Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. Guides

How to use Alexa to play radio stations

By and

Beyond its wide range of music-streaming capabilities, did you know that your favorite Alexa speaker can also function as a tuner for local radio broadcasts? If you want to add some variety to your next listening session, or are sick of Spotify and Apple Music, Alexa sports an entire medley of awesome radio skills for you to enjoy.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • The Alexa app

  • An Alexa-powered smart speaker or display

You’ll need to ensure you’ve got the most up-to-date version of the Alexa app on your smartphone, and naturally, you need an Amazon Echo smart speaker or display. If you own the latter, you’ll also get some visual information about what you’re listening to on-screen.

Amazon Echo 4th Gen smart speaker on a table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to set up Alexa to play radio stations

The process is quite simple and easy, though depending on where you live, you may have different options for Alexa Skills that are available to play radio stations.

Step 1: Open the Alexa app on your phone. Tap the More menu button in the bottom-right corner of the app.

Step 2: Choose Skills and games, then look for Featured categories boxes along the top of the app screen.

Step 3: Next, use the search feature in the upper-right corner to search for "radio."

A list of available radio tuning apps for your area will appear on the display, including popular favorites like radio.com and MyTunerRadio, or check out our list of the best internet radio stations.

In Canada, you may see RadioPlayer Canada or similar options. Click on Enable to use. You may see Launch if you’ve already enabled this Skill.

the best internet radios for your favorite music stations radio
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to play local radio stations

Using a few easy voice commands, you can get Alexa to fire up your favorite local stations.

Step 1: To access your radio stations, just say, “Alexa, ask MyTuner to play X92.9 Calgary,” or whatever the name is of your favorite station. You can also say something like, “Alexa, ask radio.com to play NPR,” and it will automatically locate the affiliate nearest to your location. Of course, if you live in Topeka and want to listen to the Washington affiliate, you can just specify that in your request and Alexa will deliver.

A word of warning that in some cases, Alexa may not quite recognize the station name and you may end up listening to a different station with a similar name, call sign, or frequency number.

Some Alexa users report that some of these services can be intermittently accurate with voice commands, which may not be surprising given the limited number of frequencies and the high number of radio stations across the globe.

Step 2: If you're unsure of what call sign or frequency your station is using, Radio-Locator.com is a great tool for figuring out what on-air credentials your favorite broadcast is using.

Amazon Echo Show 10.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to travel back in time (with Alexa-powered radio skills) and more

In addition to national, international, and local broadcasts, your Alexa-powered speaker or display is also capable of some pretty impressive radio skills that add a bunch of entertainment options to your listening experience.

Step 1: Want to hear a full day's worth of radio from 1939? Alexa's Radio Complete Day skill takes you back in time to WJSV's September 21 radio programming, including music, news, and everything else that was wedged into the date's broadcast.

To enable, you can search for the Skill in the Alexa app or ask your Alexa-enabled device to add the skill by saying, "Alexa, add Radio Complete Day skill."

Step 2: Looking for music curated by actual human beings instead of algorithms? Ask Alexa to add Radio Paradise to its assembly of skills.

Blending multiple genres, Radio Paradise delivers top music and underground gems to your ears in a randomized fashion. The idea here is the serendipity of hearing something brand-new.

After adding the skill, you can even ask Alexa to skip tracks and identify what song or artist is currently playing.

Step 3: Sometimes there's nothing better for a case of the blues than a show-stopping musical. For your next rain-spattered Wednesday, ask Alexa to add the Sounds of Broadway skill to her roster of radio abilities.

When enabled, the skill will have Alexa playing theatre hits from Broadway, off-Broadway, and London stages, and it's completely free!

A Netgear Nighthawk AX6600 wireless router creates a powerful network for streaming TV shows.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Why has Alexa stopped playing radio?

One of the most common causes of an audio dropout when using an Alexa device is that the smart speaker or display is experiencing some kind of Wi-Fi issue. Fortunately, there are a number of quick fixes you can use to get around this trouble.

Step 1: For starters, if your router is being obscured by furniture or is locked away inside a cabinet, it's best to relocate it. Routers perform optimally in open-air environments where network transmissions can be broadcast without object-based interferences.

Step 2: In situations where you're running two network bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz), your 2.4GHz band may become overwhelmed by the amount of devices connected to it. Try to connect your Alexa device to the 5GHz band to see if the issue goes away.

Echo Dot on an entryway table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to set music and radio alarms with Alexa

Want to wake up to Metallica's Enter Sandman or your favorite local station? Alexa has got you covered. In addition to quick streams from your favorite music platforms and radio skills, you can combine these music add-ons with Alexa's alarm function to start your day off the right way.

Step 1: With dedicated music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, you can ask Alexa to wake you to a specific artist, album, song, or genre.

To do so, say, "Alexa, wake me up to Metallica at 7:00 a.m.," or, "Alexa, wake me up to metal at 10:00 a.m." You can also specify whether you want this alarm to wake you every Tuesday or every single morning by clarifying so in your voice command.

Step 2: You can also use Alexa to wake up to your favorite radio stations. Just say, "Alexa, wake me up to NPR at 5:00 a.m.," or "Alexa, wake me up to WGBH at 8:00 a.m.," and the voice assistant will get you up and running with the broadcasts you love the most.

There are all kinds of listening options on an Amazon Echo smart speaker or speaker with a display screen. You can choose music, news, or podcasts, or venture down the rabbit hole of relaxing audio Skills: Fall asleep to the sound of a cat purring, a clock ticking, rainforest or nature sounds, or ocean waves crashing.

These audio options can also be a great alternative if you want something playing in the background, but without a lot of voices and talking so you can focus on writing that report that’s due at the end of the day. Relaxing audio or internet radio can also be useful for drowning out the guy in the next cubicle who’s loud-talking on his Zoom call.

Surf the entire list of Skills and Games inside the Alexa app to see what else you can access, or just ask your Echo smart device, “Alexa, what can you do?" for an updated list of options.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Michael Bizzaco
Michael Bizzaco
Michael Bizzaco has been writing about and working with consumer tech for well over a decade, writing about everything from…
This BLUETTI portable power station is truly weatherproof
Man using BLUETTI AC240 portable power station while camping to cook

It seems like we're covering a new BLUETTI launch here at Digital Trends every month, but that's okay. Thanks to the brand's excellent products, innovative advancements, and great features, people all over can access reliable power. Its latest launch, the BLUETTI AC240, is an IP65-rated weatherproof portable power station that delivers a comprehensive energy solution for outdoor enthusiasts, first responders, and beyond. Protected against dust, water, and elements, this expandable station creates an uninterrupted power source in any environment at any time. Moreover, it empowers users to stay connected, even with power-hungry devices, to tackle demanding tasks regardless of the current weather, environment, or location. Right now, you can save big by taking advantage of Early Bird pricing.
Buy Now
 
Why you should buy the BLUETTI AC240 all-weather portable power station

Imagine for a moment that you're camping with your family, hiking through the great outdoors, or even taking a long, scenic road trip through the countryside. In all of these situations, even when you're off-grid, you'll still need reliable access to power to charge your phone and tablet(s) and power up other electronics -- like a coffee maker when you wake up in the morning. Of course, power stations and power outlets don't exist randomly out in the wild. You could use your vehicle, but that will drain the battery and, in some cases, still won't provide enough power for what you want to do. Cue the BLUETTI AC240 portable power station and devices like it.

Read more
The most common Echo Show problems and how to fix them
Amazon Echo Show 10.

If you're looking to add a smart display to your home, the Amazon Echo Show is a great option. Bringing the best of Alexa into the visual realm, the Echo Show allows you to tap into real-time video from your home's smart security system, have video calls with friends and family using Alexa's Drop In feature, stream from Hulu and Prime Video, run photo slideshows, and so much more.

But glitches happen, and the Echo Show is not without its small trail of troubles. Fortunately, many of these issues have straightforward fixes. In this deep dive, we'll be taking a look at the most common Echo Show problems and how you can fix them.
Echo Show screen is flickering
This issue has been with the Echo Show since the first-generation model. What we're talking about are pulsating horizontal lines stretching across the screen. Sometimes, the malfunction appears closer to the bottom of the display, where Alexa's indicator is, or up and down the entire display. Some Echo Show owners experience this infrequently, others all the time. If your own Show is flickering, there are a few things you can try.

Read more
How to fix an Amazon Smart Thermostat that’s unresponsive
The Amazon Smart Thermostat hanging on wall.

Few smart thermostats are as affordable and powerful as the Amazon Smart Thermostat. Clocking in well under $100 and backed by the great reputation of Amazon, the affordable thermostat is one of the most popular on the market. Yet despite its popularity, the Amazon Smart Thermostat isn't without a few issues. A common issue that crops up for users is the thermostat unit becoming unresponsive, making it difficult to use the device as intended.

Read more