These steps follow Amazon’s pages on turning the camera on and off and the features that use the camera on the Echo Show 8 (2025 release) and Echo Show 11, and the setup guides for the Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) and Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen), which have a shutter. Amazon’s UK Echo guide also lists a camera shutter on the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21.

What This Problem Means

An Echo Show camera can be off in three ways: the microphone button, which turns off the microphones and camera together and shows a red light; a camera-only setting on the 2025 models; and a shutter on the Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21. Amazon says turning the camera off disables some features.

Common Symptoms

• Video calls or Drop In show no picture from your Show
• A “Camera Disabled” icon on the screen
• Live View of the Show won’t open in the Alexa app
• Visual ID doesn’t recognise you
• A red light bar on the screen

Safe Checks You Can Try

1. Check the light bar is not red

Amazon’s indicator guide says a red light means the microphones and camera are off. Where the button is depends on your model. Echo Show 8 (2025 release) and Echo Show 11: the Microphones & Camera Enable/Disable button is on the side, with the volume buttons (Amazon’s Echo Show 11 setup guide). Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) and Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen): press the Microphone and Camera button. The slider on the back is the camera shutter, not the microphone (Amazon’s Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) setup guide). Echo Show 21: the Microphones off button is on top (Amazon’s Echo Show 21 setup guide). Press the button once to turn them back on. On the Echo Show 21, Amazon’s setup guide mentions only the microphones for its Microphones off button, so for the camera also check the shutter (step 2).

2. Open the camera shutter

The Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) and Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) have a camera shutter with an on or off slider on the back, and Amazon says you can cover the camera with it. Slide it open before a call. Amazon’s UK Echo guide lists a camera shutter on the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21 as well, so check it is open on those too. Amazon’s pages for the Echo Show 8 (2025 release) and Echo Show 11 describe a camera setting and the side button instead, and don’t mention a shutter.

3. Turn on Camera Access (2025 models)

On the Echo Show 8 (2025 release) and Echo Show 11, open Settings (on Alexa+, tap Menu > Settings; on the original Alexa, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Settings; or say “Go to Settings”), then Privacy & Permissions > Camera Access and turn the Camera toggle on. In the Alexa app: Devices > your device > Settings > Camera Settings. Amazon says the camera is on by default, and a “Camera Disabled” icon shows on the screen when it is off.

4. Know which features need the camera

On the 2025 models, Amazon says the camera powers Live View, Drop In video and Visual ID, and turning it off disables Live View. Drop In video calls need the camera, but audio calls still work without it. Adaptive Content and Presence Detection can use the camera or ultrasound, sometimes with Wi-Fi signals.

5. Check Home Monitoring for Live View

To watch the Show’s camera from elsewhere, Home Monitoring must be on: open Settings > Privacy & Permissions > Home Monitoring and follow the prompts to verify your account and turn it on. You then use Live View from Devices in the Alexa app (Amazon’s Home Monitoring guide). Amazon says a chime sounds when the feed is accessed, and a video delay blurs the first few seconds as a privacy measure.

6. Check Visual ID

Visual ID is an opt-in Alexa Profile feature that is off by default and uses on-device facial recognition. Amazon lists the Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen or newer), Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 11, Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21; the Echo Show 5 isn’t listed. Pressing the Microphones & Camera button pauses it (Amazon’s Visual ID guide).

7. Restart and update

Unplug the power adapter, wait 15 seconds and plug it back in (Amazon’s restart wait for screen devices). Then open Settings > About this Device > Check for Software Updates (Amazon’s update guide).

When To Contact Support

If the problem is still there after these steps, Amazon’s Echo Show support page lists all of Amazon’s help topics for devices with a screen. Contact Amazon customer service if you still need help, and say which steps you have already tried, including the restart. Echo Show 21 owners can also start from Amazon’s Echo Show 21 support page.

Last resort: factory reset. If nothing else works, reset the Show. You do this on the device, not in the Alexa app. Amazon’s reset guide for devices with a screen gives two methods: press and hold the Microphones & Camera and Volume Down buttons until you see the Amazon logo, about 15 seconds. Amazon gives the button method for screen devices in general, not model by model, and the Echo Show 21 has a Microphones off button instead, so use the on-screen method on that model. Or open Settings > Device Options > About this Device > Reset to Factory Defaults and choose Reset. Either way, you then follow the on-screen instructions to set the Show up again. Full steps are in our Echo Show reset guide.