Why Alexa Sometimes Stops Playing Music [& Fixes To Try]
There are a few different reasons why Alexa devices, including the Echo and Dot, sometimes stop playing music. Here are solutions for them all.
AmazonAlexa speakers are excellent for listening to music that is, when they work as expected and don't randomly stop the music for seemingly no reason. Since its inception in 2014, Alexa has become one of the most versatile smart assistants around. It can do simple things like check the weather and find recipes, all the way up to more advanced tasks such as helping care for an older family member.
One of the most popular features of Alexa devices is the ability to play streaming music from TuneIn, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and others. Just link one of the above music services, say 'Alexa,' and ask the virtual helper to play any song, playlist, album, or radio station you can think of. Despite being one of the most popular and basic functions of an Alexa speaker, it's something that many people often complain about not working. For someone with an Alexa gadget that's stopping the music after a song or two, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
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One of the most popular and go-to solutions for fixing any Alexa device when the music stops playing, or any other problem, is also the simplest: unplug the device, wait for a minute, and then plug it back in. In manycases, this hard reset is all Alexa needs to get rid of any bugs and start working as intended. Unfortunately, this doesn'talways solve the problem. If someone's still having issues,there are afew other things to check.
Other Ways To Fix An Alexa Speaker Not Playing Music
One issue that could be causing the music to stop playing on the Amazon device is Wi-Fi connectivity. There are a number of waysto improve Wi-Fi when music buffers ordoes not play. If there are several other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Alexa speaker, itmight be experiencing congestion. Wi-Fi congestion can be reduced by turning off any devices that are not in use. If the Alexa device is too close to a source of interference, like a Bluetooth device or cordless phone, move it away. Simply moving the Alexa device to a higher location could also increase Wi-Fi connectivity and solve the problem. It's also worth checking to see which Wi-Fi channel the Alexa speaker is connected to. If someone's router has a 5GHz band, but the speaker is using the 2.4GHz one, switching to the 5GHz channel can deliver faster speeds and potentially more reliable music streaming.
Alternatively, it may be an issue with the music service someone's trying to use. If Apple Music isn't working but TuneIn is, for example,try reconnecting the Alexa Skill for the music service acting up. Open the Alexa app on a smartphone, tap the 'More' button on the bottom bar, tap 'Skills & Games,' tap 'Your Skills,' tap the music appthat's not working, tap 'Disable Skill,' and tap 'Disable' on the next screen to confirm the action. Once the Skill is deleted, reinstall it to your Alexa account, set it up like new, and it should be back to normal.
If these solutions dont solve the problem, one final answer could be to factory reset the Alexa speaker. This returns the device to its factory settings and erases all user data. It's certainly not the first step recommended, but it can be helpful if nothing else is working. From the Alexa smartphone app, tap 'Devices, ' tap 'Echo & Alexa,' tap the device that's having music issues, tap the gear icon at the top-right of the screen, scroll down, and tap 'Factory Reset.' One way or another, one of these tips should help and get that AmazonAlexa speaker streaming music the way it should.
Next:Alexa Brief Mode: What Is It & How To Turn It On Explained
Source: Amazon
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Ricky Ochs is a writer and journalist who is a huge fan of horror movies and old-school comic books. He is based in Loveland, Colorado where he worked for a newspaper for two decades and was also a content writer for a large marketing company. He holds a BA in journalism from Colorado State University with an English minor. It should be quite obvious that writing is his passion. In his free time, Ricky enjoys riding his mountain bike and hiking in the beautiful Rocky Mountains and listening to death metal.