When I ask Alexa to play something on Spotify, "Alexa, play Purple Rain on Spotify", the command is recognized, but then Alexa says you need to link your Spotify account to Alexa. When I try to link my Spotify account in Alexa/Music,Video, and Books, the app says App Support Unavailable.
What am I doing wrong here?
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You need to have a Premium Spotify account, can you confirm your Spotify subscription type?
I 100% have a Premium Spotify account. I've had one for years now. It's a Premium for Family account.
Here's my account online (without details).
Okay thanks for confirming, try using the PC version of the app : https://alexa.amazon.co.uk/spa/index.html#music/services
Thanks, will do when I get home! Thanks for the help.
Another issue with the new feature from today (maybe the Sonos reps might want to set up a dedicated thread for bug reports) is that asking Alexa to start a song from Spotify will stop any current playback if Spotify is already playing on another Sonos device in a different room...
Probably an issue with authorizations as the system can't tell that it's the same ecosystem, but very annoying. Hope it will get fixed soon.
Probably an issue with authorizations as the system can't tell that it's the same ecosystem, but very annoying. Hope it will get fixed soon.
Hi William, that's not a bug, but part of the Spotify integration. Spotify (and most other services) only allows for one active stream at a time. Starting playback using Alexa, counts as using an Alexa device to play, so if you have Spotify playing on your phone, that Alexa stream will stop the phone one. The only exception to the one stream rule is when you're using the Sonos app to play to Sonos players in the same household. However, Alexa started streams don't have that same exception applied to it.
Hi Ryan, Thanks for your reply.
Yes I understand the basis for the limitation, but my view was: as Sonos has this exception of concurrent streams (and it would be stupid for Spotify to change this, as this is one of the main points of multiroom audio), streams started via Alexa targeting Sonos speakers should be included in this exception, as ultimately the two Spotify streams are playing on the same Sonos system.
I do understand the concept of stream authorisation that is initiated by the Alexa device and not by Sonos as a reason this doesn't work as of today, but in my opinion, it's the targeted device for the stream that should define the authorisation, and not the device from which the command was initiated. So I believe this should be corrected and a workaround should be found, as in the end, starting a stream via Alexa degrades the whole user experience vs. using the sonos app, instead of improving it.
I often have several spotify streams on my system and was eager to see the sonos-spotify integration with alexa, but because of this, the integration is useless to me, so it's a bit of a disappointment.
Should I understand given your answer that there are currently no plans of fixing (or working around) this limitation with Spotify in the near future?
Yes I understand the basis for the limitation, but my view was: as Sonos has this exception of concurrent streams (and it would be stupid for Spotify to change this, as this is one of the main points of multiroom audio), streams started via Alexa targeting Sonos speakers should be included in this exception, as ultimately the two Spotify streams are playing on the same Sonos system.
I do understand the concept of stream authorisation that is initiated by the Alexa device and not by Sonos as a reason this doesn't work as of today, but in my opinion, it's the targeted device for the stream that should define the authorisation, and not the device from which the command was initiated. So I believe this should be corrected and a workaround should be found, as in the end, starting a stream via Alexa degrades the whole user experience vs. using the sonos app, instead of improving it.
I often have several spotify streams on my system and was eager to see the sonos-spotify integration with alexa, but because of this, the integration is useless to me, so it's a bit of a disappointment.
Should I understand given your answer that there are currently no plans of fixing (or working around) this limitation with Spotify in the near future?
So I set Spotify as my default music player in Alexa, but now I get a different error: "Your spotify account does not support streaming on this device."
Any ideas why? I am really not sure what to do here, what to change.
Any ideas why? I am really not sure what to do here, what to change.
Okay, never mind...it works now. There were two Spotify accounts for some reason with googlemail and google addresses...sorted! Works! Thanks for the help!
Now, how do I get it to play on groups...
Now, how do I get it to play on groups...
Thanks for clarifying! We don't have any specific plans announced regarding this. I'll make sure to pass on your interest on this one to the team.
Probably an issue with authorizations as the system can't tell that it's the same ecosystem, but very annoying. Hope it will get fixed soon.
I have the exact same problem, and it makes the whole setup unworkable. It needs to be thought through as anyone with multiple control devices using spotify integration will have this issue. Does Sonos really think this is good enough?
Now, how do I get it to play on groups...
Do you mean Sonos groups? If so just create a group within the Sonos App and then direct via voice control for music to play on any Sonos player in that group and it'll output to all players in that group. e.g. Create a Sonos group of Kitchen Sonos, Lounge Sonos and Bedroom Sonos and then ask 'Alexa, play soft jazz on Kitchen Sonos' and all players in that group will output soft jazz. (In this example, if Kitchen Sonos is a Sonos One, then you don't need to specify the room name just say 'Alexa, Play soft Jazz' and it will output to the group.
I go to settings and there are two services there: Amazon and Tunein. I click on the "choose default music services" button and then click on Spotify. After clicking done, it then takes me back to the previous page and Amazon is still my default service. I have a Spotify premium account.
Try Smart Home>Devices>Discover, then select Music, Video & Books>Spotify>GO to Spotify App, does it take you to your correct Spotify account? If yes, then try again to set Spotify as your default music source.
Thanks for clarifying! We don't have any specific plans announced regarding this. I'll make sure to pass on your interest on this one to the team.
I too would love to see this fixed as I often have more than 1 stream of Spotify playing around the house on different speakers. Having to use the app to do this defeats the purpose of having Alexa integration.
Agree with William_37. At the moment i feel like i wasted my money on the 2 new Sonos ones for my kid's bedrooms. They can't voice activate 2 different albums on spotify as one knocks out the other. And Alexa won't play from local music. So the only way i can put on different bedtime music for both my kids is to do at least one of them from my Sonos App. I bought the Ones so i didn't have to go looking for my phone every bedtime! The whole integration can't support multiple voice-activated streams in a large house unless you pay for multiple subscriptions on for example both Spotify and Amazon music. Just seems like a total oversight.
I also look forward to being able to start multiple zones via voice control.
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