I still have to use either, but here is the Stuff magazine take on this, from their review:
"Finally, Alexa seems to be less responsive on the Sonos One, at least compared to the Echo, meaning you have to speak a little bit louder for it to hear you. Considering my Echo will sometimes pick up an unintended ‘Alexa’ reference while I’m chatting in another room, this probably isn’t as significant a shortcoming as it sounds.
Read more at https://www.stuff.tv/sonos/one/review#RDh9IciKOQwAQ2K0.99
But something that is a concern that Sonos ought to look at, if what you say is more applicable.
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I can agree, i have to practically shout at the player. Where the original echo picks it up from three rooms further, sonos one doesnt even hear it when im 2.5m away without getting irritatingly loud. if possible, please adjust asap. I think if its software, allow people to set the sensitivity themselves in the room settings of the player would be the best option.
+1 to this frustration. After using an Echo for over a year, it's annoying to have to yell at the Sonos One. I've bought two for a small room, and at 2 meters away the One will still have a 50% wake rate.
Really looking forward to the software update, but also considering returning until that time.
Really looking forward to the software update, but also considering returning until that time.
+1 for this. Just got mine set up and from about 10 feet away I have to shout to get it to recognize me and I'm not a quiet person. Good to hear a fix is coming...
I'll pile on. I love how the sonos one sounds, but the mic is the worst. If I knew for a fact this was going to be fixed in a week or two I'd hold on to it. As it is I'm returning it for an echo. Dumb me thought at least the voice recognition would be decent so I splurged for the better sound.
Though the microphones work great in the majority of homes and setups, we're at that point where we're collecting more and more samples and fine-tuning the microphones. Voice control improves in stages, so I'd expect to see improvements as releases come. There isn't just going to be one update, but several that continue to tine the microphones and the Sonos One in general. One top of the microphones, you'll see the Alexa skill get better too, improvements on that may be as quick as every couple weeks, you might not notice what's changed though, depending on what it's targeted at. Those updates would largely be handled on the cloud side of things, so it wouldn't be a software update on your system (those will come too though).
My suggestion would be to keep using the Sonos One. If you do have a lot of trouble with it hearing you, see if there's anything that might be causing a lot of background noise right next to it. That would help in the short term.
I just can't get my head round this. The Echos and Dots, I believe, detect the wake word using the microphones and processing on the device itself (we are assured nothing is sent to the cloud until the wake word has been recognised and the lights come on) so I assume it's the same on the Sonos One. Surely Sonos tested the Sonos One in a few people's homes before releasing it to make sure that the microphones and the software, etc on the device worked. So how is it that lots of people are experiencing wake word detection to be so much worse than the Echo devices? And how can we be sure this can be fixed with only device software (not hardware) updates?
If we bought our Sonos Ones from Sonos then we have the option to return them in 100 days if this doesn't get better, but if we bought them elsewhere we may have only 30 days or less for this.
Hope this microphone problem fixes soon, otherwise I will send back my Sonos One. My echo dot is so much better....
I’m having the same problems. Poor wakeboard performance. Please fix asap
If we bought our Sonos Ones from Sonos then we have the option to return them in 100 days if this doesn't get better, but if we bought them elsewhere we may have only 30 days or less for this.
The listening is done at the player level of things, the microphones don't send anything up until the wake word is detected. However, software updates with the data of what the wake word sounds like go from the cloud to the player. Basically, the cloud trains the player on what to be listening for. That learning happens over time, and therefore it's a gradual process, one that's been taking place for over a year on Echo devices. There probably isn't going to be a single update that says "microphones fixed". They will get better over time.
The microphones on the Sonos One can be quite sensitive. I had an early test version that picked up just about anything with an "s" sound as a wake word. It's gotten a lot better. Picking out what is and isn't a wake sound is all about pinning down excess noise and figuring out accents, tone, and pitch, all while sorting through background noise.
+1 on this. Pleased it will be resolved though. I don't want to send my Sonos One back.
+1 here also. Would be good to get some certainty around a fix date as others have mentioned here.
Though the microphones work great in the majority of homes and setups, we're at that point where we're collecting more and more samples and fine-tuning the microphones.
I wonder, though, if your analytics will capture the dozens of times that “Alexa!” fails to trigger? I find myself having to shout up to three times to finally trigger a response from the One, while speaking in a normal voice would ALWAYS trigger the Echo, which was placed in exactly the same location. This is a serious issue, which needs to be resolved.
But then there is also the mystery of the minority that finds things to be the other way - that the mic is too sensitive.
I have no issues with mic sensitivity with my two paired Sonos One's. I'm usually 5 or 6 feet away.
Interesting. Maybe the two of them working together help with the sensitivity issue. Guess I'll be forced to buy another to find out, lol.
Interesting. Maybe the two of them working together help with the sensitivity issue. Guess I'll be forced to buy another to find out, lol.
I've got 2 in a stereo pair and have the lack of sensitivity issue whether I have one or two microphones turned on.
Though the microphones work great in the majority of homes and setups, we're at that point where we're collecting more and more samples and fine-tuning the microphones.
I wonder, though, if your analytics will capture the dozens of times that “Alexa!” fails to trigger? I find myself having to shout up to three times to finally trigger a response from the One, while speaking in a normal voice would ALWAYS trigger the Echo, which was placed in exactly the same location. This is a serious issue, which needs to be resolved.
As it's failed to trigger and doesn't send anything to the cloud unless it does trigger I can't see that these events will be captured, which is a bit concerning for the prospect of the problem being fixed.
This issue is pretty severe with my recently-purchased Ones. If they don't fix it in the next 2 weeks, i'll be returning them while i still can. I can be on my balcony in perfect silence (no music playing, no loud cars or people talking), and my One only hears me when i'm less than 3 feet away. I bought it so i could sit on my favorite chair out there and ask Alexa questions or change the song or volume with my voice, but currently, i can't do that at all. I'm using normal speaking volume, which should be just fine... I'm not going to shout so the whole neighborhood can hear me.
And the One in my bathroom only responds about a quarter of the time, while i'm speaking loudly at it. By contrast - My Echo Dots can hear me from across the room just fine. Maybe if i see they fix this down the line somehow, i'll buy one to try again next year.
And the One in my bathroom only responds about a quarter of the time, while i'm speaking loudly at it. By contrast - My Echo Dots can hear me from across the room just fine. Maybe if i see they fix this down the line somehow, i'll buy one to try again next year.
The variation in microphone sensitivity is odd. Some have no issues while others do. I assume this is software unless they have that poor a quality control on hardware. I can even say Alexa from another room and they respond.
Sonos calls this beta software but it’s more like alpha. They must be getting a lot of returns.
You would think Amazon is not happy about how this reflects on Alexa either.
Sonos calls this beta software but it’s more like alpha. They must be getting a lot of returns.
You would think Amazon is not happy about how this reflects on Alexa either.
Sonos calls this beta software but it’s more like alpha. They must be getting a lot of returns.
You would think Amazon is not happy about how this reflects on Alexa either.
The sensitivity is surely going to vary based on the local environment (acoustics, background noise, etc) as well the tenor of your voice and other related factors. In my case, I would almost swear my Sonos One is trained to think the wake word is "Alexa ALEXA!" Yet at the same, the Sonos will sound off at the oddest times even when the television volume is low and the nearest speaker is well across the room. I never had this issue with any of my echos or dots,
Overall I like the Sonos One and I'm going to hang in there and hope this will get better as Ryan suggests. While some are returning theirs, I am not. However, I have delayed making additional purchases of any additional Sonos product until I see whether there is progress on this and other issues.
After some days of use, I can really confirm the problems regarding recognition of the wake word 'alexa'. In practise, it does not seem usable to me the way it is now.
I can understand that the problem is hard to solve, but I do not understand the policy of the support. Why don't they give clear responses, clear timelines of updates? If they continue like this, they don't give customers any other chance than returning their Sonos One.
I can understand that the problem is hard to solve, but I do not understand the policy of the support. Why don't they give clear responses, clear timelines of updates? If they continue like this, they don't give customers any other chance than returning their Sonos One.
My suggestion would be to keep using the Sonos One. If you do have a lot of trouble with it hearing you, see if there's anything that might be causing a lot of background noise right next to it. That would help in the short term.
Ryan, This is a disappointing answer as it's clearly intended to obfuscate that the ONE has a microphone issue. Please remember that the ONE was heavy hyped to have better voice pickup over the Echo due to 6 microphones and "advanced signal processing" -- but this isn't the case.
Ryan, This is a disappointing answer as it's clearly intended to obfuscate that the ONE has a microphone issue. Please remember that the ONE was heavy hyped to have better voice pickup over the Echo due to 6 microphones and "advanced signal processing" -- but this isn't the case.
I don't know about obfuscation, but have they done that kind of hyping? Odd, because I believe that my recently received Echo/Dot both have 7 mics. And both work with Alexa said just once - nice one @ Master T about Alexa ALEXA! - at a conversational tone/level of voice from up to 12 feet away.
Is the problem only when the speaker is playing music or also to respond when silent? I can some justification for the former seeing the Dot recommendation to keep it at least a metre away from external speakers if in use.
I can understand that the problem is hard to solve, but I do not understand the policy of the support. Why don't they give clear responses, clear timelines of updates? If they continue like this, they don't give customers any other chance than returning their Sonos One.
EXACTLY!!!
Ryan, This is a disappointing answer as it's clearly intended to obfuscate that the ONE has a microphone issue.
THIS!!
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