Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Most Popular
  • Top Categories
  • Books
  • About Dave
  • Ask Me
  • > Donate <
  • Home
  • Amazon Echo & Kindle Help
  • Enable Hands Free Mode on Amazon Echo Tap?

Enable Hands Free Mode on Amazon Echo Tap?

February 17, 2017 / Dave Taylor / Amazon Echo & Kindle Help / 13 Comments

I bought an Amazon Echo Tap a few months ago and just read that I can now use it like my regular Echo, without tapping the button. Excellent. How do I enable the Tap’s hands free mode?

We’re huge fans of the Amazon Echo line, with an Echo, a Tap and two Dots in the house. The Tap is a winner with its portability and rechargeable battery, but you’re right, having to push the button every time you want to use it makes it way less interesting and fun than the other devices that are always listening. Apparently we’re not alone in that assessment, because as of early 2017, Amazon released an update to the Echo firmware that allows you to turn off push-to-talk mode and enable hands-free mode on the Amazon Echo Tap. Cool!

It’s easy to turn on this feature too, but you have to remember that all configuration and settings for any of your Alexa units is done through the Alexa app (either the iOS version or the Android version). And that’s where we’ll have to make the changes to upgrade the Tap too, so let’s go through the steps!

To start, launch Alexa on your smartphone. I have an iPhone, so that’s the version I’ll show here. And you can see what kind of music I listen to when I’m working too. 🙂

amazon echo alexa tap iphone ios app

This is the Amazon Alexa app home screen, and as you can see, it shows what’s going on. In this case, I asked my Echo “play music from the 80’s” and this is what it found. To proceed, you want to tap on what’s called the “hamburger button”, the three horizontal lines on the top left. A menu pops out:

amazon alexa app main menu settings configuration customization

Lots to explore, but you want to tap on “Settings“, about 2/3 of the way down the menu list. Now you’ll see a list of all your devices, either just the Amazon Tap or, well, more, much more:

amazon echo alexa devices list

In the middle is our Amazon Tap, which we’ve ingeniously named “Tappie”. Notice in particular it says “Tap to Talk Mode”.

We don’t want that! A tap on that entry and the settings for that device show up:

amazon echo tap settings preferences

It’s the third section that shows the setting you want to change: Hands-free. Tap on the slider to switch from “Off” to “On”.

A window pops up with a few functionality reminders, new stuff they had to add once the Tap could go hands-free:

amazon tap echo alexa hands-free functionality settings configuration

Unfortunately, unlike the other members of the Amazon Echo family, the Tap cannot be switched to a different wake word. It’s “Alexa”. But notice that Amazon implemented a mute feature and a sleep mode to preserve battery. The latter is particularly important because obviously in hands-free mode it’s going to eat up battery far faster than just as a speaker.

That’s it. Tap “Continue” and you’re done, good to go, ready to chat with your Tap!

hands-free mode tap-to-talk amazon tap echo alexa

You can see the change in setting on the screen. Now grab your Tap and test it out!

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
amazon alexa, amazon dot, amazon echo, amazon tap, echo configuration, echo settings, hands-free, tap hands-free, tap-to-talk

13 comments on “Enable Hands Free Mode on Amazon Echo Tap?”

  1. Vince says:
    August 10, 2019 at 9:24 am

    Hi. I just setup my Tap. Had the same problem.
    I let Tap upgrade its firmware, using the 5
    second method. Uninstalled Alexa App from my
    phone. Reinstalled it from the App Store and
    despite having to login again it works fine now.

    Reply
  2. Chris Cressman says:
    July 12, 2017 at 10:03 am

    For anyone who lands here looking for a solution, I had to hold down the power button on the Tap for 5 seconds to fully shut it down. Then hit the power button to turn it back on. This caused the device to fetch and install the latest firmware. The pulsing blue light means it’s installing a firmware update. Don’t use the device while it’s installing.

    Reply
    • languer says:
      July 14, 2017 at 1:13 am

      Thank you. Powering down as you suggested was all it took for the Tap to update (and fairly quickly).

      Reply
      • Todd Martin says:
        March 30, 2019 at 6:00 pm

        Powering down as suggested worked for me as well – thank you.

        Reply
    • Moon says:
      July 24, 2018 at 10:38 am

      Thank you! I was getting annoyed that this feature was not coming up. I used your suggestion and it came up right away.

      Reply
  3. gale says:
    June 27, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    I have the same problem and my app is up to date.

    Reply
    • Martin says:
      July 7, 2017 at 8:51 pm

      Hold and press the play/pause button for 3 seconds, this will make the hands-free option appear on the app now

      Reply
  4. Jacqueline says:
    March 31, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    I’ve looked everywhere on my app and it’s missing the hands-free mode option. I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling and it’s still not there. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you

    Reply
    • Dave Taylor says:
      March 31, 2017 at 4:08 pm

      Are you sure you have the very latest version of the Alexa app on your smartphone, Jacqueline?

      Reply
      • Court says:
        June 24, 2017 at 9:12 pm

        I have the latest version as well (just downloaded it), and it’s missing as well. Not sure what’s up.

        Reply
        • William says:
          July 8, 2017 at 2:20 pm

          I’m missing that option as well. This was the main reason I bought the Tap…

          Reply
          • Dave Taylor says:
            July 8, 2017 at 3:24 pm

            Make sure you have the very latest version of the Alexa app, William.

          • Joel Charles says:
            July 15, 2017 at 9:12 am

            It could be the version of software on the device ( nothing to do with app). Power the tap off by holding power button for 5 seconds. Press once to power back on and it should auto search for and install software updates. I did this then fully closed out of the app and reopened and hands-free option was there.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How to Customize Quick Access Toolbar in Microsoft Word?
  • Can I Have Microsoft Edge Suggest Strong Passwords?
  • How Can I Password Protect Tax Forms Sent Via Email?
  • Easy Way to Add Emoji to Tweets from a Web Browser?
  • How Do You Post Multiple Photos in Instagram?

On Our YouTube Channel

Andobil Cup Holder Phone Mount -- DEMO & REVIEW

DIGDIY BUDGET ANC TWS Earbuds [D10WH] -- REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon Echo & Kindle Help (79)
  • Amazon, eBay and Online Shopping Help (157)
  • Android Help (158)
  • Apple Watch Help (49)
  • Articles, Tutorials and Reviews (326)
  • Business Advice (191)
  • Computer and Internet Basics (714)
  • d) None of the Above (160)
  • Facebook Help (364)
  • Google & Gmail Help (154)
  • HTML and Web Design (243)
  • Instagram Help (43)
  • iPad Help (136)
  • iPhone Help (570)
  • LinkedIn Help (79)
  • Linux Help (147)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (86)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (831)
  • Most Popular (10)
  • MP3 Player Help (181)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (9)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (11)
  • SEO & Marketing (80)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (82)
  • Trade Show Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (212)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows 10 Help (825)
  • Wordpress Help (201)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (43)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (40)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2020 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy