Alexa Default all audio through Sonos Speaker

  • 6 October 2017
  • 22 replies
  • 18515 views

Userlevel 1
Trying out the alexa app with an echo Dot today. Is there, or will there ever be a way to simply have all Echo audio playing through my Sonos speaker? At the moment you have to specifically tell Alexa the speaker to use, i.e. Alexa play the Beatles on *speaker name*. I would prefer if I could have all audio by default going through my sonos, without having to state the room on every command. Maybe I am missing an obvious setting for this?

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22 replies

Not what the OP requested. That only defaults all music to the preferred speaker(s). Alexa's answers still come through the Echo.
Seems like someone found a solution here :
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/amazonecho/comments/a101vn/preferred_speaker_is_here_and_it_seems_to_work/#ampf=undefined
Userlevel 5
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I was hoping it would work with all audio like alarms etc but oh well.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
I'm not sure if all audio will be output but you can now create an Alexa group containing an Echo Dot and a Sonos Speaker and define a 'Preferred Speaker' for that group. Any requests for streamed music will be output on the preferred speaker without the need to include the speaker name in the command.
Userlevel 2
Please can you reshare the fix in an image? When we follow your link it says expired. Thank you!



A fix is coming!
http://view.email.sonos.com/?qs=877143a5d39fa711dc7b3862e66cc23e3421e2e1a9d3d87c51e84699467baaf894e0930bc92507a25ad0ce49da54fd8759d41441b90caea9e877a56dcd162b40e7a345ee889182dac629324d5e7f6d36
Userlevel 1
Badge +6
Any updates??? Swems like it shoupd be possible with the amazon groupings
Userlevel 1
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I don’t think it’s lazy to expect Alexa to be able to default all audio output to a connected Sonos system, it’s just the expectation that any voice recognition system should strive to mimic human communication. It’s all about intuitiveness and flexibility... it’s counterintuitive to have an Alexa Dot use its feeble/tinny speaker when it’s connected to a far superior Sonos audio system.

Spot on!!! Come on already. Sonos.....
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I don’t think it’s lazy to expect Alexa to be able to default all audio output to a connected Sonos system, it’s just the expectation that any voice recognition system should strive to mimic human communication. It’s all about intuitiveness and flexibility... it’s counterintuitive to have an Alexa Dot use its feeble/tinny speaker when it’s connected to a far superior Sonos audio system.
+1 It’s annoying to specify the speaker when it’s in that room. Also, my wife and kids are lazy and don’t want to say, “on Living Room”or “on Dining Room”

Supremely lazy, it’ 3 words! Maybe if we all talked to one another using more specifics, there’d be less miscommunication. Thank you for the bemused smile!
Userlevel 1
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A fix is coming!
http://view.email.sonos.com/?qs=877143a5d39fa711dc7b3862e66cc23e3421e2e1a9d3d87c51e84699467baaf894e0930bc92507a25ad0ce49da54fd8759d41441b90caea9e877a56dcd162b40e7a345ee889182dac629324d5e7f6d36
Userlevel 1
Badge +1
+1 I’d Love my Alexa Dot to just route all music and radio playing requests to Sonos. This could be set as a “default speaker for music and radio” Alexa setting...

We need to provide this feedback to Amazon, via ‘Help & Feedback’ section of the Alexa app and https://forums.developer.amazon.com/idea/99589/set-default-music-output-to-non-amazon-speaker.html
+1 yes please, single greatest feature request
+1 agree this definitely needs to happen
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Sonos has said they want to make this happen. Technically I couldn't speculate on the challenges but I'm sure they are working with Amazon on.

The Sonos One actually behaves the way we would like an Echo/Sonos speaker pairing to work. The Sonos One requires no room to be requested and the Sonos One only ducks the audio of the Sonos One when you speak a command.

I hope they get the pairing to happen. I like the Sonos One in my bathroom. However, I wouldn't want to replace other units with Sonos Ones as I prefer having DOTs in each room because I use them for intercom purposes (which the Sonos One will not do).
+1 It’s annoying to specify the speaker when it’s in that room. Also, my wife and kids are lazy and don’t want to say, “on Living Room”or “on Dining Room”
I don't think this will ever be possible because of the way Alexa works with Sonos. Alexa never outputs any of its audio through Sonos, all it does is control the Sonos software using voice commands. When you give Alexa a command and tell her to play something on Sonos, it's simply executing commands on the Sonos software to stream music from it's own sources, never the audio that is coming from the Echo. The only way it might be made to work is to group the Echo devices, mute all of them except one dot and plug that dot into a Sonos bridge or speaker with an input socket. That way whenever you ask any Echo to play something it should output via the dot plugged into the bridge. Haven't tried it but logically it should be able to work.
Correction...
I found a place to make a noise ;-)
https://forums.developer.amazon.com/content/idea/99589/set-default-music-output-to-non-amazon-speaker.html
+1 from me,
Really want to set the default music streaming to Sonos and not the Amazon Dot, can't find anyway of communicating this desire to Amazon directly, so i'm hoping they take the idea of a true platform seriously and not restrict heavily to their own devices.
Userlevel 3
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+1 for this to be added to Alexa/Sonos functionality
Just so I make sure I understand the question (cause I think I am in the same boat). Ex: When you ask your Echo Dot to play music, you have no issues, but if you ask Echo Dot for the weather, it plays through the Echo itself? I have found that out as well. I would like to as Echo "what's the temperature outside?" and have it answer over my SONOS Connect Amp, which I have connected to 6 in ceiling speakers around my house and back porch. Right now, if I ask it to play music over "living room" it will, but just don't know how to get every response to take the same route?
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
I'd be surprised if Sonos hasn't asked Amazon for this functionality... but I'm sure it rests on Amazon to make it possible.
I don't think that's currently possible, unless you actually connect your Alexa device to a Line-in using a headphone cable and a PLAY:5 or CONNECT.

No idea if its on the roadmap for older speakers, and they're unlikely to tell us. On the other hand, I'd bet that's the way it works on the new Sonos One, since there's no other way for it to work 🙂