Why Can’t Alexa Find My Playlist? (11 Ways To Fix It)

Problems With Alexa and Playlists

A lot of Alexa users have reported not being able to get Alexa to play any of their playlists, even when the playlists were created in My Music on Amazon. They can see their playlists on Amazon Music but they cannot get Alexa to play the playlists.

Others report that they can get Alexa to play followed playlists but not playlists they created themselves. For other users, the problem is the reverse: Alexa will find playlists they created but not playlists they have followed.

Solutions for Alexa Can’t Find My Playlist

Here are eleven possible reasons why Alexa cannot find your playlist, together with solutions.

#1. Using the right voice command

To get Alexa to play your playlist you have to use the correct wording in your voice command. The correct wording is: “Alexa, play (name of playlist) playlist”. In other words, you must have the word ‘playlist’ at the end of the voice command.

If that doesn’t work, try adding ‘Amazon Music’ at the end of the command, as in: “Alexa, play (name of playlist) playlist on Amazon Music”.

You can also try: “Alexa, play (name of playlist) playlist from my Amazon Music playlists”.

Some users have solved the problem of Alexa not being able to find and play playlists by specifying the device you want it played on: “play my playlist [name of playlist] on [name of Device]”. For example: “play my playlist Country Music on Roberta’s Echo”.

Also, when you save a song to a playlist, you need to include the word ‘plykist’ in the command. For example, instead of saying “Save this to Classic Jazz” you need to say “Save this to the Classic Jazz playlist”. In other words, you need to tell Alexa where to find that playlist.

Another solution is to include your last name when naming your playlists. For example, if your last name is ‘Jennings’, name your playlists ‘Jennings Jazz’, ‘Jennings Rock’, ‘Jennings Classical’, and so on. That makes it easier for Alexa to identify your playlist.

#2. Create your playlists on Amazon Music desktop

Another fix for when Alexa can’t find your playlist is to make sure that you create your playlists on the Amazon Music desktop app. Playlists created or saved on mobile versions of the app seem to create problems for Alexa.

#3. Avoid creating playlists on Android

Another thing that can create problems for Alexa is when you save playlists on the Android version of the Amazon Music app. If you can, save your playlists on the iOS version of Amazon Music or on a desktop.

#4. Bluetooth speakers connected to Echo Dot

Another issue that causes problems for Alexa and playlists is when you have a Bluetooth speaker connected to your Echo Dot. Try disconnecting the Bluetooth speaker from your Dot – Alexa may now be able to find and play your playlist.

#5. Explicit language filter

Check that you don’t have the explicit language filter turned on: if the songs in your playlist contain explicit language, that will stop Alexa from playing your playlist.

#6. Try renaming your playlist

Another hack that often works is simply rename your playlist. Go into your Amazon Music app and rename the playlist. To do this, go into your library and click on the playlist. Then click the three dots on the upper right side and edit the name. Then try again and see if Alexa finds the renamed playlist.

#7. Turn off Amazon Kids

Amazon Kids cannot connect to personal Amazon Music, so if have this turned on in Alexa, make sure to turn it off. This could be another reason why Alexa can’t find your playlist.

#8. Check the language setting

Some users who had trouble getting Alexa to play their playlists report that the problem was the language setting. To access all the features in Alexa, you need to have the language set to ‘US English’.

#9. Disable Spotify

Another possible solution for when Alexa cannot find your playlist is to simply disable Spotify. I’m not sure why this works but I did this and it fixed the issue immediately and I have seen other users reporting the same thing.

#10. Amazon Music and Echo registered in same country?

Another reason why Alexa may not be able to find and play your playlists is if your Echo account and your Amazon Music account are registered in different countries. This can happen sometimes, so go into the settings for both and make sure they are both registered in the same country.

If the two accounts are registered in different countries, you may even need to create a new Amazon Music account that matches the country of your Echo account.

#11. Switch users

When Alexa cannot find your playlist, the problem is sometimes that Alexa is using the wrong account. Try changing the account by saying “Alexa switch user to John” (or whatever your account name is). This may fix the problem of Alexa not being able to play your playlist.

Conclusion

If you are wondering “why can’t Alexa find my playlist” there can be a number of different reasons for this.

The common cause is the format of the voice command.  Always include the word ‘playlist’ in your command, as in “Alexa, play (name of playlist) playlist”.

Other causes can be playlists saved on the wrong platform, having the wrong language settings, having Alexa logged in to the wrong account, or having your Amazon Music and Echo accounts registered in different countries.

Try the solutions mentioned in this article, and you should be able to get Alexa to find your playlist.