(1) Can Alexa Play Music From My iPhone? [Updated 2023]

We’ve all been in a music rut.

Thankfully, Alexa knows our music taste.

When I can’t find anything to listen to, I just tell my Alexa to play me a song.

And it always ends up being a good one.

Question is, can your Alexa do that from an iPhone?

You better stick around for the answer.

Keep reading to discover:

3 fantastic Alexa soundbars that connect to iPhones for listening to music.
5 effortless steps to play music from your iPhone on an Echo Dot with Alexa.
How to play music from your iPhone on 3 types of Alexa-compatible devices.
And so much more…

Can Alexa play music from my iPhone?

Alexa can play music from your iPhone using an Alexa-compatible device. An example is the Amazon Echo Dot. Otherwise, select soundbars, speakers, and smart TVs also have Alexa. And you just need to connect one of those to the Alexa app on your iPhone to play music.

How to play music from your iPhone on Alexa

#1: For Amazon Echo Dot

A lot of devices use Alexa.

In fact, do you know that 25% of US households have at least one Alexa device?

According to their census, that’s around 40 million Alexa-enabled gadgets. And that’s in the United States alone.

However, there’s one device that stands out…

Something that Amazon themselves created to use Alexa as an assistant…

That’s the Amazon Echo Dot.

And for good measure too. After all, it offers the following features:

Phone calls.
Daily news updates.
Create rules and routines for Alexa.
Broader smart home device compatibility.
Get health feedback from apps and fitness watches.

So, for playing music from your iPhone through Alexa, let’s start with the Echo Dot.

Step 1: Prepare your Amazon Echo Dot for setup

Playing music on your Echo Dot means setting up the device itself first.

Let’s say you just got a new one…

Here’s what you need to do to prepare your Echo Dot for setup:

Take the device out of the box.
Connect the power cord to your Echo Dot first.
Then, connect the other end of the power cord to an outlet.
Press the Power button.

Your device should have blue lighting at the rear.

If it doesn’t, you did something wrong and should redo all the steps.

When the blue light turns orange or your Echo Dot says:

“Hello, your device is ready for set up.”

Proceed to the next part.

Step 2: Set up the Echo Dot

Now, you’ll need to finalize the setup stage. Follow these directions to start:

Download the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone.
Sign in using your Amazon account.

Create a new account here if you don’t have one yet. After that…

Press the More button on the lower right side of your Alexa home screen.
Select the Add A Device option.
Choose Amazon Echo, and then Echo Dot.

You’ll now be asked if your Echo is plugged in or not.

Ensure that it is and that it has a moving orange light.

If it’s the indicator light isn’t orange, press the Action button at the bottom of your Echo device. Don’t let go until the Echo device beeps or the colors is back to orange. And then…

Tap your Amazon Echo device on the phone screen.
Pick your preferred Wi-Fi option.
Lastly, select which room your Echo Dot is in.

That should do it. You can now advance to the next step…

Step 3: Connect music streaming service to Alexa

With iPhones, you have a lot of choices for music streaming. Some of these are:

To play music on your Echo Dot, you’ll need to enable these services on your Alexa app. Do that using these instructions:

Open the Alexa app.
Press the More button on the lower right side of your Alexa home screen.
Choose Skills & Games.
Select your preferred music streaming service.
Tap Enable to Use.
Go to Settings.
Press Link Account.

After that, your phone will open the streaming app.

Then, follow the instructions to finalize your connection.

Step 4: Change your default streaming service

Now, what if you have a lot of streaming services connected to the same Alexa app?

Well, what happens is Alexa will use Spotify as the app that’ll play your music.

However, what if you want Apple Music or Saavn instead?

For that, you’ll need to change your Amazon Alexa settings. You can do that by following these instructions closely:

Open the Amazon Alexa app.
Press the More button on the lower right side of your Alexa home screen.
Go to the Settings page.
Head to Music & Podcasts.
Select Default Services.
Under Music, choose your preferred music streaming app.

After that, you won’t have to specify which app should play music when you ask Alexa to play a song.

Step 5: Play music

All that’s left to do now is play some music.

Now, just sit back and whisper to your iPhone:

“Alexa, play some music.”

And your Echo Dot will automatically play a random song.

Furthermore, you can also request specific songs or even a genre of music.

If you’re still having trouble setting up your Echo Dot…

This video can help:

#2: For other soundbars

Do you know that other soundbars are capable of using Alexa?

And, if you want your music to be extra crisp and clear…

I suggest buying a good soundbar. My recommendations are:

Polk React.
Sonos Beam.
Yamaha YAS-209.

While the steps to play music on your Alexa for these devices are the same as an Echo Dot…

The way you connect it to Alexa is different.

Need some instructions on how to connect your phone and Alexa-enabled soundbar? Look no further than the directions below:

Polk devices

Step 1: Plug the Polk device into a power source

It’s advised that you connect Polk into an outlet.

However, Polk can also use a powered USB port as its power source.

Step 2: Boot up the Polk device

Only proceed to the next step when you hear:

“Hello, your Polk [Name of Model] is ready for set up. Just follow the instructions in your Polk Connect app.”

Step 3: Download and open the Polk Connect app

You’ll need this app to setup your soundbar.

This will also be useful later when you need to change the settings of your device.

Step 4: Follow the instructions on the app

Instructions include:

Creating a Polk account.
Selecting your current region.
Connecting to a Wi-Fi network.
Agreeing to their Terms & Conditions agreement.

Step 5: Wait until the app connects to your Polk soundbar

This will be confirmed by a voice saying:

“You’ve connected to your Polk [Name of Model]. Continue with setup in the app.”

Step 6: Once the app shows an Alexa prompt, sign in with your Amazon account

Once you’ve signed in, you’ll automatically be connected to Alexa.

Sonos devices

Plug the Sonos device into a power source.
Boot up the Sonos device.
Download and open the Sonos app on your smartphone.
Connect the app and the Sonos device.
Next, open the Settings menu on your Sonos app.
Under Services & Voice, select Add a Voice Assistant or Add a Service.
Tap Add Amazon Alexa.

Yamaha devices

Plug the Yamaha device into a power source.
Boot up the Yamaha device.
Download and open the Yamaha Sound Bar Controller app on your smartphone.
Swipe left so that you can see the menu.
Select Amazon Alexa.
Sign in with your Amazon account.
Follow the instructions on your app.

You may also be interested in: Alexa Plays Music Without Command

#3: For Alexa-enabled TVs

Move over soundbars and speakers…

Because now, even smart TVs have Alexa.

Alexa on TVs has the following purpose:

Enable Voice Control.
Create routines on your smart TV.
Allow customizing its content according to the voice of the person using the TV.

But, one more thing you can do is say, “Alexa, play some tunes.” on your iPhone…

And your TV will open a music streaming device to play a random song.

Like soundbars, setting up Alexa on your TV depends on the brand.

That said, here’s how you can enable Alexa on the 3 biggest TV manufacturers:

Samsung, Sony, and LG.

Samsung TVs

Note: Use this list to check if you have Alexa on your Samsung TV.

Step 1: Set up the SmartThings app

Download and install Samsung’s SmartThings app on your iPhone.
Create a SmartThings account.
Press the Add (+) button on the SmartThings homepage.
Select TV.
Wait until your phone finds your Samsung TV, and then tap it.
Follow the instructions on your phone.
Once a PIN appears on your TV, copy that into the prompt on your app.

Step 2: Set up Alexa

Switch to your Alexa app on the iPhone.
Press the More option on the lower right side of your screen.
Select Skills & Games.
Look for and choose SmartThings.
Tap Enable to Use.
Sign in with the Samsung account.
Choose Authorize.

Sony TVs

Press the Home button on your Sony TV remote.
Go to Apps or Your Apps.
Choose TV Control Setup with Amazon Alexa.
Open the Alexa app on your smartphone.
Log in using the same Google account on your Sony TV.

Note: All Sony TVs need a Google account while setting up. If you can’t remember yours, press the Home button on your Sony TV remote twice.

Head to Skills & Games.
Select Sony’s TV — Basic.
Wait until your Alexa finds the Sony TV, and then press the TV once it appears.

LG TVs

Ensure that your TV is using webOS 4.0 or a newer OS.

Only these LG TVs can use Alexa. You can check yours by following these steps: “All Settings > General > About this TV.”

Press the Home button on your LG TV remote.
Launch the “Set Up TV for the Alexa” app.
Download and open the LG ThinQ app on your iPhone.
Make an account for the app.
Next, switch to your Alexa app.
Head to Skills & Games.
Select “LG ThinQ – Complete (Smart Appliance and TV).”
Sign in using your LG ThinQ app.
Go back to your Alexa app homepage and press the Add Devices (+) button.

Now, wait until your Alexa app finds the LG TV.

You should be done after that.