Feature Request - music library integration

Hey ​@Stanley_4, welcome back!

I’ve marked this thread as a feature request and forwarded it to the appropriate teams for consideration.

Thank you for the post!

Please let it happen, I dread one more "my library won't connect" topic that I am minimal help with.

Maybe ask the tech support folks to ask for this too? It would sure make their lives easier.

Dunno…it may be a case of ‘what percentage of users are trying to do this’, and their attention is dragged to something more impactful. Combined with some aspect of ‘how hard would this be’. 

That "how hard" is what got me thinking on this, I was working on a non-Sonos project using a USB connected drive and Samba (the SMB file sharing) and the ease of adding a share to my existing client device was interesting.

Edit to make this more explicit, this would plug into the Sonos USB port.

- Connecting the device, no progamming - just add driver to the existing kernel.

- Connecting the disk - use the existing mount/fstab code, just add a single config line. 

- Sharing the files - Samba is already loaded so all that is needed is adding the share configuration to smb.conf as you do for any other NAS.

Supporting a single, known, device minimizes the effort. There are many options, maybe even get some manufacturer to stamp Sonos on the case. A single example and at this price point, $12,  Sonos could build in a nice profit for minimal effort. Might even just add an SD port to the existing Combo Adapter?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0F1G1TNDS

I think you have much more knowledge in this area than I do. My understanding (perhaps misunderstanding?) is that not all devices provide SMB…certain routers, for instance. It’s fine if it’s connected to a desktop machine, those all have SMB loaded, but what happens with a drive connected to a USB port on a router that doesn’t have SMB?

And while I’m still one of those people who listen mostly to local music, what percentage of Sonos users do so? Is it worth investing the time/effort in supporting this for a handful (pick your number, Sonos probably knows, I certainly don’t) of users, when they could be applying that effort to larger, more widely impactful features? It would be a boon for you and me, and reduce the threads we need to seemingly constantly address, but is it worthwhile for Sonos?

I don’t know. It’s a great request, I’d like it, but given that it hasn’t happened so far, I’m not holding my breath. 

Since even thumb drives are getting more and more storage space it would be nice if the 65k limit could also be taken away.

I suspect that ties in, in some way, with ​@AjTrek1 ’s  desire to address more than 32 devices. It would certainly make me happy as well. But I suspect a ton of work. It would be an interesting discussion with a programmer….and what percentage of users even get close to that. 

I'm not sure why you are mentioning routers they have nothing to do with my suggestion, they and other NAS options with their difficulties is exactly why I proposed this. Did you miss the key point that the device would plug into tne Sonos USB port? I will go back and edit to make that more explicit.

The number of users might initially prove small as folks either avoid the music library due to lack of interest or frustrations with the current aggravations. However a plug and play music library option might see more users interested in it. It could also become a selling point for Sonos compared to the current implementation that based on the customer frustrations here and elsewhere probably costs sales. Add in the tech support cost savings as a bonus.

The 65 k limit could certainly be relaxed but that would be a bit more difficult project needing some programming effort where my proposal is pretty much editing a few config files.

Making room for more than  65 k tracks would be no problem as large SD cards are available. A 128 gb is about $50 and a 512 gb around $100.

Hi ​@Stanley_4 

I’m with you on this - in fact, I have been suggesting it since the USB-C ports started doing more than just charging. I’m glad to finally have a customer suggest it so we can forward it on through the normal channels.

<5% Sonos households have local library a couple of years ago, I recall reading in Sonos annual report, and declining.

Wonder what the number of interested folks are today with the increased CD and album sales? 

Increased physical sales, but also increased streaming sales.

https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/

I very much doubt someone would buy a vinyl LP and rip to store digitally, maybe CD, but its hassle for majority. Which ever way you look at it, local library is very niche across all Sonos households.

If you looked at a specific demographic, with older Sonos devices (S1/legacy) and/or larger systems (10+ devices) on this forum, the 5% might be a little higher, but still niche.

USB-supported local library sounds nice. However, please also look into the indexing isssue with fragmented albums 🙏

Why bother with custom hardware for SD cards? Just allow a regular USB-C stick, formatted FAT32 to be used. “Just” a software update then. It would index pretty quickly too (if the attached device was doing the indexing).

Problem areas: eject support, because to update those files the storage will have to be removed. Also power: if the usb-c port has a storage device in it, the device has to be battery powered. So I guess we also need a usb hub that can power the Sonos device.

But the real issue is getting any love for local libraries at all, for the reasons mentioned.

Hi ​@controlav 

This was a bit closer to my thinking. 

As for ejecting, it would not be needed if the filesystem were mounted in read-only mode.

No power needed for Era devices!

5% of a really big number is still a big number 😁

Here’s hoping - it would certainly be a perfect workaround if anyone had issues doing it through SMB.

Using custom Sonos hardware would only require one Linux device driver to be loaded, generic device support needs a bunch, plus kernal and driver updates as new devices are added to the Linux system. This is similar to the current Sonos USB dongles that have official support by Sonos. Yes, some non-Sonos devices will work if they have the same internal chipset but Sonos doesn't support them.

Read-only at the Samba level makes several things a lot simpler, software, configuration and reliability. Maybe legal issues in some jurisdictions too. Updates would be done by moving the dongle to a computer that could write to the file making even less work for the support folks.

Edit, on re-reading, power could be done by adding a pass-through port to the dongle. Didn't think of that originally as I use the charging base for my Play leaving theUSB open.

Always go for the simple solution!

Linux device drivers have led to many tears and decisions to change careers. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596005903

Hi ​@Stanley_4 

All USB-connected storage devices use a generic driver - USB Mass Storage Class.

Edit: Though, if you wanted to connect a phone, you may need a special driver. I’m not sure - it may depend on selecting an option on the screen of the phone.

This would be a fantastic option.  To have to ability to connect a USB stick or memory card reader and have access to full library is also a great back up.  I would still have a copy on my NAS but to have a 2Tb MicroSD that I can use on my System but then take that on holiday by inserting into my Walkman would also remove a lot of faff I have when syncing various storage areas.

Question would be... could the Storage card been seen on the network?  This would allow ripping direct to it rather than local PC rip and later sync.

Regardless this would solve a load of issues, and a lot of community questions.

Hi ​@bockersjv 

To be clear, we are still talking about a feature request here, but my guess would be - if this were to be implemented - we would not set up a SMB server from a speaker in case access to it compromises music playback on that speaker - playback performance is always paramount!

Corry, the fact things like this are even considered shows the shift change at Sonos since the the Fateful Application update of May 2025.

The latest changes and Sonos 27 have given us features and changes that would previously been unthinkable.  So refreshing 😎

Having a CEO with an engineering background is certainly a Good Thing, ​@bockersjv! 😁

Agree, however the remaining 95% of the really big number is almost as big as a the really big number. 😀

Agree it may be a good idea for some of the 5% that still use local library. But, if there was a market and/or demand for this, why has no 3rd party and/or Sonos partner developed a standalone micro NAS that accepts SD cards and maybe branded as ‘Works with SONOS” already? 

100%! (not 95%, or 5%)