The older your first-generation Amazon Echo gets, the harder it may be to reconnect it to your Wi-Fi network. You may have tried restarting, or even factory resetting your device, but still haven't had any luck.

The good news is that you can still connect your Echo device to your Wi-Fi network using a manual workaround, you just have to know how to get there first. We'll highlight what you need to know.

Why Won't Factory Reset Work?

Turning off the Alexa red ring light

As Amazon updates its devices and develops better software, the company needs to maintain its customer support.

The more new devices and software Amazon has to offer maintenance for, the less there is to go around for older devices like the first-generation Echo.

So, if you've moved to a new home or installed a different internet provider in your home, reconnecting the device won't be as easy as connecting a newer model.

It won't matter if you unplug and plug your device back in or factory reset it, your first-generation Echo device won't connect to the Wi-Fi.

That's because there isn't enough developer support to update the software used in the first-generation model, and your device is no longer supported.

The bad news is that it will always be a little harder for you to reconnect your device to a Wi-Fi network.

But you can still use a workaround to fix the problem, but that takes a bit of work.

How to Connect Your First-Generation Echo to Wi-Fi

After you've tried all the typical troubleshooting options for your Echo device, you need to move on to your absolute last resort before replacing the whole device.

You'll need to be close to your device and have access to the Alexa app for iOS or Android in order to fix the issue.

Before you follow through with the steps below, put the Echo into setup mode. This will help your device search for nearby Wi-Fi networks.

To do this, press and hold the action button on the top of the device for at least 15 seconds. You'll be able to know if your device is in setup mode because the Echo light ring color system will turn orange.

Once the light turns orange, move forward connecting your device with your Wi-Fi network.

  • Open your Alexa app
  • Select Devices
  • Select Echo & Alexa
  • Choose the device you want to connect
  • Select Change next to Wi-Fi Network
  • Follow on-screen instructions

At this point, your Alexa app will try and search for your Alexa device in order to connect the Echo to a wireless signal.

The app won't be able to complete this step because it won't be able to read your device correctly. Instead of giving up or contacting Amazon, keep attempting to connect your device.

After about three or four unsuccessful connections, your Alexa app will prompt you to try another method.

This method will involve connecting your phone to a local Amazon internet server. When you connect to this server, Amazon will be able to manually connect your Echo device back to your home's internet.

There are no other ways of getting to this manual method other than by failing your connection attempt at least three or four times.

Because of the lack of developer support, this is the only way to reconnect your first-generation device when you need to change internet networks.

Getting a First-Generation Amazon Echo Up and Running

If you've just moved or you're connecting to a new wireless network, a first-generation Echo might not want to connect that easily. Using the Alexa app, you can manually connect your Echo to your Wi-Fi, but you need to fail a few times before taking advantage of the manual option.

Most people have the same problems with their Echo so it's worth reading about the common problems and solutions before contacting Amazon.