play 3 keeps dropping out

  • 28 September 2023
  • 38 replies
  • 1483 views
D
  • dk23
  • Contributor I
  • 3 replies

usually reliable sound and playback on my play:3 speaker until recently. now its a daily event and multiple times making the system unusable in the main.

nothing has changed in terms of location of the speaker or router; have done a router reboot, power off/on of play3 as per previous comments on similar issues.

 

what is the underlying issue here, what has changed & what is the resolution to return to the good user experience previous?

 

have submitted diagnostics : 706080232

 

Moderator edit: changed “raised support case” to “submitted diagnostics”

38 replies

Airgetlam

If the PLAY:3 was not powered off when you rebooted the router, you didn’t get the full benefit. 
 

Since you’ve already submitted a system diagnostic, have you called Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

Bruce
D

If the PLAY:3 was not powered off when you rebooted the router, you didn’t get the full benefit. 
 

Since you’ve already submitted a system diagnostic, have you called Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

 

yeah did the power down of play 3 before router reboot as described on other support threads here.

i would expect support to feedback on the diagnostics, no?

Airgetlam

Not unless you called in with the number. Support doesn’t automatically look at all diagnostics, as they state in the Diagnostics - How do they work? thread. Forum moderators do their best, I suspect, to pick up what they can, but they’re technically forum moderators, and not support folks. 

Bruce
U
Userlevel 2

Another Play 3 user here now suffering multiple drop outs during the day. Doesn’t matter which service I use. Have called Sonos support multiple times, they suggest Wifi/network interference but have tried it wired via Ethernet too and face the same issue (they tell me that Wifi could still cause the problem despite being wired?). Also nothing has changed in terms of router/sonos unit positioning.

It’s been working fine for years and now regularly suffers this issue. It is intermittent however, e.g. can be OK for 1 or 2 days and then struggles.


My suspicion is a recent update has caused this instability but perhaps not many are experiencing/no longer use Play 3s? 

D

still ongoing despite such gems of advice to resolve a previously working wiresless connectivity:

no enviromentmal or position changes of router or speaker for 3yrs….

1/ connect ethernet cable to router to resolve. (not suggested as diagnositic, but actually permanent fix)

2/consider change flooring which could influence wifi reach…..

U
Userlevel 2

After my last post I had another call with Sonos support. Where this time a very helpful person took a good look at the different diagnostics and concluded there was a memory issue. This sounds v. plausible given it can work fine for a couple of days following a power cycle and then start to play up. I wouldn’t be surprised if a recent update has caused this, maybe a new feature which the older Play 3’s cannot handle compared to newer models? Who knows, anyway she offered me an out of warranty replacement meaning 30% off a new speaker and I think I’ll take them up on that vs waiting for a potential fix from Sonos.

D

After my last post I had another call with Sonos support. Where this time a very helpful person took a good look at the different diagnostics and concluded there was a memory issue. This sounds v. plausible given it can work fine for a couple of days following a power cycle and then start to play up. I wouldn’t be surprised if a recent update has caused this, maybe a new feature which the older Play 3’s cannot handle compared to newer models? Who knows, anyway she offered me an out of warranty replacement meaning 30% off a new speaker and I think I’ll take them up on that vs waiting for a potential fix from Sonos.


interesting, thanks for the update…..i had a follow up call yesterday. ran diags, connected direct to router via ethernet cable and determined that as it played ‘ok’ without interupptions for 30 seconds it was now good to go.

will follow up with the memory issue if i need to call back as we did nothing yesterday which hasnt already been done before.

G

Hi - I have the Play3 - and I have excatly the same issues… I have tried everything… I think because they are now deemed as ‘old’ tech - that they are slowly forcing you to upgrade - a bit like apple do with sopftware updates on the phones….

H

Hi, I have exactly the same Problem with three of my Play3 and also with my Playbar since i Updated them ~3 Month ago.

I also have one Arc, Beam and a lot of Play1, they all have no Problems.
All newer Updates the last month didn’t fix the Problem, also there is no different if they are ethernet or wireless connected, the only way is to Power the Play3/Playbar down and then they will work for ~1day again.

How can i downgrade the Play3 / Playbar? Or will Sonos fix the Problem?

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Hi - I have the Play3 - and I have excatly the same issues… I have tried everything… I think because they are now deemed as ‘old’ tech - that they are slowly forcing you to upgrade - a bit like apple do with sopftware updates on the phones….

How are they forcing you to upgrade?

While I have gotten several very nice upgrade offers my Play 3s are still happily playing under the S2 app.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Hi, I have exactly the same Problem with three of my Play3 and also with my Playbar since i Updated them ~3 Month ago.

I also have one Arc, Beam and a lot of Play1, they all have no Problems.
All newer Updates the last month didn’t fix the Problem, also there is no different if they are ethernet or wireless connected, the only way is to Power the Play3/Playbar down and then they will work for ~1day again.

How can i downgrade the Play3 / Playbar? Or will Sonos fix the Problem?

You might be able to go back to the S1 firmware and App if all your gear is S1 compatible but there is no way to return to an older version of your S1/S2 firmware and app.

 

Have you set static/reserved IP addresses for all your Sonos, that solves a lot of regular disconnect issues that are DHCP based. You can do this from your router’s DHCP settings page, usually in only a couple minutes. Once done reboot everything and see if the daily issue goes away.

H

Hi, I have exactly the same Problem with three of my Play3 and also with my Playbar since i Updated them ~3 Month ago.

I also have one Arc, Beam and a lot of Play1, they all have no Problems.
All newer Updates the last month didn’t fix the Problem, also there is no different if they are ethernet or wireless connected, the only way is to Power the Play3/Playbar down and then they will work for ~1day again.

How can i downgrade the Play3 / Playbar? Or will Sonos fix the Problem?

You might be able to go back to the S1 firmware and App if all your gear is S1 compatible but there is no way to return to an older version of your S1/S2 firmware and app.

 

Have you set static/reserved IP addresses for all your Sonos, that solves a lot of regular disconnect issues that are DHCP based. You can do this from your router’s DHCP settings page, usually in only a couple minutes. Once done reboot everything and see if the daily issue goes away.

There is no Problem with my DHCP Server, I think there is a Memory Problem of the Old Sonos Play3 with the latest Firmware.
Downgrade to S1 is not an option for me, because I already have Sonos Speaker that are not compatible with S1.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

There is no Problem with my DHCP Server, I think there is a Memory Problem of the Old Sonos Play3 with the latest Firmware.
 

To make it clear, I never said there was anything wrong with your DHCP server.

There is nothing wrong with the several different DHCP servers I have tried here either.

Still, following the advice of many other folks on the forums I went ahead and set the static addresses anyway. My problems went away with that single change.

R

usually reliable sound and playback on my play:3 speaker until recently. now its a daily event and multiple times making the system unusable in the main.

nothing has changed in terms of location of the speaker or router; have done a router reboot, power off/on of play3 as per previous comments on similar issues.

 

what is the underlying issue here, what has changed & what is the resolution to return to the good user experience previous?

 

have submitted diagnostics : 706080232

 

Moderator edit: changed “raised support case” to “submitted diagnostics”

Same here, haven't had the time or inclination to try and troubleshoot, changed nothing on my system yet my 2x play 3s have both started, in say the last 2 months, dropping out frequently. My roam, beam and 4x play ones are fine. The 2 play 5s were relegated to the garage on upgrade. Frustrating to think we're being asked to upgrade again. Hope I'm wrong

H

usually reliable sound and playback on my play:3 speaker until recently. now its a daily event and multiple times making the system unusable in the main.

nothing has changed in terms of location of the speaker or router; have done a router reboot, power off/on of play3 as per previous comments on similar issues.

 

what is the underlying issue here, what has changed & what is the resolution to return to the good user experience previous?

 

have submitted diagnostics : 706080232

 

Moderator edit: changed “raised support case” to “submitted diagnostics”

Same here, haven't had the time or inclination to try and troubleshoot, changed nothing on my system yet my 2x play 3s have both started, in say the last 2 months, dropping out frequently. My roam, beam and 4x play ones are fine. The 2 play 5s were relegated to the garage on upgrade. Frustrating to think we're being asked to upgrade again. Hope I'm wrong

The same here, my Solution was an automatic Timer for play3 and playbar that Turn off the power every day with a smart plug.
Static IP didn’t fix the problem for me.
Really sad support from Sonos!

C

I am experiencing exactly the same issues with my Play:3 speakers - they keep dropping out after they’ve been running/ connected for a few hours. The only solution seems to be to power cycle the speaker and it’s ok again for a while. My system includes 2 Play:1s, 4 Play:3s and 1 Sonos Playbase.

I have tried everything (rebooting my router, factory resetting all my speakers, reserving (fixing) the IP addresses of all speakers, trying different music sources). Always the same result - the Play:3 speakers start dropping out intermittently at first and then permanently off. Until I switch them off and then on again (power cycle). Then they work ok for a few hours. The Play:1s and the SoundBase don’t seem to be affected. It seems like it might be a memory issue (cache not emptying?) and it only started happening in the last couple of months - previously everything worked perfectly - so I’m wondering if a Sonos update and caused all this?

I have owned these speakers for about 10 years, but I would not expect them to become obsolete as I have invested quite a lot in my system. I don’t want to have to upgrade if the same happens again in the future!

Airgetlam

Duplicate post, see my response to your other post. 

Bruce
S
Userlevel 2

I have the same problem with my Play:3.  Mine had been in storage for about a year until I reconnected it a few months ago. Worked fine until a few weeks back. It’s connected via a very close WAP which I check frequently and it shows as connected but the music just starts and stops randomly. I’ve also tried different music sources and playing through Sonos App and also Spotify App but I can’t get uninterrupted playback.  I have 6 other Sonos products in the house which all work fine - it’s just the play:3 that’s a problem

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Keeping the Play 3 about three feet away from the AP might help, if it is closer they can swamp each other’s signal.

If giving it distance doesn’t help wait for the problem and submit a diagnostic and call Sonos support to have a look at the (invisible to us users) internal data.

B

I am a long time SONOS user and love the tech.  My only legacy piece is a PLAY 3 that is doing exactly what everyone else is describing.  It has been in the same place for 8 years and only just started dropping out in the last few months.  

Airgetlam

It’s always possible that wifi interference is coming from outside your network, and even outside of your home. I’ve had issues with a degrading microwave, as well as a new neighbor with a router stomping on my system. Another forum member has had challenges with a neighbor’s wireless phone. 

Bruce
B

Rebooting the router did no good.  I am near the switch so I hardwired the PLAY3 and normal operation was restored with the ethernet connection.

Airgetlam

That certainly suggests either wifi interference of some type, or a hardware failure of the WiFi system in the PLAY:3 was the culprit. If it was the latter, you could submit a system diagnostic and call Sonos Support to discuss it. There would be evidence of the hardware failure, I’d think. 

Bruce
T

I have a Play:3 and 2 Play:1 units, the Play:3 has been misbehaving for some months, requiring a power cycle every few days or couple of weeks maximum.

The Play:3 is, and always has been, connected via wired ethernet. I last changed my WiFi setup 3 years ago and again it has never made any difference to the Sonos network functions. All 3 units are given static IP addresses as they always have been since I purchased them.

I find that when the problem, interrupted play usually when listening to a BBC Sounds service, is occurring the Android and Windows Sonos app struggle to see the Play:3 on the network while both Play:1 units are perfectly fine and visible without problems. My Google WiFi APs all show good connectivity and good mesh performance.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a software problem in the Play:3, probably created in an update sometime in 2023 as this problem did not happen before the middle of last year. It gives every impression of being a memory leak or something else that means incoming streaming data is being lost or overwritten before it is played.

I find that when I try to capture diagnostic information the Sonos app fails to actually obtain any data because it can’t see the Play:3 on the network. I can ping its IP address from another computer, but that’s all I can do until I power cycle the Play:3

Over to someone who can see a way around all this beyond reprogramming the damned thing with an axe.

Airgetlam

Are you running S1 or S2 on those devices? 

Since the controller, no matter what device it is being run on, is only a remote control app, showing you what is happening on the speakers themselves, that suggests trouble with some devices connecting to your router, either via WiFi or via a wired connection. Unfortunately, only Sonos employees can see the data in a diagnostic that would tell us why, so idk suggest submitting one and calling them to discuss it. They won’t contact you if you merely submit one, you must call. And, yes, you should run that diagnostic when the PLAY:3 can be ‘seen’ by the controller. 

Another option that I could see is a difficulty with the stream coming from the BBC Sounds server. Do you have this same problem if you begin the stream from the PLAY:1s versus the PLAY:3s? Sonos, unfortunately, has no control over the BBC servers, the speakers are merely fed the data across the internet. 

The final potential issue I can see is failing memory in the PLAY:3 itself, and the stream coming in running up against not enough RAM to run properly, again, a Sonos diagnostic should reveal that, it’s not something accessible by those of us on these forums. 

Bruce

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