Alexa Won’t Play Apple Music: How to Troubleshoot

ByNelson Morgan Last Updated on: Troubleshooting

In this post, I’ll walk you through some troubleshooting tips to try if you’re having problems playing Apple Music via Alexa.

If that sounds like what you’re looking for, then let’s head right into it!

Alexa Won’t Play Apple Music

Tips To Fix ‘Apple Music Not Working on Alexa’ Issues

So here’s what to do if your Alexa system won’t play Apple Music:

1. Restart Your Echo Device

First off, you want to restart your Echo device to ensure any recent changes made in the Alexa app apply to your Echo device. Perhaps that could cause the issue you’re experiencing.

To restart your Echo device, unplug it from the power source and wait for about 10 to 20 seconds and then plug it back in.

Next, force-quit the Alexa app on your phone and open it again. Try playing Apple Music again to see if it works.

If you’re still having the same issues, continue to the next step.

2. Turn Off Explicit Filtering

If you’re still having issues playing Apple Music with Alexa, try turning off the explicit filtering feature in the Alexa app to see if that solves the problem.

For some reason, some music services do not support explicit filtering and won’t work if the feature is enabled.

Follow the steps below to turn off explicit filtering in the Alexa app:

  • Open the Alexa app on your phone and tap the Menu icon (it looks like three horizontal lines) in the top left-hand corner. Next, select Settings.
  • Select Music & Podcast and then select Explicit Language Filter.
  • Switch the feature off.

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, proceed to the next step.

3. Check and Update Alexa and Apple Music App

Issues like this could happen if you’re not running the current version of the Alexa app and Apple Music app. So the next troubleshooting step you want to try is to check and update both apps on your mobile device.

If you’re using an iOS device, ensure you update to the latest iOS version and check App Store for any updates to the Alexa app. And if you’re using an Android device, check the Google Play Store to see if there are updates for the Amazon Alexa app and Apple Music app.

Next, launch the Alexa app on your phone and check that Apple Music is set as your default music service. See how to set Apple Music as your default music service in the Alexa app:

  • Open the Alexa app on your mobile device and tap the three-bar icon (it looks like horizontal lines) in the top left-hand corner.
  • Tap Settings and select Music & Podcasts.
  • Tap Choose default music services. Next, select Apple Music and then tap Done.

Now try to connect/play Apple music again to see if it works.

Still not working? Continue to the next step.

4. Unlink and Relink Apple Music

So here’s another troubleshooting tip to try if the issue persists. Unlink Apple Music in the Alexa app and link it back. Follow the steps below to unlink Apple Music in the Alexa app:

  • Open the Alexa app on your mobile device and tap the three-bar icon (the three lines look like horizontal lines) in the upper left-hand corner.
  • Tap Settings and select Music & Podcasts.
  • Tap Apple Music from the drop-down and then tap Disable Skills.

Now you’ve unlinked Apple Music from Alexa. And the next thing you want to do is relink Apple Music to Alexa. Here’s how to do that:

  • Open the Alexa app on your phone and tap the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner.
  • Tap Settings and then tap Music & Podcasts.
  • Tap Apple Music in the list and then tap Link account to Alexa.
  • Now log in to your Apple Music account with your existing credentials.

Next, try to play music from your playlist to see if it works.

Still didn’t work? Try the next troubleshooting step.

5. Restore Default Settings on Your Echo Device

So this is the last step to resolving the issue with your Alexa system and Apple Music. If the problem persists after trying the above troubleshooting tips, you want to restore default settings on your Echo device (Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, etc.) to see if that will fix the issue.

Of course, performing a factory reset on a malfunctioning device usually helps fix some unseen bugs causing the issue.

That said, here’s how to reset your Amazon Echo device in the Alexa app:

  • Open the Alexa app on your mobile device and tap the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner.
  • Tap Devices in the list and then tap Echo & Alexa. Next, select your Echo device—Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus, etc.
  • Now scroll down and tap Factory Reset. Follow any other instructions on the screen to complete the reset.

Note: This reset method works on all Amazon Echo models. However, you can still reset your Echo device by pressing some buttons on the device.

For example, if you use Echo 3rd gen, you can reset it by pressing and holding down the Volume and Microphone button at the same time. Keep on holding until you see a blinking orange light on your device. This shows your Echo device is reset.

If you’ve successfully reset your Echo device, you want to try connecting/playing Apple Music via the Alexa app again to see if it works.

Note: Restoring default settings on your Echo device will erase all previous custom settings. So be sure you reprogram all settings after the reset—for continuous reliable operation.

You may also like to see how to troubleshoot Alexa and Spotify connection issues and Alexa voice response issues.

Final Thoughts

For the most part, you can resolve this issue by restarting your Echo device, turning off explicit filtering, and unlinking and relinking Apple Music. Also, updating the Alexa app and Apple Music app (if there are new updates) can do the magic.

But if the issue continues, you want to try all other troubleshooting steps—such as checking your network and factory resetting your Echo device.

This should resolve the issue you’re having with Alexa and Apple Music. But if the problem persists, contact Amazon or Apple Music for help.