Question

Trouble with AT&T gigapower router

  • 15 January 2017
  • 7 replies
  • 2251 views

Anyone else having a problem with AT&T Uverse Gigapower and Sonos? They use the PACE 5268ac gateway/router from Arris. The Sonos will work but it seems that the Sonos might be taking the whole network down every 2 to 3 days. Basically, things will be working normally for a few days and after a few days, everything stops working and the only fix is to reboot the Pace router.

I have many Sonos devices - a few Play5's, two Playbar's, a sub, some Play3s and am Amp. I use the old Sonos Bridge for Sonosnet and the Bridge is directly connected to the Pace gateway/router.

I looked up the specs of the Pace router and there is no indication that the router supports spanning tree protocol (STP). https://www.arris.com/globalassets/resources/data-sheets/5268ac.pdf

Does anyone know if I'm looking in the right place as I troubleshoot the problem? Are there any workarounds?

I'm planning on connecting a few more of the Sonos devices via Ethernet - specifically the Amp and one of the Playbar. I can likely also connect a couple of other Sonos devices - in particular a Play5. But since the Pace router is at the center of the network, will connecting more Sonos devices via Ethernet make things better or worse?

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7 replies

I had similar problems with the 5268ac gateway both with Uverse at 45 Mbps and now with AT&T fiber. Specifically the network would freeze every few hours and disallow any internet connectivity outside the 5268ac gateway while the Uverse television signal remained (but the On Demand and other interactive aspects of Uverse did not work). Upon removing the Sonos Boost connection wired via Ethernet into the router, connectivity returned to normal (and Sonos continued to work, although with less strength). Rebooting the 5268ac gateway would also bring the system back to life for a few hours before crashing again.

So, after some trial and error and reading a lot on this forum, I determined that my Sonos system was erroneously connected BOTH via the Boost AND the “Standard" way via my home wifi network (as opposed to only the Boost mesh network or only my home wifi network). I then thought that using both methods to connect the same devices into the network might be the cause of the network freezing up. So I “reset” or disabled my wifi connection (via phone app: Settings -> Advanced -> Wireless -> Reset) and then reinstalled my Boost directly into the network via Ethernet. After doing this 24 hours ago these actions have resulted in a smooth network with no freezes so far.

If my actions end up fixing the issue more permanently than the 24 hours so far, then you may want to confirm that your connectivity is Ethernet wired via BOOST (or wiring any one Sonos device directly to the router) OR is not Ethernet wired and via your wireless network, but not both (and if wired via Boost the setup is not done the app’s wireless setup tool). Below is more info on switching between Boost and Standard setups and visa versa. I hope this is helpful!

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3319/~/switching-your-system-between-a-standard-and-boost-setup
Thanks. That's annoying. I did not have any issues with Sonos, AE and ATT internet service when I was on the non gigapower 45 Mbps internet service. I'll follow-up with Sonos tech support to find out if they have a solution.
I've been able to resolve this by removing all traces of the Apple AirPort Extreme (and airport express as an extender) from the network. The Sonos Bridge is plugged into the Pace Router (the Gigapower provided router). Everything is working but there are spots in the house where the WiFi is pretty lousy. Try removing the Apple stuff from your network and leaving the Sonos in and see where that lands you.
I am experiencing the same exact problems and have a similar set-up (Airport Extreme in bridge mode for wifi network and sonos bridge plugged into the ATT router). We installed ATT gigapower last week. We have been having problems with either or both internet service and Uverse TV service dropping off daily. As you described, the fix seems to reboot the ATT router and then all the uverse receivers - major PITA). This morning, ATT came for a 3rd troubleshooting visit and the tech said the router is not compatible with sonos. Something about sonos interfering with the router when pinging for ip addresses. (I'm completely clueless about these types of issues so I probably did not describe the issue well). The tech claims that this is a very common issue with gigapower and sonos. He did not know whether using/buying fixed IP addresses would fix the issue. I've unplugged the sonos bridge to check the ATT tech explanation and am planning on contacting Sonos tech support for guidance.
So a bit more info here. I have the Sonos plugged directly into the AT&T Pace router (and WiFi transceiver) . The Apple Airport Extreme, in bridge mode, is also plugged into the Pace router. I typically use the Airport Extreme for WiFi service around the house. Today the Airport stopped providing internet access. It was still up and running and was showing a strong WiFi signal but when I connected to it, there was no internet to be had. Interestingly, when I connected to the WiFi that is provided by the AT&T Pace router, I was able to get internet. So the lack of internet access was isolated to the Airport Apple extreme. During this time, the Sonos continued to operate. To debug, I tried rebooting the Apple Airport Extreme. That did not solve the problem. Ultimately, to solve the problem I had to reboot the Pace router. Once I did, the problem cleared up. Any ideas?
Thank you - I appreciate that. It must not be a spanning tree issue as I only have one Sonos device plugged into the Ethernet network - an [old] Bridge plugged directly into the AT&T router/gateway. I'm going to hard wire connect a second Sonos to improve the Sonos stability but based on your advice, I'll connect that 2nd Sonos directly to the 1st Sonos instead of plugging it into the Ethernet network.
If you are having a Spanning Tree issue, the network usually crashes within a few seconds after wiring the second SONOS unit to the network. If only one SONOS unit is wired to the network, there will not be any Spanning Tree issues. If the second and following wired SONOS units are plugged into a SONOS network port, rather than the router or a switch connected to the router, there will not be any STP issues.

Be sure to check for duplicate IP addresses.