One speaker from stereo pair stops working

Thanks for the reply. I don't think it's anything to do with my Mac as this problem occurs whatever the audio source, including Amazon Music, or TV, which has nothing to do with my Mac.

There's no problem with the sub or the rear speakers so wifi interference is not an issue, and the problem is only ever with the right speaker of the stereo-pair, both of which are now hard-wired, so I can't understand why that would be.

Even when I swapped those two speakers round and re-paired them, the problem still occurs with whatever speaker is designated as the Right speaker, so it's not a fault with the unit itself.

I've tried tackling this with Sonos via Twitter but they just keep asking me endless irrelevant questions about my router and wi-fi extenders etc so I don't think I'm going to get very far there....

MattyBur wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I don't think it's anything to do with my Mac as this problem occurs whatever the audio source, including Amazon Music, or TV, which has nothing to do with my Mac.

There's no problem with the sub or the rear speakers so wifi interference is not an issue, and the problem is only ever with the right speaker of the stereo-pair, both of which are now hard-wired, so I can't understand why that would be.

Even when I swapped those two speakers round and re-paired them, the problem still occurs with whatever speaker is designated as the Right speaker, so it's not a fault with the unit itself.

I've tried tackling this with Sonos via Twitter but they just keep asking me endless irrelevant questions about my router and wi-fi extenders etc so I don't think I'm going to get very far there....

In this case it would be best to have our phone team take a deeper look. They have more tools available than our online teams. Please give us a call, our phone number can be found here.

MattyBur wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I don't think it's anything to do with my Mac as this problem occurs whatever the audio source, including Amazon Music, or TV, which has nothing to do with my Mac.

There's no problem with the sub or the rear speakers so wifi interference is not an issue, and the problem is only ever with the right speaker of the stereo-pair, both of which are now hard-wired, so I can't understand why that would be.

Even when I swapped those two speakers round and re-paired them, the problem still occurs with whatever speaker is designated as the Right speaker, so it's not a fault with the unit itself.

I've tried tackling this with Sonos via Twitter but they just keep asking me endless irrelevant questions about my router and wi-fi extenders etc so I don't think I'm going to get very far there....

Are you maybe running your devices in mixed mode? .. perhaps ensure that your WiFi credentials are not stored in the Sonos app 'Advanced Settings/Wireless Setup'... I don’t understand why you chose WiFi channel 6 either? Did you do a scan of the channels in use nearby using wifiinfoview (or similar software) to discover the least-used channel for your router? Also you will need to set your SonosNet channel to a completely different channel to the one in use by your router... Set that SonosNet channel at least 5 channels apart from your routers WiFi channel to avoid overlap of the signal.. it’s not just all simply about wiring your speakers, as the signal still needs to get through uninterrupted.

I believe it is the left speaker that does all the lifting, and passes right channel only to the stereo paired partner, keeping them in sycn etc. So check what electronics are between the two. Mine are on bedside cabinets with a wireless phone and clock radio between them. This is the only problem I ever have, and then it's only every 6months...so far....I wonder if updates kicks it off....

Thanks Paul. Would that happen though if both speakers are ethernet-wired to the router though? They are, so there's no wifi communication between the two speakers, so I don't understand why the right speaker would lose its connection...?

Thanks Ken, I chose channel 6 because Sonos can only use channels 1, 6 or 11, apparently.

I have since set SonosNet to Ch11 and my router to Ch4.

In any case, the speakers are ethernet-wired now, so the wifi channel is irrelevant, isn't it? I'm on a Mac, so if you can recommend a way of checking signals etc, that'd be good. Thanks.

MattyBur wrote:

Thanks Ken, I chose channel 6 because Sonos can only use channels 1, 6 or 11, apparently.

I have since set SonosNet to Ch11 and my router to Ch4.

In any case, the speakers are ethernet-wired now, so the wifi channel is irrelevant, isn't it? I'm on a Mac, so if you can recommend a way of checking signals etc, that'd be good. Thanks.

Cabling of the Speakers may not be relevant if the audio source is travelling over your local WiFi, for example an audio source on your MAC PC If that device was connected over WiFi for example. Also remember that your local network (wired & wireless) carries other network traffic so sometimes you can be far better off on SonosNet instead, as that is an exclusive wireless network for Sonos devices only.

To scan your locality for best wireless channel, use some software off the internet ... just google WiFi channel scanners. I tend to use either wifiinfoview but there are other scanners, InSSIDer being another. The reason Sonos chose just three channels 1, 6 and 11 is because those do not overlap and so having your router on Channel 1 and SonosNet on channel 6 or 11 would be better, but scan your locality first to find which of those channels are least used by your neighbours.

Then don’t forget the other things the Staff mentioned to you earlier and that’s to move things a couple of feet apart to reduce any interference around all your devices and hopefully all these things will then resolve your dropout issue.

Hope that helps.?

MattyBur,

See if this link also helps..

https://www.netspotapp.com/best-wifi-channel-scanner-apps-mac.html

Thanks for the advice, all.

Just to clarify, my Mac is hard-wired to the router by ethernet too (it's a desktop Mac Pro), as is the TV, so, since hard-wiring the Sonos speakers too, wifi shouldn't be playing a part in this at all. I only use wifi for my phone at home, really.

Anyway, I'll see how it goes and report back... Thanks again. M

Jeff S wrote:

Hi folks,

The majority of the time when one speaker in a stereo pair stops playing it is due to a wireless communication error between the sides of the pair. Please submit a diagnostic report after this happens, then reply here with the confirmation number.

Jeff, here is my diagnostic code. Same problem! 1233036126

You might want to contact Sonos support on twitter or facebook with that number, they are staffed 24x7, the forum sees Sonos staff most weekdays for a short time and they don't always find posts added to old topics like this one.

ramsaypaul wrote:

Jeff S wrote:

Hi folks,

The majority of the time when one speaker in a stereo pair stops playing it is due to a wireless communication error between the sides of the pair. Please submit a diagnostic report after this happens, then reply here with the confirmation number.

Jeff, here is my diagnostic code. Same problem! 1233036126

Thanks for the report. Your speakers are connecting to different wireless access points, which are running on different wireless channels. Please make sure all of your wireless access points are running on the same channel and see if that helps.

Stanley_4 wrote:

You could try setting a static/reserved IP address for your all Sonos gear using your router's DHCP page, that stops many odd things from happening.

Same problem here, but I'm using Boost so it's supposed that wireless problems are covered, so I don't know.-

No, in a BOOST or Wired setup, the devices would still be getting IP addresses from your router.

Airgetlam wrote:

No, in a BOOST or Wired setup, the devices would still be getting IP addresses from your router.

Uhh, in that case, I'm gonna try fixed ips. Thanks Airgetlam!

Most welcome 😉

Same issue here. I reported every details in a support Email and tried every suggestion the wrangler raised but none works.

ref:_00D1N2JMtd._5001NmLh2M:ref

I met this issue since I upgraded the latest version of the software. I think it's a new bug.

Hi, so I'm still having this issue, where the right speaker of the stereo pair sometimes fails, and I have to ungroup then regroup that room for it to come on again.

I keep being told about wi-fi problems on here, but I've already explained that the speakers are wired, the audio source is the TV and that it has nothing to do with wi-fi.

It seems that whatever the diagnostic log might say, Sonos will always tell you it's a problem with your wi-fi setup that is the problem (ie User Error) - not their speakers. Even when wi-fi isn't involved. Disappointing.

MattyBur wrote:

Hi, so I'm still having this issue, where the right speaker of the stereo pair sometimes fails, and I have to ungroup then regroup that room for it to come on again.

I keep being told about wi-fi problems on here, but I've already explained that the speakers are wired, the audio source is the TV and that it has nothing to do with wi-fi.

It seems that whatever the diagnostic log might say, Sonos will always tell you it's a problem with your wi-fi setup that is the problem (ie User Error) - not their speakers. Even when wi-fi isn't involved. Disappointing.

Does swapping the speakers over, make any difference? I would try that at the very least and if the replacement speaker still drops out, then look at the actual connection and cable.

Yes, I tried that as an early idea, when it was still using the wireless connection. Whichever is the right speaker will drop out sometimes. It happens whether the connection is wireless or wired. Connection is fine though, as ungrouping the speakers in the app and grouping them again solves it, until the next time.

MattyBur wrote:

Yes, I tried that as an early idea, when it was still using the wireless connection. Whichever is the right speaker will drop out sometimes. It happens whether the connection is wireless or wired. Connection is fine though, as ungrouping the speakers in the app and grouping them again solves it, until the next time.

I would have tried the swap first, as mentioned ...and because I have other devices around my home, I would have even tried a factory reset of both the speakers, just one at a time, particularly if I had no other speakers, so that I don’t lose my existing system (Household) setup.

I have numerous stereo pairs myself, so it’s not a problem to reset both in my case and then add them back via the 'Add Player or Sub' setting in the App. It only takes a few minutes to do these things.

So that would probably be my next step and then pair them again, setup trueplay etc. and try them wired (or even wireless) again.

Obviously though the decision to do the reset is yours and is at your own risk.

If you do try that then the factory reset procedure is shown in the link below, but make sure you know what you’re doing. Don’t want to see you lose your existing setup...

Factory resetting a Sonos product

Hi, yes, I tried all that!

MattyBur wrote:

Hi, yes, I tried all that!

I see reading back through the thread you have turned off the WiFi on your speakers too. I assume you also removed your stored WiFi credentials in the Advanced Settings of the App when you initially cabled them.

There has been an update recently, so you may want to go back and try some of the things again. However...

I have numerous Sonos pairs around my home 'Play:1’s', 'Sonos ones' and Play 5’s and I’m definitely not suffering at all with this issue, so I don’t think this will turn out to be software related... it is likely to be hardware, network related, or your local environment ...that’s my guess.

The only other thing I can think of, is trying different router ports, or if you are using a switch anywhere on your network to perhaps try a different one, preferably unmanaged.

Obviously I would change the cables linked to the speakers aswell. It’s going to perhaps be a slow process of elimination by the sounds of it.

Similar issues here since a few months. Nothing has really changed in the house or sonos setup. Right speaker stops playing music in a stereo setup.

Breaking up the stereo pair (play 1’s) and joining them up again as a stereo pair seems to fix the issue for a short while (after which the problem returns).

When the right speaker stops playing music (left continues), the right speaker can still be used to pause the music using the pause button.

Submitted diagnosis: 325690171

I wonder if this is just a play1 stereo pair problem?
Has only ever happened to me twice, but only in last 3months or so.......