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Here’s my situation: I bought a house with three levels. On level two is the modem/router. On level one is the game room where the big TV sits, along with speaker wire that runs to speakers hard-wired on level two (the upper level). I have a well-functioning mesh network throughout the house.

I had an installer come out and tell me I needed three sonos connect AMPS to run the speakers on the upper level. He also said he had to move my modem/router down to level one (the basement) to plug the amps into the modem/router. He said there was a lot of work involved with moving the modem/router downstairs and is wanting to charge me a lot in labor just to do that. He says the amps need to be plugged into the modem/router to work well - they won’t work well in a mesh network. Is that true?


Question, is there a way to keep the modem/router on level two, without having to move it? 

How many “hard-wired” speakers do you have and where exactly are they located on the upper level?

I have three pairs of hard-wired speakers. One pair in the living room. One pair on a back porch and one pair on a side porch. I currently have a cabinet right next to the modem/router on the 2nd floor where the speakers are located. That cabinet could house gear as well. Any ideas?

You do need three Connect:Amps OR, if your budget allows, three of the newer model Sonos Amp. Because the Amp is the latest model with improved internals, they might give you better network performance if you try to run a wireless setup with three Amps so you don’t have to move your router to a different location. Yes, a wired setup would give you a more reliable Sonos ecosystem, but it is possible to run a wireless setup with three Amps too.

Another benefit of the Sonos Amp is it is AirPlay 2 compatible which can come in handy if you are an iPhone, iPad, or Mac user.

You could also ask your installer if it would be easier/cheaper to run the speaker wires to the cabinet next to your router’s current location on the second floor.

I’m a bit confused with your description, but can’t the installer just run Cat6 from the router to where you want the amps will go? Then that solves all the issues?

Hi @Cavemen 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

A single ethernet-wired Sonos product will create it’s own WiFi mesh, which each additional unit will expand - if you can get one unit wired via ethernet, that may be enough for the whole system. Ideally, this would be somewhere central.

We do recommend wiring multiple units if they will all be in the same location, however. Are your Amps all going to be in one location, within 1m (3 feet) of each other? If so, and you wire all three, you should disable WiFi on 2 of them. Settings » System » eRoom Name] » aDevice] (under Products) » Disable Wi-Fi, to prevent interference.

I also don’t see why you’d need to move your router and modem. A single ethernet cable could be run from the router’s current location to wherever you need more connectivity, as @lewisc suggests. A wired WiFi Access Point or a network switch can provide additional connectivity once the cable is there, so you’d only need one cable for each floor that needs it.

 

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