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Suspected SonosNet/IBSS issues since updating to 12.1

  • 2 October 2020
  • 5 replies
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X

I saw a bunch of other threads, and they do say Wi-Fi issues, although they’re light on details. I’m starting my own in case it’s different from the others.. Also, sorry for the wall of text. :grinning:

While my issue is Wi-Fi related, it does not seem network related, or at least in the sense of connecting to the AP I have in my house which is dedicated for these speakers. Nor do I have L3 connectivity issues to the speakers when they’re operating independently (not in a home theatre, also except the sub can’t play music without pairing to another speaker). 

I have 2x Play:1, 1x Playbar, and 1x Sub which make up a home theatre config. I also have a Move, which is separate. App and devices are all running 12.1. I noticed that only my Playbar and Move were showing in the app, and I just had some question marks with the Playbar (it should’ve been in a home theatre config).

I checked the Play:1s and the Sub, and they have a flashing white LED. Tried powercycling, leaving them off for 10 seconds. No change after they booted, not available in the app, and still the same question mark status, and flashing white LEDs.

So I then reset both Play:1s and the Sub. I then added each to my profile. They all successfully add to my Sonos app, are separate rooms listed in the app itself, and I can view the diagnostic/support pages on each by IP. They also respond to ICMP just fine. I did double check all speakers in the app and they report they are running 12.1 (can they report that wrong?). Also every device can see the other devices in their :1400/support/review site when they are operating this way (just freshly joined to the network, not trying to be a home theatre system).

The problem happens when I try to add my speakers back to my Playbar to create the home theatre. The process takes a while, reports it fails and asks you to try again. At this point I seem to lose all L3 connectivity to the Play:1s and the Sub. 

I’ve gone through it in various combinations of resetting all devices (including the Playbar) and adding, and nothing works. I even put up a completely different router with the same SSID and PSK, and disabled the usual AP they connect to (removing the complexity of my network), but no dice on joining the speakers. Literally the exact same issue every single time. 

My usual phone is an iPhone, but because it’s running iOS 14.2 I switched to my Galaxy S10 (Android 10), but no change there either. Figured it was worth trying in case the provisioning was somehow getting mangled by the beta iOS version….

When I look at Network Matrix after trying to create the home theatre setup (or even join any one of the speakers), the Sub and Play:1s show up as a column ‘Strength to AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
undefined’. The MAC would actually be correct, but it says ‘undefined’. The row for each is missing too, I only get a column. Before trying to create the home theatre setup the row for each is present along with the column.

The issue literally seems exclusive to the SonosNet or w/e the IBSS type network is called that the speakers use to mesh together. That’s the only part that I can’t access over the network, but it’s also the only point where these speakers are failing to function as expected.

I haven’t tried calling in yet. I will get to that in the coming days.. Wanted to share what I’m seeing while it’s on my mind… 

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Best answer by Sonos Cubanos 2 October 2020, 10:12

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5 replies

S

I had a similar issue that happened immediately after updating to Sonos 12.1.

I could update all Sonos components to 12.1 but lost my 5.1 setup. I could add the sub and the rears back to Sonos, but as soon as I tried to create the home cinema setup, the sub and the rears disappeared.

When cabling any Sonos component, even a loudspeaker not involved in the home cinema setup, everything worked as normal. As soon as I unplugged the cable, issue reappeared.

Sonos support got me on the right track, the knowledgeable lady from support explained that my diagnosis report shows a DHCP proxy issue and also that in Sonos home cinema setups the soundbar creates a mesh network with the three components and serves as a DHCP proxy.

That led me to the solution that worked: My Unifi (Ubiquiti) router was set to grant IP addresses with a long lease time (36h), that’s why restarting it didn’t help. What helped was to reset the ARP tables (so the database where the DHCP server remembers which MAC address gets which IP address).

Solution: In UniFi go to the "Insight" section, choose area "Client History". Look for the Home Cinema components that you want to mesh (soundbar, rear, sub). Click on “forget” for each of them (appears at the end of each row when mouse over). Wait until the components receive a new IP address.

Group. Works.

ratty

I concur. This does sound like a DHCP proxy problem. Some routers can refuse to play ball.

If fiddling with the router doesn’t resolve it, switching the system into SonosNet mode by wiring any component -- other than the Home Theatre surrounds/Sub -- should fix things.

X

Thanks guys. I’ll take a look at DHCP again.

For what it’s worth, no network side changes within weeks on either side of the Sonos firmware update, so odd that it decides to stop working then.

Also, I should mention that I am using PSK+MAB on the network they connect to, and the speakers aren’t even hitting my AAA server when trying to re-create the 5.1 setup. Under normal circumstances they do authenticate to that server, proxied through the Playbar, every time they connect/reconnect to my network. Right now they only hit the AAA server when I leave them stand alone (which stands out as different/odd to me).

X

Okay, just following up here.. I was out when I replied earlier.

First, checked RADIUS logs, and actually not seeing that behaviour when they were working. It used to be that way, but not sure when that changed. Anyhow, not relevant, just wanted to correct my last comment as it was incorrect.

Running cable would be a temporary option, but no easy way to run cable to my rack. If I had to go that route I likely would’ve resorted to temporarily using Ethernet over powerline adapters until I could’ve properly run/fished cable.

When I got home I decided to check the ARP table on my router, and all MACs were present. I intentionally left it as such, and left the lease time (24 hour). Took down the AP they usually connect to and put up another vendor’s AP (so 3rd vendor, but using the normal network topology). Was able to create my home theatre setup first try and they work.

So I took the usual AP, and re-flashed the same firmware on it.. Took down the temporary AP, put the original one back up… and everything is still working. I’m hoping it re-occurs, because I went about it backwards today. I can review what’s occurring basically driver level on that AP if it does happen again (which, at this point, I’m hoping it does). 

Appreciate the responses and help! You guys got me to open my eyes, and review my network as that ultimately is where the problem lied, so thank you @Sonos Cubanos & @ratty!!

E

Just updated to 12.1 yesterday. A big mistake. I had my automatic updates turned OFF and I should have left it in that state. Everything works from my PC but two S10 phones do not connect to my systems most of the time.

I highly recommend that once you get the systems working perfectly turn OFF automatic updates, never manually run updates again.

Rant ON.

Really regret buying two SONOS systems within the last two years. The last two updates are a total cluster. Having to re-build my systems and/or re-configure my business router is nothing less than a total insult to customers. This doesn’t include the hours spent searching for answers (forget about finding a solution) on the website and/or talking on the phone to support.

The problem is SONOS products and their updates. End of story. This is just an opinion from a technician with 40+ years of experience.

… I thought I bought sound and entertainment systems. Not a new consuming hobby that is mostly frustration.

Please do not reply to my rant because I think I will ditch SONOS and get cheap Bluetooth systems.

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