In this article, we will be exploring the possibilities for Alexa to play different music on multi Echo devices.
Of all of the names out there in Smart Home tech, there is little doubt that Amazon is probably the first one that comes to mind for most of you.
Having picked up a huge demographic of that market, they haven’t exactly decided to rest on their laurels, however.
In recent times, Amazon has continued to stay abreast of their customer’s needs by announcing that they will be offering support for their range of Echo devices.
So, what this means is that you can now connect as many echo devices as you would want by using a single App to unify them.
Now, for music fans, the advantages of this will no doubt have become immediately apparent.
As many of you will already be more than aware, the Echo comes with some relatively high-quality speakers which work really well with the music of all types.
Well, with this new App, one of the main new features is that you can sync up all of these speakers to create a soundscape all over your house – if you are playing the same tune through all of them, this is actually pretty easily accomplished.
It doesn’t matter if the speakers are at opposite ends of the house. You can still connect them all to play the same song. Or, you can bring them all into one room and go for the “wall of noise” set up.
The choice is effectively yours. But, what if you want to play different tunes in different areas of your house? Is there a way to do this?
Having trawled the boards and forums, it seems like a surprisingly large amount of you want to do this. So, if this is the information you have been looking for, you have come to the right place!
Play Different Music On Multiple Echo Devices
So, in answer to your question, the answer is a resounding YES!
It is 100% a reality to be able to play different tunes on multiple Echo devices at the same time. In fact, there are quite a few options available for you when it comes to this.
For example, you can play a different song on each individual unit, or, if you prefer, you can set them aside into groups and section off areas of the house to play a different song.
The only requirement for this to become a reality is that all devices are compatible with and set up to use the Alexa App. And that’s really it! You don’t need any other equipment or Apps.
However, this doesn’t exactly explain how it is done. But, don’t worry about that. We are about to explain all the steps you can take to set it up.
1. How to Get it All Set Up
At this point, we are all more than aware that it is relatively simple to connect all of your Echo devices with a single App.
From this point on, it is also possible to calibrate and change all of the settings on these Echo devices, as well as managing them in general.
So, to make the process much easier, we would recommend giving each device an instantly recognizable name that distinguishes it from the rest.
- Ideally, it would make a lot of sense to name each device after the room that it is located in. This way, there can be no mistakes or guesswork when it comes to directing music to the correct speakers.
- Now that you have all of your devices connected up to the App on your phone and named, this is where things start to heat up.
- At this stage, you will have a choice of options. You can either group several devices, play the same music on all of them.
- Or, if you really want diversity in your music, you can also play a different song on a specific device.
Below, we will show you how to set up each available option.
2. How to Group Echo Devices
Learning how to group a few echo devices and play some music begins with learning how to set up the groups.
Luckily, this isn’t all that difficult and can be explained in a few short words.
- All you will need to do is look under the playback options.
- Under these, you will find an option that will allow you to select some devices to play music while there is music already playing.
- All you need to do is to select the devices that you want to do something different, and they will then start playing music from your App without any hassle.
3. How to Get Each Echo Device to Play Individually
Admittedly, things get a little more complicated when you try to do this. There’s a lot more effort involved, but it is totally possible for anyone whether or not they are tech-savvy.
Unfortunately, there is no way for you to do all of this without a little legwork. Instead, it will require that you set up each one manually to play the track you want to play on it.
By this, we mean that to play individual tunes on each device:
- In the Alexa App, you will need to open each one separately
- Scroll down to the music playback settings
- And then select the music that you want to play through that particular device.
So, as you can see, it is perhaps a little more complicated than it is worth. If you are going for this option, we would at the very least recommend that you go for a relatively long playlist on each. Otherwise, you could end up with what feels like a lot of work on your hands!
Nevertheless, all you need to do is to repeat this process with each device that you have, and you should then have total control over the music that is playing on every Echo device.
Conclusion: Play Different Music On Multiple Echo Devices
As a final note, it is important that you disable the multi-room music option before you go for this approach. If you don’t, it will just play the same music on all devices at the same time.
It is clear to me that Amazon Echo CANNOT play different music in different rooms as the customer spontaneously wishes. I bought 5 Echos, as of Jan 2022 it can either play the same music in every room, or every time a room asks for a new music it stops the music in the other rooms.
Pretty a ridiculous suggestion is to expect I will setup long play lists for my children in each room using Alexa App. No way.
Echo has a severe functional design restriction if you ask me.
I was having the same problem as others who have commented that they can’t play seperate music on each device. The fix for me was simply to remove devices from groupings I had setup, then I could have seperate streams of media by simply talking to the unit. Other options would include creating a group for each individual device; I find this is a handy option if you want a device to be accessed by 2 different names.
Did you delete the groups completely?
These limitations are insanely stupid.
Just got 3 more Echos – thinking they could go in each kid’s room – like radios 50 years ago, and each kid could play what they want. And – Use as intercom/announce as needed. Natural. First thought. Most likely use. Can’t do either? Billions of $ spent on this thing – can’t do that? What’s the real reason, Amazon? Please.
AND fully and absolutely agree here. I use Alexa mainly for functionality through ewelink app and sonoff app to control lights, indoor and outdoor, and when you know how to (I use a ‘know what to do’ electrician), if you have the following, pond lights, pond pumps, auto gates, auto garage doors, mmm sorry to be a bit up market here. I also have Alexa’s in housings around the garden so when outside can do such functions. And the garden and access drive has WiFi dishes that bounce the signal off each other back to main house. We cabled all when we did the garden, again not cheap but impressive, For the future will tell Alexa to bring the cars (yes electric) out of the garage to the front door and then return them back on a cold and wet winters night. BUT WHY WE HAVE NO CHOICE OF MUSIC IN DIFERENT PARTS OF THE BUILDING’S AND GARDENS IS A MAJOR MISTAKE BY AMAZON ET AL
The Alexa / Echo did for a while work perfectly with multiple room play.
I bought a few for my daughters bedrooms and the kitchen and sitting room, and they could all play their own music just by asking “Alexa… Play blah blah” and no issue. Then all of a sudden (after maybe 6 months or so) it would give me the waffle “Music is currently playing on another device, do you want to play here instead?”
I pay for the Family Membership and it was a great service, now I had to create 6 different accounts (emails and app downloads for the lot) and they are all separate devices using my “shared” account. The trouble is they are not linked to my home network, i cant drop in, i can’t “announce across all devices etc” .
Not sure why, but it was a big loss.
I still use the devices but I will not be adding any more into to the house sadly.
Same here. We have an Alexa in each room, and have used that as our primary radio/music source. Now, however, I can only listen to one song (if I’m lucky) before the teenage son’s metal or tween daughter’s mindless pop songs start playing. Thinking about ditching all our echos and going back to an old school option with more individual control.