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I love me some multi-room music. I have at least one Echo in every room of my apartment and it just sounds awesome—that is, when it is working properly. In this article, I’ll give you some advice on how to troubleshoot solve the most common issues with multi-room music quickly.

Here is the best way I have found to fix Alexa multi-room music not working:

In the Alexa app, delete all multi-room music groups. Unplug all of your Echos and leave them unplugged for now. Unplug your Wi-Fi router and wait for 30-45 seconds. Plug the router back in and power it on if needed. Wait a full five minutes for your Wi-Fi network to come back up. Plug your Echos back in. Verify all Echos are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Create a new multiroom music group (e.g., Everywhere). Add your devices to the new group.

This should do it!

In the remainder of this article, I will give you some additional tips along with an illustrated, step-by-step guide [with screen shots] to fix the most common problems.

So let’s get the band back together, and get this resolved for you ASAP!

Alexa Multi-Room Music Not Working?

A

re you having a hard time getting your Alexa multi-room music setup to play nice? Has one or more of your Echo devices suddenly left the beautiful music configuration that you worked hard to set up a while ago?

This was the exact case for me.

However, getting to the bottom of a fix was super painful. The one article I found on how to fix Alexa multi-room music was super lame and the fix didn’t work. It basically said to unplug all your devices and your modem and then plug them back in. Ouch. So, I set out to fix the problem on my own, and after more than two hours of troubleshooting, I got to the bottom of it.

In short, you need to make sure that ALL of the devices in your Alexa multi-room music configuration are on the SAME EXACT NETWORK. Check your Wi-Fi Network Settings in the Alexa app for each device you want in the group.

What follows is an illustrated guide with screenshots to help you do this step-by-step.

How to Troubleshoot Alexa Multi Room Music – Step by Step

Before you begin, make sure to update to the latest version of the Alexa app. This is an important step. Mine was at least two versions behind, and I ran into problems with updating my Wi-Fi settings because of this.

Ensure Alexa Multi-Room Music Devices Are On the Same Network

Step1From your smartphone or tablet, open the Alexa app.

Step2Click on the little “hamburger” button in the top-left corner of the Alexa app.

It doesn’t really look like a hamburger 🍔, but that’s what it’s called.

Step3Tap the Settings tab.

Step4Tap the Device Settings tab.

Step5Check to make sure all of the devices in your multi-room music configuration say ‘Online’ underneath them. If any device you want in the group is Offline, click on it and follow the prompts to reconnect.

Note: THIS IS MORE THAN LIKELY NOT YOUR PROBLEM AT ALL, CONTINUE ON.

In my multi-group group, I want my devices named Alexa, Computer, and Echo. So I’m good in that they are all online and working. BUT My problem is that my “Alexa” device is no longer part of my music group, so I am only getting two speakers to play, not all three ☹.

Step6Next review the network settings for EACH device in your multiroom music set up.

Click on the icon for each device in your Alexa multi room music group. In my example, I will review settings for Alexa, Computer, and Echo.

Step7On the Device Settings screen, under Wi-Fi Network, check out Wi-Fi Network for each device. ALL OF THE DEVICES NEED TO BE ON THE SAME WIFI NETWORK.

In the example below, my Alexa device is currently assigned to the home_6782 network. This network is an open network that actually belongs to my neighbor! My other two devices are already on my own home network, Kun_Lun2. You need to look very carefully at your network names because you might have a similar-looking name for your internal 4G and 5G network. Again, all your Alexa multi-room music devices all need to be on the same network.

To fix, this we need to get Alexa back on the same network as the other two devices.

Step8Click Change beside the network name. Alexa will enter Setup mode.

Step9Click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions to reconnect your Alexa device to the same network as the others.

In my case, the right network is Kun Lun 2 so I select Kun Lun2 and follow the prompts.

Once your device is back on the right network, you may need to reattach it to the Alexa multi room music group.

Add The Alexa Device Back to the Multi Room Music Group

Step1In the Alexa app, click the Device button on the bottom right.

Step2On the Devices screen SCROLL ALL THE WAY to the bottom to where it says Speaker Groups. Click the group you want to fix. (You most likely just have just one group here.)

Step3Now, you just need to reenable the device that dropped off. In my case, this is Alexa. As you can see, she is unchecked.

Step4Click to enable the device to have it rejoin the group and then click Save.

It may take a minute or so to reconnect Echo with your multiroom music group.

“Alexa, play steel drum music on the <yourgroupname> group.”

If All Else Fails, Do This …

I recently tried to add a brand new Echo Show to my multi-room music configuration and even using the above troubleshooting steps I could not get it to work.

Worse, after adding the device, I couldn’t get multi-room music to play at all. When I said Alexa, play Hall & Oats Everywhere I could no longer get any music to play on the everywhere group. Ugh! After literally three of hours of trying to troubleshoot and fix the issue with my son, here are the steps I took to get it working again.

Completely delete ALL your Multiroom Music groups in the Alexa app. Delete the Alexa app from your phone. Unplug ALL of the Echos in your home and leave them unplugged (for now). Unplug your Wifi router completely and wait for a full 30 seconds. Restart the router (plug it back in and power it on if needed). Wait for a full five minutes for your Wifi network to come back up. Confirm wifi connectivity using your phone. Download and reinstall the Alexa app. Plug your Echos back in, wait for them to power all the way on, and confirm they are all connected to the same exact network (see above). Create a new multiroom music group (e.g., Everywhere). Add your devices to the new group. Say, Alexa play Hall and Oats Everywhere.

That’s it! This worked like a charm for me. Jam on friends!

If it did or didn’t work, would you please leave me a quick comment below and let me know? (“Worked” or “Didn’t Work” is fine.)

If this doesn’t work, I suggest also reviewing the FAQ below or contact Amazon. as you may have a faulty device.

Back Online? Check Out These Multi-Room Music Commands

OK! So now that you got the band back together, here is that link to my list of multi-room music commands.

You can access this soon-to-be-famous post at the link below:

👉 19 Rockin Alexa Multi Room Music Commands [2020 Essentials List]

FAQs

This isn’t my problem, do you have additional troubleshooting tips?

Did you check all of the obvious things:

Is your device plugged in, and turned on?

Are you able to communicate with it using voice commands?

Is it on the same network as the other devices as per above Steps?

Is there a checkmark next to it in your multiroom music configuration as per above?

Does your Echo speaker support multi-room music? Here are the supported ones: Amazon Echo (1st & 2nd Generation) Amazon Echo Dot (1st & 2nd Generation) Echo Spot Echo Show Echo Plus



If you are still having issues, leave a comment below describing your issue, and we will get back to you within one day.

So this article is for troubleshooting an existing Alexa multi room music implementation, right? How do I set up multi-room music in the first place?

We’ll address this in a future post. Amazon has some simple instructions here.

You can also check out Craig’s Tech Talk video if you want a live demo step by step.



Nice job with the video, man.

Why does this happen? How do some of my Echo devices wind up on the wrong network?

A lot of Wi-Fi services now offer both 5g and 4g band networks when you purchase the service. This means that for most, you have at least two networks that you can join. In the event of a power blip or any network interruption, you might get thrown off your current network. When Alexa reconnects, she can sometimes connect to the wrong one.

Alexa Multi-Room Music Not Working: Problem Solved?

Did this article solve your problem? Were you able to successfully fix Alexa Multi-Room Music not working?

If so, would you mind leaving a quick comment below? I would love to get your feedback.

If not, or if you are having a different issue, would you also leave a comment? We will do our best to solve it and either include the fix here or in another post.

Also, if you found this article helpful, maybe it could help someone else. Would you mind sharing it by pinning the below pin to Pinterest or via the social media buttons at the top of this page?

Thank you for your support🙏.

You Might Also Like

If you enjoyed reading this, you might also like some of my other articles on the Echo and Alexa. I’ll list a few of them below.

About the Author

Tim Brennan, Technical Writer & Blogger

Tim Brennan [a.k.a. "Tec Timmy"] is a senior technical writer with over 20 years of experience writing for companies and organizations in and around Greater Boston, including GE and MIT. In addition to actively writing for this smart home blog, Tim is also a regular contributor over at UniversalRemoteReviews.com. Tim holds a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University. Brennan is a father to two sons, an active blogger, a Star Wars nut, and loves a good taco🌮. There is a strong chance he is developing a crush on Amazon Alexa. You can learn more about Tim here.