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Edward R
Retired Sonos Staff
January 5, 2018

Resolving (the majority of) Issues with Alexa on Sonos

  • January 5, 2018
  • 111 replies
  • 205033 views

Moderator note: This article was updated in December 2024.

 

This thread is intended to help get you going if you get stuck setting up Alexa with Sonos, or if you have run into any errors. The setup process does use two different apps, so don’t stress if you’re having trouble, we can help.

If you are reading this thread, you will now be aware that integrating the two platforms requires several authentication steps which require you to move between applications and interfaces, providing login details and authorising services along the way.
Simply put: It involves some moving back and forth, providing information as you go.

The issues this post may help you resolve include but are not limited to:
- "Your Spotify account does not support streaming on this device."
- Radio stations not playing when you ask them to.
- Asking for something to play- whether this is acknowledged or not- only to be met with silence.

It is worth noting, however, that several of your desired functions may simply not be available on Alexa via Sonos just yet. We have an article that describes exactly what services to expect at this time: Control Sonos with Amazon Alexa

Is your desired functionality available? Then let's move on to fixing your issue.

If you get to a point where you're not able to complete a step, just skip to the next section.

1. In the Alexa app, go to More > Skills & Games > Your Skills > Sonos > Settings > Manage Smart Home Devices > Tap 'Forget All'.
Note: The step to 'Forget All' will delete all actions in all Routines within an Alexa set-up.

2. Go to Alexa's UK site or Alexa's US site (again, depending on your region).
Please do this in a web browser on a computer (PC or Mac).
It's also best to do this using private browsing or incognito mode to avoid using cached information.

Go to Settings. Click on your Sonos One in the list of devices. It will probably be listed both as '(your name)'s Sonos One' and whatever room name you gave it in Sonos. It's the '(your name)'s Sonos One we're looking for. On this page, click on 'deregister' and confirm that.

If on this page you do not see your Sonos One already set up, then it's probably linked to a different account somehow. In this case you can skip the rest of the troubleshooting. Just add the Sonos skill on this website, then follow the prompts.

3. Make sure you know your Amazon account password, and then log out of your Amazon account everywhere. Log out of the Alexa app, log out on your web browser, log out on the shopping app, the music app.

4. Delete all your Amazon apps, including the Alexa app, and then just install the Alexa app.

5. Add the Sonos One back to the system in the Sonos app, via Settings -> Add Speaker or Component. Follow the prompts to set up voice services which will require you log in to your Sonos account, and then your Amazon account, to link them together. You'll also need to enable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app at this point.

6. If that's all worked you should hear the Sonos One say "Hello". Try asking it to play something like a radio station (Radio by TuneIn is enabled by default) and see if that works.

If this does not work, or you are getting stuck at any stage, please post a diagnostic confirmation number and describe how/where it went wrong.

Thank you, keep us posted as to whether or not this helps!

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

111 replies

Lyricist III
July 22, 2018
Yes...

Strangely, when I click on Voice Services in the Sonos App it tells me voice services are not currently available in my country. I’m in the UK.


Can you check your addess in your profile in www.sonos.com and also the device location in the Alexa app>settings>{your beam}


Sonos looks like it is set to UK, but I can’t check the device location on Alexa as the app isn’t picking it up. Tells me discovery has failed every time I try to search for it...
Lyricist III
July 22, 2018
Just to update, I have managed to locate my Beam in the Alexa app by configuring the voice function on my iPhone and then asking Alexa to find me devices. So that worked, but I still don’t seem to be able to talk directly to the Beam...
Ken_Griffiths
July 22, 2018
mendy45

You should see two devices for your Beam in the Alexa App smart-home device list ... see my screenshot. My Beam is located in the 'Dining Room' in my case. Make sure those entries aren’t duplicated in the device list and if so, remove them all and ask Alexa to rescan for devices.
Ken_Griffiths
July 22, 2018
Mendy45,

In the Alexa App Main Settings you will also see the Beam is listed twice, one will be the room name, like ‘Dining Room' for example, that’s the speaker side of the hardware ...and the other will be called something like 'mendy's Sonos Beam' or something similar to that, this is the Alexa device part of the hardware.

You will find the Alexa App will only allow you to set your location in the settings of the Alexa part of the hardware, it won’t let you set it in the speaker part.

However please note this is NOT your Amazon Alexa Account Country Settings, you need to do those somewhere online at Amazon. If necessary I would speak to Amazon Support and get them to check your account country settings for Alexa and explain the error messages you have been seeing. They maybe able to resolve the matter for you.
Lyricist III
August 22, 2018
My problem is (like many) the Echo dot says 'playing on Kitchen' (Sonos:1) and no sound comes from there. The Play5 in another room always works when told to do so. Have tried *everything * suggested, and I'm tired of two 'proper' companies (this isn't a cheap gizmo from China with some half baked App to control it) saying this works when clearly there's a serious issue with compatability. I may just by an Echo with a speaker and ditch my Sonos Play:1 I'm so p**sed by this :-(
I would not be able to recommend Sonos in future. Very sad customer.
Lyricist I
August 22, 2018
I did all the steps above. Still does not work. I have Spotify enabled as my Default Music Service. Like everybody else: I say, "Play Legs by ZZ Top". Alexa replies, "OK, playing Legs by ZZ Top on Spotify". Then it doesn't play anything. I submitted Diagnostic Code: 644701571
Ken_Griffiths
August 23, 2018
I did all the steps above. Still does not work. I have Spotify enabled as my Default Music Service. Like everybody else: I say, "Play Legs by ZZ Top". Alexa replies, "OK, playing Legs by ZZ Top on Spotify". Then it doesn't play anything. I submitted Diagnostic Code: 644701571
What device are you asking Alexa to Play your music to here? Is it a 'Sonos One' you are using? or are you using an Amazon Echo device?
Ken_Griffiths
August 23, 2018
My problem is (like many) the Echo dot says 'playing on Kitchen' (Sonos:1) and no sound comes from there. The Play5 in another room always works when told to do so. Have tried *everything * suggested, and I'm tired of two 'proper' companies (this isn't a cheap gizmo from China with some half baked App to control it) saying this works when clearly there's a serious issue with compatability. I may just by an Echo with a speaker and ditch my Sonos Play:1 I'm so p**sed by this :-(
I would not be able to recommend Sonos in future. Very sad customer.

Are you using a 'Sonos One', or a Play:1 Speaker here ? ...and is the speaker uniquely named for Alexa purposes or does it have the same name as your echo dot device?
Lyricist III
August 23, 2018
Hi. It's a Play:1
The speaker is named by the Sonos App (as a location) 'Kitchen' . I asked the Echo Dot to discover devices via the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App, and it's discovered as 'Kitchen'. The Sonos Play:5 I have in another room always works - but I don't want to listen on that!
Any help???
Ken_Griffiths
August 23, 2018
Hi. It's a Play:1
The speaker is named by the Sonos App (as a location) 'Kitchen' . I asked the Echo Dot to discover devices via the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App, and it's discovered as 'Kitchen'. The Sonos Play:5 I have in another room always works - but I don't want to listen on that!
Any help???
Just for clarification do you have any other devices named kitchen? Like an echo dot for example? If not try this ... “Alexa, play some music in the Kitchen” ... make sure your speaker isn’t muted (with 'x' showing on volume slider) and the volume is turned up enough for you to hear it.