3 Steps To Turn Off Green Light On Alexa (2023 How-To)

“Green flashing light?

Sweet Mother of Pearl, they’re spying on me.

Someone’s about to drop in.”

If I’m not expecting a call or message, that’s how I feel when I see a green flashing light on my Echo Dot.

So I turned it off…permanently.

Goodbye, green light.

Don’t worry.

I’ll teach you…

3 easy steps to turn off the green light on Alexa.
3 alternative methods to disable your Alexa device’s green flashing light.
4 possible reasons why your Alexa device is flashing or spinning a green light.
And many more…

Why is Alexa flashing green?

Alexa is flashing green because you’re in an active call with someone. If you see a spinning green light, it can mean two things. One, there’s an incoming call. Two, someone’s about to Drop-In on your Alexa device. It’s also possible your network connection has an issue, but that’s rarely the case.

How to turn off the green light on Alexa? 3 steps

#1: Open the Alexa app on your phone

On your Alexa app, you should see 5 tabs at the bottom of your screen:

Play.
More.
Home.
Devices.
Communicate.

From here, tap “Devices,” which is also a house icon you see on your Alexa app.

You might also like: Why Is the Alexa App So Slow? 3 Reasons and Instant Fixes

#2: Tap “Echo & Alexa”

On your Devices menu, “Echo & Alexa” is located in the top left corner of your phone’s screen.

Tap “Echo & Alexa” and a list of devices should appear.

Select the Alexa device you want to enable the Do Not Disturb function on.

#3: Enable “Do Not Disturb”

On your phone’s screen, you should now be in your Alexa device’s settings menu.

If you scroll down, there should be a “Do Not Disturb” option under the “General” section.

Once you tap “Do Not Disturb”, you’ll see 2 options:

Do Not Disturb.
Scheduled.

Enable the Do Not Disturb feature by tapping on the slider beside “Do Not Disturb.”

“What happens now?”

After setting the Do Not Disturb feature on your Alexa device, you won’t see a green flashing light…

Whenever you get a call.
If you get notifications from someone.

Note: Do Not Disturb means turning off all your alerts and notifications in real-time.

#3.1 Alternative method to enable “Do Not Disturb”

If you plan on enabling the “Do Not Disturb” function often, you can also activate it by asking Alexa.

Simply say:

“Alexa, turn on do not disturb.”

If Alexa recognizes the command, you should hear the response:

“I won’t disturb you.”

However, if Alexa doesn’t recognize your command, you may have to repeat the command once or twice.

But if Alexa still doesn’t respond, you can follow the steps above to manually enable Do Not Disturb.

In the event you want to disable the Do Not Disturb function, you can also say to Alexa:

“Turn off do not disturb.”

If the voice command doesn’t work, you can disable Do Not Disturb manually:

Open your Alexa app.
Tap “Devices.”
Tap “Echo & Alexa.”
Select the device you want to disable Do Not Disturb on.
Under the General section, tap “Do Not Disturb.”
Tap on the slider to toggle off “Do Not Disturb.”
Alexa will show a green flashing light when you get a call or notification.

Dig deeper: Alexa Device Is Unresponsive: 16 Causes & Fixes

Other ways to turn off the green flashing light on Alexa

You’re also free to try out other ways to turn off the green flashing or spinning light on your Alexa device.

Some of these methods are bare simple, while others are a little more drastic.

Above all, choose any method you’re most comfortable doing, starting with…

#1: Ignore the call or simply say “Hang Up”

The moment you see a green flashing light on your Alexa or Echo device, you can do either of the following:

Ignore the call.
Answer the call.
Say “Hang Up” to cancel the call.

If you ignore the incoming call, Alexa will keep flashing green until the call ends.

Going for this approach means the green light will continue to flash to get your attention.

Now, what about answering the call?

You’ll notice the green flashing light turn to a spinning green light.

The spinning motion means you’re in an active call.

And finally, saying “Hang Up.”

This is the quickest way to stop Alexa’s green flashing light.

You’re actively canceling the call by saying “Hang Up.”

However, none of these approaches are permanent fixes.

If the person trying to reach you calls you again, well…

Your Alexa device will flash a green light and you’ll have to repeat this process.

Want a more permanent fix? Check this out:

#2: Disable your Alexa device’s Drop-In feature

Put simply, a Drop-In works like an intercom.

Don’t think of it the same way as you would if you were video chatting with a friend.

For example, say you’re in the washer room doing the laundry.

And your sibling is in the kitchen prepping for dinner.

If you wanted to ask your sibling about dinner, you’d either…

Shout.
Send a text.
Go up to the kitchen and personally ask.

These don’t require that much effort.

But if things could be more convenient, you’d jump at the chance if you could, right?

That’s the purpose of a Drop-In.

It allows you to share a conversation with your sibling via the Alexa device.

By Dropping-In, you can do the following:

Ask your sibling via the Alexa device.
Listen to your sibling cook while you focus on the laundry.
Give a message to your sibling to convey to your parents.
Monitor your sibling in case something goes wrong like an accident.

Drop-Ins are like…just being there even though you’re in separate rooms.

For some, a Drop-In is handy when it comes to family and close friends.

But if it bothers you and your privacy, there’s a way to disable it.

Here’s how to do it:

Open your Alexa app.
Tap on More (three horizontal lines icon).
Tap “Settings.”
Select “Device Settings.”
Choose the Echo Device you want to disable the Drop-In on.
Under the General section, tap “Communications.”
In the Communications menu, tap “Drop In.”
You should see the options “On,” “My Household,” and “Off.”
Tap “Off” to disable Drop-In.

Want to learn more about how Drop-In works? Here’s a video:

Can you turn off Drop-In for a specific contact?

If you still want family members to Drop-In but not a specific contact or friend, it’s possible to do so.

Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Access your Contacts through the Alexa app.

There are 2 ways to access your Contacts:

By tapping on “More” and then selecting “Contacts” from the menu.
Tap on “Communicate.” Then, tap the icon on the top-right part of your screen.

Step 2: Search for the contact you want to disable the Drop-In of.

You can either scroll down until you hit the specific contact or search for the person in the search bar field.

Step 3: Tap on the contact’s name.

Step 4: Toggle off the “Allow Drop In” function.

You should see “Allow Drop In” below the Permissions section.

From here, tap the slider to toggle off the Drop-In for that specific contact.

#3: Disconnect your phone from Alexa

If you’re okay with not having to receive any calls or notifications from Alexa, this method’s right for you.

When you disconnect your phone from Alexa, an incoming call will only appear on your phone’s screen.

Check out: 10 Things Alexa Can Do Without a Smartphone (Best Features)

In other words, Alexa won’t show any flashing or spinning green light on your Echo device.

Here’s how to disconnect your phone from Alexa:

Open your Alexa app.
Tap “Devices.”
Tap “All Devices” (three horizontal dots icon).
Choose the device you want to disconnect from Alexa.
Tap “Remove Device” or the garbage can icon on the top-right part of your screen.
Confirm the disconnection.
Tap “Yes” to disconnect your device from Alexa.

You can also repeat the steps shown above for any other devices you want to disconnect from Alexa.