Alexa echo dot 3rd generation issues

[tes6491]

I want to be able to listen to Pandora music for eight hours uninterupted in the bedroom since I have insomnia issues. I give the "loop on" comand, Alexa confirms its on. The device in question is the 3rd generation with clock in the bedroom. My other device is a 3rd generation without clock in the kitchen. Since setting up the bedroom device it has played though the night only twice. Other nights it will play less than an hour or up to four hours inconsistantly. The kitchen device plays consistantly with only a few shutdowns over a one year period. I moved the bedroom unit downstairs and it played continuously for over 8 hours during the day. I suspect that it could be some type of wifi/internet issue that only occurs at night, however my other devices such as camaras etc stay on line. I have contacted Amazon support and have followed their suggestion ssuch as rebooting, resetting, app delete and restore with no success. Any advice or suggestions are apreciated. Note: I'm using a Pandora free account. TIA

[TannerPandora]

Hi @tes6491 thanks for posting to community!

Could you tell me a little more about what happens when the music stops. Are there any error messages? When you resume the station does it start where it left off?

[tes6491]

I haven't recieved any error messages. With a resume command it does not start where it left off and somtimes it doesnt resume at all, then I have to command play xxx station on Pandora. 

[tes6491]

I spoke with someone at amazon technical support. Im told that by design Alexa will shut down any stream after a 4 to 6 hour period, and that the device is functioning as intended by design. This contradicts my personal expereince of an occational non interupted steam of 8 hours. That also contradicts the reseach I have read in various forums where it has been stated that Alexa will play continuously when streaming Pandora, Iheartradio, tunein etc. Again last night 1 hour and then 2 hours after a restart via command it shut off the stream.

At this point it is very confusing, any further input or advice would be appreciated. I'm ready to switch back to a simple radio and endure the commercials that interupt the music. 

[tes6491]

Conclusion, Pandora stops streaming after no particular length of time between 1 hour to 8 hours. Tunein app streams consistantly until the shut off command or forget about Alexa and go with an old school radio.

[TannerPandora · Accepted solution]

Hi @tes6491  thanks for the feedback with your Alexa.

All Pandora accounts will pause after a period of inactivity. This is in place to avoid the cost of streaming music into empty rooms. For example, some people may start playing Pandora at work and leave it running after going home for the day.

Since we pay full royalties on every song we play, having a timeout interval helps us prevent streaming endlessly to unattended devices. Ultimately, it allows us to offer our free service and maintain our current subscription prices. When you upgrade to Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium, the timeout increases, but does not disappear completely.

This being said, we are aware some folks aren't able to easily interact with Pandora in order to let us know they're still listening, and we do apologize for the inconvenience. Listener input is really important to us, and we pride ourselves on keeping close track of what we hear. As such, I've shared your thoughts with our product team. 

Thanks again and sorry for the inconvenience. 

[Mike1Mike1Mike1]

I hate this so much. I play lullaby music or sleep music in my kids rooms overnight. Why would a category called "sleep music" timeout overnight in under 8 hours?? My kids are young and down for 12 hours. Yes, it costs you money to pay the artists, but that's WHY I PAY YOU.