Amazon Echo is a smart home device for its Alexa feature. This feature, immortalized by its abilities and pop culture, enables users to navigate apps through simple instructions. Unfortunately, users complain that, at times, Alexa misunderstands requests and fails to find their playlist. While this may be true, certain factors contribute to this misunderstanding.
So, why can’t Alexa find my playlist? Among the factors to blame if Alexa cannot find your playlist include Wi-Fi congestion, streaming limit, account settings, or an inactive subscription. Also, the song may not be available, or the instruction you are giving may not be clear to Alexa, making song selection from your playlist difficult.
Alexa is famous for playing tunes from a host of streaming services without trouble. However, this is not the case of late, with several theories from users explaining this.
Some of the reasons I have gathered to explain the possible cause for Alexa failing to find your music include your account settings, Wi-Fi issues, subscription, and failure to give instructions clearly.
Also, while you may request a song from your playlist, this song may not be there or available in a competitor app, and Alexa will not retrieve it. Identifying the possible cause of your issues ensures easy resolution for endless entertainment.
If you are facing any of the above issues preventing Alexa from finding your playlist, here are a few fixes you can try to resolve the problems. First, reset your echo power cycle. Resetting your echo power cycle as the first step can solve this problem, among other undetected issues.
This is especially if you’ve had your device running constantly for hours. To do this, disconnect the power cable from the echo and wait for about thirty seconds, then plug it back in. Next, try playing your music and note the differences.
If the problem persists, check a few settings in your Alexa app, including the Device location, language, and time zone, and update them to your current location. To update your Alexa settings,
- Open the app and
- Tap Devices
- Next, tap Echo and Alexa and
- Select your device.
Check your device location, language, and time zone, match them with your current local details and then play a song on Alexa with the new settings.
You should enjoy your playlist upon giving instructions. However, if this is not possible and you are playing your music via the Amazon app, you are probably experiencing a streaming limit. As such, you should check your other devices and disconnect them.
This is so since you cannot stream music on other gadgets using the same account. Prime Music allows you to stream on one device at a time and will not take instructions if you violate this rule.
Checking that your subscription is still active on Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Prime is also necessary to establish the cause of the problem. Like other online subscription services, Alexa will not play songs on requests until you renew your inactive subscription.
To check for an active subscription, navigate to the Amazon website in your country and log in with your credentials. Next, click on your name and select the Memberships and subscriptions option. You will be able to view your active subscriptions here, and if you do not have, you can renew to enable Alexa function appropriately.
If you have an active subscription or renew your subscription, the next step will be to check that the song is available. Unlike Music Unlimited, Prime Music has fewer song selections. Thus, if Alexa fails to play your song on the first trial, try a different song to rule out the above issues. If it plays the latter request normally, probably your initial request is unavailable on Prime.
In this case, you have no option but to listen to what is available. Another way to check song availability is to open the Prime app and manually search the song. While this seems tedious, it will save you from the frustration of requesting a song unavailable on Prime.
You may also have several music providers on your Alexa App. In this case, you should set your playlist as the default. To change your default music provider,
- Navigate to your Alexa app
- Tap the three-bar icon at the top, and
- Select Settings from it
- Next, tap Music and on Default Services
- Select your Playlist
Also, you will need to change your tactic in giving Alexa instructions. As such, you should mention the actual name of your playlist when making your request. When doing this, you should also mention the song such that your command is something like, “Alexa, play” name of the song” from “playlist name.” Alexa should be able to recognize this instruction and locate your music.
Linking your Amazon account to an unrelated location can cause a series of problems, with Alexa’s functionality being one of them. Unfortunately, some people have their Amazon accounts linked to locations that have nothing to do with them.
Using this account with another tied to a different location will affect functionality. Fixing this problem can be cumbersome and to some people, creating a new Amazon account is the only possible solution.
However, if you are lucky, you can update your country to the current location. To do this,
- Navigate to your Manage Your Content and Devices tab and
- Log in with your Amazon credentials
- Next, click on Settings or a link leading you to the Manage Your Content and Devices page and
- Click on Country/Region Settings.
To change your country,
- Click the Change button and
- Update your location
- Next, click the link prompting you to learn more about Amazon sites and
- Confirm your location under the Update your default Kindle store to Amazon, then try again playing a song with Alexa.
Can Alexa Use Shazam?
Smart speakers like Alexa are useful as they can listen to external instructions and play music. But you may be wondering what the point is in using this app, yet Shazam can do this task perfectly. For years, Shazam did this job perfectly, tracking down songs that you can listen to at your leisure.
Unfortunately, echo devices will only identify songs streamed from Amazon Music and will not use Shazam, given that Shazam belongs to Apple Music. This restriction is due to privacy reasons. Amazon would not want third-party developers to listen to everything around their devices, as they may use it against them or for their benefit. Thus, while you can play a song with a simple command, this app cannot identify songs from other streaming services like Pandora, Apple Music, or Tidal.
With the above limitation, there are several ways you can identify songs on your echo device. For instance, if your device is already playing music, you can ask Alexa what music that is. Alexa will interrupt the song briefly to notify you of the song’s name and artist. If you are listening to music playing on a radio station, Alexa will identify the station name and not the song.
Alexa will also play a song based on the title and artist, and you can sing or mention a few words of the song. If the app hears you clearly, it will play the song, but it has to be from Amazon Music or Amazon Prime Music. Also, with the latter option, you have to be accurate with the lyrics, or the echo will play a different song. While this option is not as smooth as using Shazam, it is a better approach to enjoying music through Alexa.
If listening to music via Amazon music, it is possible to identify songs automatically with Alexa. To do this, Tell Alexa to turn on the Song ID. If you are using, say, Spotify as your default playlist, you can tell Alexa to use Amazon Music by instructing it to play your chosen song on Amazon Music. Turning off Song ID is also possible if tired of this feature.
Can Alexa Use YouTube Music?
Most of us love playing music on YouTube, given its millions of tracks. One of Amazon Echo’s duties is to ensure you listen to music. This is possible with Alexa, which has made music enjoyable with just a few instructions. Even then, Alexa is not compatible with all music services, and you may have to forego some of your favorite streaming services to continue enjoying this service.
YouTube is owned by Google, and Alexa will not play music directly from it due to privacy restrictions. However, you can pair your Echo device with another via Bluetooth to play music from YouTube. Your Bluetooth-enabled device should have internet connectivity to play YouTube music. Once you connect Alexa to your device, you will be able to play any audio from your iPad or iPhone over Alexa.
To play YouTube music on Alexa with a Bluetooth device, start by ensuring your device’s Bluetooth is on and discoverable. Next, instruct Alexa to pair Bluetooth. Your device will show up on the Bluetooth devices list on your phone. Tap on the echo you want to connect to, and Alexa will confirm the connection.
To listen to music from YouTube on your speaker, open this app and select the music you want to listen to, and the audio will stream from your Echo speaker. If you cannot hear the music, check that the volume is up on your Echo and phone.
Once done listening to music, you can disconnect your Bluetooth connection by instructing Alexa. If you are experiencing difficulty connecting your devices, you can try a different connection.
Navigate to your Alexa app on your phone and tap Devices. Next, tap on Echo and Alexa and select your Echo device. From here, you can tap on Bluetooth devices to scan for active devices and pair them with your echo.
While you can play YouTube music using Alexa, you will experience certain limitations. For instance, you can only maneuver around play, pause, next, and previous video instructions. This is quite limiting but is better than nothing. Also, using YouTube on your phone through this connection is subject to Google’s limitations. Thus, the easiest way to get through is to join YouTube Premium, but this comes at a cost.
Can Alexa Use WhatsApp?
Amazon’s Alexa is becoming a household name for the convenience it offers. This virtual assistant is becoming smarter every day, making your life easy in all possible ways.
Unfortunately, WhatsApp does not work on Alexa. Like other limited Apps, this app belongs to Facebook, and Amazon will not want to expose itself to its competitors hence the privacy restrictions.
In addition, WhatsApp lacks an API, which serves as an interface between two software, which Alexa depends on to work with it. As such, WhatsApp would not want to open up its software for exploration and abuse by other firms.
With the above limitation, the only option you have is to send messages via SMS if you want to use Alexa. To set this up, open the Alexa app on your phone, then register for Calling and Messaging.
From here, navigate to your profile and hit the conversations tab, contacts, then enable Send SMS. While this feature will work with just a few taps, it is limited to certain states. Also, smartphones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later are the only ones that can accommodate this option. Another limitation, according to Amazon, is that this tool cannot reach the 911 service. Thus, you will have to explore other options to seek help in case of an emergency.
Wrap Up
Alexa is famous for playing music with some simple instructions. However, this AI service may not always locate the music you want to play due to factors including inactive subscription, connectivity issues, and the failure to give clear instructions, among others. Identifying a problem is key in resolving these issues to continue enjoying your music.
While you can play music from your playlist, not all apps are compatible with Alexa, limiting your options. For instance, Alexa will not use Shazam because it belongs to Apple. Allowing its use may violate Amazon’s privacy by exposing it to its competitors. Also, you cannot play music directly from YouTube unless through Bluetooth.
To do this, your Bluetooth device should connect to the internet and the volume set up for you to hear. The case is almost similar to WhatsApp, limiting you to SMS use. With SMS, you cannot access emergency services like 911, and you should switch to other options if you need help.
