Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker

An Amazon Echo Studio smart speaker with a JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth speaker.

This post shows the Pair Alexa device with Bluetooth Speaker procedure. We illustrate this with a JBL Flip 5 party speaker and the Alexa Input device, although just about any Alexa speaker would pair the same way as shown here. Since this Bluetooth connecting happens between the speaker and Alexa directly, you need not turn Bluetooth on in the mobile device you’re using to establish this link.

Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker: Step by Step

Begin with your Bluetooth speaker turned off. Then perform this routine to pair it to an Alexa device. We’re using an iPad Air Apple tablet to create this pairing.

1. Find the Alexa app on your Mobile Device

We found the app on our device as shown in the next screenshot. In our case, the Alexa app is on the third home screen page. It’s pointed at by the blue arrow.

iOS home screen, showing the Amazon Alexa app Icon highlighted.

2. Run the Alexa App

The app displays its Home screen as shown in the next screenshot.

The Alexa app on iPadOS Home screen, with the -More- Item highlighted.

3. Tap the More (Hamburger) Control

Find the hamburger item in the lower right corner of the screen. This is pointed at by the green arrow in the last screenshot.

This brings up the Alexa app’s main menu, as shown in the next screenshot.

The app’s main menu, with the -Settings- item highlighted.

4. Tap the Settings Option on the Main Menu to Continue with Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker

The Settings option is pointed at by the green arrow in the last screenshot.

This brings up the Settings screen, as shown in the next screenshot.

From here, choose which Alexa device you wish to pair to your Bluetooth speaker. The green arrow in the next picture points at our choice, the Thomas’s Echo Input Alexa device.

The -All Devices- page, with an Alexa device highlighted.

5. Tap the Alexa Device you Want to Pair

This takes you to the device-specific settings screen for the device you picked.

The Alexa app on iPadOS, displaying the -Device Settings- page for the Echo Input, with the -Bluetooth Devices- option highlighted.

6. Tap the Bluetooth Devices Item

Find the Bluetooth Devices menu item pointed at by the green arrow in the last screenshot.

This brings up the Bluetooth Devices screen, as shown next.

At this point, you’re ready to start a Bluetooth scan by the Alexa speaker / receiver you just chose for this connection. In our demo here, our Alexa Input will be the one that scans for Bluetooth devices.

But don’t press the Pair a New Device button just yet. We must first power up our Bluetooth speaker and put it into discovery mode.

The -Select Previously Paired Device- page, with the -Pair a New Device- button bar highlighted.

7. Turn On your Speaker to Continue with Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker

Put down your mobile device for a moment, and turn on your BT speaker. On our Flip 5, we turn the speaker on by quickly pressing its Power button. See this button pointed at by the green arrow, in the next picture.

Top view of a common Bluetooth speaker, powered OFF, with the Power button highlighted.

The speaker then powers up.

But since our Alexa device does not know about this BT speaker yet, this speaker will not pair with it automatically. Thus, the Bluetooth light that shows as dark after you power up this speaker. Note that your Bluetooth speaker may display this non paired state in a different way.

8. Put your Bluetooth Speaker into Pairing Mode

Now, to let Alexa find your speaker, place that Bluetooth speaker in pairing / discovery mode by pressing and releasing the Bluetooth button, as pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture.

Top view of a typical Bluetooth speaker, showing the flashing Bluetooth button highlighted.

When you press the Bluetooth Discovery Mode button, many speakers make some sort of noise to let you know that they’re ready to pair. Some also flash the Bluetooth button.

9. Now, Go Back to your Mobile Device

The screen with the blue Pair a New Device button should still be showing, as in the next screenshot.

Alexa App on iPadOS displaying its -Select Previously Paired Device- page, with the -Pair a New Device- button bar highlighted.

10. Tap the Blue Pair a New Device Button to Continue with Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker

This starts your Alexa device scanning for any nearby Bluetooth speakers that are themselves in pairing mode. Since your BT speaker is now in that mode, Alexa should find it.

Then, after a short pause, you should see something like the screen we got. Shown next.

The -Pair Bluetooth Device with your Echo Input- page, with a JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth speaker on the list highlighted.

In our demo, the Alexa app found our BT speaker, named JBL Flip 5.

11. Find your Bluetooth Speaker on the Discovered Devices List

See the screenshot above.

So, we located our Bluetooth speaker in the list, as pointed at by the green arrow in that picture.

12. Finally, Pair your Alexa with your Bluetooth Speaker

Link to the BT speaker by tapping the listed speaker in the Bluetooth Setup screen, shown in the last screenshot above.

The Alexa smart speaker device then pairs with the Bluetooth speaker (“JBL Flip 5” in this demo).

The app then takes you back to the Device Settings page for the Alexa device, as shown next.

The -Device Settings- page for an Echo Input, showing 1 paired and connected device highlighted.

Also, our speaker makes a Speaker Paired sound (the three ascending tones). Again though, your BT speaker may do something different to indicate that it is paired.

The speaker is now paired with Alexa.

13. Done with Pair Alexa With Bluetooth Speaker !

We have now successfully connected a run-of-the-mill Bluetooth speaker with an Alexa Echo device. So we can now ask Alexa to play music through this speaker.