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Amazon's Alexa is done with Friday too

Virtual assistant that powers devices like the Echo was intermittently unreachable for a couple hours Friday. But Amazon says the issue is resolved.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
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Amazon's Echo devices are having slight problems.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

It's Friday, we're all a little burned out from the week. That includes, seemingly, Amazon's Alexa.

The popular voice assistant that powers all sorts of devices from Amazon Echo speakers to microwaves and even a wall clock didn't work for some people starting around 2 p.m. PT. A couple hours later, it appeared the problems had resolved.

As reports were cropping up on the website DownDetector, a half dozen CNET reporters across the country tried summoning Alexa to tell them the weather, play music, turn on lights, tell a joke and recite the biography of action legend Chuck Norris. In some cases, it worked (One joke: "Why did the football player cross the road? To get to the other sideline"). In others, the service responded that it was having trouble and to try back.

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that the company had "an issue" that impacted Alexa for some users, without providing additional details. "The Alexa service is now operating normally," she added.

First published at 3:05 p.m. PT.
Update 4:40 p.m. PT: Adds Amazon comment.