How many times have you told Alexa-powered Echo to do something and it didn’t? Did you lose track? Many users are going through the same thing. Alexa doesn’t play music from Amazon Music or any other service when people ask it to play a song. If you’re having the same problem, you’ll learn how to solve it here.
With an Amazon Prime membership, you can use Prime Music, which has more than 2 million songs. You don’t have to set it up by hand on your Echo because it automatically finds the subscription even if you haven’t downloaded the Amazon Music app. If you say something like, “Alexa, play the Xyz song,” it should play that song.
But there’s no need to worry if the Echo doesn’t play any songs from Amazon Music. If Alexa won’t play music from Amazon Music, you just need to do what’s suggested here.
Further reading: Amazon Alexa Problems: How To Solve The Most Common Ones
Check your router and Wi-Fi network.
Too Many Electronics
If you have a lot of devices connected to your network, it can get crowded, and Alexa might not be able to hear what you say. In this case, turn off or unplug any devices that aren’t being used.
Weak Wi-Fi Signals Or Slow Speed
Echo devices that work with Alexa need a stable internet connection. If the signals are weak or the speed isn’t the best, it might stop responding and won’t play music when asked.
Bring your phone, tablet, or computer close to your Echo and look at the Wi-Fi signal bars. If all the bars are full, the signals are strong. Check the internet by downloading something and keeping an eye on how fast it is downloading. If the speed is slow, unplug some devices that are connected to the Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi User Limit
Many routers have a limit of between 5 and 10 devices that can connect to them. If your Echo device isn’t playing music from a playlist, it might not be connected to the Wi-Fi because there are already too many devices connected to the Wi-Fi. Routers don’t tell you when this happens, so check it yourself and disconnect any devices that aren’t being used.
Start up your router.
Turning off your router, waiting a minute, and then turning it back on can speed up your internet and fix other Wi-Fi problems.
Make sure you’re signed up.
To stream music on Alexa devices, you need to be signed up for either Amazon Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited. People who have Amazon Prime can use Amazon Music Prime for free. Follow these steps to find out if your subscription has ended.
Step 1: Visit Amazon.com and sign in to your account.
Step 2: If you’re on a desktop, move your cursor over your name next to your country’s flag at the top to get a menu. If you’re on a mobile device, tap on your name.
Step 3: For desktop, click “Memberships & Subscriptions.” On your phone, tap “Your Memberships and Subscriptions.”
Step 4: Look at what you’ve signed up for.
Make sure you have the right account.
This is for people who have more than one Alexa account set up. If you want Alexa to play a song you’ve asked her to, you have to be signed in with an Amazon Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited account.
Check the account that is currently connected to the Echo device and make sure it has a subscription to Amazon Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited. If you want to switch users, say “Alexa, switch user,” and then choose the right profile.
Check the number of streaming devices right now.
When it comes to streaming music on multiple devices at the same time, Amazon Echo devices have some limits. Check how many Alexa devices are currently streaming music.
- Members of the Amazon Family Plan can stream music on up to 6 devices at once.
- Members of the Amazon Individual Plan can stream music on any device they want, but they should only be able to do this on one device at a time.
- Members of the Amazon Single Device Plan can only stream music on the device they used to sign up for the plan.
Start up your Echo and your phone or tablet.
Before you try anything else, turn off your Echo and the phone or tablet that is connected to it.
- To reset the Echo device’s power cycle, unplug the power cable, wait a minute, and then plug the cable back in.
- If the battery is removable, you can restart a battery-powered device by taking it out and putting it back in.
- Turn off your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, wait a minute, and then turn it back on.
Set Alexa to use Amazon Music as its default music provider.
If Alexa won’t play music from Amazon Music, it could be because Amazon Music isn’t its default music app. If you have more than one music service and you want to use one that isn’t your default, you have to tell Alexa what service you want to use. If you use Amazon Music often, you can just set it as your default.
Step 1: Open the Alexa app and tap the button with three lines above it that say “More.”
Step 2: Tap ‘Settings’.
Step 3: Scroll down to “Music & Podcasts” and click on it.
Step 4: Tap “Default Services” to continue.
Step 5: Tap “Change” next to the music service that is already set as the default and choose “Amazon Music.”
This works if you have Amazon Prime or a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited.
The song is accessible?
If you ask Alexa to play a song and she doesn’t, there can be a problem with music availability. If you are utilizing your Amazon Prime membership, this is more likely. Compared to Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime Music has a much smaller selection of music.
Amazon Music Unlimited is suggested for music fans who want to have access to all the tracks by their favorite musicians. Ask Alexa to play some music, and if she does, the song’s availability was the cause of Alexa’s silence.
Check to see if the problem is with a certain music service.
Your music service might be down or not working right. If the music service’s servers are down, we can’t do much, but if the bug is in your app, you can turn off and then turn on the Alexa Skill for that music service.
Step 1: Tap the three horizontal lines that look like “More,” then tap “Skills & Games.”
Step 2: Click “Your Skills” and then tap the music service that is giving you trouble.
Step 3: Touch the “Disable Skill” button and confirm.
We’ll add that music service back in now.
Step 4: Click on “Skills and Games.”
Step 5: Tap the search icon in the top right corner, type the name of the music service, and select it.
Step 6: Touch “Allow to Use.”
You may also like: How to turn off the language filter on Alexa
Turn off the filter for bad language
With the Amazon Alexa app, you can choose to let songs with bad language play or not. So, if Alexa doesn’t play music, it could be because the song has to swear words in it and the explicit filter is on. So turn off the filter for strong language and try again.
Step 1: Click the “More” button at the bottom of the main window of the Alexa app.
Step 2: Tap ‘Settings’.
Step 3: Move down the page and tap “Music & Podcasts.”
Step 4: Click the “Explicit Language Filter” button.
Step 5: Turn off “Explicit Filter” and “Voice Deactivation” by toggling the switches.
Deregister Echo And Register Again
Echo might also not play music if the Echo device isn’t responding or if it can’t be paired with other devices. You can unregister your Echo from the Amazon Alexa app and then register it again to see if that fixes the problem.
- When you open Amazon Alexa, tap “Devices.”
- Now, choose “Echo and Alexa.”
- Tap the Echo device that is giving you trouble.
- Tap ‘Deregister‘.
Now, use the Amazon Alexa app to set up Echo again, and try playing music.
Play on any other device with Alexa
Try to play music on any other Alexa-enabled device besides your Echo to make sure it’s not broken. This will help you focus on the Echo device if the music on the other device starts playing.
Move your Echo device up higher.
Your Alexa device, like the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show, works as long as it is connected to the internet. If the Alexa device and the router are in different rooms, Alexa may not work because the signals are weak. Here are some of the best ways to put Amazon devices:
Always put Amazon Echo up high so that it can get good Wi-Fi signals.
Don’t put it near things made of metal or thick walls.
Don’t put it on the ground because that could mess up how well it gets signals.
Look at the network firewall.
The built-in firewall on your router might be blocking the address from which Alexa is trying to play the song. This is not likely, but it is still a possibility.
- Find your router’s IP address so you can get to its console. For example, the address for some routers is 192.168.1.1.
- Provide login credentials.
- Go to the option that says settings or configurations.
- Find the “Port Forwarding” section.
- Check to see if the following ports are open: 123, 33434, 4070, 443, 40317, 49317, and 5353.
Change your Echo
If none of the above solutions work, you can start over by resetting your Echo device to factory settings. It will get rid of all the settings that are unique to you on that device.
Change your Amazon country settings
Alexa services know where you are. If you use Alexa services in a country other than the one you set in your account settings, it could cause problems. So, if you travel a lot, make sure your Amazon country settings are up to date.
- Start your browser. Sign in to the Amazon website.
- Click the three horizontal lines in the top left corner.
- Scroll down the list and click on the flag of the country you want.
- When you click the name of a country, a drop-down list of countries will appear. Choose the country you are in at the moment.
Change Amazon Music to your new location or country
Again, this choice is for people who travel a lot. If you think the country you have set in Amazon Music doesn’t match where you are, change it to the country you are in right now.
Step 1: Sign in on the Amazon Music website.
Step 2: Click on the icon that looks like a gear, then click on “Your Amazon Music Settings.”
Step 3: Scroll down and click “Move your Music account” next to “Amazon Music Account Country/Region.”
Step 4: Click “Select” after choosing the new country from the drop-down menu.
You’ll have to sign in to your account again.
Step 5: After logging in, click “Add Address” and change your address.
Check how your Echo is set up.
If Alexa doesn’t play music, it could be because your Echo settings are out of date. For Alexa to work right, the location, time zone, and country of your Echo device should match where you are right now.
Step 1: Open the Alexa app and at the bottom, tap “Devices.”
Step 2: Click on “Echo & Alexa.”
Step 3: Now, choose the Echo device that won’t play music when you tell it to.
Step 4: Check the “Language,” “Time Zone,” and “Device Location.” Change them if you have moved or are in a different time zone.
Check what devices are currently streaming
Say you use the Amazon app or another Echo device connected to the same Amazon account to play music. Because of the streaming limit, you won’t be able to use the same Amazon account to stream music on other devices. This is because you can only stream on one device at a time with Prime Music.
Check the contacted Accounts
Prime Music only works for people who have Amazon Prime. So, if your Echo has multiple profiles that are linked to different Amazon accounts, you need to be signed in to the one that has a Prime membership. Say “Alexa switch user” or “Alexa switch profile” to switch between users.
FAQs:
Does Alexa play music even if you don’t have Amazon Music?
Yes. Other than Amazon Music, you can choose any music service you want, like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, Vevo, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, and TuneIn.
How do I get Alexa to play music when it won’t?
Check your internet connection and Wi-Fi, move Echo, restart Echo, restart your phone, make sure your Amazon subscription hasn’t expired, and see if the song you’re playing is available for Amazon Prime members.
Alexa says she’s playing music, but I can’t hear it. Why?
When Alexa says she is playing music but you can’t hear it, it’s because your internet connection is too slow. Alexa might also not be able to find the song you want.
Why doesn’t Alexa play music anymore?
The main reasons Alexa stops playing music are:
- Weak Wi-Fi signals
- Echo devices near thick walls, metal objects, or the ground
- Expired Amazon subscription
- The song might only play for Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers
- The default music service doesn’t have that song
- The maximum number of devices streaming at the same time has been reached