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Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

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262 replies

K
I certainly did not pay $200 per speaker to be their product quality tester. That said, Sonos does have great support and hopefully this gets fixed soon.
Note that the Alexa skills part of Sonos One has been officially labelled as a beta by Sonos. Expecting rapid improvement to the experience would therefore not be out of order, but some patience may be called for.
G
No one would; I bet this is a request to only rule out reasons by doing this on a temporary basis.
You’re right, and pardon my frustration here. I replaced the Echo with the One in the exact same position. I think there’s a fine line between being a patient early adopter and expecting a paid-for product to do what it says it should. I certainly did not pay $200 per speaker to be their product quality tester. That said, Sonos does have great support and hopefully this gets fixed soon.
S
Userlevel 1
Badge +1
Im happy with the sensitivity on my 2 ones, Echo is overly sensitive in my opinion, but you cant please all people all the time
C
My one seems to be going off at the slightest thing ?! It is close to the TV though so could that be a problem, it went off when someone said “makes a ...” on the Tv earlier. Would love it to be a sensitivity setting if it’s software based.

I have the same issue. Anything with an “x” triggers Alexa when the TV is one but doesn’t trigger when I try and replicate it with my voice. Seems something about the TV triggers Alexa. What I want to do is change the command name like what the echos do. I can’t find an option for the Sonos Ones. In the update, it will be handy to have that option.
M
Add me to the list that thinks the mic is not nearly sensitive enough and looking forward to software update (maybe user controlled sensitivity? ) When I first go an Echo and Dot I used to bark the wake word loudly until my wife pointed out what I was doing and how annoying it was. Spent some time training myself to talk more naturally to Alexa - which her mic picks up wonderfully (except when playing music). Now I'm back to barking loudly even when a few feet away. I had read that Sonos would have better noise cancellation logic that would make it BETTER at hearing me when music is playing - but I can't tell because I have to be so loud even when there is no music playing.
K
Picked up three SONOS ONE tonight and wanted to replace my house full of Sonos Play 1's and Echo dot's sitting on top -- but yes the mic sensitivity is TERRIBLE, with no music playing i still have to shout at it or be 3 feet away. Product says it has 6 mics and intelligent voice detection - did they forget to turn this on!? I'm going to have to return these and keep echo dot's on top if it isn't fixed quickly!
K
No one would; I bet this is a request to only rule out reasons by doing this on a temporary basis.
G
Both Sonos Ones I received seem to be highly temperamental. I either have to scream at it or give up altogether. This is highly frustrating given that the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot usually get it on the first try.

Call-in customer support told me to move it to the center of the room. Now who on earth would put a speaker in the center of the room?
chickentender
I hope an update for the sensitivity comes quite soon. It was just curious at first but after 2 days of use it's genuinely becoming quite irritating. I have to repeat my wake-word more than once more often than I do not. Sometimes 3 or 4 times and always must raise my voice considerably approaching a shout depending where I am relative to the ONE.
M
Good point. I have been a Sonos fan for a while and have come to expect great customer service.
K
Is the Echo system smarter than Sonos?
No idea, frankly. Only Amazon/Sonos know for sure and I doubt they will comment. But these are things that can be tweaked to existing hardware and Sonos has openly said that their Alexa integration is a beta, so expect improvements.
M
Kumar, thanks for your reply. I have an Echo Dot in my office just outside the living area and had to change the wake word on the Dot to Echo so both devices wouldn’t go off at the same time. Is the Echo system smarter than Sonos? My Echo Dot will recognize “my” voice from another room but the Alexa commercials don’t set it off. If I say the wake word or something similar it may.
This may be a deal killer on Sonos until it gets smarter. I’ll give it some time and experiment with some additional locations.

Thanks again for your reply!
K
Until Alexa includes effective voice recognition protocols in it, keeping the One near things like TVs/radios isn't a good idea. For such uses, an Echo/Dot is a better idea, with the mic on the One turned off. I haven't checked but I assume that the One will work just as a play 1 will in that configuration.
M
I have my Sonos One installed just below my TV and everything sets it off, heaven forbid an Alexa commercial comes on.
D
My one seems to be going off at the slightest thing ?! It is close to the TV though so could that be a problem, it went off when someone said “makes a ...” on the Tv earlier. Would love it to be a sensitivity setting if it’s software based.
Z
Userlevel 2
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Interesting... I've had the opposite experience. I was having issues with my Echo Dot hearing me. I had the dot placed right next to my Play:1 (which may have been part of the issue) on a shelf in the kitchen. I replaced the Dot and the Play:1 with the Sonos One and I find that the Sonos One can hear me better than the Dot could.
melvimbe
I really hope the solution ends up being an adjustable setting for mic sensitivity. It's not hard to imagine there being scenarios where you want both high and low settings. For example, if you have a stereo pair setup, you may want them set lower so they don't 'compete' with each other. Or perhaps set one high and the other low.

I don't have the One yet, but I currently have issues with my dots for similar reasons. The dot in the kitchen/family room will sometimes have trouble hearing. If I speak too lould, a dot in another room will hear me. particulaly annoying when you're trying to set an alarm.
Danny
Sp1ke
Userlevel 2
Badge +4
Agree with all here that the mic sensitivity is a little too low on the One compared to my Echo devices.
Good to hear it’s fixable via software - thanks Ryan S for your input on this forum 🙂
Steve
B
An ETA would definitely be really helpful, to help me decide whether this needs to go back during the return period. My One is positioned only 2 feet behind where I usually sit, but doesn't pick up the wake word unless I turn round and speak loudly at it, whereas the Echo would immediately respond to my normal voice without me needing to turn round.

My tech-resistant other half is already asking why I've bought something that doesn't work as well as the old one....
D
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
I agree....this needs fixing...I thought this product would hear better than the £50 dot but it does not!
chickentender
Just voicing my support of this. The Echo at my folks' house, even though it doesn't "know" me, is far far more responsive. Even in my very small living room here I've had to nearly shout and repeat the wake word sometimes 3 or more times. Good to hear this will improve.
K
have turned to aggressive yelling to get Sonos One to wake.
I am surprised there aren't many more complaints about this than the ones on this thread. This is a deal breaker that Sonos needs to fix ASAP if it as bad as this thread says it is.
R
I second that. I could speak nice and quietly to my Echo Dot, but have turned to aggressive yelling to get Sonos One to wake. I feel this will get old pretty fast.
K
Oops; I just read that unlike with Echo, there is only the one word available for Sonos One. Another thing that needs changing in any case.
K
all she knows is the thing I bought is more of a PITA to use than thing it replaced and it’s not going over well!
If a significantly louder voice is needed as you say, I am not surprised that it isn't going down well; this isn't just a feature one can get to learn, but a permanent irritation. Perhaps a short term workaround can be placing it a little closer to users. Or, use it with a Echo/Dot as if it was a play 1 - can that be done?
PS: Does it help if you change the wake word to an available alternate?
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