Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Link Account- screen. It shows that Pandora has been linked successfully. The -Done- button is highlighted.

How to Add Pandora to Alexa Speakers

This post shows how to Add Pandora to Alexa speakers. Note that Amazon Echo Dot devices do not come with either Pandora premium or basic accounts enabled by default. Indeed, Pandora will not play if not first set up. E.g. If you ask an Echo Dot to play Pandora when not set up, she says something like, “To play a station, first register your Pandora account using your Alexa app.”

So, we discuss here how to do just that.  How to set up Pandora on the Amazon Echo Dot line of Amazon smart speakers.





If you subscribe to Pandora (whether you have a standard or premium Pandora account), you can now play your stuff on Amazon Echo Dots. Pandora stations will indeed stream to Echo devices like the Echo Dots 1, 2, and 3 talking speakers. With a few easy Pandora account linkage steps that we’ll show you below, you’ll gain access via voice commands to your favorite Pandora content.

How to Add Pandora to Alexa Instructions

Prepare

1. Add your Speaker to Alexa

Before you can access any of the services offered by Alexa, connect your Alexa speaker to the internet. Then register it with Amazon via the Alexa app. See our piece here for details on how to perform these tasks.

2. Set Up a Pandora Account

If you do not have one already, visit the Pandora web site here. Click the Sign Up link in the top right quadrant of the screen. Then, follow the prompts to set up a new Pandora account. Also, take advantage of any trial free offers that might appear during signup.

How to Add Pandora to Alexa, Step-by-Step Instructions

0. Find the Alexa App on your Tablet or Phone

We’re running this demo on an iPad tablet by Apple, which uses the iOS operating system.  So on our Home screen, we find the Alexa app on the third page, as shown next.

Screenshot of the iOS home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted
iOS home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted

1. Start the Alexa App on your Mobile Device

You’ll then see the Alexa home screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Alexa app Home screen on iOS, with the main menu button highlighted.
The Alexa app Home screen on iOS, with the main menu button highlighted.

2. Tap the  Hamburger  Control

Find the Hamburger item, in the top left corner of the Home screen, as pointed at by the green arrow in the last screenshot above.

This brings up the Alexa App’s main menu, as shown next.

Picture of the main menu, with the -Settings- option highlighted.
The main menu, with the -Settings- option highlighted.

3. Tap the Settings Menu Option to Continue with How to Add Pandora to Alexa

Find this link in the dark blue menu on the left side of the screen.





Tap the item, and then you’ll then see the Settings screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Settings screen, with the Music option highlighted.
The Alexa app on iOS, displaying its Settings screen, with the Music option highlighted.

4. Tap the  Music  Item 

You then get the Music screen, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Music- screen, with the -Link New Service- option highlighted.
The -Music- screen, with the -Link New Service- option highlighted.

5. Tap the  Link New Service  Option

Find the Link New Service  item, as shown in the last screenshot above, pointed at by the green arrow.  It’s in the top left section of the screen.

Running the Link New Service option brings up the Link Service screen, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Link Service- screen, with the Pandora music service button highlighted.
The -Link Service- screen, with the Pandora music service button highlighted.

6. Tap the Pandora Button to Continue with How to Add Pandora to Alexa

Find the Pandora music service option in the top left screen area, as pointed at in the last picture by the green arrow.

Tapping Pandora brings up the  Pandora Skill Screen,  as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Pandora- skill screen, with the -Enable To Use- button highlighted.
The -Pandora- skill screen, with the -Enable To Use- button highlighted.

7. Tap the Blue Enable To Use Button

Find the  Enable to Use  link on the Pandora screen, shown in the last picture, pointed at by the green arrow, near the top of the page.





Pressing this button enables the Pandora skill on your Alexa Amazon account.  Enabling the Pandora skill is necessary to before you can type in the login credentials for your account on Pandora.

Then, once you turn on the Pandora skill, you get the  Link Account  screen, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Link Account Pandora- screen, with the -I Have A Pandora Account- button highlighted.
The -Link Account Pandora- screen, with the -I Have A Pandora Account- button highlighted.

8. Tap the   I Have a Pandora Account  Option

Find the I Have a Pandora Account link on the previous screenshot, pointed at by the green arrow.  It’s the dark blue bar in the center of the screen.

Note that if you haven’t set up a Pandora account before now, rather than the next screen, the Alexa app will prompt you to sign up for one.  Alexa will guide you through several screens.  But eventually, once you’ve answered all the questions, you’ll return to the next screen, where you can enter your new Pandora account credentials.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Link Account, Pandora Login- screen.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Link Account, Pandora Login- screen. How to link Pandora to Echo Dot.

9. Enter your Pandora Login Email Address and Password to Continue with How to Add Pandora to Alexa

Screenshot of the -Link Account Pandora Login- screen, with a login Id entered.
The -Link Account Pandora Login- screen, with a login Id entered.

 

Screenshot of the -Link Account Pandora Login- screen with all fields filled in. The -Log In- button is highlighted.
The -Link Account Pandora Login- screen with all fields filled in. The -Log In- button is highlighted.

10. Tap the   Log In  Button

The  Log In  button is the dark blue rectangle at center screen in the last screenshot picture, pointed at by the green arrow.

Tapping Log In logs you into Pandora.





Then, assuming that you entered your correct Pandora user Id (email address) and password, you’ll see Alexa prompting for permission to access your Pandora account, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Link Account, Alexa Requesting Permission- screen, with the -Approve Access- button highlighted.
The -Link Account, Alexa Requesting Permission- screen, with the -Approve Access- button highlighted.

11. Tap the   Approve Access   Button

We find the   Approve Access   button in the previous screenshot, again, in the center of the screen, as highlighted by the green arrow.

Approving access for Alexa allows the Alexa assistant to request media streaming data from Pandora on your behalf when you play Pandora on your Alexa speakers.

When access approval occurs, you get a screen from the Pandora Alexa skill, informing you that Pandora is now successfully linked to your Alexa Amazon account, as shown in the next screenshot.  This means that you can now play Pandora content on your Amazon Alexa Echo smart speakers linked to your Amazon account.

Screenshot of the Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Link Account- screen. It shows that Pandora has been linked successfully. The -Done- button is highlighted.
Alexa app on iOS, displaying its -Link Account- screen. It shows that Pandora has been linked successfully. The -Done- button is highlighted.

Note that the system no longer prompts you to set up your device the way it used to in earlier versions of the Alexa app.  Nowadays, once you link Pandora to your Amazon account, all the speakers linked with that same Alexa account may play Pandora, without any further device authorization steps.

12. Tap the Done Button to Continue with How to Add Pandora to Alexa

Tapping  Done  closes the  Pandora Linkage Succeeded  screen, and takes you back to the  Pandora Skill Enabled screen,  as shown next.

Picture of the -Pandora Skill Enabled- screen, with the -Back- button highlighted.
Displaying the -Pandora Skill Enabled- screen, with the -Back- button highlighted.

13. Tap the Back Button on the Pandora Skill Screen

The Back button is the left arrow (less than math symbol) in the top left corner of the Pandora Skill Enabled screen, as highlighted by the green arrow in the last screenshot.

Tapping  Back  returns you to the  Link Service  screen, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Link Service- screen. Note that there's no Pandora button. The Back button is highlighted here.
The -Link Service- screen. Note that there’s no Pandora button. The Back button is highlighted here.

Now that we’ve successfully added Pandora to Alexa, that music service with your Pandora login credentials is now connected to your Amazon account.  Therefore, Pandora no longer appears on this screen.  Only streaming services that have not yet been added show up here.





14. Next, Tap the  Back  Button on the Link Service Screen

Again, find the  Back  button (the less-than symbol) in the left top corner of the  Link Service  screen, as the green arrow shows in the last picture.

Tapping  Back  returns you to the  Music  screen.

However notice now that Pandora is now listed on this screen.  Remember when we last saw this page above in step  4, that Pandora did not yet appear.  Why?  Because Pandora had not yet been enabled and linked to your Amazon account.  But its appearance now shows that Pandora is in fact, activated.  So, it will now work with your Alexa smart speakers.

See the Pandora music service pointed at by the green arrow in the next screenshot.

Screenshot of the -Enabled Music Services- screen. Pandora now appears here, and is highlighted.
The -Enabled Music Services- screen. Pandora now appears here, and is highlighted.

15. Test out Pandora on your Alexa Speaker

You may now speak commands to your Alexa to play or create custom stations from Pandora’s library of millions of recordings. Just ask, as in

    • Alexa, play disco on Pandora.
    • Computer, play some arena rock music on Pandora.
    • Echo, play 1980s hits on Pandora.

16. Done with How to Add Pandora to Alexa !

Alexa Pandora Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can Alexa Play Pandora?

Yes, your Alexa smart speakers do indeed play Pandora stations!  Once you add either your free / basic or premium Pandora account in the Alexa app, you can then access your Pandora favorite stations and other content.

How do I add Pandora to Alexa App?

Adding Pandora to your Alexa account as we showed how to do earlier in this post, also adds it to the Alexa app.  If you followed our instructions above, then you’ve successfully added the Pandora music service to your Alexa app.

Other Posts About Pandora

    1. Pandora Setup on Original Google Home Smart Speaker Instructions
    2. Find Pandora on Alexa App Instructions
    3. How to Unlink Pandora from Original Google Home Smart Speaker
    4. Pandora Setup Instructions on Amazon Echo Alexa 
    5. How to Link Pandora to Echo Dot Speaker

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References for How to Add Pandora to Alexa

    1. Alexa Echo Support Web Site
    2. Pandora Official Web Site

Revision History

    • 2019-04-25: Added tags.
    • 2019-01-08: First published.