How to Play SoundCloud on Amazon’s Alexa

How To Play SoundCloud On Amazon’s Alexa

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Amazon’s Alexa needs no introduction. The virtual AI assistant Alexa has become a part of millions of homes, giving us the convenience of operating various gadgets and services with just our voice.

Alexa offers a wide range of functions, like listening to news and sports highlights, using it as a Bluetooth speaker, getting weather reports, etc. But it’s most common use by people is listening to their favorite music and songs.

Alexa can play music from various streaming services, including one of the biggest streaming services – SoundCloud. But you won’t be able to play from SoundCloud right away on your Echo device.

First, you need to link the streaming service to the Echo device so that Alexa can access SoundCloud’s music library. If you’re a first time user or not aware of Alexa’s functions and features, then you might be confused about how you can play SoundCloud with Alexa. And that’s probably why you’re here.

Well, we are certainly here to help you, and by the end of this post, you could very well be listening to your favorite songs on SoundCloud with Alexa.

Further reading: What Is Alexa And What Does Alexa Do?

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About Alexa And Echo Devices

Alexa is Amazon’s voice-controlled virtual assistant that performs many functions with just a command from your voice. Amazon’s Echo devices are the smart speakers that house the AI so that you can think of it as Alexa’s home.

There are various models of Echo speakers with different features and price tags, like Echo Dot, which is neat and compact, or the Echo Show, which comes with a touch screen. Based on your budget and the features, you can choose the best Echo device for your needs.

About SoundCloud

SoundCloud is an audio platform that was started back in 2007. It’s not just a streaming service, but more like a social media platform for everything music. Of course, you can find all mainstream songs from famous artists on SoundCloud, but that’s not all. It even allows independent creators to upload and share their music with other SoundCloud users. And even if you’re not a creator, you can explore songs from individual creators along with mainstream music.

SoundCloud users even have their own profiles, and you can follow each other. It’s pretty much the Instagram of music! The most fantastic thing about SoundCloud is that it lets you discover a new world of music, as you never know when you may come across a gem of a song by a creator you didn’t know about. It’s a free platform, so you can listen or upload music without any charges, though they do have a premium membership that offers some exclusive features.

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How to Play from SoundCloud with Alexa?

So this is the part you want to know. You want Alexa to play songs from SoundCloud, but it’s probably not working. Some of you might have even tried the usual voice command – ‘Alexa, play [song name] from SoundCloud’ but to no avail.

The reason it’s not working is that Echo devices aren’t connected to streaming services right off the box. The only streaming service that is already connected to Echo devices from the time of purchase itself is Amazon Music.

For other streaming services, you need to set it up yourself. To do so, you need to open the Alexa app, go to Settings, then Music & Podcasts, and there you will find the option to Link New Service. Clicking on that will open a list of streaming services that Alexa can integrate with.

However, as much as we hate to be the bearers of bad news, SoundCloud users will be a bit disappointed to know that it cannot integrate with Alexa. You won’t find SoundCloud on Alexa’s list of supported services. As such, it won’t be possible to use voice commands for playing songs from SoundCloud directly from your Echo device.

But the good news is that there is another way to play SoundCloud on Alexa – through Bluetooth. Since Echo devices support Bluetooth connectivity, you can connect them to your phone, tablet, or computer. Play the songs from SoundCloud on your phone/computer, and Alexa will play it from the Echo device. Of course, it means that you have to play the songs from your device manually and can’t command Alexa to do it directly, but it’s still convenient.

Now Alexa comes with a lot of functions. If you’re not able to figure out how to establish a Bluetooth connection between Echo and any other device, then just follow the simple steps we’ve mentioned below.

Alexa Bluetooth Pairing with Mobile Phones

There are two ways to connect your phone with Alexa via Bluetooth, both very simple and quick.

Option 1:

  • Turn on your Echo device. Say the command “Alexa, pair” which instructs the Echo device to enter into pairing mode.
  • Turn your phone’s Bluetooth on and go to the Bluetooth settings. Find your Echo device on the list of Available devices.
  • Click on the name of your Echo device from the list, and just like that, the connection will be established. Once done, Alexa will also mention that the devices are connected.

Option 2:

  • Open the Alexa app on your phone.
  • Go to ‘Devices’ and then ‘Echo & Alexa.’ Here you will find the name of your Echo device, so click on it.
  • The settings for your Echo device will open. Find and click on the option that says ‘Pair Alexa Gadget.’
  • Now turn on your phone’s Bluetooth, go to the Bluetooth settings, and select the Echo device from the list. Your phone will be connected to the Echo, and just like we said before, Alexa will confirm the connection.

Pairing your phone with the Echo device is a one-time thing. Once the two devices are paired, you don’t have to do it again. The next time, you just have to keep your phone’s Bluetooth on and say “Alexa, connect to [device name]” and to disconnect, say “Alexa, disconnect from [device name]” Of course, if you unpair your phone and Echo device at any point, you must repeat the pairing process all over again.

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You may also like: How To Put Echo Dot In Pairing Mode

Alexa Bluetooth Pairing with Computer or Laptop

Just like mobile phones, you can also connect your computer, laptop, or notepad to Alexa via Bluetooth.

  • Turn on your computer’s Bluetooth.
  • Go to alexa.amazon.com and log in to your Amazon account.
  • After logging in, go to Settings and click on the name of your Echo device, which will be listed there.
  • The settings for your Echo device will open. Click on ‘Bluetooth’ and then on ‘Pair a New Device. It will show you a list of available devices. From there, click on the name of your computer.
  • You will receive a notification on your computer asking permission to pair, so click on Allow. After that, your computer will be paired with the Echo device.

Again, the pairing is required only the first time, and after that, you can quickly establish the connection by saying, “Alexa, connect to [computer’s name].”

Summary

If you were hoping to integrate SoundCloud directly with Alexa on your Echo device, knowing you can’t do that might be disheartening. Perhaps we can hope that SoundCloud will soon be added to the list of streaming services that can be integrated with Alexa.

Until then, you still have the option to play your playlists on SoundCloud with Alexa by connecting via Bluetooth. The pairing process takes a few minutes, but it’s simple, and you only need to do it once. After that, a voice command is all it takes to connect your phone or computer so you can get play songs from SoundCloud right away.