Forum Discussion

carsokk's avatar
carsokk
Reel Rookie
2 years ago

Using Echo Dot as a speaker for Roku TV

Hi.  Can is there any way to pair (via bluetooth or wifi) a Roku TV with an Echo Dot so that the Echo Dot is an audio speaker for the Roku TV?  I found this asked 3 years ago for a different model of TV and the answer was no.   So, I hope thngs have changed in 3 years.  If this is not possible, is there any way to submit a request for this feature?

10 Replies

  • Tivoburkee's avatar
    Tivoburkee
    Community Streaming Expert

    Sorry, but no.  Roku's use to only be Bluetooth receivers not transmitters. Which is what the speaker needs. But they did upgrade Roku's to transmit to Bluetooth headphones only, still not speakers. 

    • carsokk's avatar
      carsokk
      Reel Rookie

      My Roku TV can connect to bluetooth speakers, so doesn't that mean it is a Bluetooth Transmitter?  The problem is that when you go into setup mode, it does not see the Echo as a speaker.  So, if there was some way for the Echo to present itself as a speaker, it should work, shouldn't it?  I have confirmed on the Amazon site that a Amazon Fire TV can use an Echo as a speaker, so Roku should (in theory) bea able to do the same thing.  Or, am I missing something?

      • Amarixn5's avatar
        Amarixn5
        Newbie

        I'm having the same problem, it's not showing up on my TV. I even went as far as add my onn Roku TV as a device on the Amazon Alexa app but it's still not showing up on my TV when I'm searching for a speaker to connect to. This needs to be taken care of because the feature isn't serving a purpose.

  • Yes, it is possible!!  Though it requires the use of an Amazon Firestick.

    I recently picked up a second-hand Hisense Roku TV and had the same question.  Like you, I wasn't satisfied with the "not possible" answer, so I did a bunch of trial-and-error testing until I came across a setup that I was satisfied with.

    The first step is to setup Alexa Home Theater mode on a Firestick or FireTV device, instructions here:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GENPVVD63RZMN7CU

    Not all Echo devices are compatible with all FireTV devices, so make sure you're working with the same-generation devices.  For example, a Firestick 4k 2nd gen will work with Echo Dot 4th gen speakers, but won't work with Echo Dot 3rd gen (but Firestick 4k 1st gen will).
    Not sure why they couldn't make all their devices work together,  but here's a compatibility list:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GYYMWGZJUK28FEN6

    Once you've got the Alexa Home Theater mode working, the rest is fairly simple.  Go to the audio settings on your Roku TV and manually set the audio to output to the HDMI(ARC) device for your Firestick. 
    Audio output worked immediately on my TV, but the volume buttons weren't working until I powered the TV off and back on again.  Now audio for the TV comes out the Echo Dot speakers and both the Amazon & Hisense remotes are able to control the volume.  Every so often it gets glitchy, where audio still works but changing the volume with the remote stops working, but power-cycling the TV fixes it.

    Hopefully that helps. 🙂

    • rausch74's avatar
      rausch74
      Reel Rookie

      Slight correction from my earlier post.
      It has to be a Firestick 4k device that supports ARC audio, so the older FireTV/Stick devices won't work.

      According to Amazon:
      The following Fire TV Sticks are compatible with Alexa Home Theater with HDMI ARC:

      • Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Generation)
      • Fire TV Stick 4K Max (1st Generation)
      • Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Generation)

      https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G9MFQFRP6F7L8UH9

    • Jerriko's avatar
      Jerriko
      Newbie

      I can't get this to work. I have my firestick 4k set up with 2 echo dots and my home theatre it works on the fire stick but there's no sound on the roku tv I don't get it. 

      • rausch74's avatar
        rausch74
        Reel Rookie

        It wouldn't work with my Firestick 4k 1st generation, it requires a 2nd generation (rounded corners).
        I'm assuming it works with 3rd gen devices too, but I haven't got one.

        Provided you've got the right generation, then it could be the wrong HDMI port on your TV.
        Only one HDMI port supports ARC (I think it has "ARC" written below the port).