Alexa-enabled devices, such as the Echo and Echo Dot, have a great feature that allows you to listen to the same audio in multiple rooms. However, it doesn’t always work as expected. You may find that music doesn’t play on one or more of your Echo devices, or that one or more Alexa-enabled devices are unreachable during setup. Audio might not be synced correctly between the Echo devices.
If Alexa multi-room audio doesn’t work for you, there are some easy steps to take to get this feature back up and running.
Causes of Alexa Multi-Room Audio Not Working
If Alexa multi-room audio doesn’t work correctly, the problem might stem from a sync or connection issue that prevents one or more Echo devices from working with the multi-room audio feature.
In other cases, the issue is caused by the inclusion of Bluetooth speakers. Since Bluetooth introduces a delay, the multi-room audio feature may not work at all, or you may experience an unpleasant delay between Echo devices.
How to Fix the Alexa Multi-Room Audio Not Working Error
To troubleshoot an Alexa multi-room audio not working error, perform each of the following steps in the order we set here.
Connect the Echo devices to the same Wi-Fi network. If Alexa-enabled devices aren’t connected to the same network, you’ll experience the device unreachable error. Connect the Echo devices to the same Wi-Fi network and see if this solves the problem.
If your router creates multiple Wi-Fi networks, make sure all your Alexa devices are connected to the same one. If the devices aren’t, multi-room audio won’t work.
Switch the Echo devices from 5 GHz Wi-Fi to 2.4 GHz. If your router has both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, connect all your Alexa-enabled devices and your phone to the 2.4 GHz network. Wi-Fi networks on the 2.4 GHz band are slower but are more reliable, which is important if Alexa devices are spread out across a large area.
Disconnect Bluetooth speakers from the Alexa-enabled device. If you have any Echo devices paired to Bluetooth speakers, remove the connection before including that device in your multi-room group. The Alexa app may fail to add them, or you may experience an unpleasant delay between the audio output of your various Alexa devices if you do manage to include them.
Try different Alexa commands. If you normally say, “Alexa, play (playlist) on all devices,” try saying, “Alexa, play (playlist) on the (everywhere group).” Replace “playlist” with the name of one of your playlists, and “everywhere group” with the name of your multi-room audio group.
Play music from a different supported audio source. If you’re playing Spotify, ask Alexa to play music from Pandora, or another supported source, on your multi-room group.
Restart the Alexa-enabled device. Restart any Echo device that isn’t working with multi-room audio, then check to see if multi-room audio works.
Restart the router and modem. After the router and modem are back up and running, make sure your Echo devices are connected to the correct Wi-Fi network, then check to see if multi-room audio works.
Delete your multi-room music group. Delete the group from the Alexa app, and then create it again from scratch. After you delete and remake the group, say, “Alexa, play (playlist) on (group name).”
Delete and reinstall the Alexa app on your phone. After you reinstall the app, create your multi-room music group again. Check to see if it works by saying, “Alexa, play (playlist) on (group name).”
As long as you have an Apple Music subscription and an Alexa device is set up and ready, streaming Apple Music through Alexa is fairly simple. Just set up Apple Music as one of Alexa’s Default Services and you should be good to go.
Alexa unexpectedly stopping playback can be caused by a number of factors. These include (but are not limited to) a glitch, internet connection problem, outdated firmware, or being stuck in Loop Mode.
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