Question

Xfinity XB7 Router Issues ?

  • 19 July 2020
  • 7 replies
  • 1360 views

Recently moved to a new home and have Xfinity XB7 Xfi - Previous system was the Sonos 1 Controller and had lots of issues….  my bridge, Play1, Play3, and Play5 all worked for ONE DAY !    The next day I could not see any of the Sonos speakers in the app. After rebooting the router, they all came back but would disappear daily !!!   I could not keep rebooting the router every day just to listen to music….. thats just stupid. After calling support, they had me remove the bridge as it was no longer needed. (It had been over 2 years since my system had been set up and working on an ATT router…..which BTW I NEVER had any problems with. Unfortunately ATT fiber is not available in this area yet, and their internet speeds available in this area are slow so I was forced to go with Xfinity.)  After hardwiring each of the speakers to my router and then placing them in the rooms I wanted them, the Sonos controller could see all 3 speakers, play different music on each at the same time, group them all as one, etc etc. Well the next day, the controller app couldnt see anything again. So I dutifully went thru the whole process again only to have it work for a couple of hours. The XB7 router listed all the devices, I had even assigned them to the 2.4ghz “Guest” network, but nothing would work. So I ripped it all out, reset all the speakers to factory defaults…….. and then the new equipment I ordered showed up !   Knowing my Play5 gen 1 is basically worthless with all the other new equipment I decided to look here for known problems with the XB7 router.  And apparently a lot of people are having some sort of issue with this router. Needless to say I'm a little gun shy to try and set up the new stuff only to get aggravated and ship it all back ! 

So has this been resolved ? If so what is the fix ?  Should I just go out and buy my own router ??

Someone please save me from reinventing the wheel ???    

Thanks !


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7 replies

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @jdc91660, thank you for reaching out and welcome to the community.

I would like to inform you that using guest networks is not advisable because a Guest network has a lot of restrictions that can cause connectivity issues with Sonos.

As of now, we don’t have any known issues with the XB7 router. However, we do have a known issue with the XB6.

Wouldn’t hurt to check if the router is pausing the Speakers then unpause them.

Log in to this website with your Xfinity account   -    xfinity.com/myxfi

Go to the Device tab and look for SonosZP and SonosZB.

If they’re paused, unpaused them and apply changes.

Also, can you please take a diagnostic of your system, So we can take a closer look at it.

Settings > Help & Tips > Submit Diagnostic in the Sonos mobile app.

If you have other concerns, feel free to reach out.

 

Well..... I'd love to do that but as I said, I uninstalled EVERYTHING because the new equipment I ordered including an Arc, a Sub, an Amp and 2 Ones arrived. And since none of the new equip works with the old S1 controller, I reset everything to factory specs. The woman from support who helped me had at least 6 diagnostic files sent to her. Nothing in the router showed anything as being paused at the time as I recall, and since  there is no Sonos equipment currently set up on my network, there is nothing to look at.

The point of my post was to get ahead of any aggravation I was going to run in to.

Also, as far as I can tell, the xb7 "Household" network is the 5ghz network, which the Sonos equipment supposedly will not run on, and the 2.4ghz network is the "Guest" network.  If you're saying it's not advisable to assign the devices to the "guest" network, and the "household" is the 5ghz, which sonos doesnt support.... how is this going to work ?

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @jdc91660, thank you for the update.

Usually, dual-band routers have 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and the guest network can be created with the router’s settings.

If your Guest Wifi is just a Wifi name with no restrictions set on the router then you can use it for your Sonos.

However, If the Guest network was created with the guest network restrictions, you could ask your ISP or the manufacturer to change it to a Standard 2.4 GHz Wifi.

In any case, reach out if you have trouble setting up the new Sonos system. The community is here to help.

 

So here’s my equipment;

  • Sonos Arc
  • Sub (Gen 3)
  • Sonos One SL (2)
  • Play:1
  • Play:3
  • Amp

What should I set up first ??

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @jdc91660, I would suggest starting with the small speakers first. 

Start with the Play:1, Play:3, and Sonos One SLs, as they have the least steps during setup than the Arc and Amp.

I would also recommend doing the stereo pairing/surround pairing to the Arc of the Sonos SLs later.

Set up the Sonos One SL as two separate rooms as this will be temporary. You can pair them after the setup in Settings > System > Room of one of the Sonos SLs > Create Stereo pair or Settings > System > Sonos Arc Room > Add Surrounds.

Next, Set up the Sonos Amp before connecting the speakers to it; because the App might ask you to wire it to the router.

Once the setup is complete, connect the speaker wires.

Next, Setup the Sonos Arc first before the Sonos Sub; because during the setup the App will ask if you want to add surrounds and add a Sonos Sub. 

In this case, don’t add the surrounds yet and just add the sub and proceed with the Home Theater setup.

Once complete, you can now add the surrounds Settings > System > Sonos Arc Room > Add Surrounds.

I highly recommend setting up the products a few at a time; to ensure smooth registration and updating.

Updating especially, as they need to download and install the update firmware.

If you have other concerns, feel free to reach out.

 

I thought the amp would play through the wireless players ... Do I have to hardwire speakers to it ?

 

Also, what are the TV output requirements for the Arc to work ?  I believe I will need to upgrade my TV.

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @jdc91660, sorry for the late response.

Yes, the Sonos Amp needs wired speakers for it to use as it doesn’t have one.

For the Arc, the TV must have either an Optical port or HDMI-ARC port for the Arc to connect to.

You’ll find an (ARC) on an HDMI port; because ARC stands for Audio Return Channel.

This where the TV can send audio signals to the Arc using an HDMI port.

You can also alternatively connect via the Optical Adaptor; that the Arc came with, to the TV.

However, using an optical connection is limited with the audio formats the Arc can use.

If you have other concerns, feel free to reach out.