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AK-79
Trending Lyricist I
March 28, 2020
Answered

Alexa music rules

  • March 28, 2020
  • 11 replies
  • 550 views

I have installed some custom skills in my Alexa app which stream music from online radio stations (not via Tunein or any other service, these are custom radio stations).

When I ask Alexa on my Echo Dot, or Alexa on my phone app to play, the station the confirms "playing station name" and the music stream starts.

When I try this on the Sonos asking Alexa to play this service, it again confirms "playing station name" but NO MUSIC STARTS.

This is clearly a restriction with Alexa on Sonos devices and you've done this to dictate what can and can't be played through the speakers.

Please test yourself, download the "State of the art radio" skill and ask it to play on Sonos.  You'll see this won't.

Anybody know why this is is being sold as “Alexa”, when actually it’s “Restricted Alexa by sonos” as it lacks functionality all other Alexa enabled devices have by default.

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths

Some Amazon skills are not supported on third party speakers, like Sonos. The BBC skills are another example and will only playback on the Amazon products.
 

Also Alexa Routines are not currently officially supported by Sonos, although some things may work by default.

 

You maybe able to get around these restrictions however, by setting a Sonos Device, like a Sonos One for example, as the default output speaker for an Amazon echo device, such as an Echo Dot. This ‘new’ setting is available in the Amazon Alexa App under the echo device properties in the main hardware device list. Hope that assists. 👍

11 replies

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melvimbe
melvimbe
April 2, 2020

The premises of Alexa is “skills”

Nothing in Alexa is achieved without some form of skill, even the default commands are skills.

 

 

No.  Skills are features added by 3rd party developers.  As Amazon likes to say, skills are likes apps for your speaker. 

 

I think it’s important that potential future Sonos owners and ones frustrated with their new “smart speaker” understand the limitations.

  • Yes some skills work out the box on Sonos, other things don’t
  • All skills work out the box on native Alexa devices

 

 

No one is disagrees with that point.  Although I don’t think it’s Sonos responsibility to list out all the things it doesn’t do.

 

 

And there lies the issue.  You’re buying something which is limited in function compared to the devices sold with native Alexa, but you’re advertised this is a full featured “Alexa enabled device”

 

 

You added ‘full featured’.  Sonos never said it was full featured.

 

 

Thanks for your responses, I think this thread serves the purpose of future frustrated Sonos owners to get answers without having to follow the other guides of factory resets and unlinking accounts etc which have no effect.  Lets just be honest, it’s not full Alexa

 

No one’s being dishonest about that.  You’re the one claiming that Sonos can’t do Alexa music, or can’t play radio stations, which is not true.

 

For the record, I’ve also that Amazon’s tag of ‘Alexa enabled device’ was deceiving.  The could have chosen something like ‘Alexa Lite’ to clearly show it doesn’t do everything an Echo does, it invite inquiry into what it does.  

Danny
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