“Alexa+ is significantly more capable than the original Alexa, so we’re working to make it available to as many customers as possible,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “We notified customers of the upcoming update, including how to return to the original version.”
Amazon says it’s only upgrading Prime members with supported devices to Alexa+ Early Access in this new push. Alexa+ is currently free, and Prime members will continue to get it for free when it launches into the first full version, but it will cost $20 a month once it officially launches for non-Prime members. The list of supported devices is also generous, including the first generations of the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Spot, and even Echo Plus. There’s a long list of Fire TV and Fire tablet devices that are also compatible, so depending on how many Amazon-powered devices you own and if you’re a Prime member, you could be seeing Alexa+ in several places.
How to Switch Back to Original Alexa
Photograph: Nena Farrell
If you didn’t want to upgrade or don’t like the experience, it’s easy to switch back. Just tell your Alexa device, “Alexa, exit Alexa Plus,” and it’ll switch back to the original Alexa voice and experience. This works on supported Echo devices. You’ll stop seeing the chatbot-like conversation style, and the assistant’s responses will be less conversational.
Other than that, you won’t really lose your core capabilities. Personally, I haven’t found that I needed to change how I ask questions between the two versions of the voice assistant. The onscreen and voice experience reverted to something very similar (if not slightly updated, though I am using the newest Echo Show 11 to test it) to what I remember Alexa being like before I switched to Alexa+. Amazon will also warn you that some features will have to be changed in the Alexa app if you revert to the older experience but doesn’t specify what these are, nor does it make those settings easy to find.
If you’re not a Prime member and didn’t get the automated push to Alexa+, you should be able to still toggle it pretty easily in the app or even on your device by asking to switch to Alexa+. There’s no longer a sign-up page like there used to be, since there’s no wait list. To find details about your Alexa+ access and to manage the controls, look under Memberships & Subscriptions in your Amazon account.
Alexa Versus Alexa+
Even if you request to switch back to the old Alexa, is it really the old Alexa? While it is the same voice, Feminine 2 (or “Relaxed”), our team—along with other users on Reddit—have noticed some of the inflections in the voice have changed, making it sound different from the way it used to. You can also use Feminine 2 while in Alexa+, so the voice itself has likely been updated to keep up with the more conversational style that Alexa+ promises.
Some people also hate the new default voice, Feminine 1, which the Alexa app describes as “upbeat” but others call the “teenage girl” voice. (Or as my editor, parent to a teen, calls it, the “sassy teenager” voice). New Alexa does sound much more youthful, and has a cadence that sounds almost sarcastic. In all, Alexa+ offers four feminine and four masculine voices, each of which is described in the app with a single adjective like “Inviting” or “Warm.”
