Own a pair of Echo Buds? Perform this firmware update immediately

By Simon Cohen July 17, 2020

Amazon sent out an urgent email to customers who own its Echo Buds true wireless earbuds, notifying them that a rare but potentially dangerous situation could occur while charging, causing the charging case to overheat. It appears that not all Echo Buds owners received the warning, however.

The problem, which Amazon describes as a “potential safety risk,” can be addressed through a firmware update, which Amazon is urging all Echo Buds owners to perform immediately.

“We recently determined that in very rare cases it is possible for Echo Buds to overheat while in the charging case,” an Amazon representative told Digital Trends in a statement.”Out of an abundance of caution, we released an over-the-air software update that addresses this potential issue.”

“If you purchased this item for someone else,” Amazon’s email says, “please notify the recipient immediately and provide them with this information.”

If you use your Echo Buds regularly, the required update may have happened automatically, in which case there’s nothing further you need to do.

To see if you have the latest firmware:

Open the Alexa app on your smartphone
Select Devices
Select Echo and Alexa
Select Echo Buds
Select About and check the firmware version. It should indicate 318119151 or higher.

If your current firmware version is a lower number:

Make sure that both the headphones and charging case have at least 30% battery (you can check this in the Echo Buds main page in the app)
With the Echo Buds still seated in the case, close charging case lid and keep it within Bluetooth range of your phone for at least 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, repeat the steps above to check the firmware number.

Updated on July 17, 2020: Added a statement from Amazon.

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