It’s not often that Apple is responsible for killing one of its own products, but the launch of the iPhone was certainly instrumental in the death of the iPod. There was no longer a need for adedicated music playerwhen you could play music directly from your smartphone instead.
TheiPhone and other smartphonesare ideal for listening to music through headphones. However, the small size of your phone’s speakers means that it’s not much use if you want to play music out loud. There’s a time and a place for playing music out loud, of course, although try telling that to those annoying kids on public transport. You know the ones.
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If you want to listen to music at home, however, then a Bluetooth speaker allows you to play music from your smartphone in much better quality. In fact, you may already have a fairly good Bluetooth speaker without even realizing it. That’s because anAmazon Echo devicecan be used as a Bluetooth speaker for your phone or any other Bluetooth device. The sound quality will depend on the model of Amazon Echo you have; it can range from a little better (with anEcho Pop, say) to much, much better (with anEcho Studio).
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If your Echo doesn’t have the best quality sound, but you love the convenience of being able to ask Alexa to play music, then you’re able to always use your Echo to stream music to another Bluetooth speaker, if you have one. This gives you all the convenience of Alexa with the sound quality of a dedicated Bluetooth speaker. If want to get more use out of your Alexa device – like I often do – then here’s how to use your Amazon Echo as a Bluetooth speaker.
How to use an Echo as a Bluetooth speaker
Turn on Bluetooth and ask Alexa to pair
Before doing anything with the Echo speaker, you’ll need to turn on Bluetooth on your phone, and ensure you’re in the Bluetooth settings so that you can pair your Echo device.
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The steps are a little different depending on whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android phone.
Pair your iPhone with an Echo over Bluetooth
To pair your iPhone with your Echo over Bluetooth, you’ll need to ensure that Bluetooth is on. You can then add the Echo device through the Bluetooth settings.
Once you’ve paired your Echo device for the first time, all you need to do is say ‘Alexa, connect to my phone’ to use your Echo as a Bluetooth speaker for your iPhone.
Before doing anything with the Echo speaker, you’ll need to turn on Bluetooth on your phone.
Pair your Android phone with an Echo over Bluetooth
The method for pairing an Android phone with an Echo over Bluetooth will differ slightly depending on the OS that you’re running, but the following steps should be similar for most Android devices.
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How to connect an Amazon Echo to another speaker via Bluetooth
Get better sound from your Echo by pairing with an external speaker
One issue with smaller Echo devices, such as an Echo Dot, is that they don’t have the same sound quality as thelarger Echo devices, since there’s not much room for powerful speakers. You can get great quality sound if you have an Echo Studio, but you may already havegood-quality Bluetooth speakersin your home. If this is the case, you can get your Echo to stream to a Bluetooth speaker, which gives you better-quality sound with the convenience of Alexa voice control.
You can get your Echo to stream to a Bluetooth speaker, which gives you better-quality sound.
Turn on the pairing mode for your Bluetooth speaker. You may need to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
To disconnect your Bluetooth speaker, just say ‘Alexa, disconnect my speaker.’ To reconnect your Bluetooth speaker once you’ve paired it the first time, just say ‘Alexa, connect my speaker.’
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Q: Can I use my Echo as a Bluetooth speaker for my phone without Wi-Fi?
It is possible to use your Echo as a Bluetooth speaker for your phone, even if you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection. You canstream music from your phoneto your Echo device, as long as you have the music saved to your phone for offline listening.
However, in order to pair your phone with your Echo device, you’ll need a Wi-Fi connection to set it up. Once your phone is paired, you can use your Echo as a Bluetooth device even if you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection.
Q: Which Echo devices can be used as Bluetooth speakers?
The vast majority of Echo devices have Bluetooth connectivity and can work well as Bluetooth speakers. You’ll also be able to use the upcomingAmazon Echo Hubas a Bluetooth speaker, although the sound quality is unlikely to be great.
