How To Play SoundCloud on Alexa? (3 Simple Ways)
SoundCloud has become a popular audio streaming platform with Spotify and Amazon Music. Recently, I wanted to connect my Alexa device with SoundCloud, but I needed help.
I could not connect it directly because Amazon lacks SoundCloud Skills. However, I found another way to connect SoundCloud with an Alexa device.
How to play SoundCloud on Alexa? Though the Alexa app doesn’t have SoundCloud Skill, you can use Alexa Echo Device as a Bluetooth speaker. You can play music on your phone, connect the mobile BT with Alexa, and enjoy listening to podcasts and music.
Pairing your phone with the Alexa device will help you enjoy unlimited streaming, plus you don’t require wifi for this process.
Can you Play Soundcloud on Alexa?
Yes, You can Play Soundcloud on Alexa but not directly because Amazon did not add this into their system, however, you can use it with a Mobile phone or Pc/Laptop Bluetooth.
How To Play Soundcloud On Alexa? Easy Ways Described
Pair Your Phone With Alexa via Bluetooth
You can play your phone with Alexa by two different methods.
- Using voice command
- Using Alexa app
1. Connect your Phone with Alexa Using Voice Command
Before starting, ensure your phone and Alexa device are closer enough to access the Bluetooth. Follow the steps for connection.
- Turn on Bluetooth on your phone.
- Give the command to Alexa, “Turn on Bluetooth Pairing Mode.”
- Alexa will start searching for the nearest available devices.
- After that, Alexa will send a pairing notification to your phone.
- Accept the request, and your phone will be connected to the Alexa device.
If this method doesn’t work for you, connecting your phone via the Alexa app might be helpful.
2. Connecting through the Alexa App
- Turn on the Bluetooth on your phone.
- Open the Alexa app, and go to the Menu.
- Select Devices and go to the Echo & Alexa option.
- Now tap on Pair Alexa Gadget.
- Select the desired Alexa device that you want to use for playing SoundCloud.
- Once the Alexa app connects with the Echo Device, your phone will connect to the Alexa device.
Now you can enjoy SoundCloud on Alexa and listen to your favorite tracks.
With voice commands, you can connect or disconnect your phone from an Alexa device. Remember, if you disconnected Bluetooth from Alexa, you must connect again.
Within Bluetooth connection, your calls will also play on the speaker. To listen to your phone calls privately, you need to disable Bluetooth from your phone.
How to Play SoundCloud on Alexa via Laptop?
You can also play SoundCloud music through your laptop directly on your Alexa Echo device. The process is straightforward, as above.
- First of all, turn on the Bluetooth connection on your Laptop.
- Bring the Laptop closer to the Alexa device.
- Ask Alexa to turn on Bluetooth and pair it with a device.
- Alexa will find your laptop and connect it.
- In this way, you can stream through a laptop and use Alexa as a speaker.
Create Your Alexa-SoundCloud Skill
Alexa has no SoundCloud Skill in its app, so you cannot control your streamings with voice commands. You must use your phone to play specific music or turn it off, which is irritating.
To get a hands-free experience using Alexa with SoundCloud, I’ve got a solution for you. This method is pretty much technical and requires some programming knowledge.
Furthermore, you must create an Amazon Developer Account to create a SoundCloud Skill.
Remember! Creating a custom Alexa Skill is a technical process that requires some programming knowledge. If you lack programming knowledge, it’s better to avoid this method. Otherwise, you may waste a lot of your time. |
Step 1: Go to Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Go to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) console and sign in with your Amazon Developer account credentials. Once you’re in, select “Alexa Skills Kit” to create a new skill.
Step 2: Create a New Skill
Once in the Alexa Skills Kit, create a new skill by clicking the “Create Skill” button. Then, enter your new skill’s name (SoundCloud), select the language, and choose the model you want to use. In this case, choose “Custom Model.”
Step 3: Add Intents and Utterances
Now that you have created the custom model, it’s time to add the Intents and Utterances.
Intents are the actions your app can take, whereas utterances are the phrases users use to communicate with your app.
Create a new Intent and add sample utterances, such as “Play my favorite song” or “Play some music.”
Step 4: Build a Backend
The next step is to build a backend service that can handle the user’s requests and respond correctly to Alexa.
In this case, you must build a custom API to access SoundCloud’s database and return the requested track.
You can use any programming language to build the API; just make sure you deploy it on a web server that Alexa can access.
Step 5: Connect Alexa to Your Backend
Now that you have built the backend, it’s time to connect it to Alexa.
Go to the Alexa Skills Kit and navigate to the “Endpoint” tab. Select “HTTPS,” and enter the Endpoint URL of your custom API in the format “https://www.yourcustomapi.com/skillname.”
After that, click on “Save Endpoints” to complete the connection.
Conclusion
SoundCloud is an amazing app for streaming music and podcasts, but Amazon has yet to launch its Skill in Alexa app. According to the reports, soon, Alexa will launch a new Skill for SoundCloud.
But still, using the Bluetooth method, you can connect Alexa to your phone. However, via BlueTooth, you won’t be able to control your music with voice commands.
At the same time, you have to keep your phone closer to the Alexa device for smooth playing.