Make Sonos work without internet

As long as all Sonos units and controllers are on the same software/firmware versions, there is no need to be connected to the internet if you are streaming local music from your own personal library.

Nope! the Sonos program on the Windows 10 PC (media server) just says cannot find Sonos system. As does the app on the android phone. :@
If I set the music playing then disconnect the adsl the music continues to play but I am unable to control it using the PC or the phone which just complain about not finding the Sonos system. :(

And what happens if you don't have any internet connections at all ?

Mess wrote:

Nope! the Sonos program on the Windows 10 PC (media server) just says cannot find Sonos system. As does the app on the android phone. :@
If I set the music playing then disconnect the adsl the music continues to play but I am unable to control it using the PC or the phone which just complain about not finding the Sonos system. :(

And what happens if you don't have any internet connections at all ?

You have something else going on. Playback from local network sources works fine for me without Internet access -- was using it this morning during a Virgin Media outage for scheduled maintenance.

Mess wrote:

then disconnect the adsl

I will make an assumption that you are using a combined router/modem rather than a separate modem (you would know if you were running seperate). When you say disconnect, do you mean disconnect the phone line or unplug.

If you unplug you are essentially killing the network the PC uses to talk to the sonos, and the same for the wi-fi network the the phone is likely using.

Nope lost internet today for 6 hours WiFi in home was still active but could not play music via Sonos in fact had music playing when it went off. Only way I could get music playing was via Airplay but ceiling speakers are not Airplay so these wouldn’t work. Basically with no internet Sonos is a defunct piece of equipment in home. There must be a set up to play when offline.

I use my holiday home system without an internet connection - it plays fine. Not sure why yours won't but it isn't a generic issue

Airplay works across wifi, to the best of my knowledge. Doesn't need an outside internet connection, just a local wifi connection.....just like Sonos.

Although I think Sonos now needs an outside connection in order to set up new speakers. But certainly not to play local content. When I moved, I was playing music from my NAS to help me unpack long before I had an outside connection.

What source was the music you were attempting to play, Silverfox1? When you were looking in the controller app, could you see your Sonos speakers?

I sit corrected. AirPlay does require a network, but it doesn't have to be wifi, it can be bluetooth (or wired) , according to this article:

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/airplay1.htm

Hi @silverfox

You don't need an internet connection to play music that is downloaded (resident) to your device. You only need the internet if you are streaming live from a service (i.e. Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music etc). The only other issues that would prevent you from playing downloaded music are: No WiFi or out-of-date Sonos App.

Cheers!

I was playing music downloaded to phone via Spotify within Spotify app ceiling speakers disappeared and I couldn’t connect to Sonos One speakers around home too. Music would play fine on phone eventually I AirPlayed the Sonos One’s. Even on Sonos app although rooms were listed couldn’t play anything even the queue listed from last played via Spotify which was downloaded to phone.

I have a hub basically modem and router in one

Silverfox1 wrote:

I was playing music downloaded to phone via Spotify within Spotify app ceiling speakers disappeared and I couldn’t connect to Sonos One speakers around home too. Music would play fine on phone eventually I AirPlayed the Sonos One’s. Even on Sonos app although rooms were listed couldn’t play anything even the queue listed from last played via Spotify which was downloaded to phone.

Songs downloaded from Spotify cannot be played on Sonos due to DRM protection. Has nothing to do with internet and everything to do with Spotify not willing to license their DRM encryption to a third party.

Then you were streaming from the internet, as downloaded Spotify content cannot be played on Sonos

Cheers John bit of a pain that you have to download to two locations as obviously when out and about need it downloaded via Spotify

You can thank the lawyers for that pain. They're the ones who cause all these companies to enforce the laws around music copyrights and musician payments, as well as multi country agreements. Having dealt with trying to get music clearance for video games in the past, I can assure you, it's a black hole of life sucking complexity. But I guess at the end of the day, I do want the creators of the music to get their monies.....but it does seem to me that the lawyers seem to get a fairly large share.

Silverfox1 wrote:

Cheers John bit of a pain that you have to download to two locations as obviously when out and about need it downloaded via Spotify

You aren't really downloading a second time. Spotify does not allow downloaded content to be played on Sonos. So each and every time you play the track you stream it from the internet. That is why the music stopped when the internet went down. In effect, as far as Sonos is concerned, downloaded (but not purchased outright) music is not a locally-stored source.

biggetjeindewei wrote:

Mess wrote:

I would just like to play the music from my media server over my Sonos speakers without having to have a connection to the internet.

As long as your router is broadcasting IP addresses, you should be fine.
I have a separate modem and router. A few weeks ago I had to switch off the modem for a full day to do some maintenance on my network, meanwhile SONOS was playing my music from the NAS without interruptions, and could be controlled via the iPad and iPhone without any issue.

I am wondering if someone could explain how to set up two routers, one connected to the internet and one only to my home network while being able to either stream from the internet or listen to my iTunes library. Help would be greatly appreciated.

-Jp

I'm not understanding your question, why do you want two routers and networks?

You realize Sonos will only connect to one or the other?

If you don't hook one router behind the other your ISP is likely going to charge you more for two connections.

That piggy-back setup can cause much frustration if you aren't very good at networking.

@jkpalmer52

I don't know to whom you've been talking to but I think they have you a bit confused. First of all any router used to connect to the internet or just generate a Wi-Fi signal is your HOME network. In theory you don't need a connection to the internet to have a home network.

You could have a router that generates a Wi-Fi signal and move files between computers or any device capable of locking on to the wi-fi. However, without an internet connection you won't be able to send or receive emails or perform any task that requires the internet.

Here's the other fun part...after you have setup Sonos you could disconnect (remove) the cable that brings internet into your home and still use Sonos to play music that you own that is resident on your iOS or Android device as well as a Windows or MacOSX PC.

There's another form of isolated communication between devices called "peer to peer". Guess what...it doesn't require a router!

Having said all the above...just what is it you want to do? You'll have to be more specific. As Stanley_4 said you may cause yourself a lot of frustration if you aren't adept at networking.:?

Cheers!

My misunderstanding - I thought I saw some reference to two networks.

My wife and I are building a new home and internet connectivity will be questionable. There is the possibility that we may not have internet for a while. I have a pretty comprehensive collection of music in iTunes that I would like to tap into once we move in.

I will update all of my Sonos components prior to moving but once we move, I hope to have our home network up and running and playing from my library until we get internet.

Thanks for all who replied.

Jim P.

jkpalmer52 wrote:

My misunderstanding - I thought I saw some reference to two networks.

My wife and I are building a new home and internet connectivity will be questionable. There is the possibility that we may not have internet for a while. I have a pretty comprehensive collection of music in iTunes that I would like to tap into once we move in.

I will update all of my Sonos components prior to moving but once we move, I hope to have our home network up and running and playing from my library until we get internet.

Thanks for all who replied.

Jim P.

Hi

Thanks for responding with a bit more information. Also congrats on your new home!

OK...lets assume you have no internet connection. When you select the Sonos icon on your iOS, Android, Windows or Mac PC Sonos is not looking for a internet connection. Sonos is looking for your Wi-Fi. Sonos only needs an internet connection for updates and streaming from a music service. You can actually turn updates off in the Sonos app.

Here's the process to have access to your iTunes library with Sonos

1. Update the software on your devices (i.e. router, phone, tablet, computer)
2. Update the Sonos App to v9.3
3. Update Alexa App to the latest version as well (if using Sonos One's or Amazon devices for voice commands)
4. If using a Wi-Fi setup for Sonos make sure it is connecting to your router
5. You might want to switch to a Boost setup that will use the SonosMesh and eliminate your Sonos from having to remember network SSID's.
6. After your move setup your router with the same credentials (i.e. SSID and Password) you used before the move.
7. Open the Sonos app on your device and it will connect to your Wi-Fi as it will remember the SSID and Passwords
8. The same goes for Boost mode (recommended)
9. Your iTunes library will have to be downloaded to a device with enough storage space to hold it. The Sonos app should be on the same device. The only exception would be if your iTunes library was pointed to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) which Sonos can accommodate as well.

Note:
1. Click the link on how to switch from a Wi-Fi setup to Boost mode: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3209?language=en_US
2. A 128GB tablet would my go to option in your scenario
3. In the absence of an ISP...you can always use a cellular hotspot connection albeit if may be slow and depending upon your carrier you could be throttled.

I hope this helps....Cheers!