6 Tips To Fix Alexa Reminders Not Working.

The Alexa reminder feature allows the voice assistant to remind you of anything you want to remember such as reminding you to take out the trash, calling the doctor, pay the rent, and much more.

This feature is easy to set up, all you have to do is tell the voice assistant what you want a reminder for and when to remind you. You can also do it manually from the Alexa app.

We’re not going to talk more about the benefits of this feature because it’s not our main topic.

What I want to do in this post is answer a question that has been asked a lot by Alexa users and that is what to do when Alexa reminders stop working.

How To Fix Alexa Reminders Not Working?

In the following sections of this article, you will find different tips that can help you get Alexa Reminders back into action.

Don’t worry, the tips I’m going to show you aren’t difficult to understand, and you don’t need too much effort to implement them.

So all you have to do now is keep reading.

Tip 1: Make Sure Your Device Isn’t Muted.

Alexa voice assistant announces reminders through different devices like your smartphone, tablet, Echo Dot, or Echo Show and more.

So when you notice that the reminders aren’t announced as scheduled, go and check if the device where Alexa should trigger the reminder isn’t muted.

If you find that the device is set in the mute mode make sure to unmute it and if it’s not go and increase the sound’s volume to hear the reminder when it’s announced.

Here’s how to increase the volume on the Alexa app:

1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Tap the Menu icon in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Then click on Settings.
4. Choose Device Settings and select the Echo device you want to change.
5. Adjust the audio slider to increase the volume.

Tip 2: Check The Time & Date.

The second thing you need to do is check that you’ve set the reminder at the correct time and date, if this isn’t done correctly the reminder won’t be announced at the right time.

Another thing you need to make sure you have set up correctly is your Alexa app’s time and date, as the reminder will be triggered based on these app settings.

To set the time and date on the Alexa app, you need to enter the correct location and the time zone will change accordingly.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the Alexa app.
2. Then go to the Devices section.
3. Tap the Echo & Alexa icon and select the device you want to modify.
4. Scroll down and hit Device Location.
5. choose your country at the top, then enter your home address.

If you own an Echo with a display such as Echo Show or Echo Spot you can modify the location directly on the device. and here’s how:

1. Scroll down from the top of the screen and tap Settings.
2. Tap on Device Options.
3. Then select Device Location.
4. You can then enter your home address.

Note: Changing the location of one Echo device won’t change the others, so if you want to change them all, you’ll need to repeat the steps above for each one.

Tip 3: Restart Your Devices.

The third solution I suggest is to restart whatever device Alexa is using to announce the reminder, whether it’s your phone, tablet, or Echo devices.

Restarting these devices can help them speed up performance and recover from internal errors that may be preventing the reminder from working properly.

All this without the risk of losing your data.

All you have to do is turn off your device, wait a few seconds, I suggest you wait 60 seconds, then turn it back on.

Tip 4: Clear Your Alexa Apps Cache.

Your Alexa app’s accumulated cache can cause performance degradation and be the main reason why the reminders aren’t announced.

So what you need to do here is to clear the app cache as this process clears the pool of temporary files and forces the app to recreate them giving it a kind of fresh start.

This is how to clear the cache on Android phones and tablets:

1. Go to Settings, then select Storage.
2. On the storage list choose Other apps.
3. Select the Alexa app.
4. On the app’s info page, click on the Clear Cache button.

And here’s how to do it on IOS phones and tablets:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click on General.
3. Tap on iPhone Storage.
4. select Alexa in order to clear, and tap Offload App.

Note: I also recommend clearing the cache of other apps because they can consume memory that other apps might need, which negatively impacts the performance of all apps on your device.

Tip 5: Update The Alexa App and The Echo Device’s Firmware.

The next thing I recommend doing is making sure your Alexa app is updated to the latest update version.

Why is this important?

Updating the Alexa app can help it recover from any bug that was present in the older version and also improve the speed and performance of the app and bring new features.

Here’s how to update Alexa on Android devices:

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Tap Menu, then my apps & games.
3. Find the Alexa app.
4. Tap Update.

And here’s how to update it on IOS devices:

1. Go to the App Store.
2. At the bottom right of the screen, tap Search.
3. Tap your account.
4. Find the Alexa app.
5. Tap Update.

Updating your Echo devices including the Echo Show and the Echo Dot is as important as updating the Alexa app so make sure to do it by following the next steps:

Here’s how to update Echo Show:

1. Say, “Go to settings,” or swipe down from the top of the screen and select Settings.
2. Select Device Options.
3. Select Check for Software Updates to check for and install software updates.

And here’s how to do it for the Echo Dot:

1. Make sure your Echo Dot is On and connected to the internet.
2. Hold down the mute button for a few seconds.
3. Check if the ring light turns red, or the mute button turns red.
4. Wait for a few seconds or minutes or maybe half an hour.
   • Alexa will announce that she needs to perform an update and proceed with the installation.
   • If it’s already updated, it won’t update.

Tip 6: Reset Your Echo Device.

The last solution I suggest is to reset your Echo device, this process will delete all your personal information, settings and preferences from the gadget.

This troubleshooting tip will return your Echo device to its original factory settings.

Note: You will have to set new reminders because when the factory reset process is implemented, everything will be deleted.

To reset Echo Dot (2nd Generation):

1. Press and hold the Microphone off and Volume down buttons.
2. Wait for 20 seconds until the light ring turns orange.

To reset Echo Dot (3rd or 4th Generation):

1. Hold down the Action button for 25 seconds.
   • The light ring will pulse orange, then turn off.
2. Wait for the light ring to turn back on and turn blue.
   • The light ring then turns orange again and the device enters the setup mode.

And here’s how to reset the Echo Show:

1. Press and hold the Mute and Volume Down buttons until you see the Amazon logo (about 15 seconds).
2. When prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to set up your device.

Conclusion.

The above tips and solutions are all you need when you notice that Alexa is not announcing reminders.

If you have any further questions, you can contact Amazon customer support for assistance.