Why Does Alexa Stop Playing Music & How to Fix It
November 8, 2022The main reason Alexa stops playing music is that Amazon music will stop playing music when Alexa is not active after a certain time. When no activity after 1 hour, Alexa will think that no one listening to the music, and will stop playing music. Other common causes are Alexa Free or Internet connection too slow/disconnected.
Alexa Stops Playing Music Due to Inactivity when Play music from Amazon Music
Many Alexa users that play Amazon Music on Alexa devices reported that when they played music using their Amazon Music subscription, Alexa will stop playing music after a certain time.
There is no exact minutes or hour when Alexa will stop playing music, it could be 45 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours. Amazon says that this is a limitation of their Amazon Music Prime subscription, you can read it at https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=GW3PHAUCZM8L7W9L.
Even though it says only for Amazon Music Prime, some Amazon Music Unlimited also had the same issue with music stops playing after a certain time. Amazon says it will stop playing music if an hour there is no activity on Echo devices, but sometimes still plays after more than 1 hour.
The reason why Amazon does this is that it assumes will save power and money. When Alexa thinks that no one listens to current playing music anymore, it will stop the music to save power especially if you are using Amazon Echo. Amazon Echo uses about 3 watts when playing music.
Amazon also paid money per stream to artists, so if people played music non-stop it will cost Amazon more money.
Solution for Alexa Stops Playing Music Due to Inactivity
1. Add Routines
Alexa allows running specific tasks at certain times (routines). These routines will make Alexa keep active so the music will Play Continuously. You can do simple tasks that turn the volume,e up/down by 1, turn on or turn off lights.
Adding Routines:
- Click on More at the bottom left corner, select Routines
- You can create your own routines or select pre-configure routines from the gallery.
- You set the routine name when it happens, and what action Alexa needs to do.
2. Change Amazon Music to another Streaming Music Service
Alexa stops playing after a certain time issue usually only happens when you played music on Amazon Music. If you want to play music no stop on Alexa, you have another musing music streaming service.
List of Alexa Compatible Music Streaming Services
- Apple Music
- Spotify
- Deezer
- iHeartRadio
- Pandora
- SiriusXM
- Tidal
- TuneIn
- Vevo
- Global Player
3. Command Alexa to continue the current task until you say to stop
When Alexa plays music ask Alexa to “Continue to play music until I ask to stop” or you can just ask Alexa to “Leave on”.
Amazon Music Sleep Timer Active
Amazon Music has a sleep timer feature, make sure the sleep timer is off. Go to the Amazon Music setting and check whether the sleep timer is on or off.
Amazon Echo, they have its own sleep timer, make sure you turn it off too.
Alexa Freeze / Not Responding
Alexa sometimes freezes or not responding, which makes Alexa can’t to run the command and will stop playing music. To fix unplug Amazon Echo from the power outlet and plug it in again. This rarely happens, but may happen when you never restart your Amazon Echo for a long time.
Internet Connection Problem
To play a song Alexa needs an Internet connection, if the Internet connection is disconnected, the music will stop playing. An Internet connection that is too slow can slow cause music to stop playing. To check your Internet connection speed go to speedtest.net or install the speed test app.
Conclusion
When Amazon Echo stops playing a song the fastest way to fix it is to restart it or ask Alexa to play music again. If the problem still persists try restarting your router or contact your Internet provider if the internet connection is disconnected.
