I have exactly the same issue and pretty much rendered my Echo dot useless as I simply can't hear it anymore. I can't understand why this even changed with the latest Sonos update. I really have an issue if this isn't fixed soon especially as there is no way to downgrade Sonos to the previous version from what I understand.



I have been looking at hooking a pre-amp between the Echo dot line out and the Sonos Connect but I'm not sure if this would solve the issue...

---

Same problem here

---

Can someone from the Sonos support please confirm that this is a recognised issue that is being worked on? Thanks!

---

There's no need to use the analog connection anymore for Dot.

---

There's no need to use the analog connection anymore for Dot.

I don’t get home till tomorrow so have not tried this out but not sure this is correct. What if you want to play Audible for instance?

---

So just to be clear if I was to remove the line out/in connection I currently have setup with my Sonos Connect will all voice commands still be played via Sonos? I understand it's fine for playing music but what about any question I throw at Alexa? Will it then still be delivered through Sonos or the tiny internal Echo dot speakers (which is something I don't want)? As I have my Echo Dot build into the kitchen wall it's not something I can easily try out 🙂

---

As Stephen G says, by removing my P5 from the Alexa skill I have regained the volume of the dot through the P5 and also regained control over my Spotify account through the Dot . I can once again play Spotify through Sonos controlled by the dot , if I could control my music collection stored on my NAS then that would be perfect !

---

Oh wow! I just spent over 20 minutes with Sonos support (who claimed no knowledge of the problem and told me to call Amazon) and 45 minutes with Amazon support (who had me switch echo dots and audio cables and then credited me for $5 and had me buy an Amazon branded audio cable (arriving Sunday) and they will call me back on Monday to continue troubleshooting!



Both Sonos and Amazon Alexa support need to update their support staff with this info pronto.

---

BTW, thank you Stephen G! That's a great workaround!

---

Hmmm...well my echo dot (hard-line in to P:connect) ducked and stayed ducked, even after I rebooted it. I have now disabled Alexa skill and everything back to normal. Once Spotify is added, I'll re-enable and disconnect the dot so it can be Alexa voice. Though it would be good if all Alexa sound could go through sonos, I get that it's not that simple...



Good luck with development, Sonos, this could be great.

---

I find the biggest difference between the line-in and the Alexa skill is there is absolutely no track/artist/album/station/etc. metadata displayed with the line-in. It even drives my slightly batty that the track info is missing when playing SiriusXM via Alexa (Hint, Hint! Nudge, Nudge! Sonos team.) So the line-in approach is a deal breaker for me, but maybe not for others.

---

Something else I'm noticing. My DOT sits only 2 feet away from a Play:5 because they were physically connected to each other by the audio cable. Even so the DOT didn't have too much trouble hearing me when music was playing. When I used the wake word the blue ring would light up and the music would duck.I could then make my request and Alexa wouod respond.



Now that I have removed the audio cable tethering the DOT to the Play:5 the DOT seems to have trouble hearing the wake word. It's blue ring doesn't light and the music doesn't duck. If I speak quiet loudly then some other Echo device in another room usually responds instead. I guess I'll try moving the DOT further away from the speakers tomorrow to see if that helps.

---

Ryan, thank you for your response. Like others, I have a Dot hardwired to a Play 5 and ran into the same problem with Alexa's responses. I'm happy Sonos is aware so I'm confident a solution will be coming. It's not the cheapest solution, but if I replaced the Dot with a new Sonos One and didn't hardwire it to the Play 5, would Alexa's response from the Sonos One also be muted? (I'm aways justifying buying audio equipment I don't really need!)

---

I experienced the same, even though I've moved the now unconnected Dot to a seemingly better position in the room.

---

I have the same issue and have submitted a query and am awaiting a response

---

Thanks Ryan for explaining the "ducking" process. I too have noticed that the volume drops momentarily on ALL Sonos speakers in the house when a command is issued to the Echo Dot (in my kitchen). I agree with mwiseman that this might be an irritation to those listening to music on a Sonos speaker at the other end of the house . As I wrote in an earlier post, I have connected my Echo Dot to the line-in of a Play-5 in my Kitchen. When the Play-5 was registered in the Alexa app as a Smart Home device, the Alexa responses were inaudible on the Play-5. By "forgetting" the Play-5 speaker in the Alexa app, audibility is restored (and I can still issue commands to Alexa to play music in other Sonos "rooms" in the house. HOWEVER, somehow, without my prompting, Alexa has rediscovered the Play-5 in the Kitchen and Alexa responses have become inaudible again. So I have decided to disable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app and will watch with interest as the Sonos/Alexa is refined and developed.



I too have this problem and have to get Alexa to 'forget device' on a daily basis for the sound to work. It simply finds the Play:5 and adds it into it's device list.

---

Many thanks to @Stephen G for the workaround of removing recalcitrant Sonos speaker from the skill setup as I too had connected an Echo Dot to the line-in of a Play-5 in my Kitchen - seems a popular setup! :)



Perhaps Community Manager @Ryan S could amend the 'Best Answer' to include Stephen G's workaround although if @Tangochile is correct and Alexa keeps adding it back then maybe the best thing is to remove the long awaited and keenly anticipated Sonos Skill until it better integrates. :(



As others have said the 'naming' conflicts are also a frustration and the ability to 'link' Dot with specific Sonos speaker without cable and without the need to specify which room to play music unless asking for a room other than the one you're in or asking for a system wide play would also be great.



Feeling ever so slightly underwhelmed by this iteration of Sonos skill. :?

---

Perhaps Community Manager @Ryan S could amend the 'Best Answer' to include Stephen G's workaround although if @Tangochile is correct and Alexa keeps adding it back then maybe the best thing is to remove the long awaited and keenly anticipated Sonos Skill until it better integrates. :(



The Alexa app recently updated some of the control features for smart home devices and they added an automatic device discovery. I believe every 2 hours, your Alexa devices automatically check for new devices. Which means if you forget the player with the line-in, it'll get re-discovered regularly.



Ducking is being worked on though, so we'll see how this changes in the future.

---

The Alexa app recently updated some of the control features for smart home devices and they added an automatic device discovery. I believe every 2 hours, your Alexa devices automatically check for new devices. Which means if you forget the player with the line-in, it'll get re-discovered regularly.Thanks, that fits with what was happening to my system so I have now disabled the Sonos skill.

---

Thank you so much! That was driving me nuts!!!

---

Same problem here. Ok, here is an additional problem. I bought the Sonos One. I used to be very - very happy with my Echo Dot and my Play5. I was about to buy another Echo dot for my other Play5 but I saw the new Sonos One coming and I decided to pre-ordered. I have it...I paid $200 for this speaker and I can't use Spotify and there is a a lot of limitations (not able to near news or sport reports...etc). So, after experiencing the "ducking" problem on the previous setup, now to go back to normal I am learning that I have to disable Sonos skill in Alexa so the Sonos One will work like a regular speaker. Can someone at Sonos explain me why I shouldn't return Sonos One and buy another Echo Dot (I have an extra Play5)?.

---

@marcoecheverria, that'll kind of come down to how you want to be using your Sonos with Alexa. With the Sonos skill, you can use voice and the controller app together seamlessly, something that's hard to do with the line-in route. You can't mix groups of Echo speakers and Sonos speakers, so the Sonos One can't group with the Dot, but you can group the PLAY:5 and your Sonos One. However, you could have a group of Sonos players all playing the line-in, you just don't have much control through the Sonos app of what's on.



Ducking is something that's being worked on, so I'd expect to see some changes there which might really improve your experience with the line-in Dot connection. I can't say exactly what that will look like, since it's still in the works, so that's a bit of a grey area. If you want to get all of the audio from your Dot to play on your PLAY:5s, including Alexa's responses, you'll probably want to be disable ducking entirely on the PLAY:5, and I'm not sure if that'll be an option, though we've definitely had the request passed over to the team.



The Sonos One won't duck any of your other players when it's responding, it only ducks the room it's in.



Spotify with voice and the news briefings are also coming too. One great thing with the Alexa integration is it can keep on getting better over time, and we're hard at work on several features with the Amazon teams.



My advice, would be play around with both and see what you're really looking to get out of the integration. What features do you like the most, what are you looking to have access to, and through.

---