I have seen a few of these postings but they seem to be older. I was wondering if this is going to get fixed? I don't understand why it would all of the sudden just stop playing music after a few songs or sometimes just after one song. Then if I tell it "Echo, next track" it replies "What do you want to hear". So I tell it again to play a station from Pandora and it works just fine. It may play for the rest of the day, it may stop. Very frustrating. Other times when I tell it the second time to play the same station, it tells me that it is already playing. The Sonos app even reflects the same info but yet there is no music coming from the speakers. All of my speakers are on one group and they all have unique names, even separate from the lights that are in the same rooms so there should be no conflict there.
You command your Amazon Alexa to play music from Spotify, Amazon Music, radio station, Apple music, or Sonos One. But instead of playing one, it stays quiet and quiet. Does this ever happen to you? If yes, then don’t worry, you are not the only person who got ignored by Alexa. Lots of Amazon Alexa users reported that Alexa not playing music when they asked to and even not responding.
One of the simple methods to fix Alexa stops playing music issue is to improve Wi-Fi connection, changing echo or music location, and Restarting Amazon Echo. You can also check whether Alexa is properly connecting with the streaming music app or not.
You are lucky if the above methods work for you, but if it doesn’t, then don’t stress out. There are other options that you can follow to fix Alexa won’t play specific music or songs issue.
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Why Alexa Not Playing Music?
Alexa is a great personal voice assistant when it comes to command any regular tasks like getting information about certain things, setting alarms, or playing music and podcasts. But when it stops listening or responding to our command, then there where the trouble begins.
Similarly, when it comes to not playing songs, then there are lots of factors behind it. It differs from device to device and location. So, here are the following things which you should always remember or check when your Alexa not playing Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, or TuneIn music.
Check Internet Connection
There are various reasons that why Alexa not playing Amazon or Spotify music; one of them is a poor internet connection. When your home Wi-Fi is not stable or providing not enough signal strength, then Alexa will stop playing music after two or three songs.
That’s why make sure your Amazon Echo or Alexa are getting enough Wi-Fi signals to play a song for you. Moreover, also disconnect other devices from the internet which are not currently used to reduce Wi-Fi congestion.
Change Router
In some cases, the internet is may not be the issue, but the problem is from the source, which means your router. A router is responsible for your poor and excellent internet signal. If you have an old router at your home, then maybe it’s providing a low signal which is not enough for Amazon Alexa or Echo to run.
In this case, either change your router or increase your internet speed. You can also unplug the router for like 15 seconds and re-plug in to improve the signal strength. You may need to repeat this process once a month if the issue is your router.
Restart Amazon Echo
If Alexa stopped playing music, then you can restart Amazon Echo. Simply cut off the power cable from Echo and leave it for 20 seconds. After that, re-plug in and try to play music from Spotify, Amazon music, or other sources. This will restart the power cycle of Amazon echo and can help to start playing songs.
Check Subscription
If you are playing Amazon music in Echo then remember you must have an active subscription. Inactive or disable subscription doesn’t help Alexa to play Amazon Music on Echo.
Now, to check your Amazon subscription, follow the following steps.
- Go to the official site of Amazon.
- Login to your Amazon account if needed.
- Next, click on your display name from the upper right header.
- From the drop-down menu, select Memberships & Subscription. If you can’t find that option, then look for Your Prime Membership.
- Now, check for a Subscription, and if it’s inactive, then renew your subscription.
Put Alexa Device at Higher Place
Do you know that putting a router in one room and your Alexa device in another causes pressure to your Amazon Alexa? That’s because it’s hard for both Echo and Alexa to catch up with a signal. So, it’s better if you put the Alexa device at a higher place somewhere on the high table to get full signal strength.
Also, remember, don’t place Amazon Alexa and echo at the ground. Plus, keep your device away from metal objects, baby monitors, as thick walls.
Check Network Firewall
Network firewall controls incoming and outgoing traffic. Since Alexa uses the internet in order to respond to certain things so when you command to play music on Amazon Echo, then ensure that it’s not blocked by the network firewall. That’s because the songs that are played by Alexa come from different sources.
To verify your network firewall, you can
- Search for your IP address.
- Open your browser and type your internet IP address in the search bar.
- Provide login credentials.
- Go to Settings page.
- Next, search for Port forwarding section.
- Check for following open ports. [123, 443, 4070, 5353, 33434, 40317, 49317].
Search Available Songs
Whenever you are playing music on Alexa and echo, make sure that your songs are available. If you command Amazon Alexa to run music for you which are not even in Amazon Music, Spotify, or Apple music then Alexa can’t find the result and will stop playing music.
Moreover, Amazon Prime has fewer songs than music unlimited and Spotify. That’s why command Alexa to play other songs; it plays then this means your chosen music is not available.
Play Music in Different Device
If Amazon echo stops playing music, then you can play it on a different device. Like, use the device which is supported by Alexa to ensure that problem, not in Amazon echo.
In the case of the podcast, make sure that it supports Alexa. Some of the podcast services cannot run on Amazon Alexa.
Move Amazon Location to Your Country
Sometimes, your Amazon location can be misplaced with your Alexa device. You should always make the same location for both of these services. This is because if your Amazon location is in one country and your Alexa on your current place, then it will not play Amazon music as well as others.
That’s why update your Amazon account location and set it as the same as the Alexa location.
This is how you can change Amazon location.
- Go to Manage Your Content and Devices section.
- Next, sign in with your Amazon login credentials.
- Click on Preferences tab.
- After that, select Country/Region settings option.
- Now click on Change button in order to change your current location.
- Fill up a form and set location as same to your Alexa device.
- Finally, click on Update button once you fill up a form.
Change Echo Location to Your Country
If you changed your Amazon location but not sure about your Amazon Echo location too, then you must update it in order for Alexa to play a song for you. Besides, you can also check whether your Alexa time zone or language is correct or not.
To change Amazon echo settings and location, simply
- Download Alexa App.
- Once download is completed, open the app.
- Now, tap on Devices option from the bottom right corner.
- Tap on Echo & Alexa option.
- Next, choose your device.
- After that, check your Alexa device time zone, location, and language.
In case your Alexa settings are all fine and still, you can’t play music from Amazon, Spotify then move to the next method.
Disable Explicit Filter
There is a restriction over explicit music on Amazon Music and Spotify. So, if you are playing music that is explicit [sexual, offensive, or violent], then Alexa will stops or block such types of songs from playing if you have enabled explicit filter mode.
So, turn off your explicit filter and listen to your favorite songs without any issue.
Note: You can still listen to all FM/AM radio stations.
- Open your Alexa app on your device.
- Tap on three horizontal lines from the upper right corner.
- Next, select Settings from the sidebar.
- Under Alexa Permission, tap on music.
- Now, tap on the Explicit filter option under Account settings.
- Finally, turn off the explicit filter if it’s on.
Re-register Echo Device
You can also deregister the Echo device and, after that, re-register once again. This will restart the Alexa Amazon echo device and can solve the minor error.
To re-register Amazon echo device, simply,
- Open your Alexa app on your device.
- Tap on devices from the bottom right corner.
- Next, tap on Echo & Alexa option.
- Select your Alexa bedroom.
- Scroll down and tap on deregister.
- Finally, re-register your device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Alexa Says She is Playing Music But doesn’t. Why?
If Alexa says she is playing music, but you can’t listen to any of them, then maybe Alexa can’t find that music that you want to play. Other than this, your device is connected to a slow internet connection.
Alexa Not Playing Radio Stations. Why?
If Alexa is not playing the radio station, you can contact the Radio.com support team to fix the issue. They will help you out to play your favorite radio station.
Alexa Not Listening. Why?
When Alexa is not listening, then check your device whether it’s muted or not. Red light indicates that you have muted the Alexa device. In addition, keep your device away from thick walls, metal objects, and other loudspeakers.
Alexa Stops Playing Music Due to Inactivity; why?
If Alexa stops playing music due to inactivity, then reboot your Alexa and modem.
Conclusion
Finally, help out with the above-mentioned methods to fix Alexa not playing music from Amazon Music, Spotify, radio station. If the problem is not with your device, then update your device location and play only available songs.
If you have any other Alexa issues, then feel free to ask in the comment section.