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Alexa chimes but rarely listens

  • 16 January 2024
  • 20 replies
  • 346 views
L

I have two new Era100s and am having the same problem on both. I have never had this issue on my Sonos Ones.

 

Alexa is enabled on the speakers. When you say the command word, the Alexa chime plays so that should mean it's listening, but we only get a response around 25% of the time. This happens when the room is totally silent as well as when there is background noise. I have noticed the music already playing doesn't quieten when Alexa is listening, as it does with the Sonos Ones, so I wonder if the voice assistant can't pick up what we are saying.

 

Tried all the deregister/disable skill/reset fixes I can find, and moved speakers to different positions, and there's been no change. Any ideas anyone?

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Best answer by Corry P 27 February 2024, 11:50

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20 replies

J
Userlevel 2
Badge

Hey, this is a known issue and Sonos is working on a solution with Amazon. That’s all we know at this stage. Check the other threads on this forum for more info. 

L

Thank you @Jasperdekruiff, I haven't found the other threads but I will have another look.

H

Hi, just commenting to say that I have the same issue with my Era 100 in a very quiet room. The LED just switch on quickly when I say ‘Alexa’ but then stop listening…

 

 

L

Hi @Heralm, it turns out we are in a crowd of many! I did find other posts on this after the tip-off (thanks @Jasperdekruiff) and, as they said, Sonos are investigating. Until there is a solution, continue asking 3 times!

Schlumpf
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Yes, Sonos is aware of the problem and although there’s no timeline to communicate they are working on a fix (probably together with Amazon) that hopefully will be released soon. 

Ralf
S

Same problemo. Is it limited to just the era 100?

Schlumpf
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Same problemo. Is it limited to just the era 100?

Yes, it is. 

Ralf
M
Userlevel 1

Same problem with Era 100, I hope Sonos finds a solution as soon as possible, it's a typical Era 100 problem and there are many of us.

Schlumpf
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Same problem with Era 100, I hope Sonos finds a solution as soon as possible, it's a typical Era 100 problem and there are many of us.

As Era100 is one of Sonos newest models and some „face“ of Sonos innovation and quality, I think working on this fix has got a very high priority. But if Sonos is addicted to Amazons help for this, they can’t set the timeline just by themselves. 

Ralf
M
Userlevel 1

I don't know how much Amazon is involved in this problem, it's true that Sonos uses third-party software "Alexa", but it's also true that it has to integrate it into its systems, as it did with Sonos One which suited me very well and as it did with other devices, only with Era 100 there is this problem. I would like to add that my experience as soon as I purchased it was fine, with every request Alexa opened the microphone and waited for the request without missing a beat, then I think the problem arose after an update

Schlumpf
Userlevel 7
Badge +16

@myllor 

Of course… there are updates of Sonos and also of Amazon Alexa software from time to time. And sometimes they depend on each other. So maybe it’s not quite easy to find out what exactly caused the bug. 

Ralf
T

I feel a bit of an idiot. I have told my wife that buying era 100s to replace the old 5s in the kitchen and bedroom would save space and work seamlessly. Now she gets really angry when she asks Alexa to set a timer in the kitchen and it refuses to respond or sets an alarm in another room.

I also find the Era100 frustrating- tonight I stood close to the kitchen speaker and asked for some music as my wife was watching a TV program in the lounge. The Sonos system decided to play rock music out of the beam in the lounge stopping the TV audio. I really think Sonos are damaging their reputation (and my wife's temper) with these speakers which are obviously faulty. 

A

Same on both my Era 100s. Very frustrating and I don’t understand why the fix is taking so long. My other Sonos speakers work fine with Alexa.

M
Userlevel 1

This is what Sonos support writes.

Thank you for contacting Sonos Customer Service.

My name is Ramona and I am happy to assist you with your problem.

In fact the anomaly has not yet been resolved by our technicians but they are working on it.

The email is sent automatically by our system, I kindly ask you to wait as everything will be resolved shortly.

I take this opportunity to wish you a good day!

If you have further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,
Ramona V.

T

I think Ramona is an AI chatbot. No sympathy for the fact that customers are feeling letdown by Sonos as they have spent hard earned money on supposedly state of the art smart speakers that will not do simple tasks.

S

Sadly for me if it’s not fixed in the next couple of days it will have to go back. It was toss up between this and the Homepod. I like the sound of both, I’m sure some will disagree but it’s subjective. I wanted the Alexa functionality but I haven’t got it and I’m not certain that I ever will have. If I knew that it was coming soon I would hang onto it but no one can give me a time frame.

A

Just adding to this, same with us. Very frustrating. Firstly we used Google on Arc and Ones,  frustrated that this wasn't an option for the ERA, now after spending time trying to figure out what's up with Alexa, find out its a known problem. Surly this should be communicated at point of sale.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @LouD183 et al

We now consider this issue resolved. If you continue to see this issue, we recommend you ensure your Sonos system is up-to-date, and if so, to get in touch with our technical support team for assistance.

We thank you for your patience.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
M
Userlevel 1

The problem with Alexa not being activated has been resolved, you need to update the Sonos app with the new Alexa update. Then uninstall Alexa from Sonos, close all applications and then reactivate Alexa from Sonos again.

L

Thank you @Corry P and @myllor !

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