# Amazon Audible **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718 "2021-05-23T01:53:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/1 "2021-05-23T01:53:52Z")
I’m thinking of joining Audible but I have a couple of questions before I do. 1. When you purchase an audiobook from Audible, can you listen to it on all your devices? 2. If you _can_ listen to it on all your devices, am I right in assuming that they’d all be synch’d (so, for example, if I were listening on my desktop but switched to my cell phone, it would automatically pick up at the right time/page)? Maybe I should just ask if the Audible audiobook is downloaded to me or do I access it through a web page? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/2 "2021-05-23T02:08:56Z")
The answer to both your questions is yes. I only listen on my phone, but sometimes I also buy the book for my kindle and the app will sync the printed book to the same location where I left off on audio book, and vice versa. This works seamlessly 99% of the time. You can go to [audible.com](http://audible.com) on your phone or computer and order/buy the book from either device. Then you download it to each device separately. Just like with an ebook. Buying it and downloading it are two different steps. I’m so used to doing it, I may not have answered clearly. So ask me if I’ve left something out. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/3 "2021-05-23T02:36:15Z")
While I prefer meatspace books, I listen to 25-50 Audible books a year. As a company they’re pretty easy to work with. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/4 "2021-05-23T02:50:40Z")
Be sure and listen to a sample before you buy. The reader makes ALL the difference. The listener reviews on [audible.com](http://audible.com) will comment on the narrator, so read those. As with kindle books, you can return for a refund within some window of time. Go to Amazon and under your account, look for “your content and devices,” and there’s an option to return. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/5 "2021-05-23T04:08:10Z")
Syncs well with Alexa too. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/6 "2021-05-23T10:39:22Z")
Explain how you do that? Do you just say, "Alexa, open _War & Peace_, (which you’ve been reading or listening to on your phone) and she will start to read where you left off? I often play an audiobook when I’m falling asleep, but the app on your phone has a countdown timer-- so, for example, I set the book to play for 45 minutes. Can you set a timer with Alexa? (I’m talking about an Echo device, _not_ Alexa on the phone or kindle.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/7 "2021-05-23T11:00:39Z")
Gosh, it’s been a while. I think all I have to say is “Alexa, continue reading” I think one time I set it off by saying “Alexa, tell me a story” and that was enough to continue reading. Although that’s not what I was trying to get her to do. I was wanting her to tell me one of her short stories. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/8 "2021-05-23T15:01:52Z")
You can listen on all your devices, but AFAIK you do have to download the book to those devices (as opposed to streaming). And this means that you can listen while your device is offline (e.g. a phone in airplane mode), but of course it won’t sync while you’re offline. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/9 "2021-05-23T16:17:57Z")
You can stream if you’re in a WiFi zone (preferably a reliable one, like at home), but it’s best to download. I have started listening to an audiobook and walked out of the house and it stopped when I got out of range. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/10 "2021-05-23T19:24:48Z")
Appreciate all your responses, thanks. I just may give it a try . . . ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/11 "2021-05-23T20:17:07Z")
You can cancel at any time. If you have Bluetooth in your car, you can pair with your phone and play audible stuff through your car’s radio speakers. Good for long-ish drives/commutes. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/12 "2021-05-25T00:18:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > You can cancel at any time. Afterthought: you really _can_ cancel at any time. It’s not like the old time Columbia Record Club, which seemed to quickly turn into the multiplying broom scene in _The Sorcerer’s Apprentice_ segment in _Fantasia_. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-audible/942718/13 "2021-05-25T00:32:24Z")
And you keep the right to access your past purchases if you cancel. Your membership buys credits that are vouchers that you use to _buy_ books. Since last year membership also gives you access (without using your credits) to an additional library of books that you do _not_ own, you would lose this access if you cancelled membership. I hope Audible doesn’t try to move toward the Music model where you never own anything. I kind of like owning my own “library”, even if its virtual.