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Disco Stu
Contributor I
August 3, 2019
Answered

Alexa will not stop playing or pause

  • August 3, 2019
  • 94 replies
  • 27141 views
I have a Sonos Beam in my living room in a group with two Gen 1 Sonos One speakers and a Sonos Sub. I have had Alexa enabled since I initially setup this system.

All had been working well but suddenly, Alexa will not stop or pause playing by voice command. I can say "Alexa, play NPR" and it will respond properly. I can say "Alex Louder" and "Alex Lower" and the volume will adjust. But when I say "Alexa Stop" (which is what I've been saying since day one) or "Alexa Pause" it will simply make the command chime and keep playing.

Also, the Beam is working properly but in the Sonos app, I don't specifically see the Beam listed as a speaker. I think it might simply be labeled "Living Room?" I'm not sure if I should see the Beam specifically?

I tried to remove Alexa and reactivate it but I got completely confused and I'm not sure what I accomplished.

I'm now back to square one, with the same symptoms as described above.

I have an Echo Dot in another room that responds normally to Stop and Pause commands.
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      Best answer by UKMedia
      Best option first is to Disable the Sonos Skill and then Enable it again in the Alexa App. If the problem persists, please power down the Beam for 5 secs and then power back on.

      If the second option works, I suggest that you open the settings web page for your router and reserve the IP address for your Sonos devices. (I normally reserve the range 192.168.0.200 and above for my Sonos devices.)

      94 replies

      Pcjs
      Lyricist I
      August 3, 2019
      I’ve got the exact same problem with my Sonos Beam, started about two weeks ago and driving me crazy.
        LandoSD
        LandoSD
        Trending Lyricist I
        August 3, 2019
        Have run into exactly the same problem.
          UKMedia
          UKMediaAnswer
          August 4, 2019
          Best option first is to Disable the Sonos Skill and then Enable it again in the Alexa App. If the problem persists, please power down the Beam for 5 secs and then power back on.

          If the second option works, I suggest that you open the settings web page for your router and reserve the IP address for your Sonos devices. (I normally reserve the range 192.168.0.200 and above for my Sonos devices.)
          Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
            106rallye
            106rallye
            August 4, 2019
            For your second question:
            A Sonos device (or in your case a set of bonded devices) has the name you’ve given it. So “Living room” sounds plausible, especially when you connect Sonos with Alexa.
            Disco StuAuthor
            Contributor I
            August 4, 2019
            Best option first is to Disable the Sonos Skill and then Enable it again in the Alexa App. If the problem persists, please power down the Beam for 5 secs and then power back on.

            If the second option works, I suggest that you open the settings web page for your router and reserve the IP address for your Sonos devices. (I normally reserve the range 192.168.0.200 and above for my Sonos devices.)


            I've done this twice now. In the Sonos app, under "Voice Services," I selected "Amazon Alexa" and then "Remove Alexa."

            I then verified this by saying "Alexa" with no response from the Sonos. I then depowred the Beam for two minutes and repowered.

            I then selected "Add a Voice Service" in the Sonos app, which took me to the Alexa app. I added Alexa and the same problem persists.



            For your second question:
            A Sonos device (or in your case a set of bonded devices) has the name you’ve given it. So “Living room” sounds plausible, especially when you connect Sonos with Alexa.


            Okay, thank you.
            UKMedia
            UKMedia
            August 5, 2019
            I've done this twice now. In the Sonos app, under "Voice Services," I selected "Amazon Alexa" and then "Remove Alexa."

            This is slightly different to what I suggested. Please open the Alexa App on Android or iOS and select the three bars in the top left hand corner, then select 'Skills & Games' from the menu and then 'Your Skills'. Please now scroll down the list of skills and select Sonos, followed by 'Disable Skill'. Then 'Enable' the skill again and retest.
            Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
            Disco StuAuthor
            Contributor I
            August 5, 2019

            I've done this twice now. In the Sonos app, under "Voice Services," I selected "Amazon Alexa" and then "Remove Alexa."
            This is slightly different to what I suggested. Please open the Alexa App on Android or iOS and select the three bars in the top left hand corner, then select 'Skills & Games' from the menu and then 'Your Skills'. Please now scroll down the list of skills and select Sonos, followed by 'Disable Skill'. Then 'Enable' the skill again and retest.



            Thank you for clarifying. I tried this three times. No change.

            The only way to stop the program that's playing is to physically touch the button on the Beam. Alexa voice commands "Stop" and "Pause" are ineffective.
              AjTrek1
              AjTrek1
              August 5, 2019
              Hi Disco Stu

              I'm gong to respond to your issue but not in the same order as you posted.

              Also, the Beam is working properly but in the Sonos app, I don't specifically see the Beam listed as a speaker. I think it might simply be labeled "Living Room?" I'm not sure if I should see the Beam specifically?

              Just exactly what are you seeing in the Sonos app for Living Room? Are there any question (?) marks present.

              All had been working well but suddenly, Alexa will not stop or pause playing by voice command. I can say "Alexa, play NPR" and it will respond properly. I can say "Alex Louder" and "Alex Lower" and the volume will adjust. But when I say "Alexa Stop" (which is what I've been saying since day one) or "Alexa Pause" it will simply make the command chime and keep playing.

              Have you tried voicing the stop or pause command by saying..."Alexa stop (name of service here)" or "Alexa pause (name of service here)".

              Let us know. Cheers!
              Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
                Disco StuAuthor
                Contributor I
                August 5, 2019

                Have you tried voicing the stop or pause command by saying..."Alexa stop (name of service here)" or "Alexa pause (name of service here)".

                Let us know. Cheers!


                Yes, I have tried that. Ineffective.
                AjTrek1
                AjTrek1
                August 5, 2019
                Hi Disco Stu

                OK...saying the name of the service doesn't help. Although the steps below may sound redundant in some respects there is a slight difference that I haven't seen in the other suggestions. Let's try this....

                1. Log out of Alexa in the Sonos App
                2. Unplug your Beam
                3. Delete the Sonos app
                4. Disable the Sonos Skill in Alexa
                5. Log-out of the Alexa App
                6. Log into Alexa
                7. Enable the Sonos skill
                8. Power Cycle your device
                9. Reinstall the Sonos app
                10. Plug in your Beam and let it come back
                11. Enable Alexa in the Sonos app for your Beam
                12. Test your commands
                Let us know how things sort out. Cheers!
                Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
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