One speaker from stereo pair stops working

I had this very same issue with my Right speaker not playing as a surround sound speaker but playing music when connected as a stereo pair. I fixed it. Here is the scenario and what I did to fix it:

I have 1 Sonos Playbar, 1 Sonos Sub and 2 Sonos Play 5's 2nd gen. The Play 5's are my rear surround sound speakers. After I moved them to a new room one of the Play 5's stopped connecting via wifi. I researched the issue and some Play 5 2nd gen's have faulty wifi cards inside. The "broken" Play 5 will connect via an ethernet cable to my router.

When connecting the "broken" Play 5 with an ethernet cable the speaker will work as a stereo pair to my other Play 5. However, once added as a surround speaker it is not recognized by the sonos app. When trying TruePlay Tuning the Sonos app would not recognize the "broken" speaker. I swapped the 'broken" Play 5 with the other Play 5 (from Right speaker to Left speaker) and this did nothing to solve the problem.

The fix:

• Make sure there are no other connected devices between your rear speakers or directly behind the rear speakers. You may think this is not an issue but it probably is. Suck up your pride and disconnect all devices near or in between your two surround speakers. I swallowed my pride and unplugged my Logitech harmony remote's charging base. This may have been the sole issue or part of it.
• Make sure your router's 2.4 g hz is on channel 11. Other channels to try are channel 1 and channel 6. Channel 11 seemed best for me.
• Give all speakers a static IP. Do so by logging into your router and assigning a static IP for each of your Sonos speakers. Don't forget the Sub. You can check each Sonos device IP within your Sonos app via settings -> About My Sonos System.
• If your rear speakers are currently set as surround sound, remove them as surround sound via the settings on your Sonos phone app. Seetings -> Room Settings -> Remove Surrounds.
• Test your Playbar and Sub to make sure they can connect via wi-fi and they both work. Do so by playing a song or using your tv to test that the audio still plays through the Playbar and Sub.
• Plug your Playbar speaker into your router via an ethernet cable.
• Disable wi-fi on your Playbar. Settings -> Advanced Room -> Wi-Fi -> Playbar -> Disable Wi-Fi.
• Reset your router. Technically I didn't do this but it's probably a good idea.
• Once again, test the Playbar and sub to make sure they can play music, etc.
• Plug the "broken" Play 5 speaker into the router via an ethernet cable.
• Add the "broken" Play 5 speaker within your Sonos app.
• Turn on wifi on your Playbar. Settings -> Advanced Room -> Wi-Fi -> Playbar -> Enablee Wi-Fi.
• Add your left and right rear speakers as surround sounds.

Hope this works for you.

Hi all

I bought two new sonos speakers, set them up in stereo mode at first they worked perfectly.
But after they have ben installed properly, the one of them stops playing.

I have to pull the power to get it playing again.
the wifi is set to channel 1 and 11 on seperate AP's.

Can anyone help ?

Same issue here. Right channel of stereo pair won’t play. I’ve tried un pairing and re-pairing with the same result described above In other posts.

diagnostic: 182570923.

Same issue here. Right channel of stereo pair won’t play. I’ve tried un pairing and re-pairing with the same result described above In other posts.

diagnostic: 182570923.

Hi there,

Thanks for sending in the report. Your speakers are connecting through different access points on your Google mesh. The 2 access points are running on different wireless channels, making it hard for your speakers to stay in sync. Try changing your Google mesh access points over to the same wireless channel and see if that helps.

You could also try moving the speakers closer together so they are both on the same access point, or by moving away all but 1 access point.

Hi there Jeff, I'm having the same problem with my Sonos stereo Play 1 speakers where I am having to separate the stereo pair and then re-sync them every time I use the speakers.

The diagnostic confirmation number is 762398828. Thanks.

Hi there Jeff, I'm having the same problem with my Sonos stereo Play 1 speakers where I am having to separate the stereo pair and then re-sync them every time I use the speakers.

The diagnostic confirmation number is 762398828. Thanks.

It looks like the streaming data isn't getting to your speakers fast enough. Try changing the wireless channel your Sonos system is using to 1 or 6. Also, how far apart are the speakers? It can sometimes help to reposition them.

Our two Sonos is on the same wifi.
Here is the diagnostic ID: 1836543787

Our two Sonos is on the same wifi.
Here is the diagnostic ID: 1836543787

Sorry for the late response. If you're still having issues, please try switching over all of your Ubiquiti access points to the same wireless channel. Channel 6 looks to be pretty good. When the access points run on different channels, it can make it hard for your Sonos speakers to stay in sync.

I'm having the same problem. No complaints for my internet. But this is the second time in 3 months that one of the speakers in two separate speaker pairs have gone out. I separated them and re-joined but it's fixing the problem this time. My diagnostic number is 1138675781Hi there,

Thanks for sending in the report. I see that there are wireless communication issues showing up between your speakers. When playing to a stereo pair, communication between speakers is important so they can stay in sync. First, try changing the wireless channel your Sonos system is using. Also, take a look around your speakers for any third party electronics that might cause interference. Common sources of interference include cordless phone bases, wireless baby monitors, wireless printers and cameras. You might also try repositioning your speakers.

I have repeatedly changed the wireless channel and they all don't really seem to fix the problem. Don't have any electronics around the base and moving the speakers aren't really an option. I have had this happen with two sets of pair speakers in different rooms, in very different spaces. I have regular issues with cut outs too. It's all very frustrating and the response I've gotten from Sonos has largely been the sort of boiler plate that's above. It's all cooled my enthusiasm of Sonos, I must say.

@Mondale I'm just going off of what I see in your report. There's a reason there are wireless communication errors, troubleshooting is how to find it. I see that your Boost is trying to send quite a lot of data, and it's backed up. How close is the Boost to your router? If they are too close, they can interfere regardless of wireless channel. Also, sometimes power outlets can cause interference try moving any speakers slightly away from walls.

It's hard to do more specific troubleshooting with limited information and tools. If these steps don't help it would be a good idea to continue troubleshooting with our phone team as they can try things live, and have more tools available. Our number and hours are found here.