Audio cuts out whenever I change tracks

  • 2 February 2022
  • 13 replies
  • 136 views
E

I know these are well documented issues but I can’t get to the bottom of them.

  • Speakers randomly cut out and cut back in whenever I’m listening to music
  • When I change the track I always lose several speakers then they come back over time
  • I experience substantial lag when casting music from Spotify to system vs using the Sonos app

I have 13 Sonos Ones, 3 subs, and a Sonos Port connected to my system. For Wifi I have a Google Nest Mesh network with 3 access points scattered throughout my 3600 sq ft single story house. My internet speeds are amazing, I typically get 300+ MBPS down in any room of the entire home.

I have unplugged my entire wifi network as well as all 13 devices, re-enabled the wifi network, and then plugged in all the devices but it didn’t fix anything.

I have a diagnostics report here: 2004201836

Also network analyzer (http://192.168.86.214:1400/support/review) seems totally useless, here’s what I’m getting: 

 

13 replies

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Your Sonos speakers are connected to the Google wifi?

J

As I think @106rallye  is implying, running Sonos in WiFi mode on a Google mesh, especially with that many speakers, is almost doomed to failure.  There is more to successful networking than fast speeds, especially with a system like Sonos, which requires constant communication between multiple devices.

Please try connecting a Sonos device by Ethernet to your primary Google device.  Reboot your other Sonos devices.  Check in About my System that they are all displaying WM;0 not WM;1 (although any Moves or Roams will have WM:1).  You will then be using SonosNet.  See how that goes.

The network matrix is indeed useless in this scenario.  It is designed to show the configuration of the SonosNet mesh, and at the moment you don’t have one.

E

Hey @John B thank you for your reply. I decided to pick up a Boost and connected it directly to my router. I placed it high up on an unobstructed shelf and several feet away from the router. I removed my wi-fi network from the system, I even ended up renaming the network because somehow Sonos kept adding it back. I then restarted every speaker (powered off, waited a minute, powered on). Several speakers would not come back online so I had to hard reset them. I also permanently disconnected 3 speakers because they are a bit further away in my house. I used “About My System” to ensure that all speakrs are on “WM:0” which they are. 

 

Network Matrix now shows the following:

 

Unfortunately I’m still having the cutout issues every time I change the track directly from the Sonos app (spotify is my streaming service). I tried switching to all 3 channels, nothing helped. I’m very close to throwing in the towel here, I feel like I’ve tried everything at this point. 

 

J

Please don’t give up yet.  You have a source of strong wireless interference near your Boost, which means your whole system is built on sand.  Any ideas what this might be?  Any other wireless-based smart systems, such as lights?  Baby monitor?

Is Google acting as your router or do you have an ISP router?

E

Good to know re: the wireless interference. It’s likely the Phillips Hue and Lutron systems that are relatively close to the Bridge. The problem is I have to have all of these devices hardwired.

Here’s my setup:

Cox cable modem → Netgear 5 port switch → Google Nest Mesh (w 3 access points)

I have several other devices plugged into the Netgear switch:

  • Sonos Bridge
  • Lutron Bridge
  • Philips Hue Bridge

I should also mention I have the wifi disabled on the Cox Cable Modem to reduce noise. 

I unplugged the Lutron and Phillips bridges, the OFDM ANI level dropped from 9 to 7 (Noise Floor: -103, -107, -108), so still pretty terrible. 

J

Do you mean the Boost rather than a Sonos Bridge or do you really have a Sonos Bridge?

I would have expected the Google device to be the only device wired to the router, with the switch plugged into the Google and the Lurton, Hue and Boost into the (unmanaged?) switch.

J

Also, what channel is the Boost on? What zigbee channel is Hue using?

E

I apologize, I made 2 mistakes in my last post. 

  1. Yes, I meant Sonos Boost not Bridge
  2. Yes, you are correct, it’s actually Modem → Google Nest → Switch → Boost/Hue/Lutron

I’ve tried all 3 channels, right now I’m sitting on 6.

I’m not sure what zigbee channel Hue is using but I’ve got it unplugged while doing these network tests so it shouldn’t even be a factor. Same with the Lutron, it’s also unplugged.

J

Fair points I forgot you had unplugged. Any other electrical gear nearby (not necessarily wireless) you could temporarily power off?

Also worth moving the Boost - relatively small changes of position can sometimes make a significant difference. Often inexplicably.

J

In extremis, if no joy elsewhere, and obviously just experimentally, you could shut down the Google satellites.  You would have to stay close enough to the main Google for your controller to connect.

E

I’ve moved the boost around quite a bit, many different heights and positions, unfortunately nothing has made a notable improvement.

I do have an air conditioning unit relatively close by but I live in Arizona so I can’t exactly stop using that if it turns out to be the culprit.

I think I’m going to have to run some networking cable to that I can relocate the boost to a different area in my house. Truth be told I’ll probably sell all this equipment and switch to a hardwired sound system. I don’t think Sonos is the right choice for large scale setups with lots of competing smart devices.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your help @John B I really appreciate everything.

J

Sorry we didn’t have more success.  One last thing you could try is to plug the Boost into one of the Google satellites.  That should still set up SonosNet.  It would be a quick experiment.

E

I’d love to do that but unfortunately the google nest satellites do not have a wired ethernet port :( 

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings