It is likely that at some point and without warning you will begin to notice that Alexa does not work as it should . What’s more, to your requests the only thing he answers is “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time understanding you.” When that happens to you (or if it has already happened to you and you never knew why) this is what you need to know to fix it.
I’m sorry I’m having a hard time understanding you
As a general rule, the operation of Alexa is usually always correct. You make a request and the Amazon voice assistant responds or performs the action appropriately. However, there are times when this is not the case. Most of the time they are specific errors due to, for example, poor reception of the voice command by their microphones or specific failures in the internet connection .
However, there are times when you speak clearly, the microphones pick up what you are saying perfectly, but still there is no response. And if there is, it is the same over and over again “Sorry, I’m having a hard time understanding you. Please try again later” while the led ring of the device flashes red . What can or should you do to solve it on these occasions? That is what we are going to see.
How to fix Alexa problems
Alexa is a cloud-based platform, that means that having an internet connection is essential for its operation. It does not matter that, for example, what you want to control is connected to the same local network as your Amazon Echo. If it can’t connect to the company’s servers, it won’t do anything.
Therefore, the vast majority of errors are due either to a lack of understanding of the microphones or to specific failures that prevent your smart speaker from connecting with Amazon’s servers. Luckily, for the latter it is very easy to know whether or not it is a connection problem. As we already told you, the light code of the Amazon Echo gives you clues and when it lights up red it is a problem with the Wi-Fi network.
However, to clear up any doubts and that it is not a problem with Amazon’s servers, all you have to do is access the Alexa application on your smartphone and check that everything works correctly. If this is the case, then you will have to go to the next step: verify your own network and the Echo configuration . These are the solutions you can try:
- The first solution, as basic as it may seem, is to restart the Amazon Echo
- If the above does not work, make sure that you are still within range of the wireless network and that there are no interference problems. Have you moved your router, your Amazon Echo, or placed new devices nearby?
- Make sure there have been no changes to the network access password
- Try to always connect your Amazon Echo to the 5 Ghz network if it is available
- If you are connected to a 2.4 Ghz WiFi network, use channels 1, 6 and 11 (they are the most optimal for use)
After these simple steps, it is more than likely that all your problems with your Amazon Echo and the use of Alexa have been resolved. If not, then it could be a hardware failure or the need for a software update that Amazon should apply. But those are much more extreme and less common mayhem.
So we hope that with these instructions, when Alexa tells you that she is having a hard time understanding you, you can solve the problem and continue to take advantage of the advantages offered by a voice assistant.
