How To Set Up Alexa On Sonos Beam

Sonos makes the best multi-room audio system and, with its Echo devices and Alexa, Amazon arguably makes the all-time voice assistant ecosystem. It makes loads of sense to get the 2 playing nicely together, which is what I'll show you lot how to practice in my guide on how to ready up and employ Sonos with Alexa.

Here, I'll show you how to get the organisation gear up and configured properly, plus the tips and tricks to make information technology piece of work properly. That includes fixing problems with ducking, where your Sonos system's volume is dipped when someone speaks to an Amazon Alexa device. I'll as well show yous how to brand a Sonos speaker the default option when you ask Alexa to play music.

Related: Amazon Alexa guide

1. Connect Sonos to Alexa

Your first task is the easiest: install the Sonos Skill. Open up upwardly the Amazon Alexa app on your telephone, select the menu at the meridian left and tap Skills. Search for Sonos and then Enable the skill. Yous'll be prompted to enter your Sonos username and password, and then Alexa will scan your network looking for Sonos players.

If you select Devices, All Devices in the Alexa app, you'll run into that your Sonos speakers are in the list – they'll all have a speaker icon next to them. At this point, yous tin can control each device using simple commands, such as "Alexa, pause in the Living Room". There's a full listing of Alexa commands bachelor on the Sonos website.

2. How to fix the Sonos and Alexa ducking trouble

When you've linked your Sonos and Alexa speakers together, you'll notice that every time that you say something to Alexa, your music volume ducks. This is a feature designed and so that Alexa tin lower the music volume to better-understand your side by side commands. But, it'southward often quite annoying as the ducking takes place beyond your unabridged domicile. So, someone talking to the kitchen Alexa ducks the music on the Sonos histrion upstairs.

The answer to the problem is to utilize Alexa Groups. In the Alexa app go to Devices and then select the Plus icon and add a new group. When prompted, select the Repeat device and Sonos speaker that are in the aforementioned room: this lets Alexa know where it's located and where the Sonos player is located. I've got a more than in-depth guide on how to create Amazon Alexa groups if you're struggling.

With grouped devices, speaking to an Amazon Repeat speaker volition simply duck the volume to the Sonos thespian in the same grouping, rather than your entire system. Now, repeat the steps above to create groups for your other Echo speakers and Sonos players.

Annotation, any Echo speaker not in a group or any third-party Echo device volition duck the Sonos volume when you speak to it. If y'all group Sonos devices together, speaking to an Echo volition only duck the volume on the Sonos speaker in the aforementioned group, non all of the speakers that music is playing on.

3. Prepare the default speaker

The 2d reward of having an Echo speaker in a grouping with a Sonos role player is that you tin set up a Preferred speaker. When yous ask Alexa to play music, it will automatically play on your Preferred speaker.

To change this setting become to the Alexa app and select Devices. Tap the Group that yous want to edit and scroll to the bottom. Tap Setup under Preferred speaker, then select the Sonos speaker that you want to use and select Save. Now, when you lot ask Alexa to play music, information technology will always come out of your chosen Sonos speaker, rather than your Echo device.

four. Fix the default music service

Brand sure that you've got your default music service correctly gear up, otherwise, Sonos may play music from a dissimilar source than you're expecting. To exercise this open up the Alexa app and tap the Menu push at the height left and tap Settings. Tap Music under Alexa Preferences and then tap Default Services. Select the Default music library equally the music service that you lot prefer.

Now, you lot can only ask an Echo device to play a track and it will automatically play from your chosen music service on the Sonos device y'all adopt.

5. Configure a Sonos 1 or Sonos Beam

The Sonos One and Sonos Beam are ii quite different products, as they take both Sonos and Alexa congenital-in. Unlike other 3rd-party speakers, these Sonos products show upward as proper Amazon Echo devices. Past default, speaking to a Sonos One or Sonos Beam only ducks sound on that device, not on all speakers. However, it's nevertheless worth adding these devices to a room, so that you get easier smart home command of other devices.