How To Play Music from Your PC on Your Amazon Echo

One of the subtle factors contributing to the runaway success of the various Amazon Echo devices is the fact that these ubiquitous little hockey pucks are remarkably good speakers for their size and cost. Hardcore audiophiles will want better, but people who just want to crank out some jams in their home office find that the sound quality off an Echo is surprisingly good. One common desire of Echo owners is to route other music channels through that decent little speaker.

Using the Echo’s built-in music services is, of course, about as simple as is humanly possible – you just say “Alexa, play classic rock” or “Alexa, play Amazon music” (or several other handy commands). How about streaming music from your PC through your Echo? As it turns out, you can do that – although it won’t be quite as elegant as the built-in music features. In this article, I’ll present a step-by-step guide to playing music from your PC on your Amazon Echo.

Streaming Music from a PC to an Echo

In these examples and screenshots, I’ll be working with a Windows 10 PC and an Echo Dot 3rd generation, but these steps should work with any Echo device and most any reasonably recent Windows computer. The basic requirement is that your PC needs to have Bluetooth capability; for an explanation of how to determine this, as well as a more comprehensive overview of using Bluetooth with a PC, check out our article on connecting your PC to a Bluetooth device.

1. Go to your Amazon Alexa Page

Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to the Amazon Alexa page, then log in to the Amazon account associated with your Echo Dot. Sign in with your Amazon account credentials.

2. Select Settings

Find the Settings entry on the left-hand menu under the Home menu. Click on Settings, then find your Echo under Devices and click on it.

3. Pair a New Device

Once you’ve selected your Amazon Echo, choose Bluetooth then click Pair a New Device to confirm.

4. Launch Window 10 Settings

Open the Settings menu on your Windows machine and select Devices.

5. Add Your Amazon Echo

Choose Bluetooth & other devices in the Devices menu, then select the Add Bluetooth or other device option. As soon as your Echo appears in the menu, click on its name to make a connection with your Windows machine.

6. Confirm Connection

After the connection has been successfully established, you will be able to see the Echo as connected. Alexa will also tell you that a new connection has been made.

At this point, you can play from your PC on Amazon Echo regardless of the music app you are using.

Note that if you’re going to play a lot of music via your Echo, you might want to  for an even better auditory experience.

Can Alexa Play My Music Library?

Amazon Music gives you the option to upload music from your PC and then listen to it an Echo or another Alexa-enabled device. This method is quite handy since you can ask Alexa to play any tune uploaded from your PC.

Use the following steps to get tunes from your PC onto Amazon Music:

1. Launch the Amazon Music App

Click on the Amazon Music app to open it, then select My Music. The My Music menu features an Upload Select Music button on the right. Click on the button to initiate the upload.

2. Make a Selection

After you click the Upload button, a pop-up window will appear asking you to choose files or folders. Click either option and navigate to the music file or folder that you wish to upload. Confirm the choice by clicking on OK and the tunes will be uploaded to Amazon Music.

3. Confirm the Upload

Once the upload is complete, another pop-up window will appear to inform you about the upload status. Just click on OK to confirm and now you can ask Alexa to play the uploaded music.

Note: Amazon Music allows you to upload only 250 tunes to the library. However, if you go for a paid Amazon Music storage plan, that goes up to 250,000 songs.

Playing Music from other Devices on Amazon Echo

Besides your PC, you can also pair other devices like smartphones and tablets to play music on Amazon Echo. The setup is simple and straightforward so feel free to give it a try.

1. Pair with Your Echo

Stand near your Amazon Echo with your smart device and say Alexa pair. The Echo will go into pairing mode.

2. Launch Bluetooth Settings

Access the Bluetooth settings on your smart device and tap on Amazon Echo. It will appear under Other Devices if you are pairing for the first time. Once the connection is established, you will be able to see it in the Bluetooth menu. Alexa will also inform you of the connection.

3. Open the Preferred Music App

After that, you just need to open your preferred music app and select the audio that you wish to play. The sound should start coming through Alexa. You can also use voice controls to manage playback and volume.

The Final Tune

Amazon Echo features amazing versatility and you can pair almost any device with it. Pairing the Echo with your PC does require a few steps but it’s well worth the effort. You can enjoy unlimited access to the music files on your PC and there is no need to subscribe to a premium package.

Finally, don’t forget to share in the comments section below which device do you prefer your Amazon Echo to play music from.