Alexa Won’t Play Radio

Can’t you play your favourite UK radio stations on Alexa and wonder: Why Alexa won’t play the radio? There is nothing more frustrating than having Alexa not follow your commands, like tuning to your favourite radio station. Why is this so?

A disabled Alexa radio option or a poor WiFi connection might prevent Alexa from playing radio. Unplugging and reconnecting your device is the common and most recommended solution when your Alexa device isn’t tuning a radio station. Often, all Alexa needs is a hard reset to fix any bugs and start working as it should.

Reasons Why Alexa Won’t Play Radio

Alexa is a popular smart home device that provides multiple audio options. In addition to playing songs, playlists etc., Alexa can broadcast almost any radio station.

But sometimes, it won’t tune to the station even after several attempts. Below is a list of reasons why Alexa does not play radio.

Reason 1: Disabled Alexa Radio Option

Listening to your radio station on Alexa will require you to enable its Alexa radio option. Listening to the radio is not possible if it is not enabled.

You may not have turned on the Alexa radio if you are tuning into the radio station for the first time. Here is how to do it.

Log on to the Alexa app.
Navigate to the sidebar. You can access the sidebar once you click on the three lines icon.
Choose “Skills & Games” from the menu.
After that, select “Categories.”
Then click “Featured Categories.”
Then select the option of “Music & Audio”.
Type “Radio” into the search section.
Select the radio option that you’d like.

Reason 2: WiFi Connection Is Poor

Alexa accesses various radio stations worldwide through a WiFi connection, unlike other traditional FM radio. Alexa may not be able to play radio if it is losing WiFi connection or if your router is malfunctioning.

You can verify the WiFi connection by restarting your router, waiting for a few seconds, and then connecting Alexa to the WiFi again. The following tips will help ensure that Alexa receives the strongest broadband signal:

Try moving the router nearer to your Alexa device.
Ensure that it does not interfere with other electronics like microwaves etc.
Switch off any WiFi-connected devices, such as smartphones, to reduce congestion in the network.
Choose a channel on your router that uses 5GHz instead of 2.4GHz.

If the problem with Alexa not connecting to WiFi hasn’t been resolved, you may need to replace the network hardware. If so, you should contact your internet provider and find out how your network is doing in your area.

Conclusion

Some radio stations won’t play on your Alexa device for various reasons. There are often simple solutions to these issues, such as activating the right Alexa skill, resolving a WiFi issue, or upgrading the Alexa app.

As a last resort, try to restart everything. Please wait a few seconds after you restart network devices so they can start up again. By rebooting your device, you should be able to access less crowded channels.