Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

So.... @Sonos, are you ever going to resolve this issue or should we start expecting shoddy/unfinished products to be released by Sonos with no solutions in sight, just barren promises?


Sonos released Alexa integration as a beta product. I'm not saying that there is no reason to expect Alexa integration to work better by now, just that Sonos isn't trying to pass this off as finished production as far as Alexa integration is concerned.


Consumer Reports writes a scathing review about Tesla, and within a very short period of time, they release an update to their vehicles, addressing the issue that was discussed by the Report.

Not to conflate the two scenarios, but the Sonos One has been release for over a year now and the software (Including the uselessness of Alexa) have not changed.


Not over a year. It was release last September/October timeframe.


It's annoying and embarrassing when I have to yell at my Sonos ONE (Alexa) to carry out a command when there is music playing, or even when there is not. Whereas with other products, which I will not mention, the sensitivity to engaging the device is considerably more attuned.


I have a similar issue with echo products. I'm not saying it's as bad, just that it seems to be an issue with Alexa across the board to some extent.


I realize that Sonos has a policy of secrecy and not releasing any information to the public, especially when it comes to timelines-- but there is only so long I am willing to settle before I write a product, or in this case, an entire company off, as being obsolete due to said company turning a willing blind eye to its' more than loyal consumer base and thinking that because we own the product, we are therefore trapped within the ecosystem with no other option but to accept the fact. Software patches these days can be worked on and released within weeks, if not days. The sheer fact that we are forced to pay so much for a product that has yet to meet basic standards is insulting.


Sonos has a lot of features and fixes that customers are waiting on. All of them with a set of customers who are threatening to leave if they don't get attention soon. I wouldn't want to be the guy that has to prioritize development tasks right now. Regardless, I don't think it's accurate to say that Sonos is willing turning a blind eye on customers. It probably feels that way, not denying that.


Hopefully with heavyweight hitters such as Apple entering the market, the added competition will add a fire under Sonos to get with it. Just because some people are invested in the product lines offered by Sonos does not make them unwilling to sell them off and start purchasing in a different ecosystem.......

I can't agree with the thought that Sonos isn't motivated by competition already. It's why they are working on improvements with Amazon integration, why are they are working on Google integration, probably talking to Apple about Siri integration, working on Airplay 2 integration, working on a new product release, working on the 'works with Sonos' program, and who knows what else. I can't see a company doing all this without already being motivated by competition.

I think it's kind of interesting that you mention Apple as the motivator for Sonos though. Apple was the first to bring voice interface to the market, yet they have fallen behind Amazon and Google. Amazon and Google have had their home voice control products out for years, and Apple only months, after missing the Christmas season entirely. Apple release the homepod with several promised features missing, to be released later. They just release airplay 2, but it only works with homepod for now, you have to wait for all the other speakers. I'd say that Sonos is aware and motivated by the competition, but looking at Apple's recent history in the space, it's hard to conclude that Apple is motivated to compete.

Nothing yet. And to be honest, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. It looks like Sonos is really dragging their legs with fixing/improving what’s already been released and instead just releasing new products to keep increasing sales by expanding their product line. It’s almost Q4, and they have yet to release the Google Home interface for the ONE let alone address the horrid mic sensitivity issue. Not a fan of having to constantly yell at my device to the point where I’m sure my neighbors can hear me. (I live in an apt)

i have pressed that mic button a couple of times and it doesn't help. I have to be max. 2 meter from the One for it to hear me and for this to work i have to speak into the direction where it's plased. I have 2 Ones in 2 different rooms and it's the same problem with both of them. Furthermore if it's playing music (Medium level) I have to raise my voice a lot for it to pick up the magic Alexa word...
As Master T suggests you must have something wrong with your devices. I have an echo Dot and Sonos Ones in several rooms and the Sonos One is far more sensitive and responsive. I only have to speak in a normal voice from across the other side of the room. It sounds like yours are not behaving as they should be. Have you tried calling and speaking to Sonos Support.

As far as I’m aware, any existing Sonos One mic issues have been resolved. I’m most certainly not getting any issue where I have to shout or stand next to the device for it to hear me.

Same here. The echo devices in other rooms will hear me and execute the command but the One will not even wake even though it is only feet away....hopefully they adjust the sensitivity soon. Won’t be worth keeping if it can’t respond. You’d think the mics would be even more sensitive than echo given the sound production capabilities comparatively...love it otherwise except for the removal of the mounting hole. I’m going to have to get a new wall mount for my bathroom to accommodate it.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

Agree with all, I find myself shouting at the One (even when there is no music playing) - something that I've never had to do with Echo's or Dots, and it often doesn't pick up Alexa. Hopefully the updates fix this bug

Will the improvement be before the 100 days return window expires?
Now that is what I would call an excellent question.

So, are we talking days, months, years? Will the improvement be before the 100 days return window expires? I'm close to sending 3 Sonos Ones back now.
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 don't know that this is strictly a sensitivity issue -- after some more testing, I can stand 3 feet away from the ONE, without changing pronounciation, volume, or tone, and say Alexa multiple times. It will pick up, at best, every other "Alexa". I expected the speak to play features to be beta, but just hearing the wake word is the most core of features the ONE is purchased for!