? Understanding the Light Indicators
Alexa devices feature colored LED rings at the top to provide visual cues that complement the audio alerts. Some common examples:
- Blue light: Alexa is processing a voice request
- Red light: Recording is in progress
- Yellow light: There‘s an issue connecting to the internet
- Green light: You have an incoming call
It‘s this last one that annoys owners the most. But before solving it, let‘s break down exactly what triggers the green light.
Pulsing vs Solid Green Light
Primarily, a pulsing green light means you have an incoming call or drop-in request. This is Alexa‘s way of notifying you on an incoming connections. The pulsing typically flashes 10 times unless you answer.
A solid spinning green indicates you‘re already on an active call. This persists until you end the call.
Now in some cases, connectivity glitches or background chatter can fool Alexa into thinking it hears a call trigger. That may activate false green pulses when no real request exists. But the majority of the time Alexa blinks green due to actual incoming calls.
Why Would I Want To Disable The Green Light Indicator?
If you utilize Alexa calling features to connect with households, the green light offers helpful visibility into incoming requests. However, there‘s several reasons you may want to stop blinking:
- It can be distracting, especially in low light settings
- The motion keeps grabbing your eye every 10 pulses
- You want to disable calling capabilities temporarily or permanently
- Faulty connections lead to false notifications
Left unchanged, this green glow leads to constant interruptions. Fortunately, resolving the issue is quite simple with the right approach.
In the next sections, we‘ll cover four effective methods to banish the green light from your Alexa – no coding required!
Method #1: Answer/Decline The Incoming Call
When you see Alexa pulsating green, this indicates an incoming call. While frustrating, the simplest way to quiet the light is addressing the call itself through one of three actions:
Answer Call – If it‘s an important call, press the action button to connect. While talking Alexa displays a spinning green light. End call when finished.
Decline Call – If it‘s an unnecessary call, press and hold the action button. This stops the pulsing light.
Ignore Call – Do nothing and eventually the pulsing green light will stop after 10 cycles. Useful for unwanted calls.
So by directly handling the incoming call requests, you can minimize the Alexa green without adjusting any settings.
Keep in mind: This only affects call-triggered blinking. Other system notifications will still cause LED pulses. But for many owners, calls account for the majority of false blinks.
Now let‘s explore a more comprehensive fix…
Method #2: Leverage Alexa‘s Do Not Disturb Mode
If your goal is to widely suppress notifications, enabling Do Not Disturb mode is an easy catch-all solution.
When enabled, Do Not Disturb (DND) puts Alexa in an inactive state where incoming calls and messages trigger no audio or visual disruptions. It‘s meant for times when calls would be a nuisance – say late at night or during work hours.
Of course this prevents ALL Alexa notifications – not just calls. But on the plus side the green light stays completely dormant when DND‘s enabled.
You can toggle DND two ways:
Enable Via Voice – Just say "Alexa, turn on do not disturb". Alexa confirms and kills the green light.
Enable Via App – For manual control, use the Alexa app instead:
- Launch the Alexa app
- Tap ≡ Menu
- Select your device > Do Not Disturb > On
Either approach stops notifications and green LED pulses. Say "turn off do not disturb" or flip the app switch to reactive Alexa anew.
One note – Do Not Disturb disables EVERY notification, So you won‘t know about messages or reminders either. But if a darkened device is your end goal, Alexa in DND mode accomplish this well.
Next up, let‘s explore an approach that leaves notifications intact…
Method #3: Disconnect Your Paired Phone
Here‘s a clever way to stop green blinks while keeping Alexa active for non-call requests. The secret lies in your paired smartphone connection.
Alexa leverages a Bluetooth link with your phone to shuttle notifications back and forth. This includes incoming call requests that activate the pulsing green light.
But if we remove your smartphone from the equation, those bothersome calls can no longer reach Alexa at all – solving the blinking issue. Your notifications will still work via WiFi however.
Here is how to disconnect your phone:
- Open the Alexa app
- Select the ≡ Menu
- Tap Devices
- Select Echo & Alexa Speakers
- Choose your Alexa device
- Tap Bluetooth Devices
- Select your phone > Forget
Once forgotten, your calls and texts won‘t reach that specific Alexa. No calls and no pulsing green as a result!
(Repeat for any other paired phones to fully disconnect.)
This allows non-call notifications to stream to Alexa intact while blocking call requests specifically. Just note you won‘t receive mobile calls on the device either. But for just stopping blinking, it works great!
Method #4: Disable All Communications
If even basic call capability causes issues, you can disable Alexa Calling & Messaging entirely. This permanently blocks calls and the notifications causing green pulses.
Note: This also prevents DROP IN functionality and bans all call features. Use only if you never utilize calls otherwise.
Here is how to turn off Calling & Messaging:
- Open the Alexa app
- Select the ≡ Menu
- Choose Settings
- Tap Alexa Preferences > Communications
- Toggle Drop In to Off
With Drop In disabled, Alexa enters a communications-restricted mode. Now any calls silently fail without alerting you or triggering LED pulses.
While effective, this is very limiting. I suggest trying less drastic measures first before resorting to this nuclear option. But for owners who never call and hate the green glow, disabling communications gets the job done.
Summary & Recommendations
In this guide you learned four methods to conclusively stop Alexa‘s blinking green light, from straightforward call handling to communications shutdowns:
- Answer/Decline Calls – Temporary light disabling
- Enable DND Mode – Suspend all notifications
- Disconnect Paired Phone – Allow non-call notifications
- Disable Communications – Permanent call blocking
Based on your needs and tolerance levels, you can mix and match techniques:
- Use Do Not Disturb mode for overnight time spans when calls would wake you.
- Disconnect your mobile for most of the day if mobile calls bother you.
- Try handling calls first before resorting to comms disabling as a last resort.
I recommend starting with simple steps like Declining unwanted calls and enabling Do Not Disturb only during disruptive hours. Monitor if this resolves your blinking issues without limiting Alexa‘s capabilities the rest of the day.
But for owners who still witness false green pulses randomly, don‘t hesitate employing the more advanced troubleshooting steps. Stopping notifications AND disconnecting your phone provides a good 1-2 punch to block many intrusions.
Hopefully with the steps listed here, you now hold the power to eliminate Alexa‘s blinking green light once and for all. Just say the word if any issues pop up during your troubleshooting efforts!
