alexa app and alexa.amazon.com SO SO SLOW

[mudcamper]

Why does the Alexa app and also alexa.amazon.com take 10 or more minutes to start?

Right now it is taking even longer. I'd say it's locked up / unresponsive. But it is like this every time.

It just says "amazon alexa" and sits there with the spinning "hourglass" like icon.

[mudcamper]

alexa.amazon.com still unresponsive. Does it go down? And that causes the app on ALL PHONES to go down too? Is this usual?

[mudcamper]

So I called the support number I got from this forum. (Thanks! I assume this site has nothing to do with actual amazon, and is kinda a fan type site?)

The woman on the phone says that their system is overloaded with all the new purchases from Prime day. She says try again later.

Really.

Super amateur move. I am quite surprised to hear this from Amazon. AWS (Amazon Web Services) powers half the servers on the internet. They can be set to auto-scale to handle ANY load. Yet Alexa/Echo can't do this? Really? Unbelievable.

[mike27oct]

It's working fine; I just checked it and it is never slow for me -- you are one of the first to make these sort of comments here.  Maybe it has more to do with your home network, e.g. poor/slow internet, modem, router, or too weak of a wireless signal at your Echo.

Do this: turn off your Echo (unplug it), turn off your modem and router, wait a few moments and turn them back on.  Once they are back on, turn your Echo back on. and most likely all will be well again.  If not, then try putting your Echo closer to your router.

[mudcamper]

It works now, at nearly 1 am my time.

Mike you must have missed my post where I said I spoke with Amazon CS. They told me the system was overloaded and to try later. And I'm talking about the app, or alexa.amazon.com, not the echo itself.

[mike27oct]

I was referring to the app as well.  I opened it, it did not hesitate. I selected one of my Favorite tunein stations from my list, and it starting playing immediately.  NO lagging or any of the other problems you mentioned.

People who buy new and unfamiliar products should RTFM and not start complaining until they are more familiar with the item.  All it does is indicate the user did NOT RTFM and is unprepared.

I too am on the west coast and saw your post late last night, and my immediate reaction was first, check to see that the app is working, and then thought "this guy doesn't know what he is talking about"!  I have had my Echo more than 24 hours.

BTW, the CS person obviously did not understand your complaint, and gave you a response regarding the Amazon CS phone system, not the app.

[mudcamper]

Mike. Stop trolling me. Stop telling me that I do not know what I am saying. You are wrong. alexa.amazon.com was down. Amazon CS told me they were getting hundreds of calls about it. What is your problem? You are NOT helpful. If you want the help, help. But if you want to troll, stop. Go away.

[mike27oct]

No one is trolling you, Pal.  I, like others here, am trying to help you (even though you are making it difficult for us all.) I read your response to everyone who commented in your other message; you appear to be one of those people who is always right and everyone else is wrong.  You need an attitude adjustment.

I'll concede to this: when I checked the Alexa app, it worked fine and was not slow.  In fact, for over a year and a half there has only been very few glitches with it -- mostly in the earlier days.  But, maybe for a moment it did not work for you.  Who knows, but it was short-lived, for sure.

Here's one last tip: since you don't seem to like your Echo, and balk at any help here, maybe you should just get a refund from Amazon; or get THEM to help you.

[mudcamper]

Mike your answers were just condescending.

[mike27oct]

Prompted by your condescending entry into this forum, and behavior toward others (and me) Just chill, be polite, and it will be amazing how others respond!

[mcarpeneto]

I too am having problems with a slow Echo, and I have two of them. My wifi is fine with everything else. Amazon needs to get some more servers.

[mike27oct]

What exactly "is slow" about it?  Are the Echos brand new?  Is this a common problem for you, or "device is too new to tell"?

I have had an Echo since it came out, and have added two Dots and two Taps along the way, and they are never slow in any interpretation of slow.  I am thinking you have Wi-Fi issues (even though you say it is fine.)  If you have relatively slow bandwidth and/or your Echo is too far from the router Wi-Fi signal, an Echo could get slow at times.  I have neither problem, because I have my Echo devices connected to the 2.4G signal, because it has the longest range, and I know the Wi-Fi signal where my devices are located is strong; I know, because I have measured it with an Android app called Wi-Fi Analyzer, and I have tweaked my router correctly so that it only uses the N signals and no others on the clearest channels I can use.  Bottom line is I know my Wi-Fi is great; I don't just think it is.  Most Wi-Fi device issues are caused by the above issues.

[johnkitchen]

I too have had major issues with the Alexa app for quite a while. It is very very slow. This is not an issue with Wi-Fi or my network as 1) the many other devices and apps on my network don't have the same issue and 2) I have exactly the same problems with the Alexa app when away from home and using cellular data.

Usually, when the app opens, I'm shown the menu icon (three lines) and the title 'Home', but the content of the Home page takes around two minutes to load.

Apart from being slow, I find that I am able to open the menu, but then unable to select any menu items. Touching them does nothing. If I wait another 30 seconds or a minute, I can often then select an item, but this situation is unworkable.

If I am able to select a menu item, I'm often not able to perform actions in that section. For example, deleting items from the Shopping List.

Yes, I am very familiar with the Echo. I have an Echo, one Dot and one Tap and have RTFM, but thanks Mike for your stellar advice.

[jwlv]

John, what kind of phone are you using? I've only used iPhones with the Alexa app, so there's very little variation with the hardware. If you're on Android, there is a great deal of variation between phones. Some Android phones are as cheap as $30 while others can be as much as $700. You can bet that the $30 phone won't perform nearly as well as the $700 phone.

[johnkitchen]

Hi jwlv, I'm mainly using an iPhone 6+, but get a similar experience on my iPad Air (original).