X

Alexa tip: Wake up to any song on Spotify

Alexa makes a great alarm clock that you can snooze or silence with your voice. By default, however, you cannot play music as an alarm. Using this workaround, you can play any song from Spotify as an alarm on the Amazon Dot, Echo or Tap.

Taylor Martin CNET Contributor
Taylor Martin has covered technology online for over six years. He has reviewed smartphones for Pocketnow and Android Authority and loves building stuff on his YouTube channel, MOD. He has a dangerous obsession with coffee and is afraid of free time.
Taylor Martin
2 min read
Chris Monroe/CNET

Alexa is getting a lot smarter. With skills and more third-party support for smart home devices, you can order pizza and control your home using just your voice. You can ask what your car's fuel level is, set recurring alarms and much, much more.

One of the most requested features and largest missed opportunities is the ability to play music tracks as an alarm sound, especially considering all the different music streaming services that are supported.

Currently, users are limited to a pretty standard set of alarm noises, as well as Alec Baldwin bragging about getting the early bird or Missy Elliot yelling at you for sleeping so late.

There is a way, however, to have Alexa play any song on Spotify as your alarm. Here's how it's done.

Pair your phone or tablet using Bluetooth

Currently, Alexa totally lacks the ability to play any music as an alarm. However, it works really well as an always-on Bluetooth speaker . This means you can pass on the alarm function to your mobile device.

First, you must pair your device with Alexa. Speak, "Alexa, pair." This will put the speaker in pairing mode. From your mobile device, navigate to Bluetooth settings and select Echo-XXXX to complete the pairing.

Here's everything the Amazon Echo can do

See all photos

For Android

Natively from a smartphone, you cannot play music from Spotify as an alarm sound either. Instead, you must download an application that will enable this functionality. If you're using an Android device, open Play Store, search for Alarmify and install the application.

Once downloaded, you will need to open Alarmify and log in to your Spotify account. Then create a new alarm.

  • Tap the plus button in the lower right corner.
  • Select a time for the alarm and the days that you want it to repeat.
  • Tap Select Music.
  • Choose whether you want a specific album, track, artist or playlist and tap the check mark in the upper right corner to save the alarm.

Before going to bed, ensure that the mobile device is connected to the Echo via Bluetooth and open the Alarmify app. Tap Sleep when you're ready to doze off and wait for the alarm to sound in the morning.

For iOS

On iOS, you need a different app called Alarm Clock for Spotify. When you open the app for the first time, you're prompted to login to Spotify using your credentials or a connected Facebook account.

What you see when you open the app is what is essentially a beside clock mode. This is because the application needs to be left open for the Spotify alarm to work. To set a new alarm:

  • Tap anywhere on the screen to open the settings.
  • Select Alarms.
  • Select Add new alarm.
  • Set the time and select how often you want the alarm to repeat.
  • Tap Playlist, followed by Add in the upper right corner.
  • Search for albums, artists and individual tracks to build your morning playlist. Tap Done when you are finished.
  • Select Save to create the alarm.

Before bed, ensure your iOS device is paired and connected to your Alexa speaker and open the Alarm Clock for Spotify app.