Amazon Alexa’s multiroom music (MRM) feature is a fantastic and cost-effective way to fill your home with sound. Instead of investing in expensive whole-home audio systems, you can use affordable Echo speakers like the Echo Dot or Echo to create a synchronized audio experience throughout your house, or even just in a single, larger room for a more immersive sound. Managing your multiroom setup has also become even easier with the latest updates to the Alexa app, offering enhanced control over your entire audio environment.
Alexa MRM supports a wide range of popular music services, ensuring you can enjoy your favorite audio from platforms like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. This versatility allows for personalized listening experiences throughout your home. For example, you can be enjoying a podcast downstairs while someone else listens to their preferred music playlist upstairs – all at the same time, on different devices.
To take advantage of Alexa multiroom music, you’ll need compatible speakers connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The good news is that all Echo speakers and Fire TV devices are compatible with MRM. Furthermore, many third-party speaker manufacturers, including well-known brands like Marshall, Polk, JBL/Harman, and Sony, also offer models that work seamlessly with Alexa MRM. It’s important to note that while Sonos speakers are compatible with Alexa voice control, they do not utilize Alexa’s native MRM system. To control Sonos speakers with Alexa, you’ll need to enable the Sonos skill separately.
Setting up Alexa multiroom music is a straightforward process using the Alexa app. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:
Setting Up Alexa Multiroom Music
Setting up multiroom music on your Alexa devices is simple and can be done directly through the Alexa app. Follow these steps to create your speaker groups and start enjoying synchronized audio:
- Open the Alexa App: Launch the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet (available for both Android and iOS).
- Navigate to Devices: At the bottom of the app screen, you’ll see a navigation bar. Tap on the Devices tab.
- Initiate Speaker Combination: Look for a plus icon (+) in the top right corner of the Devices screen. Tap this icon, and a dropdown menu will appear. Select Combine speakers from the options.
Select Combine speakers to start the multiroom music setup in the Alexa app.
- Choose Multi-Room Music: You will be presented with a choice of speaker combinations. Select the Multi-room music option.
Choose Multi-room music to create a synchronized audio group with Alexa speakers.
- Select Speakers for Your Group: The app will display a list of your available Alexa-compatible speakers. Tap on each speaker you want to include in your new multiroom music group. You can include a speaker in multiple groups if desired.
Select the specific Alexa speakers you want to include in your multiroom music group.
- Name Your Group: Once you’ve selected your speakers, tap Next. You’ll be prompted to name your group. You can choose from suggested names like “Downstairs,” “Upstairs,” “Bedroom,” or “Everywhere,” or create a custom name that suits your setup. Descriptive names will make it easier to control your music later.
- Save Your Group: After naming your group, tap Save to finalize the setup. Your new Alexa multiroom music group is now created and ready to use.
Name your Alexa multiroom music group for easy voice commands and control.
Once your groups are set up, you can manage them easily. In the Devices tab of the Alexa app, scroll down to Speaker Groups. Tap on a group to edit it – you can add or remove speakers or select Unpair to delete the group altogether. This flexibility allows you to customize your multiroom music experience as your needs change.
Using Alexa Multiroom Music for Seamless Audio
Now that you’ve set up your multiroom music groups, controlling your audio across multiple Alexa devices is intuitive. Here are some examples of voice commands you can use to manage your multiroom listening experience:
- Play Music Everywhere: To start music playing on all speakers in your “Everywhere” group (or whichever group you want to play on throughout your home), simply say, “Alexa, play music everywhere.”
- Play in a Specific Room: To direct music to a particular room, use the group name you created for that area. For example, “Alexa, play my Audible book in the bedroom.”
- Play Music in the Kitchen: You can also specify a genre or artist to play in a specific location. For instance, “Alexa, play Olivia Rodriguez in the kitchen.”
- Set the Mood Upstairs: To play music in another area, use the group name, such as “Alexa, play rock music upstairs.”
Alexa will confirm your request by stating the content and the group where it will play.
If you prefer not to use voice commands, you can also control your multiroom music directly through the Alexa app. Tap Play in the bottom menu bar. This section displays content from your linked audio services, including recently played stations and playlists. Select the music, radio station, or audiobook you want to listen to. A list of your speaker groups and individual speakers will appear, allowing you to choose where to play the audio and then tap the play button.
The Alexa app also provides an Active Media List, which is a convenient way to see what’s currently playing and where.
The Play tab in the Alexa app shows active media and speaker controls.
Moving Music Between Alexa Speaker Groups
Flexibility is key with multiroom music. You can easily move audio from one speaker or group to another, whether you’re using voice commands or the Alexa app.
To move music using your voice, just say, “Alexa, move my music to the *everywhere* group,” replacing “everywhere” with the name of your desired group or speaker.
If you prefer using the app, the Active Media List provides a simple way to transfer audio. When audio is playing, an Active Media List appears at the bottom of the Alexa app homescreen. Tap on this list to access playback controls and move your music:
- Access Active Media List: Tap the Active Media List to see all currently playing audio streams.
- Select the Stream to Move: Tap on the specific audio stream you want to move to a different speaker or group.
- Tap Current Speaker/Group Name: Tap the name of the speaker or group that is currently playing the audio.
Select the current speaker or group name to move the audio stream to a different location.
- Choose New Speaker/Group: A list of all available speakers and groups will pop up. Select the new speaker or group where you want to move the audio to. The music will seamlessly transfer to your chosen location.
Choose a new speaker or group from the list to transfer the audio playback.
Troubleshooting Common Issues with Alexa Multiroom Music
While Alexa multiroom music is generally reliable, some users may encounter issues, particularly with Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s crucial to ensure all your speakers are on the same Wi-Fi network. Problems can arise, especially with mesh Wi-Fi networks like Eero and Google Wifi, leading to audio dropouts or speakers failing to connect to a group.
One common cause of issues is network band separation. If some speakers are connected to the 2.4GHz band and others to the 5GHz band of your router, they might not communicate effectively for multiroom music, even though they are technically on the same network. Similarly, if speakers are connected to different access points within a mesh network, this can also cause synchronization problems.
While Amazon needs to provide more robust solutions for mesh network compatibility, online communities like Reddit and Eero forums offer user-suggested workarounds. Some users have found success by initially setting up all devices in close proximity to ensure they connect to the same Wi-Fi node before relocating them. Others have suggested forcing all Echo speakers onto a 2.4GHz network, as this band generally offers broader coverage, although it may be slower than 5GHz. However, these solutions are not ideal and may not be feasible with all network setups.
For optimal performance, ensure all your Alexa devices are on the same Wi-Fi band and, if using a mesh network, ideally connected to the same node or access point. Regularly restarting your network devices and Alexa speakers can also help resolve intermittent connectivity issues. Keeping your Alexa app and device firmware updated is also recommended to benefit from the latest performance improvements and bug fixes.
By following these steps and troubleshooting tips, you can effectively set up and enjoy music throughout your home using Alexa multiroom music, creating a seamless and enjoyable audio experience.
