Alexa can be used in a lot of cool ways thanks to Bluetooth. It’s the easiest way to get to all the fun audio content you already have on your mobile device. It’s also the easiest way to let your friends connect to your home network so they can play music from their devices.
Alexa is easy to connect to smartphones, tablets, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. In this article, we’ll talk about how to use Bluetooth with Alexa, how to connect Alexa to Bluetooth, and how to get rid of old Bluetooth devices to keep your device list clean and safe.
Why Connect Alexa To Bluetooth?
Alexa is a smart speaker, among other things. When you use Bluetooth to connect your phone to Alexa, you can use Alexa as a wireless speaker for your phone.
Most of the time, you probably just play music or other audio through Alexa instead of your phone, but Bluetooth can still be useful.
Going Beyond Alexa’s skills
Alexa has skills for most of the major music services, but the easiest way to get to your own music library and maybe even your favorite podcast app is to use your iPhone or Android phone. If your home address isn’t in the United States, some music services won’t play directly on Alexa.
You could play music right from your phone, but Alexa sounds better than most phone speakers. You shouldn’t have to give up that sound upgrade because Alexa doesn’t have the skill you want.
Let Your friends Do It
It’s fun to show your friends your favorite Spotify playlist, but sometimes you might want to listen to your friend’s Apple Music collection instead. Setting up more than one Alexa account is not the best thing to do. Most of the time, it’s easier to connect Alexa to their phone.
It doesn’t take long to pair Alexa with a new Android or iPhone. In fact, it’s easier than pairing a new phone with most Bluetooth speakers that aren’t smart. I think this is the best way to let your party guests choose the music.
Can I Use Alexa As A Bluetooth Speaker Without Wi-Fi Connection?
Yes, Alexa can be used as a Bluetooth speaker even when it’s not connected to Wi-Fi. But you need Wi-Fi to pair the devices for the first time. Once Alexa knows what your device is, you don’t need Wi-Fi for this function anymore.
If you want to connect a new device, you’ll still need Wi-Fi. You could do this if you are traveling and don’t have Wi-Fi at home by using a public Wi-Fi network. As long as you follow the best practices for public Wi-Fi, it’s pretty safe to do so (the same ones you should follow for your phone).
How To Connect Alexa To Bluetooth?
Just follow these quick and easy steps to get your phone (or tablet, etc.) and Alexa to talk to each other. The whole thing shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
- Get your device within 20–30 feet of your Amazon Echo’s Bluetooth range.
- Say “Alexa, disconnect” to tell your Echo speaker to turn off other Bluetooth devices (if “Alexa” is your default wake word).
- Set your device to pair mode for Bluetooth.
- On Android, the way you pair may depend on your device and the version of the operating system. To turn on Bluetooth on most newer Androids, go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn the switch on. You will see a message that says your device can be seen.
- Go to Settings > Bluetooth on your iPhone to turn Bluetooth on or off. You’ll see the message “Now discoverable as…”
- Say “Alexa, pair” to tell your Echo to go into pairing mode. Alexa should say “Searching” if it worked.
- Depending on your operating system, your phone or tablet should show your Echo speaker in a list called “Devices,” “Other devices,” or “Available devices.” Choose that thing. It will be added to the list of devices you know, and Alexa will confirm the connection out loud. Wait a few seconds, and Alexa will tell you which device is your Echo.
Once our device is paired, you can use it like any other Bluetooth speaker to play music or other sounds.
You can tell Alexa to disconnect your device at any time by saying “Alexa, disconnect.”
Speak “Alexa, connect to [device name]” or “Alexa, pair with [device name]” the next time you will use your Alexa as a smart speaker for that device. You don’t have to do the steps above again unless you want to connect another device.
How To Remove A Bluetooth Device From Alexa?
If you lose or sell a device, you should unpair it to keep it safe. You should also unpair the phones and tablets of old friends because you don’t know who owns them now.
How to do this depends on what kind of device you have. Most Echo devices require you to use the Alexa app on your phone or tablet. For the Echo Show and Echo Spot, you will need to take the Bluetooth Device out of the Echo.
Echo Show And Echo Spot
- Bring up the menu of settings. The easiest way to do this is to say, “Alexa, open settings” (or your chosen wake word). You can also slide the touchscreen down and tap the gear icon in the menu bar.
- Pick Bluetooth from the list of options.
- Find the device you want to unpair and press the small I to the right of its name.
- Click “Forget Device” and wait for the Echo to take it off the list.
Other Echo Devices (Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Studio, Etc.)
Follow these steps to have your Echo speaker forget or unpair a Bluetooth device:
- Open the app for Alexa on your phone (not on the device you are removing).
- Choose Devices from the bar at the bottom.
- Tap Echo and Alexa.
- Choose the Alexa device you used to pair with it.
- Click the gear wheel (the gear in the upper right).
- From the list, choose Bluetooth Devices.
- Click on the Alexa device you want to forget.
- Press “Forget Device” and wait for the device to be taken off the list.
Final Thoughts
That’s all the information you need. If you do these things, Alexa will be ready to be a Bluetooth speaker. Alexa’s main use is definitely voice commands, but this Bluetooth set-up will make your audio device more useful.
Tell me in the comments what you think Alexa’s Bluetooth is good for. I’d also like to know if you have any trouble connecting Alexa to Bluetooth, so feel free to ask any questions.