Spotify skill not working on alexa geographical restriction Norway

[oleroc]

Plan

Premium

Country

Norway

Device

Iphone/web

My Question or Issue

I keep getting the geographical restriction message. 
All my accounts are set to Norway, Haven't changed credentials or anything. Same on both phone and web page.
Have had both accounts for years.
What to do?

[Ivan]

Hey @oleroc, 

Thanks for posting on the Community about this.

Could you confirm if you still experience this after performing a clean reinstall of the Spotify app on your iPhone? This will remove corrupted data that could be causing the issue and get you the latest app version with all necessary updates. 

If you still get the error message after a clean reinstall, send us a screenshot displaying how this looks on your end. Just attach the image to your next response to us by using the Insert Photos option in the post editor. This way we can take a closer look at the issue.

Looking forward to your reply. Enjoy your day!

[oleroc]

Hi, I can confirm the issue still exist after complete re install of app.

It also give me the same if I try to login to alexa on web.

Here is screenshot of app.

[Ivan]

Hey @oleroc, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

If you still get this error message after a clean reinstall it's a good idea to also try re-linking your accounts. 

In case you still experience this after re-linking the accounts, we'd suggest to get in touch with the Amazon customer support.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted. 

[oleroc]

The accounts are not linked. Cannot link them, since I cannot install the skill

[Ivan]

Hey @oleroc, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

It looks like Spotify isn't supported on international Echo devices so this feature has been withdrawn in your country. You can read more about this here.

As a workaround, you could try changing your country setting for the Alexa device, following the steps here.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any questions. 

[oleroc]

This does not apply to me. I do not have an international echo device. The problem is NOT that that I can't use Spotify on a device. The problem is that I can not link spotify and alexa, regardless of  "device". My friends use Spotify with their Alexa without problems all over Norway, so its something with my account. I have been a paying customer for years, so please have someone look into this. This should just work. If your guys need to talk to Amazon guys to sort this out, please do. Please do not expect your customers to solve internal problems on their own.

[Ivan]

Hey @oleroc,

We understand that the issue comes from linking Spotify and Alexa on your Echo, not that you can't use our app on devices in general.

According to our information, there's no local Amazon in Norway, so any Echo devices shipped are international ones.

Your friends might have Echos from different regions or different Amazon account settings, which would explain the situation. Keep in mind, the availability of the different Alexa features and services may vary by region, as explained on the Amazon website.

In general, since you're receiving this error in the Alexa app, it's best to reach out to Amazon's customer support team for the best advice possible with their products and services.

Cheers!

[oleroc]

I do not own an amazon echo.

[Ivan]

Ah, gotcha! In that case, can you let us know, on what device you're trying to use Alexa?

If it's just the voice assistant for your phone - the same restrictions apply as with Echo devices as it's the main hardware used for this Voice Assistant.

It would still be best to reach out to Amazon, as you're receiving the error in the Alexa app. Our guess is your friends might have different region settings, but Amazon would be able to advise best.

[oleroc]

The device is Samsung Q950T.

But even if I don't own a single Alexa device, I should still be able to link spotify with my alexa account. Unless a new policy has been made the last couple of month, banning all norwegians from linking spotify with their Alexa app.

I can't find a way to "reach out" to amazon on this. The write what's in the attachment to this post. Thing is, if the skill is not added, you can't submit a help request. This is what's called a catch-22. You can't get help, because you need the help to ask for help.

I don't know what kind of associations you have with Spotify, or if you can provide any kind of support beyond links, and maybe's..

It comes down to this. 
- Can norwegians link spotify with an alexa account in general?

[Ivan]

We have to admit we're not experts with the Alexa app, but from what we understand there are some limitations as to what skills and services you can link to it and the voice assistant based on your Amazon account region settings and sometimes your current location as well.

To get those questions answered you can try clicking on the Contact Us link over here. There should be an Alexa support team, so even if you don't land with them initially, you should get redirected to the right department.

[oleroc]

Ok, Thank you.
Has it happens, I went into my amazon.co.uk account, changed my location from Norway to UK, mind you my amazon.com account is still Norway, as is the Spotify account, and then I was able to add the spotify skill. I then changed my location back to Norway, and it still works. It should NOT be this difficult.. Spotify and Amazon should seriously have a chat about these issues...

[Ivan]

Ah, so it did have something to do with the region availability it seems. Happy to hear you managed to get it resolved and thanks for posting back to give us the details. We'll make sure to note this to better advise other users in the future.

Honestly, we don't have much influence on the feature availability of other services that connect to Spotify so there's not much we can do about the specific requirements to use Spotify in certain regions with other services. If we can be of any other assistance however, just let us know.

All the best!

[pppdns]

I'm having the exact same issue. I own an Echo device and the Spotify skill worked for a year, but stopped working a few days ago without me changing anything. I tried to disable and re-enable the Alexa skill but I get the above "georgaphy restriction" error. I can still choose my Echo device from the Spotify app as the speaker and it works perfectly. I just can't use the Alexa skill anymore. I'll try the hack Oleroc suggested above to change my country, link Spotify<>Alexa, then change my country back. This really shouldn't be this difficult and buggy. I understand that the Customer Support team doesn't have much influence over the Spotify<>Amazon deal but it would be nice if you could escalate this to a manager. I'm quite sure that lots of people are having the same bad Spotify/Alexa experience outside the US/UK, they just don't bother posting to the Spotify/Alexa forums because they don't expect real help

[ianwestboy]

@pppdns I'm having all the same behaviour in Ukraine what you described . The most frequent function I had while using Alexa it's playing a spotify by my voice command. If this link will be not fixed, probably I'll have to switch to apple homepod

[malvolyn]

Same here from Turkey. I have got my Alexa Echo + 3 echo dots from Germany. It worked without any problem for about more than 3 years. Last month it stopped working I also tried to disable and re-enable like pppdns the Alexa Spotify skill but I get the above "georgaphy restriction" error.

I will try @oleroc 's suggestion and hope it will work again. I was using Alexa just to listen music on Sportify.

Edit: I changed location and yes it fixed. Thank you Oleroc. How make Spotify work again? He is the way:

1. Login your Amazon Account and go to Your Account > Manage Your Content and Devices > Preferences > Country/Region Settings
2. Change your address as any other country. (USA or UK for example.)
3. Check your Alexa app, Spotify will work again so you can connect it to your Alexa.
4. Change your address back to your original address. Spotify will still work.