Amazon turned off Alexa voice commands for the cable port on four older Echo speakers. The port still works, but you now switch it on in the app.
Amazon has quietly removed voice control for the cable port on several older Echo speakers. Saying "Alexa, play from line in" or "Alexa, set AUX input" no longer does anything. The port itself still works. If you play a CD player or an old stereo through your Echo, you now set it up in the Alexa app instead.
An Amazon email shared by a customer, reported by Ars Technica, says the voice commands have stopped working. Amazon confirmed the removal. A spokesperson told The Verge that the company notified "the very small number of customers" who use voice requests for AUX playback. Amazon did not say why it removed the feature.
Four models are named in the reports:
The small 3.5mm AUX jack can work in two directions, depending on the model. As an input, it plays sound from a phone, computer or other device through the Echo. As an output, it sends Alexa's audio to another speaker or amplifier.
The third-generation Echo, fourth-generation Echo and second-generation Echo Plus support both. The original Echo Studio supports input only. Third- and fourth-generation Echo Dots support output only. The fifth-generation Dot has no 3.5mm jack at all.
One example from the report: an early-2000s Sony CD changer can feed an original Echo Studio through an RCA-to-3.5mm cable. That plays the CDs through the Echo without a Bluetooth transmitter or a new player.
If your Echo is connected with a 3.5mm cable, set it up in the app:
Once connected, use the controls on the source device to start playback or skip tracks. The old voice commands only managed the Echo's input, not the connected equipment.
You do not need to replace your Echo to keep using its port. Upgrading may cost you the feature, though. The report notes that moving from the first Echo Studio to the redesigned 2025 Echo Studio would likely mean losing the 3.5mm input. Amazon has not explained its reasoning.
If you use the cable port on an older Echo, choose Line In in the Alexa app, because the voice commands no longer work.
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