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Alexa keeps on saying Sonos One is offline

  • 24 October 2017
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45 replies

All sorted! Hope that helps

That finally helped. Sonos, put this in your FAQ. Drove me nuts until I found this hack. Wonder how to know that it is necessary to set the language/country in my Amazon account.
After three days of trying to get my Sonos One showing as On-Line in my Alexa Android phone App, I logged onto my Alexa account using the PC app. I didn't change anything using the PC app, but the Sonos One just magically was showing as On-Line. I then checked my phone Alexa app and it was the same. I can now play music through the Sonos One using Alexa. Brilliant but perplexing.
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After three days of trying to get my Sonos One showing as On-Line in my Alexa Android phone App, I logged onto my Alexa account using the PC app. I didn't change anything using the PC app, but the Sonos One just magically was showing as On-Line. I then checked my phone Alexa app and it was the same. I can now play music through the Sonos One using Alexa. Brilliant but perplexing.

Yes, the PC Alexa app, although limited in it's functionality, still appears to be able to resolve problems that the Android and iOS app can't fix.
I was bashing my head against a wall about this Alexa offline issue until my daughter pointed out there’s a mic on/off button on top of the Sonos: One. Sorted! To be fair, it does just look like an LED.
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I was bashing my head against a wall about this Alexa offline issue until my daughter pointed out there’s a mic on/off button on top of the Sonos: One. Sorted! To be fair, it does just look like an LED.That's a different issue. This is not about having the mic muted. it's about Alexa refusing to connect to skills and services, like the Sonos skill.
Apologies, Nellie. Thought that was too easy a fix. Yes, have failed to connect Alexa to many skills. 😕
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I have been coming back to this thread on and off for the past four weeks, because half my Echo enabled devices are showing as offline, and the new Sonos speakers I bought (during that brief discount period) are also showing as offline in the Alexa app - though they work perfectly well via the Sonos system. I too have noted that oddity, when music is playing through the speakers, and you ask Alexa to stop the music, and she dips the volume to answer that no music is playing. Better still, while trying for the hundredth time to resolve this issue, I had two speakers in a stereo pair giving each other orders, One announced helpfully, 'Just say, 'Alexa, discover devices',' and the other one started looking for devices. Which it didn't find because it is OFFLINE.

Anyway, I come to this forum because not only does Amazon seem unaware this issue exists, but there is nothing useful in any of their forums. I am firmly of the opinion that if I can fix the Sonos speakers the same remedy will also fix the other Echo devices.

And for the sake of other sufferers of this problem, I will offer my opinion, that the offline issue, for me at least, is something to do with my Amazon account not knowing which country I am based in. i visit the US often, and buy stuff on Amazon.com and have it delivered to a US address. I even bought some of my Echo devices there. This appears to have totally screwed up my Echo system. Deep down in my Amazon account settings my address and country have got muddled and - judging by the time they have taken to not fix it - even Amazon can't unmuddle it.

As an earlier poster pointed out, if you go to your Amazon account and look for 'manage devices' and then 'content and settings' and then 'settings' you will see an entry for your address and country of residence. Make sure a UK address is entered there (if you're based in the UK). I have made this change a hundred times and it never sticks. The last time I spoke to Amazon support they made the same change and it still has not registered.

When I log on to alexa.amazon.co.uk I am automatically transferred to alexa.amazon.com. That's what makes me think I will never fix this issue unless Amazon fixes it, and I doubt they ever will.

My next idea? Transferring all my Echo devices to my wife's Amazon account, which has no such address issues. There's probably a huge problem with that I have not foreseen, but right now, I can think of no other solution...
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Hi

I agree that this sounds like an Amazon account issue. Can you try these steps:

1/ Check your profile in your Sonos account www.sonos.co.uk
2/ Follow the steps I've listed in the Answer to this question from section 2 onwards:
https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/alexa-says-she-is-playing-on-kitchen-but-no-sound-comes-out-6800126/index1.html
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Hi

I agree that this sounds like an Amazon account issue. Can you try these steps:

1/ Check your profile in your Sonos account www.sonos.co.uk
2/ Follow the steps I've listed in the Answer to this question from section 2 onwards:
https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/alexa-says-she-is-playing-on-kitchen-but-no-sound-comes-out-6800126/index1.html


Thanks for your advice, but what should I be looking for when I check my Sonos account profile?

And forgive me but I won't pursue the later steps until the Amazon account address issue is resolved. Bear in mind I have a several non-Sonos Echo units that are also showing as offline, and were before I bought the Sonos Ones. Plus, my problem Sonos speakers are way up on top of kitchen cabinets, and rebooting etc involves a stepladder and a lot of cursing..! 😃
Ok after reading everything here and trying a lot of it I finally got mine to work. As someone suggested I went online to alexa.amazon.com. My skill was active and working so that wasn't the issue however when I went to devices it did show my speaker as offline. I had to hit discover once again and then the offline note went away and now it is working. Yeah so try rediscovering it as well. Hopefully this helps at least it did me.

Moderator Note: This response was previously marked as the Best Answer. The Best Answer has been changed to assist a wider audience.
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Hi

I agree that this sounds like an Amazon account issue. Can you try these steps:

1/ Check your profile in your Sonos account www.sonos.co.uk
2/ Follow the steps I've listed in the Answer to this question from section 2 onwards:
https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/alexa-says-she-is-playing-on-kitchen-but-no-sound-comes-out-6800126/index1.html


Thanks for your advice, but what should I be looking for when I check my Sonos account profile?

And forgive me but I won't pursue the later steps until the Amazon account address issue is resolved. Bear in mind I have a several non-Sonos Echo units that are also showing as offline, and were before I bought the Sonos Ones. Plus, my problem Sonos speakers are way up on top of kitchen cabinets, and rebooting etc involves a stepladder and a lot of cursing..! :D


That you address is correct!
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I have solved the problem of my Sonos Ones showing as 'offline'.

My wife has an unused Amazon account with no issues about the account address. I reset one of my 'offline' Echo devices and registered it to her Amazon account. Not only did the Echo device immediately appear as online, but so did all the other Echo units that had been showing as 'offline', including the Sonos Ones. I did not even have to reset them. Now on the Alexa app (logged in under my wife's username) the Echo devices that were registered, online and working under my old account are showing as 'offline' (because her account does not control them). All the devices that used to show as 'offline' are now 'online.'

The account address was the issue.

Before I go any further I have to figure out whether continuing to us my wife's account will cause more headaches further down the line. Will I be able to link my Sonos account to the new Echo account? Plus, Echo offers phone calls and messaging - but if I use the newly-online Echo units the messages will appear to come from my wife..!
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I have solved the problem of my Sonos Ones showing as 'offline'.

My wife has an unused Amazon account with no issues about the account address. I reset one of my 'offline' Echo devices and registered it to her Amazon account. Not only did the Echo device immediately appear as online, but so did all the other Echo units that had been showing as 'offline', including the Sonos Ones. I did not even have to reset them. Now on the Alexa app (logged in under my wife's username) the Echo devices that were registered, online and working under my old account are showing as 'offline' (because her account does not control them). All the devices that used to show as 'offline' are now 'online.'

The account address was the issue.

Before I go any further I have to figure out whether continuing to us my wife's account will cause more headaches further down the line. Will I be able to link my Sonos account to the new Echo account? Plus, Echo offers phone calls and messaging - but if I use the newly-online Echo units the messages will appear to come from my wife..!


That's great news. 🙂 With regard to your questions, no I don't think this will cause issues later as you can add yourself as an additional user to your wife's Amazon account and the Echo device will recognise any commands from you and your wife separately.
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While exploring this subject on other threads I came across a couple who had done precisely that, sharing an Amazon account through two different logins, and it threw their Alexa into a right tizz because it didn't know who to take commands from - even verbally. I am extremely reluctant to go down that path because the potential complications, involving my Sonos and Spotify accounts, are horrendous...
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While exploring this subject on other threads I came across a couple who had done precisely that, sharing an Amazon account through two different logins, and it threw their Alexa into a right tizz because it didn't know who to take commands from - even verbally. I am extremely reluctant to go down that path because the potential complications, involving my Sonos and Spotify accounts, are horrendous...
I have one account with my wife recognised as another member of the household and no problems so far. :)

EDIT: Just to be clear: One Amazon account but with two members of the household identified.
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Yes; it was the suggestion that I add myself to my wife's account as part of a household that threatened to make things complicated. I have added her to my household, in the hope of seamlessly sharing services. I have Prime, she doesn't.
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Further to my Sonos/Alexa adventure - having isolated the problem as originating from my Amazon account having no fixed country or address, I switched to a new login with no such issues, and that seemed to solve the 'offline' problem. However I did have to reset the Sonos One speakers and re-integrate them into the system, and that took several attempts.

The first few times I tried, my old, problematic address appeared automatically as the Alexa account the speakers were registered to. There was an link in the install routine to visit the Sonos Help forums to fix this, but bizarrely that took me to the French language Sonos forums and a page that was missing!

Googling the problem I found the answer was to log out from all the Amazon apps on my phone - music and shopping - because the Sonos install app was taking login info from them (without asking me, obviously.) When I was not logged in to those apps the Sonos install routine gave me the chance to enter the new, fixed, account details. Of course, when i went back to the Amazon app, they tried to log in me in under this new identity, which i did not want, and it took several attempts to stop that happening too.

I now seem to have a fully operating integrated set of Sonos and Alexa speakers. There are only two hitches: when I ask Alexa to play music the Amazon Echo insists on playing it - and though the speaker is good it has nothing on the Sonos One pair. Secondly, my Sonos app now shows two kitchens and two dining rooms, and of course being a Sonos app, there are no easy ways to delete unused or redundant rooms. But frankly those are minor hitches.

Hope this helps anyone jumping through the same hoops.
Had this problem today as i had just moved house
Managed to fix it by goinng to the alexa website and making sure the location and address is correct
I have the same issue and Sonos support isn't responding. I want say for now I'm very unsatisfied with the new Sonos One and the Alexa App

so the issue as i encountered recently is that in the alexa app i renamed the sonos from “home theatre” to “living room” — and this was the issue. alexa was looking for a name in sonos that didn’t exist. changing name back to home theater resolved this issue. likely i could change the speaker name in sonos to living room and again in alexa app and it would work that way as well.
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This is an older topic, though we have noticed it has gained some popularity of late.

If you are having issues with Alexa on Sonos, here are some great places to start:
- This thread that talks about how to solve the majority of issues with Alexa on Sonos.
- This support article that talks about how to set up Alexa on Sonos.
- This link will take you to create a new thread.
- If all else fails, here's how to contact our customer care team.