Echo Show Guide: User Manual

Echo Show Guide is an unofficial user manual for Amazon Echo Show smart displays, from the bedside Echo Show 5 to the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21.
Clear, step-by-step guides to set up your Echo Show, learn what every button, light and setting does, use Alexa+, protect your privacy, control your smart home and fix common problems.

This is an unofficial guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon. It is a reading app; it does not connect to or control your Echo Show.

Echo Show models covered
• Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids
• Echo Show 8 (2025 release) and Echo Show 11
• Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21, with Fire TV and remote
• Older models, such as the Echo Show 10 with Smart Motion and earlier Echo Show 8 generations

Not sure which one you have? Start with "Which Echo Show Do I Have?": screen sizes drawn to scale, a comparison table and tips to find the exact model in the Alexa app.

What you will learn

Get Started
• Set Up Your Echo Show, step by step
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Buttons, Lights and Icons: what the red, orange and blue lights mean

Screen and Home
• The Home Screen and Adaptive Content, including home content and ads
• Widgets, Notes and Shortcuts
• Brightness, Clock and Display
• Photo Frame and Amazon Photos

Camera and Privacy
• Camera, Shutter and Privacy
• Visual ID
• Home Monitoring and Live View

Calls and Drop In
• Video Calls
• Drop In and Announcements

Smart Home Hub
• Zigbee, Thread and Matter: which Echo Show is a smart home hub
• Control Your Smart Home: adding devices, the dashboard and routines

Video and Music
• Watch Video and Fire TV
• Music and Audio

Alexa+ on Echo Show
• What Is Alexa+? What it does and what it costs
• Turn Alexa+ On or Off
• The Alexa+ Screen and its new Menu
• Talking to Alexa+

Kids and Accessibility
• Amazon Kids on Echo Show and the Parent Dashboard
• Accessibility Features, such as VoiceView and captions

Settings and Help
• Settings Explained: a map of the Settings menu
• Troubleshooting: 12 common problems, such as a black screen, "Alexa does not hear me" or an orange light
• Update, Restart and Reset
• Frequently Asked Questions: 13 quick answers, such as "Can I watch YouTube or Netflix?" and "Can I use it as a security camera?"

Features
• 31 short Echo Show guides you can follow step by step
• 9 simple drawings that explain the models, the camera controls and the smart home standards
• Search every guide at once
• Clean design with dark mode
• All guides are built into the app, so you can read offline, with no account needed
• Available in 8 languages: English, Español, Português, Français, Deutsch, العربية, हिन्दी and Bahasa Indonesia

Who it is for
• New Echo Show owners who want to set it up quickly
• Families setting up an Echo Show for a parent, grandparent or child
• Anyone deciding between the Echo Show 5, 8, 11, 15 and 21
• Anyone whose Echo Show will not connect, hear them or show the camera

The guides are based on Amazon's public help pages, checked in 2026. Features and availability vary by model, country, language and software version.

Echo Show Guide is an unofficial guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon. Amazon, Echo, Echo Show, Alexa, Fire TV and related names are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Recent changes:
Improved Arabic display: maths, codes and English names in tables now read in the right order.