The Amazon Echo can connect to other devices using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but some users still prefer hardwired connections, such as auxiliary input. However, not all the Echo models have an aux input feature.
The Amazon Echo 3rd generation, Echo Plus, and Echo Studio do have aux inputs. The Echo Dot, Spot, Show, and Auto do not have aux inputs; older generations of the Echo also do not have aux inputs.
At the Echo & Alexa screen, select the device you want to use. Once you have selected a device, scroll down the Device Settings screen and tap 'Wake Word.' At the 'Change your wake word' screen. Ask Alexa to pair with your phone. Say, 'Alexa, pair Bluetooth,' and Alexa will connect to the device. Alexa will only connect to a device it recognizes that was paired using the Alexa app first. If there is more than one Bluetooth device available that Alexa recognizes, Alexa will usually try to connect to the one it connected to last. Open the Alexa app. Select an existing Smart Home Device Group. Under Preferred Speaker, select Setup. Follow the instructions in the app to complete the setup. When you use voice commands to play music within a Smart Home Group, Alexa plays music on your preferred speaker. Sanyun SW102 Computer Speakers, 5Wx2, Deep Bass in Small Body, Stereo 2.0 USB Powered 3.5mm Aux Multimedia Speakers, Built-in Bottom Bass Radiators, PC Laptop Desktop Speakers, Black 4.4 out of.
If you want to purchase or switch to an Amazon Echo that can work with an aux cord, read on to learn more about which models support this function and how to connect your devices.
Aux Input & Echo Devices
Aux input requires a 3.5mm auxiliary cable and a device with aux output capabilities. You may recognize the aux cable as the same type of plug that comes on a standard pair of headphones.
An aux input amplifies audio from the output source. For example, most cars have aux input ports that allow you to play audio from a smartphone or an MP3 player through the car's sound system.
The aux input port on an Echo device (Amazon) works the same way. It allows you to play audio through your Echo device from another device, such as a phone. Essentially, this makes your Echo function like a regular speaker.
Which Amazon Echo Devices Have Aux Inputs?
The following table lists various Amazon Echo models that have been or are currently on the market and whether they support auxiliary connectivity. This is a break down of all relevant Amazon Echo Devices and if they have an Aux Input:
Compatible Devices with the Echo's Aux Input
The aux input feature on some Echo devices is convenient when you want to play audio from a source that doesn't have Bluetooth, such as an old iPod.
To connect another audio source to your Echo using an aux cable, the other device must have an aux output port. Mac sin vs rebel.
Compatible devices include:
- iPhone 6 or earlier
- Other smartphones with headphone jacks
- MP3 players
- Tablets
- Computers
When Should You Use the Echo's Aux Input?
Knowing the speaker's strength of your Echo is essential in determining if you should use an aux cord with it.
For example, the Echo Studio allows you to use its powerful speaker to play audio from another source such as a phone or MP3 player. On the other hand, there is no need for an aux input on the Echo Dot because the speaker is too small to serve as an efficient sound amplifier for another device.
Using the Aux Input on Your Echo Device
Amazon Echo devices are simplistic and provide a user-friendly experience. Using the aux input port on your Echo is no exception. It's quick and easy to use the aux input with any other compatible devices. Follow the below steps to start connecting with a compatible aux cord:
- Make sure you are using a 3.5mm aux cord (Amazon).
- Connect one end of the cord to a compatible Echo device.
- Connect the other end to your audio output device.
- Play music or other audio from the second device to start listening to it through your Echo.
If the audio doesn't start playing from your Echo automatically, you may need to select the output source on your other device. Go to the sound settings on your other device and select the appropriate aux output source.
What About Aux Output?
All Echo devices have aux output. This allows the Echo to play sounds or music through an external speaker, such as a Bluetooth speaker. Aux output is especially helpful if you have an Echo Dot or Auto:
- The speaker on an Echo Dot is not very loud, so users often connect it to a more powerful speaker for better sound quality and volume.
- Echo Auto is designed explicitly for use in a moving vehicle and therefore doesn't have a speaker of its own. Instead, it connects to your car's sound system through Bluetooth. If your car doesn't have Bluetooth, or you prefer to hard-wire your Echo Auto, you can always connect it to your car's sound system using an aux cable.
Having aux output on your Echo model is also beneficial if the sound quality of its speaker isn't that great. Based on the information above, you may have noticed that the Echo Dot may not have a strong speaker compared to the rest, while the Echo Studio has a very powerful sound system.
To use the aux output on your Echo device, connect a 3.5mm auxiliary cable in the same way you would for an aux input.
Why would you need to know how to find Alexa IP address for Amazon Echo devices? You would want this address to check that the device is correctly linked to your WiFi network. Knowing that your speaker has an IP address assigned to it is valuable. It helps in debugging internet issues between your Alexa device and the Amazon Alexa cloud servers. If it has no IP address, you won't be able to play music, get news, control lights, or anything else that these units normally do. So in this post, we show you how to find this address using a combination of the Alexa app and a typical router's Attached Devices pages.
Best Speaker With Alexa
Further, You can locate the Alexa device's MAC ID (hardware address) as well, using this same method. How? The MAC ID is listed in the Alexa app on the device's About page. In fact, we need the MAC address first, and then that we'll use to find the device's current IP address. Note that fortunately, registering your Alexa device does not require its MAC address. Unfortunately however, as of this writing, the Alexa app does not show the IP address of its connected speakers. Thus, we must perform the added step of looking up the IP address associated with the device's hardware address on the router.
How to Find Alexa IP Address
Note that the device whose IP address you want must be powered ON and connected to your network. Since these addresses are normally allocated dynamically by the network, your speaker won't have this address unless it's connected.
1. Go to the Alexa App's Home Screen
Bring up the Alexa app on your mobile device. We're running this scenario on an iOS based iPad Air.
The Home page of the Alexa app is pictured next.
2. Tap the Menu (Hamburger Control) Item
Tapping the Menu option on the Home screen brings up the main menu screen, similar to what's pictured next.
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3. Tap the Settings Menu Item to Continue with How to Find Alexa IP Address
The Settings option is pointed at by the green arrow in the last picture.
This pulls up the All Devices page, as shown next.
4. Tap the Echo Device whose IP Address you Wish to Find
In this demo, we want to find the IP address for our Echo Sub subwoofer speaker. So we tapped that entry in the screen pictured last.
We then saw the Device Settings page, as shown next.
Next, scroll down the page to find the About option, as highlighted in the next picture.
5. Tap the About Option
Hitting About pulls up the About screen for the device you selected in the last step, as shown next for our Echo Sub speaker.
The MAC address appears on this About page for our Echo Sub, as shown in the previous screenshot. Note that we've partially blocked this hardware address along with the speaker's serial number for security purposes.
Use Alexa As A Speaker
To find your devices IP address, write down its MAC address that you get from this screen on your Alexa app, as we've done here. Then, move on to the next step.
Speakers For Alexa
6. Find MAC Address in Router's Connected Devices List
Finding the IP address associated with the given MAC address works differently on the many routers and networks out there. But in our case, we have the Asus RT-AC87R router and WiFi access point. So we show its Attached Devices screen where we found the MAC address listed from above. Most routers have page that shows all the network devices they're currently hosting.
We circled the entry with the same hardware address as our Echo Sub that we got in the last step. In our example, the Echo Sub's IP address is 192.168.0.45.
7. Done with How to Find Alexa IP Address !
We have now shown one way how to find Alexa IP address for an Echo device like a speaker. We hope this outline helps you debug any internet connectivity issues with your Alexa-based smart speakers. Take care.
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Revision History
- 2019-05-01: Tuned the targeting for ‘ How to find Alexa IP address'.
- 2019-01-25: First published.
