How To Set Up Amazon Echo Dot Music

Amazon'due south Alexa isn't as hospitable as it once was to people who prefer to buy music instead of only signing upwardly for a subscription service such as Spotify–or Amazon's own service.

Although Amazon used to let users upload their personal media collections for playback on Repeat speakers, it discontinued that feature a few years ago. The movement effectively stranded folks who own large personal music collections from ripped CDs and downloads.

Fortunately, some workarounds exist. To play your own MP3s (or music encoded in other formats, such as FLAC) on the Echo or other Alexa-compatible speakers, you can employ Plex or My Media Server for Alexa, both of which allow you to stream songs you've stored on some other device. These services aren't every bit full-featured or every bit piece of cake to utilise as Amazon Music was, but at least they still permit yous admission your music collection with vocalism commands.

Hither's how to proceed the music playing:

To have Plex play your music files on an Amazon Echo, yous'll demand a media server device that is always on and can run Plex Media Server. That can include a desktop calculator (running Windows, MacOS, or Linux), a NAS (network-attached storage) box, or an Nvidia Shield Goggle box Pro box.

Streaming your music this mode does have some limitations:

Whole-domicile music is not supported, so you tin mind on only one speaker at a time
Y'all can't set Plex as the default streaming service, and you must apply specific syntax (either "Alexa, ask Plex…" or "Alexa, tell Plex…") to play your songs each time.
Responses from Plex take slightly longer than Alexa's born music services.

However on board? Hither's how to ready Plex for Alexa music playback:

1. Sign up for a free Plex account, which is required to use the service with Alexa.

two. Download Plex Media Server to the device where your music files are stored, and follow the installation instructions. During this process, you'll be prompted to specify the folder where your music is located.

3. Visit app.plex.tv to launch Plex from any phone, tablet, or figurer.

iv. In the left sidebar, select Settings.

Jared Newman / IDG

5. In the settings menu, select Remote Access from the left sidebar, then select Enable Remote Admission. (Plex says this isn't necessary if you're running the latest media server software, but still suggests it anyway.)

6. If y'all didn't fix your music folder during installation, return to the primary carte du jour. Nether the Libraries section of the left sidebar, highlight Music, printing the "…" icon, then select Edit. Utilize the "Add folders" card to testify Plex where your music files are located.

Jared Newman / IDG

vii. At present that you're done setting up Plex, install the Plex skill for Alexa, either direct through the web or by searching for "Plex" nether the Skills department of the Alexa mobile app.

Jared Newman / IDG

8. Sign into your Plex account, then striking the "Qualify" button.

ix. With your Alexa device, say "Alexa, Ask Plex to change my server." If y'all only take one server, Alexa will set it automatically. Otherwise, listen for the list of server numbers, and answer with the 1 you'd similar to use.

Now, you can use Plex to play your music drove on the Amazon Echo. Plex's support page has a list of phonation commands yous tin use, but hither are some useful ones:

"Ask Plex to play music past [artist name]"
"Tell Plex to play the album [album proper name]" (This tends to only work if you don't say the artist'south proper name likewise.)
"Ask Plex to play the song [song name]"
"Shuffle manner on"
"Ask Plex what I should heed to."
"Tell Plex to play some music."
"Ask Plex to throw down some phat beats." (Seriously, it works.)

You can also say "Next track," "Previous track," "Suspension," "Play," and "Cease" without having to say "ask Plex" first.

My Media is like to Plex, in that it requires setting up a media server device for streaming your music files to the Echo. It also has some of the same restrictions: Whole-home streaming isn't supported, and you must use specific "Enquire My Media…" syntax to outset listening.

Merely My Media does have some advantages: It tin alphabetize playlists from iTunes and play music past genre, and information technology as well offers a workaround (albeit a somewhat clunky 1) for multi-room music playback.

On the downside, the service isn't gratis like Plex. Yous tin try information technology for 7 days, but subsequently that it costs $5.l per year for a unmarried media server and access from up to two Amazon accounts, $11 per year for two media servers and five Amazon accounts, and $16.50 per year for five media servers and 25 Amazon accounts. (You tin try it costless for vii days without any credit bill of fare info.)

Here'due south how to set it upwards:

1. Download My Media for Alexa, run the installation file, and go through the setup procedure. (If y'all choose not to launch the My Media for Alexa Console after installation completes, find and launch it in your program list to continue setup in your web browser.)

2. In the My Media for Alexa Console, click the green Next button, sign into your Amazon account and select Allow on the next page.

three. Select "No" when asked if you lot'd like to automatically download sample media.

iv. On the left sidebar, select Picket Folders, then striking the Add together Folder push button. Select the folder or folders where your songs are stored.

Jared Newman / IDG

5. Install the My Media skill for Alexa, either straight through the web or by searching for "My Media" under the Skills section of the Alexa mobile app.

6. Optional: To automatically share iTunes playlists with My Media For Alexa, open iTunes, then go to the Preferences menu. Click the Advanced tab, then select "Share iTunes Library XML with other applications." Return to the My Media for Alexa console, select 'iTunes Library" from the left sidebar, and click "Alphabetize iTunes Library." Choose the folder where your XML files are located (typically /Users/[username]/Music/iTunes on macOS and C:Users[username]MusiciTunes on Windows).

Now, you can use My Media to play songs on the Echo or other Alexa devices. Here are some vocalisation command examples:

"Ask My Media to play music by [artist]."
"Ask My Media to play the anthology [album] past [creative person]."
"Ask My Media to play the song [song] by [artist]."
"Inquire My Media to play my playlist."
"Ask My Media to play [genre] music."
"Ask My Media to turn shuffle [on/off]."
"Enquire My Media to turn loop [on/off]."

You tin likewise say "Adjacent rail," "Previous track," "Intermission," "Play," and "Stop" without having to say "ask My Media" showtime.

The multi-room music workaround: To make whole-dwelling house audio work with your personal music drove, you lot must configure one of your Echo speakers to automatically trigger playback on several Alexa devices at once. Here's how to do that:

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone and select the "Devices" tab.

two. Select the room where you'll be talking to Alexa.

three. Under the "Speakers" heading, select "Change."

iv. Check off all the other speakers where y'all want to play music.

Unfortunately, you'll have to go back and uncheck these speakers if you just want to play on a single speaker again, but information technology's worth the extra trouble if you're settling in for a long listening session. (While this workaround should theoretically piece of work with Plex as well, I was only able to get it working with My Media.)

Option 3: My Pod

For a quick-and-dirty fashion to play private songs or playlists through Alexa, check out My Pod. This website lets you drop in a link to any binder on Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon Drive, then play the songs from that folder with a vocalization command.

The free version is quite express, though—you can only store a maximum of x tracks—and y'all must pay $3 per month or $35.50 per year for unlimited links. Users with extensive collections should strongly consider Plex or My Media instead, merely My Pod tin work for playing a pocket-size number of songs in a pinch:

one. Create a folder in Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon Drive, then share the folder to create a link that you can re-create. (Note: My Pod only plays songs in alphabetical gild. To rearrange the lodge of songs, you'll need to add track numbers to the beginning of your file names in each binder.)

2. Visit mypodapp.com and select Get Started, so Sign in with Amazon. Enter your account credentials, and select "Allow" at the next page.

3. Click the "Shorten Link" option in the left sidebar. Paste your link into the field and click "Shorten."

Jared Newman / IDG

4. Install the My Pod skill for Alexa, either directly through the spider web or by searching for "My Pod" nether the Skills section of the Alexa mobile app. Then click "Permit" in the prompt that appears.

5. Employ the voice command shown on My Pod's website to play the contents of your link. (It should be a pocket-sized string of numbers.)

Jared Newman / IDG

While My Pod also allows you to name your folders instead of identifying them by number, I had trouble getting this to piece of work reliably. Again, setting a media server is a much better choice if you want to pick and choose from your library with voice commands.

The nuclear option: Goodbye, Alexa

If any of this seems similar also much hassle, consider investing in a different speaker ecosystem instead.

With Google Home and Nest speakers, you can use Plex and various other apps to stream your personal music drove, including in multi-room speaker setups. You tin can too use AirPlay-uniform speakers such as Apple's HomePod Mini to hands play music from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Yous won't get the same voice command options as above, but overall you'll get a setup that's somewhat more amenable to the music y'all ain. And if you want the ultimate experience in multi-room audio, consider Sonos speakers.

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