The majority of articles on Google will tell you to do a power cycle first.
However…
A power cycle reset isn’t always the best fix if your Alexa won’t play Spotify.
You can fix your Alexa won’t play Spotify issue with one simple tweak to your device’s settings.
Curious?
Read on to learn…
- 9 easy fixes to get your Alexa device working again.
- How to do a proper soft reboot on your Alexa device.
- One simple tweak to your Alexa device to solve your issue.
- How to clear your Spotify app cache data for iPhone and Android.
- When you should consider doing a hard reset on your Alexa device.
- Why your Alexa device won’t play your Spotify playlist and how to cure it.
- And so much more…
Why won’t my Alexa play Spotify?
Your Alexa won’t play Spotify because it could be an app login issue. Sometimes, it’s your location settings that are causing a glitch. Other times, it might be a link problem between your Spotify and Alexa app. Finally, it could be your Spotify cache’s storage capacity maxed out and needs clearing.
Alexa won’t play Spotify: 9 ways to fix it
#1: Change your Alexa device address or location
This one simple tweak might be all you need to do to fix your issue.
If you bought your Alexa device in the US, but are living in the UK, then…
It’s likely that this problem could arise.
It’s weird, I know.
But bugs and glitches can be weird too, especially when the problem persists.
Here’s how to change your Alexa device’s location:
- Open your Alexa app.
- Select Devices.
- Tap on Echo & Alexa.
- Then, choose your device.
- Tap on Device Location.
- Edit your current address to match the address where you bought your device.
- Save your settings.
#2: Log out and log back in to your Spotify
Sounds too simple to do, right?
Think of it this way.
Your Spotify app crashed or hanged. As a result, Spotify logged you out.
Then, your Alexa device might have recognized another Spotify account within the area.
Let’s say multiple Spotify accounts are connected with your Alexa device.
If your Spotify app crashes, your Alexa device just might hop over to the next account.
App login issues are more common than you think.
Luckily, it’s an easy fix.
It’s as easy as logging out of your account and then signing back in.
If this doesn’t work, #3 is an alternative fix if your app login issue persists.
#3: Do a Spotify-Alexa link and unlink reboot
If logging out and logging back in didn’t solve your issue, disconnect your Spotify from Alexa.
Then, reconnect your Spotify to Alexa.
First, let’s go over the disconnect process:
- Open your Alexa app.
- Tap the app menu (located in the top-left part of your screen).
- Select Settings.
- Tap Music & Podcasts.
- Under Services, choose Spotify.
- Tap Disable Skill.
- Tap OK to confirm the delete.
Now that you’ve disconnected your Spotify, let’s reconnect it back.
- Go back to Music & Podcasts in the Alexa app’s settings.
- Select “Link New Service.”
- Choose Spotify.
- Tap Enable to use.
- Log in to your Spotify account.
#4: Update your default music service settings
Now that your Spotify is linked with Alexa, let’s take that one step further.
Set your Spotify app as the default music service.
Now, why do this? For one, you can automatically tell Alexa to play a song on Spotify.
You don’t have to say “on Spotify” for Alexa to access the Spotify app.
And the second reason? Well…
Setting Spotify as the default music service prevents this issue from happening again.
Here’s how to do it:
- Open your Alexa app.
- Tap the Alexa app menu (found in the top left part of your screen).
- Tap Settings.
- Select Music & Podcasts.
- Click on “Choose default music services”.
- Select Spotify as the default music service
- Tap done.
#5: Remove your Echo device from Spotify
Your Spotify and Alexa app might not be the problem.
Instead, it’s your Echo device that’s preventing Alexa from playing Spotify.
But don’t worry.
I’ll show you step-by-step how to remove and add your Echo device to Spotify:
- Log in to your Spotify app.
- Click on Home. (this is the bottom left icon in your Spotify app).
- Tap on the Settings gear icon (located at the top right part of your Spotify app).
- Select Devices.
- Tap on Devices Menu.
- Look for the device you want to disconnect or remove.
- Tap on the icon that shows three horizontal dots.
- A menu will pop up.
- Choose Forget device.
- Restart your Spotify app.
- Add your device back into your Spotify app.
If your issue persists, it’s possible your Alexa app is due for an update.
#6: Update your Alexa
Updating your Alexa app doesn’t take long.
If it’s been a while since your Alexa app updated, this might fix your issue.
After all, software updates are meant to correct any glitches or fix bugs in the app.
But how do you update your Alexa app?
Easy.
- Just go to the App Store or Google Play Store.
- Search for the Alexa app in the search bar.
- Click on Update.
#7: Clear the Spotify app cache and data
Why should you delete Spotify’s cache and data?
In truth, you don’t have to always delete app cache or data. Your Spotify cache simply allows you to play songs without any buffers or stuttering.
When your Spotify cache reaches its full capacity, problems don’t usually arise.
However, there are times when the maxed-out capacity causes a problem. And that problem is your phone not being able to load Spotify.
To delete your Spotify app cache on your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open your Spotify app.
- Click on the Home icon.
- Tap the settings gear icon in the top right part of your Spotify app.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Delete cache.
If you’re using an Android phone, here’s how to delete your Spotify cache:
- Open your Spotify app.
- Tap the Home icon in your Spotify app.
- Tap the settings gear icon in your Spotify app.
- Look for Storage.
- Under Storage, tap Delete cache.
#8: Give your phone and Alexa device a soft reboot
If Alexa still refuses to play your songs on Spotify, it’s time for a soft reboot.
A soft reboot is different from a factory reset.
A factory reset means returning your device or app back to its default settings. As a result, you’ll have to reconfigure and set up your device after a factory reset.
Think of a soft reboot as a wake-up call for your device or app.
It’s your 2nd to the last option if none of the fixes above worked.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Turn off your Alexa device.
- Unplug it from the wall outlet or power source.
- Unplug your router from the wall outlet.
- Log out of your Spotify account.
- Restart your phone.
- Plug your Alexa device and router back into the wall outlet.
- Log in to your Spotify app.
- Turn on your Alexa device.
- Check if Alexa plays your Spotify songs.
#9: Reset your Alexa device
If a soft reboot didn’t work, a hard reset is your last resort.
After the factory reset, you’ll have to configure and set up your device again.
Sometimes, a factory reset is the best solution once you’ve tried every possible fix. Here’s how to do a factory reset:
- Hold the volume down button and mic button on your Alexa device.
- Hold it for 30 seconds.
- Wait for your device to show an orange ring.
- If you see an orange ring, it means your device has reset successfully.
- Configure and set up your device.
Reading recommendation: Is It Safe To Leave Alexa Playing Music All Day?
Why won’t Alexa play Spotify playlists?
There are 3 reasons why Alexa won’t play your Spotify playlists:
- Your Spotify isn’t the default music service.
- Your playlist name is hard to pronounce for Alexa.
- You’re not using the right voice commands for Alexa.
Let’s go over each one, shall we?
Your Spotify isn’t the default music service
If you’ve already set Spotify as the default music service, you can skip this step.
However, it still wouldn’t hurt to make sure your Spotify is the default music service.
It’s possible that Amazon is your default music service in your Alexa app. In that case, here’s what you want to do:
- Open your Alexa app.
- Tap on the hamburger icon menu (located in the top left of your screen).
- Tap settings. This will open the Preferences menu.
- Scroll down until you see “Music.”
- Click on Default Services.
- Make sure Spotify is ticked in your Default Services menu.
- If your Spotify is not in the Default Services menu, you need to set it up.
- Go back to your Default services.
- Tap Link a New Service.
- Choose Spotify.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.
Once Spotify is your default music service, try playing your Spotify playlist.
If it doesn’t work, it’s because your playlist name needs to change. Or it could be that you aren’t using the right Alexa voice command.
Your playlist name is hard to pronounce for Alexa
Alexa is smart enough to understand your voice and certain commands.
But it’s not smart enough to process punctuations, acronyms, or difficult words.
Trust me, raising your voice at Alexa isn’t going to help either.
Now, what do I mean by difficult words? Let’s say one of your Spotify playlists has the name “Chukwubuikem”
Try pronouncing that to Alexa now. Alexa probably wouldn’t understand anything past “Chuk.”
Alexa might hear that as “Chuck.”
The point is, if your playlist has hard-to-pronounce names, then…
It’s only fair to say Alexa doesn’t understand what you’re saying.
Keep in mind. Alexa has a hard time understanding punctuations and acronyms.
So keep them off your playlist name.
Keep your playlist simple like, for example, the “Young and Proud” playlist. In addition, don’t include parentheses or brackets in your playlist.
You’re not using the right voice commands for Alexa
Alexa is a smart robot, but even smart robots have their limits.
For now.
So, when you say a voice command to Alexa, it should be accurate. Let’s say you want Alexa to play the playlist “Greatest Hits”.
You would say to Alexa:
“Alexa, play Greatest Hits playlist.”
If Amazon is your default music service, you should say:
“Alexa, on Spotify play the Greatest hits playlist.”
Try adding the word “my” in your command. This will separate generic playlists on Spotify from your Spotify playlists.
“Alexa, play my Chill music playlist.”
Other Alexa voice commands for Alexa include the following:
| Alexa voice command | Example |
| Alexa play (say your song title). | “Alexa, play Make it Right.” |
| Alexa play (say your song title) by (say the artist’s name). | “Alexa, play Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5.” |
| Alexa play songs by (say the artist’s name). | “Alexa, play songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers.” |
| Alexa play (say the name of the genre) from Spotify. | “Alexa, play Classical from Spotify.” |
| Alexa shuffle (say the playlist name) playlist | “Alexa, shuffle Workout Beats playlist.” |
Further reading: (5 Fixes) Alexa Not Hearing Me When Playing Music
Alexa, give me some final tips
Before you go, I’ll leave some additional tips to help you solve your problem:
- Check out Spotify’s community board for extra help and solutions.
- Try some of Spotify’s troubleshooting methods on their support page.
- Create an Alexa routine to trigger a specific Spotify playlist.