Here's how to connect Alexa to Bluetooth

As good as Alexa speakers can be on the smart home front, some of them — especially smaller ones like the Echo Dot — benefit from pumping audio through a separate Bluetooth speaker. Here’s how to connect Alexa to Bluetooth, regardless of the individual devices you’re using.

How do you connect Alexa to Bluetooth?

First, put your target Bluetooth speaker into pairing mode. The exact method will vary from product to product, but typically this involves holding down a specific button (often labeled with the Bluetooth logo) for a few seconds. Check the speaker’s instructions if you’re not sure.

From here, it’s a matter of using the Alexa app for Android, iPhone, or iPad.

• Go to the Devices tab, then choose Echo and Alexa in the carousel up top.
• Select the Alexa device you’re trying to pair with.
• Under Bluetooth Connections, tap Connect a device and select your speaker.
• If you don’t see that option, tap the gear icon in the upper right.
• Under Bluetooth Devices, tap Pair a New Device.
• Select your speaker. If it doesn’t appear, it may be out of pairing mode or too far away to detect.

Are there any limits to using Bluetooth speakers for Alexa audio?

A few. Many Bluetooth speakers can only pair with a single device at a time, which means they have to re-pair each time they switch sources. To avoid this, you can either upgrade to a speaker that supports multipoint pairing, or assign your Alexa device a dedicated Bluetooth speaker. In some cases it might be simpler to buy more powerful Alexa hardware, like a Sonos product or an Echo Studio.

Even if you’re using a dedicated Bluetooth speaker, you may (potentially) have to ask Alexa to “pair Bluetooth” whenever your Bluetooth speaker comes back online, specifically after it’s turned off or goes out of range. You can dodge this by leaving a speaker on, paired, and close by.

FAQs