Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant, Alexa, isn’t perfect just like us, human beings. She hadn’t been able to understand me for a few days. All she’d been saying was (in a red light):
“Sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you right now. Please try a little later“
Steps to fix “”Sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you right now” issue
Turn it off and on
It might be a temporary issue caused by some hardware or software malfunction. Before trying the relatively complex steps below, first turn off and on your Echo device (unplug the cable and plug it back). If it doesn’t work, turn off your router and turn it back on after waiting for 10 seconds.
Your Wireless Network
It’s not her, it’s -probably- your wireless network. Since Alexa is a cloud service, she needs to be connected to internet. So it’s a good idea to start diagnosing your wireless network.
Even if your other devices are able to connect to internet, the problem might still be caused by your network. Check your router to see if Alexa’s IP address is blocked (This was the issue in my case).
Firmware Mismatch
Make sure you are using the latest firmware in your Alexa device. Alexa automatically checks for latest firmware every night. However, there might be a glitch that is preventing to perform daily checks.
In order to force Alexa to update herself, hit mute button and keep it muted for 30 minutes. It will start updating the firmware.
Reset Alexa to Factory Defaults
Press and hold the “Microphone off” and “Volume down” buttons at the same time until the light ring turns orange and follow the instructions Alexa tells you.
More information about resetting your Echo device is here.
Alexa is unavailable
There might be an issue on Amazon’s side. Contact Amazon Support. It’s pretty straightforward to call or chat. Here is the link.
Still having this issue? Try Alexa’s official support page
Looking for a way to to connect more than one Bluetooth speakers to Echo Dot? Check this post out.