The Amazon Echo Dot is a compact smart speaker that can fit practically anywhere and offers all the features of its bigger brothers. And while the newest third-gen Echo Dot, and the version featuring a digital clock, deliver dramatically better sound than their predecessors, the Dot still lacks the booming speaker offered by the full Echo.
That's fine if you just want to hear the latest news, purchase products, or play games and quizzes, but if you want to listen to music, the Echo Dot's speaker may not be up to snuff. Fear not, though, because you can connect your Dot to an external speaker to beef up the sound.
You can set up an external speaker with virtually any of Amazon's Alexa-driven devices, but the Dot is really the one that needs it. If you have an Echo Dot and want to connect it to another speaker, you can plug in an external speaker or connect one via Bluetooth. Let's go over the steps for both options.
Plug In a Speaker
If you wish to plug a speaker into your Echo Dot, you'll need a standard 3.5mm audio cable with male connections on both ends. Plug one end of your audio cable into your speaker's Aux In connection and the other end into the Dot's Aux Out connection, right next to the power cable's connection. Power up your speaker, and it will now pump out the sound from your Echo Dot the next time you request Alexa to play music
Stream With Bluetooth
Don't want to futz around with cables? Then you can instead stream the sound from your Dot to a Bluetooth speaker. Amazon offers tips on what type of Bluetooth speaker you can use and sells a variety of supported speakers.
After you've got the right speaker, turn it on and put it into pairing mode. Fire up the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet and tap Devices > Echo & Alexa. Tap the name of the device that you wish to set up with your speaker.
Bluetooth Settings
Under the settings screen for the device you want to pair, tap Bluetooth Devices > Pair a New Device.
Select Speaker
The Alexa app searches for nearby Bluetooth devices for pairing with your Echo Dot. Tap the name of your speaker when it pops up.
Alexa App
After the pairing is successful, the speaker shows up in the list of Bluetooth devices in the Alexa app. Alexa also announces the successful pairing. You can now ask Alexa to play music and perform other tasks, and the sound is piped through your Bluetooth speaker.
Disconnect Speaker
If you wish to disconnect the speaker, tap the name of the speaker in the Alexa app and tap Disconnect. Or, say "Alexa, disconnect." Alexa tells you that your Echo Dot is now disconnected from your speaker. To reestablish the connection, tell Alexa "Alexa, connect." Alexa will connect your Echo Dot to the last connected Bluetooth device.
You can remove the entry for your speaker by tapping the name of the speaker in the Alexa app and selecting Forget Device. Your speaker disappears from the list of Bluetooth devices. To reconnect it, you’ll have to go through the pairing process again.