How to Play Audible with Alexa Voice Commands in 2 Ways

Part 1. How to Play Audible on Alexa Embeded Devices [Audible Members]

Can I play Audible on Alexa? The short answer is yes! If you want to play your Audible audiobooks on your new Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo, follow these steps to set up Alexa app with Amazon Echo and connect Audible to Echo quickly.

View also: Listen to iTunes Audiobooks on Amazon Echo

Step 1. Set up Your Alexa-embeded Devices [Amazon Echo Dot/Show/More]

To activate voice commands on a new Amazon Echo devices, you should link the device Alexa app and account first. Below are simple steps to connect Echo to Alexa at the latest Alexa app.

Note: To change Audible account on Alexa, you need to log out of the current account on Alexa and sign into another Amazon account; then pair your Amazon Echo devices following the steps below.

• Install the Alexa app and sign in with the same Amazon account linked to your Audible membership.
• Tap the Add button in the top-right corner, select Device > Amazon Echo, and choose the Echo device you wish to set up.
• Turn on Bluetooth, plug in your Echo, and wait for the light to turn orange.
• Open your phone's Wi-Fi settings, and connect to the network that starts with "Amazon" to link your phone with the Echo.
• Once connected, you can interact with Alexa to set it up and use it.

Pro Tip: You can group Echo devices or set up a Smart Speaker Pair for a more immersive, multi-room listening experience!

Step 2. Connect Audible to Alexa

By default, Alexa is connected to Audible if your Audible account is linked to your Amazon account. You can also install additional Alexa skills to access free Audible stories on Alexa Routines following the steps below:

• Open the Alexa app on your smartphone.
• Tap on the More tab and select Skills & Games.
• Search for Audible and enable the related skill if necessary.

Note: Non-members can still access limited free Audible stories via these skills. For more options, check out Part 2 below.

Step 3. Play Audible with Alexa Voice Command

Once Audible is linked to Alexa, you can start listening using voice commands or the Alexa app. In the app, go to the More tab, tap Music & Books, and scroll down to find your Audible library. You can either tap an audiobook or use voice commands like:

• "Alexa, play [Book Title] on Audible."
• "Alexa, resume my audiobook."

Tip: If no audiobooks appear, double-check that you're signed in with the correct Amazon account.

Additionally, the Audible app is also embedded with an Alexa function to offer a hand-free playback control when your Audible app is open and active. You can tap the Profile > Alexa > Toggle on Hands-Free With Alexa. Then, you can ask Alexa to play, pause, recommend Audible books, and other operations. However, this built-in Alexa may not cooperate with your Amazon Echo and other devices.

Common Alexa Commands for Audible Playback Control

Here are some common Audible Alexa commands to control your Audible playback:

• Pause/Resume: "Alexa, pause." or "Alexa, resume."
• Go back/forward: "Alexa, go back [X seconds]." or "Alexa, go forward [X seconds]."
• Skip chapters: "Alexa, next chapter." or "Alexa, previous chapter."
• Change speed: "Alexa, read faster." or "Alexa, read slower."

You can go to Part 3 to learn advanced tips on setting a Audible Alexa timer.

How to Fix Audible Not Playing on Alexa

If you're having trouble playing Audible on your Alexa device, try these troubleshooting tips:

✨ Check your Wi-Fi connection: Ensure your Alexa device is connected to the internet. Look for a solid blue light.

✨ Update the Alexa app: Make sure both the Alexa app and your device firmware are up to date.

✨ Check your Audible account: Ensure your Audible and Amazon accounts are linked under the same username. If not, log in to the Amazon website to merge the accounts.

Part 2. How to Play Audible on Alexa Without Membership

Don't have an Audible membership or has it expired? No problem! You can still enjoy audiobooks on Alexa by converting Audible books into DRM-free formats using the AudFree Audible Converter. This tool lets you convert Audible to MP3 and other plain formats forever and play them on any app or Alexa device without restrictions. This professional software is intelligent enough to split a large audiobook into small segments by chapters with original sound quality preserved.

Once you download the audiobooks you want to play on Alexa, you can upload them to Amazon Music. The downloads will be stored in Amazon Cloud, so you can just ask Alexa to play them the same as the Audible membership.

Within three steps, you will be able to convert Audible books and save them to local for offline playing on Alexa devices.

Step 1. Save Audible Books into MP3/WAV Formats

• ❤ Install the AudFree Audible Converter and import your Audible books.

Before getting started, please make sure you have imported audiobooks downloaded from Audible to iTunes library under the 'My Audiobooks' before. Now just simply click the first Add Files button from the botton-left corner to choose Audible files that you'd like to download and convert directly.

• ❤ Select MP3 or WAV as the output format.

Most Alexa-enabled devices are compatible with MP3, or AAC format. You can click the 'audio' icon at the bottom-right corner to open the setting window, where you can define output format as MP3 or AAC, customize bit rate, sample rate, audio channel, and codec according to your needs.

• ❤ Click Convert to begin the process.

When all settings are done, just simply press the Convert button to launch the converting process. AudFree Audible Converter will run at 30X high speed to remove all limitations and convert iTunes audiobooks to MP3 files. After conversion, you can locate unprotected Audible books from the history list.

Step 2. Upload Audible books to Amazon Music

Once your books are converted, please launch the Amazon Music desktop app. Drag and drop your converted audiobooks into the Amazon Cloud Library. Alternatively, you can also transfer and get Audible on iPhone or Android phones, and then stream them to Alexa via Bluetooth.

Step 3. Play Audible with Alexa App/Voice Command

Once uploaded, you can use Alexa to play the audiobooks via Amazon Music. To play the converted books, just use Alexa voice commands like: "Alexa, play [Book Title] from my music."

For easier access, you can also create a playlist called "Audiobooks/Name" in your Amazon Music library.

Part 3. More Tips on Playing Audible on Alexa

Based on my experience, Audible and Alexa have many advanced tips you may not know. So I introduce 3 tips below to improve your user experience. You can take them as examples and explore more practical usage matched with your use habits.

Tip 1. How to Set Alexa Audible Sleep Timer

If you love falling asleep to audiobooks, setting a sleep timer can be handy. You can just say, "Alexa, stop playing in xx minutes", and it will stop playing at that time.

However, Alexa may sometimes respond with, "Sleep timers are not supported on this device." The reason is hard to explain, but I found a workaround with the help of Alexa Routines.

• Open the Alexa app > More > Routines.
• Tap the + icon to create a new routine.
• Under the When section, select Add an event > Voice and input a phrase like "Stop playing in 5 minutes" or "I'm going to sleep" as a trigger.
• Under Alexa Will, add an action, select Wait > set a duration, then add another action Device Settings > Stop Audio > Next.

Similarly, you can set Audible as a clock or reminder on Alexa, which can play automatically at the time you usually play Audible with Alexa. For example, you can set 7:00 AM under the When section and choose Audible > input "Read a xx story/book from Audible" under the Alexa Will section as a morning clock to wake you up. Or, set a time at night to remind you to go to bed.

Tip 2. [For Parents] How to Avoid Kids Buying Audible Books via Alexa Voice Command

If you have kids at home, you may want to restrict their ability to buy Audible books via Alexa. Thankfully, Alexa offers a parental control function. You can tap Your profile and add other profiles for your family; Alexa will recognize different voices to operate the tasks.

This way, you can follow the steps below to restrict the availability of voice purchasing functions.

• Open the Alexa app > Settings > Account Settings > Voice Purchasing.
• Under Purchase Controls, select No one (disables voice purchasing) or restrict it to specific recognized voices under the Only recognized voices option.

Playing audiobooks for kids via Alexa is very convenient, but you may never know what content your Alexa will play if your kids ask it to play something randomly. In this case, you can use the Audible on Yoto card to take a better control over the playing content.

Tip 3. [For Visually Impaired] How to Go Through Audible Library via Alexa Voice

Alexa offers hands-free navigation for visually impaired users. You can use simple voice commands to go through your Audible library:

• "Alexa, what's in my Audible library list?"
• "Alexa, skip to the next book in my library."
• "Alexa, read me a summary of [Book Title]."

If it doesn't work, you may need to manually create an Alexa list and type all titles on the list. Then ask Alexa to go through the Audible title list.

Tip: You can tap the audiobook on the Alexa app and select a connected device even if you're away from home, which allows you to play Audible on Alexa remotely when your family is inconvenient to operate.

Part 4. Conclusion

Playing Audible on Alexa is a simple and flexible experience, whether you're a member or not. By linking your Audible account, using voice commands, or converting audiobooks via the AudFree Audible Donwloader, Alexa transforms your audiobook sessions into seamless, hands-free experiences. Plus, with Alexa's extra features like sleep timers and purchase controls, you can further customize your listening. So the next time you're ready to dive into a good audiobook, just say, "Alexa, play my Audible book!" and enjoy the magic of audiobooks, effortlessly with/without a membership.