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Why does one speaker show WM: 0 and another WM:1 when both are wireless?

  • 25 February 2023
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I’ve been troubleshooting some issues with my Sonos set-up after the introduction of a new router from my ISP provider.

 

I have a Sonos SL One in a detached garage and one in an attached garage.  Both run wireless.  I do not have them set up as stereo pair.  One shows WM: 0 and the other has WM: 1. 

I have many other devices connected by Ethernet (amps, Sonos One, etc.) but not these two speakers. 

I’m confused why one of these would show WM 1 and the other WM 0.  Shouldn’t they be the same?

Both have Wifi enabled if that matters.

 

Thank you.

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Best answer by Airgetlam 25 February 2023, 21:09

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21 replies

Some security cameras require a managed switch. I’m sure that a major decision point for using this switch is that it is PoE. A few years ago, this switch was easily available and reasonably priced, compared to the alternatives. As is the case with most networking technology, formerly esoteric and expensive is now mainstream.

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I think you should ask the IT guru who suggested it should set up STP correctly on the switch?

Unifi can work well for sure, but this system is in no means plug and play... It’s for semi-pros (and wannabe pros?) If stp is not set up correctly on the switch, SonosNet in particular can disturb the network. This is another reason why people suggest disabling WiFi on sonos speakers in some cases.

Or get an unmanaged switch with IGMP Snooping/multicast optimization like this.

 

Appreciate all the details.  It will take me some time to digest.  I’ve made a few tweaks and I’m trying to see how long it goes.  This new router seems to have upset the apple cart so I’m just trying to get back to normal.

To answer one question, the IT guru as I called him appears to be long gone after the house was built.  Email bouncing back.  When I built this new home a few years ago, he put in this managed switch and frankly I think it’s over the top for my needs.  Aside from finding it cool to see all the stuff online, I’m not sure what benefit I’m getting from the managed vs un-managed.

I do have 3 APIs and 6 POE security cameras, but I’m not sure that couldn’t be handled with an unmanaged switch.  I’ve been considering going in that direction but it seems like I have things set for 12 months or more, then something happens to wreck it.  Well, the only thing that gets wrecked is Sonos.  Everything else IT related at my house works like a charm.  

The SONOS WiFi option is a misnomer. Disabling “WiFi” actually turns OFF the radio and the unit will not work wirelessly — nor will it support other units that might be attempting to use wireless SonosNet.

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I’d counter that with a recommendation that you should never turn off Wi-Fi on any Sonos device, unless you can prove that it’s receiving Wi-Fi interference. Reinforcing the SonosNet mesh network is why, something you definitely want to do. 

 

This is a good general recommendation for SonosNet users.

Bear in mind disabling wifi on all ethernet connected sonos devices (= disabling SonosNet) is also a viable option.

Why not use your wireless Sonos speakers with your WLAN (WM:1) and disable wifi on remaining wired Sonos devices? 

In fact I dare say any decent home wireless network system (Orbi, Amplifi...) can work much better now. According to @Sean M sonos can use up to Wi-Fi 6, which uses 5Ghz and can work with way less interference than 2.4GHz, which SonosNet always uses.

If you are having problems with your network or wifi, I would try the other option mentioned in whatever case, which is probably why the support recommended this to @TheRamblinMan 

(mind: home theater devices need wifi enabled or you have to wire the entire home theater room.)

 

Really appreciate all the detail. 

One follow-up...I do have a Unify set-up in the house with a managed switch that my IT guru suggested I use.  I “wish” on some days he had not set up a managed switch as I’ve had to learn more about this than I wanted.  Ha.

 

I read up a little on the STP stuff before and I don’t think my Unifi switch was set up the best/right way on STP versus the other options, but I held off on touching anything and making changes.  

I just read through the link you added.  Thank you for that!  My system has a lot of wired devices but not all wired.   Still trying to digest if that means I should change the STP.  I’ll review it more.  

Thank you for such a thorough response. 

 

I think you should ask the IT guru who suggested it should set up STP correctly on the switch?

Unifi can work well for sure, but this system is in no means plug and play... It’s for semi-pros (and wannabe pros?) If stp is not set up correctly on the switch, SonosNet in particular can disturb the network. This is another reason why people suggest disabling WiFi on sonos speakers in some cases.

Or get an unmanaged switch with IGMP Snooping/multicast optimization like this.

 

My brain is too small to link multiple threads.

I’ll mention that I’m using a US-16-125W. My network is somewhat more complicated because I have two additional dumb switches, a wireless mesh network, and the ISP’s WiFi on a total of three different SSID’s, a mixture of SonosNet and WiFi (ROAM and MOVE are WiFi), Android, iOS, and Windows desktop controllers. They all get along fine. I don’t attempt to split the SONOS units between SSID’s, but the controllers can be flipped on a whim.

Yesterday, while picking through the Ubiquiti switch configuration, I noticed that I had not enabled IGMP. Enabling IGMP has not changed system stability. I also updated the Ubiquiti firmware. This took forever.

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Which model router?

 

Apologies, I think we’re trading messages on two threads I created at different times with issues.  Now, coming together as one topic.  

 

The router came to us straight from the internet provider.  Sp-N66 is what it says.

Multiple products wired to the network.  Others are wireless.  Ubiquity network switch.   US-24-250W

This thread discussed which units are on SonosNet (you asked in the other thread about it), and I have no Sonos speakers directly connected to the router.  Everything through the switch.

 

Which model router?

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Have you reserved IP addresses?

 

Yes, long ago, and double-checked them again to make sure all correct.

Have you reserved IP addresses?

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TheRamblinMan,

I suggest that you turn OFF all but one radio (for a unit on the top) of that pile of AMP’s. This will reduce wireless clutter. With respect to STP, the default for the Ubiquiti switches is either OFF or RSTP. You should make sure that these switches are set to STP.

Thanks for the info, Buzz.  My Ubiquiti switch was set to RSTP.  I changed it STP just now.  Also, I just changed the AMPs to have only one wifi on, per your suggestion.  

After I changed to STP, but before I changed the wifi, my entire system went down a few minutes ago.  It was working fine all day and I was using it. When it showed everything disconnected, music was still playing through one of the speakers.  Stayed down for about 12 minutes showing disconnected, then came back.  No idea why as I feel like I’ve tweaked all as I should. 

I’ve submitted a diagnostic code at this point to see if they can help. 

TheRamblinMan,

I suggest that you turn OFF all but one radio (for a unit on the top) of that pile of AMP’s. This will reduce wireless clutter. With respect to STP, the default for the Ubiquiti switches is either OFF or RSTP. You should make sure that these switches are set to STP.

A few thoughts:

WM=0 means connected by Ethwrnet OR connected wirelessly by SonosNet.

WM=1 man's  connected wirelessly by WiFi..

The only portable Sonos speakers are the Move and the Roam. These speakers have batteries and so can play without a power supply.  They have no Ethernet port and cannot connect to SonosNet. They can only connect to WiFi and so will always show as WM=1.

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 I’ve read different things that some people think only one device should be on ethernet and others say connect all you can by ethernet.  I admit to still being confused about which way is better.

 

Allow me to settle the debate! 😂

More wired devices is almost* always better. The more recent editions of Wi-Fi (especially Wi-Fi 6) are incredibly fast and reliable, but when it comes down to you still can’t beat the reliability of a hard-wired copper connection if your product supports it.

The only time you should really need to limit to a single wired zone is if STP isn’t working on your network. (STP is a protocol that stops broadcast storms from happening, and those will grind your entire network to a halt if they occur.) Luckily, almost* every home router should support STP.

If you have some fancy enterprise equipment like managed switches, you might need to a bit of extra configuration to get it working, but once it’s on, you should be good to wire whatever you want without any fear.

So in conclusion, you should be okay to wire as many devices as you want in almost(*) every circumstance, and when you can do so easily it’s usually beneficial to do so.

 

* - “almost” - Incompatible network hardware

 

 

Really appreciate all the detail. 

One follow-up...I do have a Unify set-up in the house with a managed switch that my IT guru suggested I use.  I “wish” on some days he had not set up a managed switch as I’ve had to learn more about this than I wanted.  Ha.

 

I read up a little on the STP stuff before and I don’t think my Unifi switch was set up the best/right way on STP versus the other options, but I held off on touching anything and making changes.  

I just read through the link you added.  Thank you for that!  My system has a lot of wired devices but not all wired.   Still trying to digest if that means I should change the STP.  I’ll review it more.  

Thank you for such a thorough response. 

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 I’ve read different things that some people think only one device should be on ethernet and others say connect all you can by ethernet.  I admit to still being confused about which way is better.

 

Allow me to settle the debate! 😂

More wired devices is almost* always better. The more recent editions of Wi-Fi (especially Wi-Fi 6) are incredibly fast and reliable, but when it comes down to you still can’t beat the reliability of a hard-wired copper connection if your product supports it.

The only time you should really need to limit to a single wired zone is if STP isn’t working on your network. (STP is a protocol that stops broadcast storms from happening, and those will grind your entire network to a halt if they occur.) Luckily, almost* every home router should support STP.

If you have some fancy enterprise equipment like managed switches, you might need to a bit of extra configuration to get it working, but once it’s on, you should be good to wire whatever you want without any fear.

So in conclusion, you should be okay to wire as many devices as you want in almost(*) every circumstance, and when you can do so easily it’s usually beneficial to do so.

 

* - “almost” - Incompatible network hardware

 

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WM: 0 indicates units that are using SonosNet -- wired or wireless. Using that data, you cannot determine if a WM: 0 unit is wired or wireless.

The WiFi enable instructions are misleading. If you disable WiFi, this actually disables the radios and the disabled units will not be able to use SonosNet wirelessly. The only valid use of this network disable feature is when multiple wired devices are plied into an equipment cabinet. In this case, at least one unit should keep its radio enabled.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

So I think the reason I was told by someone at Sonos to turn off wifi was because I have an equipment cabinet that has 8 Sonos Connect Amps.  I was having some issue and at some point they told me to turn off the wifi as part of diagnosing/dealing with it.   Based on this thread, I’ve turned the wifi back on for everything for now including everything in that closet. 

I also have every device in that cabinet connected by ethernet.  I’ve read different things that some people think only one device should be on ethernet and others say connect all you can by ethernet.  I admit to still being confused about which way is better.

For now, my system seems to be more stable that it was before I had wifi turned off.  Thank you.

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It’s best to keep Wi-Fi enabled on all Sonos devices.

It’s no coincidence that the two speakers in the detached garage both show WM: 1.

Sonos portable devices don’t connect to SonosNet. So they will always show as WM: 1.

You should try unplugging the One in the kids room from power for a couple of minutes and see if it will connect to SonosNet after plugging it back in.

 

Appreciate the response.  I turned wi-fi back on each device.  

Is the Sonos One SL considered a portable device as it is wireless?  

I’m confused about one part.  You note Sonos portable devices will always show as WM: 1.   The ones in question are Sonos One SL.   I have 7 of the Sonos One SLs in my set-up.  Three of them show WM: 1 and the others all show WM:0.  

WM: 0 indicates units that are using SonosNet -- wired or wireless. Using that data, you cannot determine if a WM: 0 unit is wired or wireless.

The WiFi enable instructions are misleading. If you disable WiFi, this actually disables the radios and the disabled units will not be able to use SonosNet wirelessly. The only valid use of this network disable feature is when multiple wired devices are plied into an equipment cabinet. In this case, at least one unit should keep its radio enabled.

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It’s best to keep Wi-Fi enabled on all Sonos devices.

It’s no coincidence that the two speakers in the detached garage both show WM: 1.

Sonos portable devices don’t connect to SonosNet. So they will always show as WM: 1.

You should try unplugging the One in the kids room from power for a couple of minutes and see if it will connect to SonosNet after plugging it back in.

I’d counter that with a recommendation that you should never turn off Wi-Fi on any Sonos device, unless you can prove that it’s receiving Wi-Fi interference. Reinforcing the SonosNet mesh network is why, something you definitely want to do. 

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I’m guessing that the speaker showing WM: 1 is too far to connect with SonosNet. Is this speaker in the detached garage?

 

Thanks for the response.

Correct, this speaker showing WM: 1 is in the detached garage which is not far from the house or the attached garage.  Split by the driveway parking pad.  Maybe 50 to 75 feet?

The other thing in the mix.  In this same detached garage, I have a Sonos Amp with speaker wires running to speakers at a basketball court.  That amp is wireless and is showing WM: 1 as well.

One other oddity to me.  There is a Sonos One in one of my kid’s room.  Middle of the house surrounded above and below by other Sonos stuff.  This one is showing WM: 1 as well. 

The Sonos Move is WM: 1.  

Every other Sonos devices in our set-up shows as WM: 0 aside fro these mentioned whether wired or wireless, set up as stereo pair, etc.

Looking through all my Sonos emails I’ve saved, Sonos support at one point told me to disable wifi on all my ethernet connected devices.  There seems to be much debate about that I guess.   Not sure if that’s related. 

 

Thank you.

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I’m guessing that the speaker showing WM: 1 is too far to connect with SonosNet. Is this speaker in the detached garage?