To Play SoundCloud on Alexa: Using an Alexa skill or Bluetooth, you may stream SoundCloud music to an Alexa-enabled device.
Streaming music via SoundCloud is popular among most individuals. Amazon’s Alexa is at the top of the heap in terms of intelligent virtual assistants. Nothing seems beyond Alexa’s power to accomplish.
Playing music by your favorite musicians is one of the many things Alexa is capable of and frequently used for.
To stream music to your smartphone without interruption, Alexa enables you to connect to many music services including SiriusXM, Vevo, Apple Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and so forth.
Continue reading to learn how to do it.
Mobile Phone Pairing with Alexa Bluetooth
One way to stream SoundCloud to your Alexa device is to pair your smartphone with Alexa using Bluetooth, then use your smartphone as a Bluetooth speaker to play SoundCloud.
You may accomplish this in two easy ways. Using your smartphone to immediately pair is one approach:
- Check that Alexa is turned on in your home. To start pairing the device, simply say “Alexa, pair.”
- Open the Bluetooth settings on your smartphone and switch on Bluetooth. Locate your Alexa device among the other nearby devices that appear by searching for them.
- Simply clicking on your Alexa device will establish a connection between the two. Additionally, your Alexa device will make the connection’s establishment known.
Using the Alexa app is another way to pair your phone:
- Activate the Alexa app.
- Navigate to “Devices,” followed by “Echo & Alexa.” You can locate the name of your Alexa device in this
- menu. To access your Alexa device’s settings page, select it.
- Look for the “Pair Alexa Gadget” option and select it.
- Open the Bluetooth settings on your smartphone, then turn on Bluetooth. Find your Alexa device in the list of nearby available devices and pick it to connect, following the same procedures as above. Alexa will confirm that your phone is connected by announcing it.
- You won’t need to repeat the process once you’ve synced your smartphone with your Alexa device.
Keep your smartphone’s Bluetooth turned on to reconnect by just saying, “Alexa, connect to [device name].”
It’s equally easy to cut the connection. Simply tell Alexa to disconnect rather than connect.
But if you ever unpair your smartphone, you’ll have to go through the same pairing process again.
Once you’ve paired your devices, you may use your smartphone to play SoundCloud music as usual while listening to it stream on your Alexa device.
Using Alexa with SoundCloud together
It’s not as simple as telling Alexa to play music; using SoundCloud with Alexa involves more work.
SoundCloud is not part of the Amazon ecosystem, in contrast to other music streaming services like Amazon Music, Spotify, or Apple Music.
This indicates that while Amazon Music may be played on various Alexa Devices, SoundCloud is a little more difficult.
However, you can stream nearly anything, even SoundCloud, to your Alexa device because Bluetooth is readily available.
You may also build an Alexa skill that will enable SoundCloud streaming to your device.
Connecting Alexa over Bluetooth to a laptop or computer
You may connect your PC or laptop and stream SoundCloud from there in a manner similar to pairing your smartphone with your Alexa device and utilizing it as a Bluetooth speaker by doing the following:
- Bluetooth should be enabled in the settings of your computer.
- Log in to your Amazon account at alexa.amazon.com.
- After logging in, click on “Settings” and then select the name of your Alexa device from the list that appears. Your Alexa device’s settings page will be displayed as a result.
- After selecting “Bluetooth,” choose “Pair a New Device.” It will present a selection of neighboring computers from which you must choose one.
- You’ll get a notice on your PC asking for authorization to pair. Your computer and your Alexa device will pair once you give this permission.
- The pairing procedure is only necessary the first time, similar to connecting via a smartphone.
After that, you may establish a direct connection by just telling Alexa to connect to your computer.
Creating the Alexa skill
Making a custom skill that would make SoundCloud and Alexa compatible is another option to get your Alexa device to stream SoundCloud.
This approach is more complicated than simply opening the Alexa app and changing a few settings.
For beginners to completely comprehend it, it could be a little hard and require some technical knowledge of how the Alexa Developer Console functions.
You can use the methods below to build an Alexa skill:
- Find a template for an Alexa skill online. You can find a lot of these as beginning points for developing unique abilities on websites like Dabble Lab or Github. The one below is titled Magic Jukebox.
- Once you’ve located a template that you like, save the source code to your computer.
- Log in to your account at developer.amazon.com. Use the same email address that is associated with your Alexa device if you are establishing a new one. This is crucial so that you may test the skill with your Alexa device.
- Choose “Create Skill” from the menu. Name the skill, then choose “Custom Model.” The best way to host the backend resources for your talent will depend on the programming language the source code is written in.
- To host the skill, select the “Create Talent” option once more in the top right corner of your skill. It will take a few minutes to complete this process.
- Open the “JSON Editor” once the skill is complete and paste the JSON code for model interaction from the downloaded template. Once you’re done, save the model and construct it.
- Next, select “Interfaces” and turn “Audio Player” on.
- Locate and select the “Code” tab from the screen’s top. Replace the code in the index file by opening the index file contained in the downloaded template.
- Locate the object in the code that is in charge of producing a streaming instance. This will take some familiarity with programming as well as a close inspection of the code’s documentation.
- Once you’ve located the item, you may update the destination URL to direct traffic to SoundCloud, where you wish to stream music from. Additionally, you can provide unique graphics and text that will show up on screens in devices.
- Save the code, then run it.
- To enable testing your skill, go to the “Test” page and change “Skill Testing is Enabled in:” to “Development.”
If you followed the instructions exactly, your Alexa gadget should now be able to play SoundCloud music.
Final Reflections
There are ways to get around the fact that SoundCloud audio cannot be directly streamed.
This was possible with the former official Alexa skill called Magic Jukebox. You can still use it, though, if you utilize the original source code to make a Custom Alexa Skill.
What is the technique for connecting Alexa to external speakers?
You can either connect your Echo device to an external speaker with an AUX cable or pair the devices via Bluetooth.
Pairing your Echo to a speaker via Bluetooth is similar to pairing your phone, with the exception that you can now use your Echo device for input rather than output.
Can I use Alexa as a speaker without connecting to the WiFi?
Alexa can be used as a Bluetooth speaker without connecting to Wi-Fi.
However, you will be unable to use many of Alexa’s features, such as voice commands and internet searches.
Is there an audio output on the Echo Dot?
Yes, the Echo Dot has an audio output. It uses a 3.5mm audio cable and is located next to the power cable connection.