Does Alexa Have To Be Plugged In? Can It Work On Battery?

Considering the size of the Alexa echo speakers, many think they are portable and can be used without plugging them in.

Are Alexa Echo speakers portable, and does it work on battery? In this article, you will find everything, including whether Alexa needs to be plugged in, whether it works on battery, and the best way to travel with Alexa.

Does Alexa Need To Be Plugged In To Work?

Yes. Alexa Echo speakers need to be plugged in to work. These Amazon smart speakers do not come with built-in batteries. You need to connect Alexa to a wall outlet, extension cord, or battery back to power it up.

Alexa Echo speakers are not portable because they need to be plugged in. But there are battery packs available that you can attach to the Echo device, making it portable and usable for up to five hours (more on this below)

Alexa Echo smart speakers come with a power cable and a wall adapter in the box. You need to connect one end of the cable to the power brick and the other to the Alexa speaker. Now plug it in and turn it on.

Alexa will turn off as soon as it is unplugged. Once unplugged, Alexa won’t respond to your queries and ceases to work. But it will not result in any data loss.

Once plugged in again, Alexa will continue to work without any problem.

Does Alexa Have A Battery?

Alexa Echo smart speakers do not come with any built-in battery. You need to plug it into a wall socket for it to work.

Amazon experimented and launched a portable Alexa Echo speaker called Echo Tap in the past. But it did not go as planned, and Amazon had to stop the entire lineup.

Currently, there are no Echo models with a battery. But you may add an external battery base to your Alexa to make it portable.

Can Alexa Work On Battery?

There are many portable speakers with excellent battery life. But none of them have smart capabilities like Alexa. So many people wonder if Alexa can work on battery.

Yes, you may use battery packs to make Alexa smart speakers portable. None of the Amazon Alexa smart speakers have batteries inside them, but you can attach third-party battery packs to use them outdoors without having to keep them plugged in.

To make your Alexa Echo smart speaker portable, you only need a battery pack. A couple of battery packs are available for different models of Alexa Echo devices.

You need to charge the battery pack and attach it to the bottom of your Alexa smart speaker. Now you may take your Alexa anywhere and use it on battery power.

You can use Alexa for about 5 hours with a battery pack.

Battery Packs For Alexa Echo Devices

There are more than 10+ different Alexa echo models. You should get a battery pack compatible with your specific model, as battery packs are not universal.

Not every battery pack is compatible with every Alexa Echo speaker, so make sure you get one compatible with your model.

Below is a list of battery bases for various Alexa Echo models.

Battery Base For Alexa Echo [All Models]

If you have different models of Eco speakers in your home, you need to get separate bases.

Depending on the battery capacity, you can expect your Alexa to work for up to 3 to 5 hours on a full charge.

How To Use Echo Battery Base?

Firstly, you need to place your Echo smart speaker on top of the battery base and align it correctly so that the power port on the echo smart speaker matches the one on the battery pack.

Once the Echo speaker is perfectly aligned with the cut-out on the base, grab the power jumper and connect one end to the speaker and the to the power base.

Connect Jumper To Alexa and Battery Base

Now use Alexa’s power brick to connect to the charging base, and you are good to go.

Next onwards, even if the power goes out, Alexa will keep working as the battery base will power it.

Now that Alexa is on the battery base, you can play music from SoundCloud or Spotify, call anyone if contacts are added, set a timer or reminder, and more.

Can I Travel With Alexa?

To travel with Alexa Echo speakers, you need a battery base. Once the battery base is attached to the Echo speaker, it will draw power from the battery pack and work for up to 5 hours.

Without the battery pack, you cannot travel with Alexa as it is not portable and has no battery inside.

The battery base for Echo Dot weighs less than 100 to 150 grams, so it is incredibly easy and convenient to carry when traveling. Furthermore, it does not take up too much space on your luggage bag either.

If you miss using Alexa smart assistant during your trip, you may use Alexa on your iPhone without opening the app.

Can I Leave Amazon Echo Plugged In All Day?

Many wonders if it’s okay to leave Amazon Echo speakers plugged in all day. Well, it’s perfectly okay to leave your Echo device plugged in all day.

The Echo speakers are meant to be plugged in and turned on so that you can always tell any voice command anytime and get things done.

You may even play music on Alexa all night without any problem!

Make sure you use the original power adapter that came inside the box. If there are frequent power outages in your area, you may connect the Alexa to a charging base so that the speaker will not turn off even if the power goes off.

Does Alexa Need WiFi?

To get the most out of Alexa Echo smart speakers, you need WiFi. Even though Alexa can work on a battery base, you need an active Internet connection to perform things like playing music online, asking for weather info, and more.

Since Alexa can be connected to your mobile hotspot, you should be good to go in most cases as long as you have mobile data.

Even if you don’t have WiFi access, you can still use Alexa as a Bluetooth speaker, set reminders, timers, and more.

What’s Next?

Owning an Alexa smart home setup is not that expensive. If you want to make any of your Echo speaker portable and take them with you, you need to get a battery base and attach it.

I take a battery base for my Echo dot 5th generation whenever I go on a road trip with my friends. Having Alexa on your trip is incredibly fun as you can stream music, ask Alexa for weather updates, and more.