Question

Sonos Alexa and Spotify not working. At all.

  • 7 February 2019
  • 11 replies
  • 6317 views

Userlevel 1
I'm re-posting this in the hope that someone may have a clue to the solution, please.
Having been very disappointed to find that there is no Alexa link to my music library, I was hoping that Spotify would give my wife an easy way of playing the music she enjoys. Instead this is proving very frustrating.
Alexa on my Sonos One will not play music from Spotify. It responds "to play music from Spotify link your premium account first using the Alexa app"
I have a Spotify "premium account" in its trial period so haven't paid anything yet.
All Sonos devices are listed in the Alexa app: playing radio works OK
Spotify is set as the default music service in the Alexa app
Sonos skill is enabled
Do they both have to be registered to the same e-mail address?
Do I have to wait until I'm paying for Spotify?
Another answer?
Thank you

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11 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Still no luck , thank you for your help, looks like I might need to stop using Spotify and sign up to amazon music, c’est la vie🤣
Sonos speakers do not respond to commands any more, Spotify works via phone, however attraction of these speakers was the Alexa voice control. Should be a warning sign for over 50’s not to go near new technology, whatever happened to plug in and play,

Hi

Okay, so this is not working at all now then. Can you please check the top of your Sonos One and ensure that there are two lights displayed: The white rectangle status light and the small white round light for the Mic. If the Mic light is not displayed, please touch the mic symbol to toggle back on. If this light will not stay on, then this is an indication of a failure to link your Sonos Amazon accounts. Section three in my previous long post will resolve this.
We have experienced exactly the same issue as bonzowiltsuk!
were you able to resolve the issue.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
We have experienced exactly the same issue as bonzowiltsuk!
were you able to resolve the issue.

Hi

I suspect section two may will be the issue:

Sorry for the long post but this type of issue is normally down to one of three things:

1/ Duplicate device names - Alexa prefers that names for Devices, Groups and Scenes are unique,
1.1/ Please open up the Alexa App>Smart Home and make a note of any duplicate device names;
1.2/ You can then change them in the source app. e.g. Use the Sonos App to change the name of Sonos players. (I personally use the naming standard Room Name + Device type. e.g. Kitchen Sonos, Kitchen Echo Dot, Lounge Sonos, etc)
1.3/ Once you have changed any duplicate names then please In the Sonos app, select Settings>Room Settings and for each of the Sonos One's sign into 'Voice Services' and select 'Remove Amazon Alexa from this Room';
1.4/ In the Alexa app, select the Alexa Icon in the centre of the row of Icons at the bottom of the screen and ask ‘Alexa, Discover Devices’.
1.5/ Here is a link to my naming standards: https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/best-practices-for-naming-of-devices-6819283/index1.html

2/ Some form of Account Linking or Authorisation has not completed successfully. There are a number of causes for this and it's best to try these steps 1 at a time and test before moving on to the next step if the problem persists:
2.1/ Open the Alexa App>Skills>Your Skills>Sonos and 'Disable' followed by 'Enable';
2.2/ Ensure that you don't have multiple Amazon accounts logged into different Apps on your device, as this can confuse the Amazon Authorisation. If yes, then please log out of the other accounts and then complete step 2.1 again;
2.3/ If the problem still persists, please logout of all Amazon accounts then select the Alexa App>Skills>Your Skills>Sonos and 'Disable. Now power down all Sonos devices for 10 secs, allowing for any wired devices to boot before booting the remaining Sonos players. Now log back into the Alexa App>Skills>Sonos and 'Enable'

3/ If the problem persists then an entire reset of the Authorisation & Account Linking process is required:
3.1/ In the Alexa app, select Skills>Your Skills>Sonos and then 'Disable';
3.2 In the Alexa app, select ‘Devices>All Devices'. Now select each Sonos Device in turn and click the Trash Can in the top right of the screen;
3.3/ In the Sonos app, select Settings>Room Settings and for each of the Sonos One's sign into 'Voice Services' and select 'Remove Amazon Alexa from this Room';
3.4/ If you have any wired Sonos devices, please power down for 10 secs and then switch on and wait for it to boot;
3.5/ Now power down all other Sonos Players for 10 secs then switch them back on and wait for them to boot;
3.6/ In the Sonos app, Select Manage>Add a player or sub' and add the Sonos One's again. This will complete the set-up process again;
3.7/ In the Alexa app, select Skills>Your Skills and ensure the Sonos skill is 'Enabled', if not please 'Enable';
3.8/ In the Alexa app, select the Alexa Icon in the centre of the row of Icons at the bottom of the screen and ask ‘Alexa, Discover Devices’. Ensure that your Sonos One's are displayed correctly and not shown as 'Off Line'.
3.9/ Also check one last time that there are no devices with the same name. Remember, if there is a need to rename any then you'll need to carry out step 3.8 again.

Let us know how you get on.
Dear Ukmedia
thank you for such a comprehensive and prompt reply. I will digest and implement your advice and let you know how I get on.
Thanks again
Unfortunately no joy.
i believe it could be caused by having two Amazon accounts.? When my wife set up sons on her phone it used a her gmail address and requested new amazon account, rather than our joint Amazon account that is on our laptop. It has asked us to verify your new amazon account by sending a one time password! We have not done this but I assume we still now have two Amazon accounts?
Really rather confused to know what to do.
You mention that your Spotify account is linked to Alexa, but you don't mention having added Spotify to Sonos. Have you? Does Spotify play from the Sonos app? It should certainly work in a trial period.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
It's best to have a single email account across Spotify, Amazon and Sonos. I suggest that you do the following:

1/ Remove Spotify from the Sonos App>Music Services;
2/ Remove the Sonos Alexa skill in the Alexa App - Make sure that under Voice Services in the Sonos App, that nothing is listed;
3/ Remove Spotify from the Alexa App;
4/ Logout of all Amazon apps on your phone;
5/ Add Spotify as a Music Service within the Sonos App and test that Spotify will work via the App;
6/ Add the same Spotify Account to Alexa and make sure that it you can navigate to the correct Spotify Account via Alexa App>Play>Music & Books>Browse Music>Spotify>Go To Spotify App
7/ Add the Sonos Skill within the Alexa App and link the correct Amazon Alexa Account to Sonos.

Please retest and let us know.
Userlevel 1
Thank you John B. Yes, Spotify plays from the Sonos app on my 'phone.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Some people have reported issues where they are not linked to the same email address.
Thanks will follow your instructions
Still no luck , thank you for your help, looks like I might need to stop using Spotify and sign up to amazon music, c’est la vie🤣
Sonos speakers do not respond to commands any more, Spotify works via phone, however attraction of these speakers was the Alexa voice control. Should be a warning sign for over 50’s not to go near new technology, whatever happened to plug in and play,