Alexa not playing Spotify? How to fix it

When Alexa is not playing Spotify, the cause is almost always one of five things: Spotify is not linked or not set as the default music service in the Alexa app, the account link has gone stale, the same Spotify account is already playing on another device, the Echo or network needs a restart, or Spotify is not available for your plan or Amazon region. Relinking Spotify on both the Alexa and the Spotify side fixes most cases.

This guide starts with what Alexa actually says or does, maps that symptom to the likely cause, and then walks through each fix in the order that solves the problem fastest.

Why won't Alexa play Spotify?

Alexa won't play Spotify when the request cannot reach a working, authorized Spotify session. Alexa itself is rarely broken; the link between your Amazon account and your Spotify account is. The symptom usually tells you where to look:

Check that Spotify is linked and set as default

Spotify must be linked in the Alexa app, and set as the default music service, before Alexa plays it without "on Spotify" in every command. Spotify's own help page for Alexa devices uses this path:

1. Open the Alexa app and tap More, then Settings.
2. Under Alexa Preferences, tap Music & Podcasts.
3. If Spotify is not listed under the services, tap Link New Service, choose Spotify and sign in.
4. Back in Music & Podcasts, open Your Default Services, select Spotify and tap Done.

Once Spotify is the default, "Alexa, play Discover Weekly" plays from Spotify. Podcasts are the exception: Spotify says you still need to add "on Spotify" to the end of a podcast request, even with Spotify set as default. If Alexa answers a music request with Amazon Music, the default setting is the first thing to check. See Spotify's Alexa setup page for the current menu names.

Unlink and relink Spotify on both sides

Relinking Spotify is the fix that works most often, because it replaces an expired or corrupted authorization with a fresh one. Disabling the skill in Alexa alone is not always enough, so remove the permission on the Spotify side as well.

1. In the Alexa app, go to More > Settings > Music & Podcasts, tap Spotify and choose Disable Skill.
2. In a browser, open your Spotify Apps page and click Remove Access next to Amazon Alexa.
3. Close the Alexa app completely and reopen it.
4. Link Spotify again from Music & Podcasts and sign in with the Spotify account you want the Echo to use.
5. Open Your Default Services and confirm Spotify is still selected.

Check that you sign in with the right Spotify account, using the same sign-in method you use in the Spotify app, so Alexa links the account that holds your playlists.

Stop Spotify playing on another device

A Spotify account plays on one device at a time, as Spotify's community moderators confirm, so Alexa stops or goes silent when the same account starts playing on a phone, PC or another speaker. This catches households where everyone shares one login. The fix depends on how you use the Echo:

• Pause Spotify on your other devices before asking Alexa to play.
• On a Premium Family or Duo plan, link the Echo to a member account that nobody else is listening on.
• If the Echo sits in a speaker group, test it on its own. Spotify moderators ask about grouped speakers when playback stops after a few songs, and ungrouping helps isolate the problem.

Spotify also tracks a known issue where repeat stops working and playback pauses after a few songs on Amazon Echo devices. If that matches what you see, follow the Echo playback thread in Spotify's Ongoing Issues board for status updates rather than repeating every fix.

Restart the Echo and check your network

A restart clears temporary playback and connection errors, and it is the right next step when Alexa says it is having trouble reaching Spotify. Work through these checks:

1. Unplug the Echo from power, wait about 30 seconds and plug it back in.
2. Restart your router if other devices on the network are slow or dropping.
3. Update the Alexa and Spotify apps on your phone.
4. If you play to the Echo through Spotify Connect, make sure the phone and the Echo are on the same Wi-Fi network and band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz).
5. If you use a filtering DNS service such as AdGuard DNS or a Pi-hole, pause it and test again, since a blocked Spotify domain stops playback.

If Spotify fails on every device, not just Alexa, the problem is on Spotify's side or with your connection. The same pattern applies to the Spotify upstream request timeout error, which also points to a server or network fault rather than a broken speaker.

Check your Spotify plan and Amazon region

Spotify on Alexa depends on both your Spotify plan and the country of your Amazon account. Spotify's help page for Alexa devices is marked as a Premium feature, so on a Free account, Alexa may refuse requests or offer only limited playback depending on your country. If you recently cancelled Premium or a payment failed, check your plan on the Spotify account page first.

Region matters as well. Spotify moderators explain that Alexa skill availability follows the region settings of your Amazon account and sometimes your current location, and that Spotify is not supported on some international Echo models. If Alexa says Spotify is not available, check that your Amazon account country matches where you live and use the Echo, and contact Amazon support if it still fails, since the error comes from the Alexa side.

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Related: How to add local files to Spotify, How to see your average Spotify listening time