If you’ve ever tried to get the Alexa Plex skill working with Amazon’s new Alexa+ service, you know it’s not exactly a walk in the park. What should be a simple “Alexa, play The Office on Plex” turned into a multi-day adventure in debugging, configuration tweaking, and questioning my life choices.
The Dream
The goal was simple: use voice commands to control my Plex media server through Alexa+. I’d been happily using the Alexa Plex skill for a while, but after upgrading to Alexa+, things started getting… complicated.
The Reality
Problem 1: Account Linking Woes
The first hurdle was getting the skill to properly link with my Plex account after the Alexa+ upgrade. The skill would show as “linked” in the Alexa app, but every voice command returned the dreaded “I’m having trouble connecting to Plex right now.”
After countless unlinks and relinks, I discovered the issue: Alexa+ apparently handles OAuth tokens differently than classic Alexa. The fix? Completely removing the skill, clearing the Alexa app cache, and starting fresh.
Problem 2: Device Discovery Drama
Even after successfully linking, Alexa+ seemed to have amnesia about my Plex clients. My trusty living room TV that worked flawlessly before was now invisible.
The solution involved:
- Re-enabling the Plex skill (again)
- Running device discovery multiple times
- Renaming my Plex clients to simpler names without special characters
- Sacrificing a small amount of my sanity
Problem 3: The “Which Device?” Loop
Finally connected! But now Alexa+ kept asking “Which device do you want to play that on?” even when I only have one client configured. Classic.
This one required diving into the Alexa app settings and explicitly setting a default Plex playback device. Buried under Settings > TV & Video > Plex > Manage Playback Devices. Why Amazon made this so hidden is beyond me.
Problem 4: Natural Language Processing Gone Wrong
The new Alexa+ AI is supposedly smarter, but it seems to have a harder time understanding Plex-specific commands. “Play Schitt’s Creek on Plex” somehow became a search for “shits creek” on Amazon Prime. Not ideal.
The workaround? Being more explicit: “Ask Plex to play Schitt’s Creek.” Not as natural, but at least it works.
What Finally Worked
After all the trial and error, here’s my working configuration:
- Fresh skill installation - Remove and reinstall the Plex skill completely
- Simple client names - Renamed all Plex clients to single words (e.g., “LivingRoom” instead of “Living Room TV - Plex”)
- Default device set - Explicitly configured the default playback device in Alexa settings
- Explicit commands - Using “Ask Plex to…” format for reliable results
- Patience - Sometimes commands take 2-3 seconds longer to process with Alexa+
Lessons Learned
- New platform releases and third-party skill compatibility don’t always mix well
- Sometimes the nuclear option (complete uninstall/reinstall) is the only option
- Voice assistant technology is amazing when it works, and infuriating when it doesn’t
- Document your working configuration because you WILL need to set this up again someday
Is It Worth It?
Despite all the headaches, having voice control over my media library is genuinely useful. Being able to say “Ask Plex to play some jazz music” while cooking dinner, or “Ask Plex to play The Mandalorian” without hunting for a remote, makes the setup pain worthwhile.
Would I go through it again? Reluctantly, yes. Would I recommend it to others? Only if they have a high tolerance for troubleshooting and a strong appreciation for voice-controlled media playback.
Have you had similar experiences with Alexa+ and third-party skills? I’d love to hear your war stories in the comments below.