Alexa Won’t Play My Radio Station | Fix In Seconds

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Playing radio stations on Alexa has multiple benefits i.e. It is absolutely free, It doesn’t require any signup for service or subscription and It doesn’t require any weird wording for the command.

But, if you’re having trouble getting Alexa to play your favorite radio station, you’re not alone. Many users have reported this issue. There are many reasons which cause Alexa to stop playing the radio or not be able to find radio stations at all.

Potential Issues:

There is a problem with your internet connection
The local station is not available in your area
Alexa doesn’t understand your command
Physical Interference
Your Echo device is not updated
Check if the Skill is malfunctioning

Key Solution Points:

Enable Your Radio play station
Check your Internet connection
Say Right command to your Alexa device
Update your Echo device
Restart is required for your device

Alexa Won’t Play My Radio Station | 9 Fixes

Set Up Radio On Alexa

First, make sure that your Alexa-enabled device is connected to the internet.
Open up your Alexa app.
Click on the Three lines in the upper left corner of your screen.

Click on “Skills and Games” then “Categories.”
Go to “Featured Categories.”
Now, hit on “Music, Video, and Books”

Here, you can opt for different services on your Echo device.
You can see “Everywhere.” It’s basically where you want to play your stuff such as Kitchen or office.

Here you can see multiple services, and channels. You will now pick “Local Radio” from the list.

Here, you can also go for radio stations in your locality.

You can see the most popular channels in the list. Select your favorite one. You can also play this stuff everywhere in your home by option the “Everywhere” option.

Echo Show 5

Smart display with Alexa and 2 MP camera

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Now, you can enable the radio option by saying “Alexa, play [radio station name or frequency]” or “Alexa, tune to [radio station name or frequency].” You can also use the Alexa app on your smartphone to search for and enable different radio stations.

To skip, pause or stop the radio station, you can use voice commands like “Alexa, skip this song” or “Alexa, Stop the music“

Alexa can play a wide variety of music commands and radio channels, including local radio stations, as well as national and international stations. Some examples of radio channels that can be played on Alexa include:

TuneIn:

This service offers access to over 100,000 radio stations from around the world, including local AM and FM stations, as well as online-only stations.

iHeartRadio:

This service offers access to thousands of live radio stations from across the United States, as well as personalized streaming stations.

SiriusXM:

This service offers access to a variety of music, sports, and news channels, including exclusive content from Howard Stern and other popular personalities.

Pandora:

This service offers personalized streaming stations based on your favorite artists and songs.

Check your Home Network Router

Internet connection is the basic problem that we have observed faced by many people. The Internet connection may be unstable or there has been no connectivity issue which means that no internet is provided by the Wi-Fi router or you have run out of internet subscription.

Make sure that there is no red light blinking, indicating that internet service has been limited.

Make sure that you have not changed the connection credentials of the router. There has been no change in name of the Wi-Fi or the password. If you have changed it recently, make sure to enter them again correctly.

If you have multiple devices in your home, you must disconnect them from the Wi-Fi network to which your Alexa device is connected.

Check for the network bandwidth and make sure that it is stable and high enough.

Connect Your Device to 5GHz Channel

If your router is of 2.4GHz frequency, you must change it to 5GHz to fix “Radio not playing on your Alexa device.”

5GHz frequency channel has a lot of benefits.

More available channels
Less interference
Faster speeds

Place Echo device near internet router

Usually, Alexa creates issues when you place your Echo devices very far from the internet router. In this way, Alexa becomes unresponsive and is unable to connect to your internet.

Echo devices do have not a very long range which has some obvious reasons. They compete to respond to your command. So, you must take care of the distance and keep it short enough to connect properly to the router.

Check Network Firewall

You must check your network firewall and make sure that the following ports are open to keep going your Radio without any hindrance.

123
443
4070
5353
33434
40317
49317

Physical Interference

Alexa is unable to receive a stable connection due to the incompatible frequency of the internet connection and the Alexa device. It causes Wi-Fi interference malfunction when both these devices contact and Alexa tries to connect with the Internet router.

You should remove certain wi-fi compatible devices away from the internet router. You can identify devices that have radio signal interference blocking the connection.

These devices may be your home microwave oven or radio scanners or any wi-fi-enabled device.

Check if the Skill is malfunctioning

This is a must-check if you are unable to play the radio station on your Alexa device. It will verify whether the problem is in your device or Alexa skill.

First, try to play the radio station from iHeart and check if it’s playing well.
Now, try to play the radio channel from iTunes and check again, whether it works. If there is an issue in playing these channels as well, you must believe that the problem is in Alexa’s skill and not in your device.

Did you know?

An interesting thing to note about Alexa and radio stations is that Alexa can play not only the live stream of radio stations but also the podcasts of the radio stations. This means that you can listen to your favorite radio shows even if you missed them live.

You can also ask Alexa to play specific episodes or even playlists of the podcasts of your favorite radio shows. This feature allows you to listen to your favorite radio shows at your own convenience and schedule.

Additionally, you can also ask Alexa to play the most recent episode or a specific episode of the show. This feature opens up a new way of listening to your favorite shows and discovering new ones.

Check if the Station Is Available in Your Area

You can only play selective radio stations that are subject to locality. It means that you are allowed to listen to only a few radio stations available in your area. For example, Fox News is available in Europe and the USA, etc but you can’t access it in several Asian countries.

You can check availability by following methods:

Ask Alexa: If you have an Alexa-enabled device, you can ask her to play a radio station by name, and she will inform you if it is available in your area or not.
Use a radio frequency search website: There are websites like radio-locator.com, which allow you to search for radio stations by location and frequency. Simply enter your location and search for the station you’re interested in.

Update Your Alexa Device

You must check your Alexa software from the store. It may have gone outdated which is causing the issues. You can check for Alexa updates if there is an update available, you need to do it immediately and check after it. I hope that updating the firmware will resolve the problem.

Outdated software may harm your device or catch viruses from the internet resources which ultimately damages the device. So, make sure that you keep your Alexa updated.

Update your device in 3 steps.

Go to Settings
Click on Device Options.
Now, Tap on software updates.

Check your Echo Settings

To make the Echo play radio station smoothly, you need to set the same location on your Echo device and Amazon. If they are set in different locations, Alexa will not work properly.

You can set and change your Amazon location with the following steps.

First of all, go to your Amazon account.
Choose Content and Devices and put in your login details.
Go to Preference.
Head over to Country/Region.
Click on Change and set your location there.
Now, click on update and set the location.

Choose the Right Command

Sometimes, Alexa cannot understand your command or you are not using the right command for the specific radio channel. To play a radio channel, you must say, Alexa, play [radio station name or frequency]

Alexa doesn’t understand any command which she is not used to listening to make it act upon.

Another issue is with Alexa doesn’t understand the command accurately. If you’re not sure as to what your Alexa app heard, ask the Alexaa-enabled Echo device, “Alexa, tell me what you heard.”

Disable and Re-enabling the skill for Radio Station

To disable a skill for your radio station in the Alexa app, follow these steps:

Open the Alexa app on your mobile device.
Tap the menu button in the top left corner of the screen.
Tap Skills & Games.
Tap Your Skills.
Find the skill for your radio station and tap it.
Tap Disable Skill.

To re-enable the skill, follow these steps:

Open the Alexa app on your mobile device.
Tap the menu button in the top left corner of the screen.
Tap Skills & Games.
Tap Your Skills.
Scroll down to the Disabled Skills section and find the skill for your radio station.
Tap Enable Skill.

Restart Your Alex-enabled Device

There may arise multiple issues in tech devices that appear to be from unknown resources. But, it is always better to restart your Amazon Echo to resolve any error. You can first remove the power cable of the Echo and cut power and shut it down for a few seconds.

Then, you can restart the device and hopefully, it will resolve the problem. Now, check if Alexa is playing radio channels properly.

Alexa App Cache

You must remove your already saved data which was causing the error by clearing up the app cache. It will now restore to its default settings.

First, Open ‘Settings’ on your device and then select ‘Apps’.
Now, Click on ‘Alexa app’Select ‘Storage’, and then ‘Clear Data’.

Reset your Amazon Echo

If nothing above has worked for you or if the Alexa thermostat is still unresponsive, you need to reset the device fully and bring it back to its original settings.

You will find a reset button on the base of your Echo device.
Now, you need to reset the device which also requires registering it with your Amazon account.
When your press the reset button, it will first turn orange and then Blue. It will turn off completely and then turn on.
When the device is turned orange, it is in setup mode. At this point, you have to connect it to your Wi-Fi.
You have to register the device with your Amazon account.
It will now completely reset your device.

Conclusion

If Alexa won’t play your radio station, there could be a few reasons why. It could be that the skill for your radio station is not enabled, the skill is not compatible with your device, or there could be a connection issue.

To fix this problem, you can try enabling the skill for your radio station, checking for compatibility, disabling and re-enabling the skill, or checking your internet connection.

If the problem persists, you can contact the skill developer or the radio station for further assistance. Remember, with a few simple steps and troubleshooting, you can fix the problem and get back to listening to your favorite radio station on Alexa in no time.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can Alexa Play Local Radio Stations?

Yes! if the station is streaming on the internet. Most radio stations do stream their programming on the internet. Just say “Alexa play WXXX radio” or “Alexa play NPR radio” and if it is streaming it will Play.

Which Radio Stations Can You Get On Alexa?

Alexa can play any radio station by using the correct command. The list of available radio channels on your Alexa device is as follows:

MyTuner Radio
Simple Radio
BBC Sounds
TuneIn
Radio Paradise
Radio Fun Time
Radio Anchor
TED Talks
My Radio

How can I check if the skill for my radio station is compatible with my device?

To Check if the skill for your radio station is compatible with your device, open the Alexa app on your mobile device, tap the menu button in the top left corner of the screen, tap Skills & Games, tap Your Skills, and find the skill for your radio station. If the skill is compatible with your device, it will have a green circle with a white checkmark next to it.

I am trying to play my radio station on my Echo Dot, but it keeps playing the default station. How can I fix this?

If your Echo Dot is playing the default station instead of your desired radio station, you may need to set your radio station as the default station in the Alexa app. Go to the Alexa app, tap on the menu button, tap on Settings, tap on Music, and then tap on your preferred music service. Then select your radio station as the default station.

Does Alexa Play Radio for Free?

All Alexa skills are free. You just have to use the right command. You can access millions of music and radio stuff through Alexa Radio Skill for free. Alexa can connect to your Spotify account to access free music. You can connect Alexa to Spotify and enjoy music limitlessly.

About Author

Hamza Munir

Originally from Pakistan, being a young lad in Tech industry, Hamza has a keen interest in PC games, and Windows OS Security Systems. He loves technology and Alexa products and he has used multiple automated gadgets at home, with almost every version of the Echo and Rumbas especially.

He is recently studying advanced AI and Machine Learning at ITU Pakistan. Now, He has also involved himself in Aurdino products to study advanced Robotics. His degree is Bachelor’s in Computer Science but his Specialization has taken him to a higher positions at various job positions.

Now, He writes detailed information on every issue and feature of Alexa, Echo, and other smart and automated gadgets and also reviews them according to my use and personal utility experience.

Hamza has been providing people with different troubleshoots related to robotics, and AI since 2020 and He has attached himself with smarthomehut in 2022

You can find him @

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