How To Pair an Amazon Echo Dot to a Bluetooth Speaker

For those of you who currently own an Echo Dot, I probably don’t have to tell you about how convenient yet weak the little speaker is. The sound quality is fine but when you want to crank up your jams while knocking out a little spring cleaning, the volume just doesn’t add up.

I’m here to tell you that there is a solution to your problems.

“I don’t really think of it as a problem but I would like to rock out during my living room workout sessions. So what’s the secret tip?”

If you have another Bluetooth speaker in the vicinity, you can actually pair the Echo Dot to it to boost the sound. You can technically do this with any smart speakers but I feel that it’s most needed with the miniature Echo Dot. The Bluetooth speaker options are a bit more varied.

Being already in possession of a smart speaker and a wireless speaker with better sound means you won’t have the need to go shopping. But if you’re missing the latter, I would recommend a few top tier choices such as the Anker Soundcore Flare Wireless Speaker and Ultimate Ears Boom 3.

The Pairing Process

You could technically connect your devices together using cables but that’s not the focus of this article. Instead, we’ll need to look into how to go about pairing up your Echo Dot to a Bluetooth speaker via WiFi.

But first, you should do the following:

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• Place both the Echo Dot and Bluetooth speaker where they’ll be at least three ft apart from one another.
• It’s not completely necessary but in order to achieve the best results, use a Bluetooth speaker that has been certified for use with Echo devices.
• Turn on your Bluetooth speaker and turn the volume up to the decibel desired.
• Ensure that you have the Alexa app downloaded and installed on your smartphone or tablet. This app is necessary for the pairing process.

Disconnect any of the other Bluetooth devices that may be connected to your Echo Dot. Only one Bluetooth device can be paired to an Echo Dot at any time.

To begin pairing your Echo Dot and Bluetooth speaker:

1. If you’ve yet to set up your Echo Dot, unbox it and follow the provided instructions to get it ready and connected to the WiFi.
2. Turn on your Bluetooth speaker.
3. With the Bluetooth speaker turned on, go ahead and put it into pairing mode.
4. Launch the Alexa app from your smartphone or tablet.
5. Tap on the Devices icon and then the Echo & Alexa button.
   • In place of the Echo & Alexa button, you may just have Settings.
6. While on the “Echo & Alexa” screen, tap the name of the Echo Dot that you want to be paired with the Bluetooth speaker.
7. Tap on the “Bluetooth Devices” settings and select Pair a New Device.
   • The Alexa app will run a search for any nearby Bluetooth devices that can be paired with the Echo Dot.
8. Once it pops up on the screen, go ahead and tap on the name of your Bluetooth speaker to complete the pairing process.

Once the pairing is successful, the speaker will be displayed in the list of Bluetooth devices in the Alexa app. Your Echo Dot will also let you know if the pairing has been successful. At this point, you can ask Alexa to play your favorite tunes as well as other tasks and the sound will be routed through your Bluetooth speaker.

After this initial setup, the Dot should automatically pair with the speaker from now on. However, if that doesn’t happen, you can just tell Alexa to “Connect,” and the Echo Dot will connect to the last used device. Sometimes the process may not work and you’ll need to try a different approach. Unpair the devices from one another, reset them by turning them both off and back on, and then go through the pairing process again.

If at any point you’d like to disconnect the Bluetooth speaker from the Echo Dot, click on the name of the speaker in the Alexa app and tap Disconnect. You can also tell Alexa to “Disconnect,” and Alexa will let you know that the deed has been carried out. This does not remove the entry from the Alexa app, only disconnects it for the time being.

To remove the entry for your Bluetooth speaker from the Alexa app entirely, click on the name of the Bluetooth speaker while in the Alexa app and tap Forget Device. Watch as the entry disappears from the list of connected Bluetooth devices. In order to connect it again at a later date, you’ll have to go through the entire pairing process all over again.