Many of you who are reading this will have been using Amazon’s Echo for quite some time now.
In recent years, they have become pretty much The household name when it comes to accessible and easily set-up home automation.
As a huge bonus for its users, the setup is much easier than you would generally expect with devices as advanced as these.
And, in general, they are also quite reliable, with few issues of any seriousness ever seeming to tarnish their reputation.
Though some of you may only be using Alexa for more basic needs, such as recipes and music choices, it does also have another level of complexity to it.
If you really want to, you can also hook it up in such a way that you can control all of your smart home appliances.
Naturally, this also means that you can use your Alexa as a smart hub.
But, to effectively manage all of this, there is the matter of a little extra financial outlay. See, to really get the most out of your Alexa, you also need to get your hands on the Amazon Echo device.
All that this is a smart speaker, albeit with the capability to work hand in hand with your Alexa.
Then, you will be able to freely search for and stream all of the music that you could possibly want without having to manually search for it on your phone or computer.
You will also be able to search for and access whatever you want on the net via this setup. But every device has its limitations.
Having trawled the boards and forums to see what Alexa users are most irked by, it seems that many of you are annoyed by the fact that you can’t seem to access SoundCloud through Alexa.
To clear up this issue a bit, we thought we would put together a guide that will better explain what and what you can’t do with your Alexa.
There seems to be a lot of information out there, so bear with us while we dispel a few of those myths that have gained traction over time.
Can Alexa Play Soundcloud?
Firstly, it has to be noted that Alexa is compatible with pretty much every streaming site that you can think of.
However, there are a few oversights on their side that we find a bit baffling. We say this because the simple answer to the above question is:
No! Alexa will not directly play SoundCloud.
Or, I suppose we should say that it won’t do it directly, but there is a way around this.
In general, its high level of connectivity is what we find the best bit of using Alexa. So, though there can be a few pitfalls here and there, there is almost always a workaround to negate them.
In this case, the ‘hack’ is incredibly simple. In fact, it is so simple in nature that we feel like it might be a bit of a stretch to call it a hack. Here it comes:
The fact of the matter is that anything running on Bluetooth can be played through your Alexa.
So, no matter what content site you are using, if it can’t be played via Alexa, use the Bluetooth bypass. This includes SoundCloud too.
Unfortunately, though, there is a small bit of a catch. You can’t just ask Alexa to “play music from SoundCloud.” It just won’t work like that.
The reason for this is that there is no integration of SoundCloud on Alexa. Sure, at some point in the near future, there might be. But for now, we will need to go through the steps below to get it done.
How to get SoundCloud on Alexa
Right, so let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to do this. The first time you do it may take a little time, but stick with it, and you’ll have muscle memory on how to do it every time after that.
- The trick is to connect your phone to Alexa via Bluetooth rather than asking it/her to play the music.
- Once you are connected, all you need to do is to play whatever you want on SoundCloud.
- Then, because your phone and Alexa are connected, the music will be sent to Alexa and played there instead of through your phone.
A second but perhaps more complicated way of doing this also exists for those who want to try out something different.
There is an Alexa skill out there that sorts out the compatibility between Alexa and SoundCloud.
By using this skill, you should also be able to play whatever you want via SoundCloud and Alexa without too much hassle.
In fact, for those of you who are sticklers for the voice command control bit, this will even enable you to keep that element.
Admittedly, there is a certain charm to using the Alexa voice command over simply bypassing it, so we can see how many of you will want to do this.
So, all you need to do is install that skill on your Alexa. For a more detailed rundown and FAQ on how it works, search for Alexa SoundCloud skills.
In the same conversation, you can play almost anything on the Alexa unit as long as you can stream it on your mobile device.
All that you need to do is to connect the mobile device to the Alexa unit and then use that as a Bluetooth Speaker only.
Do You Need Wi-Fi To Play SoundCloud Playlist On Alexa?
This is another pretty decent question that customers will ask regarding playing SoundCloud music on Alexa.
Sadly, the answer here is not that simple, and it all comes down to whether or not the playlist is saved on your mobile device.
If the playlist is saved and you have streamed it before, then you don’t really need Wi-Fi to play SoundCloud on the Alexa system.
All that you need to do is a bit of effort to connect the mobile device to the Echo unit and then queue up the playlist.
As soon as the playlist starts to work on the mobile device, you will start hearing audio from the Alexa unit as well.
From there, you can go about browsing through more saved playlists and the songs that are already stored to avoid complications down the road.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to access a playlist that is not stored on the unit, then your hands are pretty much tied.
There are no quick fixes or easier methods that can help you with this complication if you don’t have Wi-Fi. So, the only option for exploring new songs is to keep the network engaged.
This will take a bit more toll on the battery life of your mobile device, but there are no other ways around it.
However, you can always stream the songs you want fully and then turn off the Wi-Fi before putting the playlist on repeat.
That will usually be enough to help you avoid the majority of errors down the road, and you will not struggle with these smart features.
It all comes down to how you’re planning on addressing the situation, and fixing streaming issues shouldn’t be that hard.
Lastly, if you’re having trouble connecting the unit with Bluetooth, then a quick power cycle to both devices will have you sorted.
Moreover, you can also test out a different phone here and make sure that you’re standing within the effective range of both devices.
That will not only give you a better perspective on the situation, but you will also be able to secure a much better response from the smart unit.
So, be sure to isolate the issue with Bluetooth to limited range and an outdated OS on your mobile device.
You also have the option of engaging the official Amazon support to help you through the streaming and the connectivity errors.
The Last Word
Is it possible to use Alexa to play tunes from SoundCloud? Well, technically, it isn’t. At least not in its natural state.
But, with a little bit of tinkering, you should find yourself running SoundCloud tunes throughout your house in a matter of minutes.
It all comes down to how you wish to develop your streaming system. Going with the Alexa unit’s basic skills is not a real option here, and you will have to rely more on the Bluetooth streaming features.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should avoid using the Echo unit as a Bluetooth speaker.
The audio quality is pretty decent, and you will not have to worry about any patchy notes.
It is one of the best devices on the market, and you’re sure to get a robust response from the unit even when you’re unsure about the basic configurations.
As a point of interest, we are aware that everyone out there has different ways of fixing things, some of which we may have missed entirely.
So, if you are reading this and happen to have come up with another workaround, we would love to hear about it in the comments section below. Thanks!