This post gives the Alexa Dot Bluetooth Pairing procedure. These directions include the all Bluetooth (BT) compatible Echo smart speakers. And, since this pairing occurs right between the Bluetooth speaker and the Alexa Dot, you need not turn BT on in the mobile device you’re using to create this pairing.
Alexa Dot Bluetooth Pairing: Step by Step
With the Bluetooth speaker powered off (power button is dark), run through this routine to pair it to your Amazon Echo. We’re using an iPad Air 2 tablet to set up this BT connection. And for the Bluetooth speaker, we use a JBL Charge 4 model.
1. Find the Alexa app on your Mobile Device
We find the Alexa app on the iPad Air 2 as seen in the next picture. In this scenario, the app is on the third home screen page. It’s pointed at by the blue arrow.
2. Run the Amazon Alexa App
The app then displays its Home screen.
3. Tap the Hamburger Control
Find the hamburger item in the top left corner of the screen, pointed at by the blue arrow in the last screenshot.
This brings up the Alexa app’s main menu.
4. Tap the Settings Option on the App’s Main Menu to Continue with Alexa Dot Bluetooth Pairing
We point at the Settings item with the green arrow in the last screenshot.
This brings up the Settings screen.
5, Tap the Device Settings Option
This brings up the All Devices screen, where all of your connected Amazon Alexa enabled devices appear in a list.
6. Tap the Echo Device you Wish to Bluetooth Pair With an External Speaker
For this demo, we chose the Thomas’s Echo Dot 3rd Gen Alexa speaker, although pairing works similarly with all the other Bluetooth enabled Alexa speaker models.
Anyway, touching the speaker listed that you wish to pair then takes you to the device-specific settings screen for that particular Echo.
7. Tap the Bluetooth Devices Item
Find the Bluetooth Devices option pointed at by the green arrow in the last screenshot.
This brings up the Bluetooth Settings screen.
At this point, your Alexa app is ready to begin a BT scan by your chosen Echo Amazon speaker. We selected our Alexa Dot 3 in the last step. So, that Dot will be the one that looks for BT devices when we press the blue Pair a New Device bar at the bottom of the page.
BUT WAIT A MINUTE! Don’t press that bar just yet. We must turn on the Charge 4 speaker first, and then put it in Bluetooth pairing mode. But if your Charge is already powered ON and ready to pair, then skip the next step, and move on to step 9 below.
8. Turn On your JBL Charge 4 to Continue with Alexa Dot Bluetooth Pairing
Put down your mobile device for a second, and turn on the Charge 4 by quickly pressing its Power button.
The wireless speaker then powers up.
But since our Alexa Dot has never paired with this speaker prior, it has no connection information for it in its earlier paired Bluetooth devices list. Thus the JBL speaker will not yet pair with this Dot automatically.
9. Put the Bluetooth Speaker into Pairing Mode
Now, to allow an Alexa Dot to find the Charge, place your speaker into BT pairing mode. E.g. Press and release in the the Bluetooth button on the speaker. Find this button in the last picture, pointed at by the green arrow.
Then, the JBL makes a plucking guitar note sound. Also, the Bluetooth button starts flashing white.
10. Now Go Back to your Mobile Device and the Alexa App
The screen with the blue Pair a New Device button should still be there.
11. Touch the Pair a New Device Button
This starts your Alexa Dot speaker scanning for nearby Bluetooth devices that are in BT discovery mode. Since your JBL Charge 4 is now in discovery mode, the Dot should find it. Our Charge 4 is indeed close enough for our Gen 3 Dot to pick up.
Thus, after a short time, you should get something like the screen we got. Shown next.
In our demo, the Amazon Alexa app, through our 3rd generation Dot, discovered our JBL speaker, named Tom’s Charge 4.
12. Find your JBL Charge 4 in the Discovered Devices List
See the screenshot above. Our scan found one device, which is the JBL Charge 4.
13. Finally, Pair your Alexa Dot With the Bluetooth Speaker
Pair with the 4 by touching that speaker entry on the Bluetooth Setup screen, shown in the last screenshot above.
The Alexa Dot then pairs with this BT speaker.
Shortly thereafter, the Alexa app again displays the Bluetooth Settings screen, that now shows the paired JBL Charge 4, as pictured next.
Also, the Charge 4 plays the Speaker Paired rising guitar sound. Note also that the Bluetooth symbol and speaker name text turns blue. This means that successful pairing has occurred. The blue speaker name text shows you which memorized speaker in the Previously Paired Bluetooth Devices list is currently paired to your Alexa Dot.
The Charge 4 speaker Bluetooth button now glows solid white, meaning that successful pairing has happened, as shown next.
14. Done with Alexa Dot Bluetooth Pairing
We have now successfully paired our JBL Charge 4 with our Alexa Dot speaker. Thus, we may now ask Alexa to play music on this Dot, and she’ll stream it to the Charge 4. Thus, that music will play on the very “big sounding” JBL portable speaker instead of the Echo. This speaker offers a louder, fuller sound than your run-of-the-mill Echo speakers. So pairing these devices has definite sound advantages.