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Keeps hearing things that aren’t Alexa?

  • 4 November 2017
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Does anyone else have the issue of the sonos one keep beeping and hearing things that aren’t Alexa. I was watching tv last night and 6 times in one hour she muted the tv volume and beeped as if she heard her name. I wouldn’t mind but when I call her name she doesn’t hear it...it seems the programming side of things needs some work!!

It would surly make sense that the sound coming through the speaker shouldn’t trigger her as she knows she is the source? It also happens when you ask Alexa something and in her response she says Alexa...it then triggers the sonos one again...I had the dot and echo and neither of these devices worked like this and hardly any false triggers but it is getting silly with the sonos one now. Is it just me?
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Best answer by Ryan S 20 December 2017, 23:37

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42 replies

Userlevel 3
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I've got that issue too. It's even worse if you've got 2 Sonos Ones in the same room: sometimes they chatter to each other!
Userlevel 4
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I've got that issue too. It's even worse if you've got 2 Sonos Ones in the same room: sometimes they chatter to each other!

Yes I am in exactly the same situation as you...surly this is something that can be fixed? I have asked support lots of things my dnever had a reply though so not sure if they are aware or not!
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Have a look at https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/sonos-one-alexa-esp-support-6791835/index1.html#post16162206
It does not seem to be recognised as a problem.
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Have a look at https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/sonos-one-alexa-esp-support-6791835/index1.html#post16162206
It does not seem to be recognised as a problem.


The most annoying thing for me is it keeps hearing things on the TV that arnt Alexa with the sound source being Sonos so surely they can fix that element?
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Alexa wakes up all the time when Bloomberg TV is on... Barely a "Brexit" or "earnings expectations" goes by without Alexa waking up, and I swear Alexa has got a thing for Vonnie Quinn, as when she is talking, Alexa does not shut up...
Ironic that it wakes up when it shouldn't, and sleeps when it should wake up.
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Alexa wakes up all the time when Bloomberg TV is on... Barely a "Brexit" or "earnings expectations" goes by without Alexa waking up, and I swear Alexa has got a thing for Vonnie Quinn, as when she is talking, Alexa does not shut up...
Ironic that it wakes up when it shouldn't, and sleeps when it should wake up.


Yes same for me, very annoying!
Userlevel 4
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I've got THREE new Sonos ONEs, and all three of them are going back to Best Buy. What a DISASTER it's been for me with these things constantly waking and responding to absolutely nothing. They released this product way too soon.
Userlevel 3
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They released this product way too soon.
I agree. I wish they could issue an assurance that the problems will be fixed by software updates. I'm not convinced that there isn't a problem with the microphones themselves.
I have this problem with all of my Amazon Alexa devices. Constantly. I think it has to do with the Amazon software for voice recognition, since I don't own a Sonos One. And I've very carefully not let it be "Alexa", with all of the random commercials using that keyword.
Userlevel 7
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I was involved in the Private Beta testing of the Sonos 1's and there were several changes to the wake word sensitivity during the testing. This a defiantly a software setting on the Sonos server side and was improved each time - although improving the wake word sensitivity also by definition increases the volume of 'false' wakes.
Userlevel 6
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May or not be connected: but my Alexa dots have become infuriatingly hyper-responsive since the Sonos integration. Random wake-ups, answers to non-questions - very annoying.

Of course there's no way to attribute cause & effect .... just saying. 😃
Userlevel 4
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My echo dot never worked once like that and they are all in the same rooms as the dots were... I think the programmers need to spend more time on this like Amazon did.
I agree with Bruce in that this may be more of an Alexa problem then just Sonos One. It is probably more noticable with the Sonos skilled enabled since you hear the ducking. Previously, a dot wouldn't do anything to disturb you, whatever you were doing, during these false alarms.

I've noticed int more since gettng an echo show. I don't know if the show is worse at this than the dot, but I turned on a recognition noise (whatever it's called) and the show dings all the time.

These feels like a Catch-22 situation. I'm sure the mics are not sensitive enough in some situations, yet too sensitive in others. It ideally should be tuned to each room. That would make the simple to use tool more complicated.
My Dot, which is in the living room, has been set with the "wake" acknowledgement ding, since I had it connected to a PLAY:5 for quite a while. I can tell you that it often "dings" awake with the TV on, and only occasionally responds with a nonsensical phrase like "I don't know about X" or whatever the phrase is. Sometimes, it just dings awake, and then is silent. There's actually a folding partition between where it is and where I'm sitting, so I can't see the lights around the top of it. Its keyword is Echo, not Alexa. It seems to be more active during (US) football games than anything else, but that may equally be that I'm watching a lot of it these days. I don't have numbers to track activations on drama shows versus sports shows.
Userlevel 1
I've got the same issue and it's infuriating. In today's 30 min local news bulletin the Sonos false triggered eight times to words that don't even vaguely resemble 'Alexa'. If they don't sort this out very soon it's going to have to go back.
Userlevel 4
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From my point of view it’s a sonos issue, I have a dot upstairs and it is in front of the tv. I maybe have seen it light up 2 or 3 times a month...where as the sonos had 8 in one hour recently. Try it yourself...say the next episode quickly and I bet she responds on the sonos but not the dot!
+1 to this thread. My playone hears everything and anything as Alexa. So annoying.
Yeah mine too, wife is not impressed 😠, keeps cutting out the tv volume and its driving her nuts. Will be returning these tomorrow.
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Yeah I think my 4 are going back, not ready as a product
I'm having the same problem. Has anyone found a solution? When I called Sonos, I was told I was the only one who had ever called about this issue and that my problem should be directed to Amazon, not Sonos. That doesn't make much sense, seeing as I bought the product from Sonos. My Sonos One speakers are in my dining room, so whenever we're eating dinner, the Alexa tone is triggered at random times. My Dots have never had this problem.
Userlevel 4
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I'm having the same problem. Has anyone found a solution? When I called Sonos, I was told I was the only one who had ever called about this issue and that my problem should be directed to Amazon, not Sonos. That doesn't make much sense, seeing as I bought the product from Sonos. My Sonos One speakers are in my dining room, so whenever we're eating dinner, the Alexa tone is triggered at random times. My Dots have never had this problem.

That's a lie, I have tweeted them and messaged them. I tried to call but could never get through. It is NOT an Amazon issue, it is the sonos coding and software that deals with the trigger... Mine are a nightmare... They are going back.
Userlevel 3
I've posted a few times on here regarding this issue, admittedly I haven't called or contacted Sonos support as I already decided to send two of mine back. It 'dings' all the time when we are eating in the kitchen. The dot that we moved from the kitchen did not have this issue nor does it have this issue in the lounge with the TV on. For me, if its an Amazon issue, the dots would as problematic, which they are not. We are keeping the kitchen One tho but I am this close to disabling the Alexa skill and going back to the app exclusively.
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I've noticed this as well with one of my Sonos One's in particular. However, I feel like the One hear me better than any of my Dots or Echos. I had a Dot in the bathroom and it could not hear me when I was in the shower. My One can hear me perfectly. I can speak at a normal volume. Sonos just needs to find a better balance or let us change the wake word .
Wow. I wanted a ONE but this thread has convinced me otherwise. I imagine turning off the microphone would solve things but what’ the sense of having to turn it back on every time you want to ask Alexa something? If it wasn’t that my Macbook is too ancient to run Airplay (and no plan to replace it, thank you) I’d simply sell all my Sonos gear and run Apple Airplay exclusively. I’d just as soon run things straight from an Ipad or Iphone and eliminate Sonos altogether. Hmmmmmm. S6
Userlevel 7
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Wow. I wanted a ONE but this thread has convinced me otherwise. I imagine turning off the microphone would solve things but what’ the sense of having to turn it back on every time you want to ask Alexa something? If it wasn’t that my Macbook is too ancient to run Airplay (and no plan to replace it, thank you) I’d simply sell all my Sonos gear and run Apple Airplay exclusively. I’d just as soon run things straight from an Ipad or Iphone and eliminate Sonos altogether. Hmmmmmm. S6

This issue has improved since the last update and I haven't had a false trigger for 2 or 3 days now and my Sonos One is in the same room as my TV.