How do you use Alexa devices separately after Sonos-Alexa setup?

  • 5 October 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 538 views

Userlevel 4
Badge +1
I haven't put the update through yet, but I have two questions before I do. It looks like once the update is done, Sonos becomes the default to respond to an Alexa command. Sometimes I might prefer to use my Alexa devices separately. For example, I might want to use the Amazon Tap for its portability, or use the Echo Show which has a screen that can show album art, track titles, timers, etc. How would I phrase the voice request so that only the Alexa device responds and not the Sonos device?

Also, although I think I will probably like using the Sonos voice control, if I decide I don't want to use it, Is there a way to turn it off and continue to use Sonos and Alexa separately the way I did previously?

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4 replies

I found that if you don't use a room name, Alexa plays on the Echo.
Alexa, play NPR in the kitchen -> TuneIn goes to that Sonos device
Alexa, play NPR -> TuneIn starts on the Echo
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
SkippyFlapjack's got a good one, also, if the Tap has a different name from your Sonos player you can use the room names. You'll want them to have different names anyway.
If you decide to disable, just disable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app.
Userlevel 4
Badge +1
Thanks all three of you for replying to my question. I was under the impression that it was exactly the opposite – that if I didn't specify a speaker it would go to the Sonos speaker, but I wasn't sure how to send it to the Alexa speaker. Having the example really helps. All of my devices have different names so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for mentioning that the Sonos skill can be enabled or disabled in the Alexa app. I'm going to do the update now and then I'll try this out after dinner. Looking forward to using voice control with Sonos!