Answered

Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

Show first post
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

262 replies

T
Same problem here. I bought my Sonos One today, and set it up this evening. Even in a silent house, after the family has gone to bed, I still have to say "Alexa" in a raised voice from a couple of feet away to wake the unit; even then, it does not always wake. I have several Echos & Dots which all respond much better than the Sonos. This is my first Sonos and I love the sound quality so would have liked to replace a couple more Echos but this is a serious problem and, since I purchased from a store, I only have 30days if I wish to return it as faulty. PLEASE FIX THIS QUICKLY!
K
This is my first Sonos and I love the sound quality so would have liked to replace a couple more Echos but this is a serious problem and, since I purchased from a store, I only have 30days if I wish to return it as faulty. PLEASE FIX THIS QUICKLY!
Over the time of 6 years exposure to Sonos, I have faith in what they say when they say this is a software issue that they will fix in time. Perhaps not before your window expires, unfortunately, so you may have to make your judgement call.

Which can't cost you more than the price of a Dot if you are wrong. Or even less, if you use one of the existing Echos to voice control the One, leaving its mic off.

I would hold of buying more; that would be sensible.
T
... they will fix in time. Perhaps not before your window expires, unfortunately, so you may have to make your judgement call.

Which can't cost you more than the price of a Dot if you are wrong. Or even less, if you use one of the existing Echos to voice control the One, leaving its mic off.

I would hold of buying more; that would be sensible.

Thanks for the reassurance and great suggestions, Kumar. I like the SONOS sound quality, that my Homeseer system can drive Sonos, and the promise of added Google Assistant support so on balance I may go with one of your suggestions and stick with this. But until this is sorted I'll be kicking myself that I didn't just buy a Play:1 🙂
K
Why? The only reason to do so is for the few dollars you would have saved consequent to the play 1 price drop once the One took over the USD 200 price point. I can see no other reason.
But don't overlook - like many seem to have - that at this point the One and the 1 will not stereo pair although they are compatible in every other way.
D
Add me to the growing chorus of folks who are dissatisfied with the microphone sensitivity on the One. I was going to buy a second "1" (not for stereo pairing) anyway and waited through the long beta process to get a One. Moving it to the center of the room is impractical, but I tried it and it did make the microphone array work ALMOST as it should. This gives me hope that it is more of a mic tuning issue that can/should easily be handled. Yes - it should have been done before the speaker shipped.
W
Add me to the list of the unhappy. My Echo wakes quickly at a normal volume but I have to SHOUT at my ONE to get her attention. This product is a dud because of this one stupid issue. If it is a software issue THEN FIX IT SONOS. Sorry I'm so used to shouting
W
I've read all the posts here and I'm sorry that SONOS has been so braindead on this issue. I"m going to post my feelings on Amazon and return this ONE to them. Ugh.
chicks
I got tired of yelling, turned the One's mics off, and put a Dot back in service. Hope Sonos can resolve this annoying issue soon.
H
Userlevel 2
Count me in as yet another user with the mic sensitivity issue. Will be returning mine as well. The echo this Sonos one replaced is way better!
B
I can speak normally to wake my Echo dot but I have to put on a posh voice to get Alexa to wake on my Sonos :8
D
I would like to add that the Sonos microphone isn't even 50% of what the amazon echo sensitivity/accuracy is. I could be 5 feet away and it's still not able to pick up my voice. I'm not sure if it's that I'm not loud enough or I'm not saying "Alexa" clearly. Randomly when people are having conversations in the room, it will answer even without anyone saying "Alexa"

Maybe Sonos should offer other words.
K
Is there any change in sensitivity with music playing v silent? As in does it start easier from silent?
D
Is there any change in sensitivity with music playing v silent? As in does it start easier from silent?

Seems to be the same. I find myself yelling at it.
K
So it isn't for having to overcome the music playing from the same area as where the mics are located. I asked because I remember reading that the Dot does a little better than the Echo for this reason.
P
Userlevel 1
The Sonos One is my first Sonos product and I'm really disappointed with this issue. After having it a while, it's become so annoying to have to yell to get Alexa to respond. Heck, with my Dot I could almost whisper so as not to wake people up and it would respond. Not liking the "it'll get better over time" and not in a fix. Sounds like nothing's going to be fixed so I've stopped recommending these. Maybe next generation will be better.
D
Userlevel 1
Did anybody really test with two Sonos One devices, weather this issue is HW dependent? Is it better or worse with one or the other Sonos One device? Or is it always the same with all Sonos One devices?
D
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
Did anybody really test with two Sonos One devices, weather this issue is HW dependent? Is it better or worse with one or the other Sonos One device? Or is it always the same with all Sonos One devices?
I've got 3 Sonos Ones and they all have the problem detecting the wake word compared with my Echos and Dots.
B
Does anyone else find that their voice tone when trying to get Alexa to wake up changes in the same way as when trying to engage their grumpy children in conversation? Attempt 1 - 'Alexa', Attempt 6 - 'ALEXXXXAAAA' (only to find the microphones are turned off).
D
Userlevel 1
I always hear this effect when my girlfriend tries to wake alexa. Thinking about making a video of it. Almost funny if it wasn't so annoying...
M
Thanks for the feedback everyone. The microphone sensitivity is entirely software, in the early stages test players would pick up just about anything. It's something that'll get better over time too. So you can count on that improving.
M
Just purchased a sonos one and I may have to return it, the microphone seems very very poor. The previous comment says this is a software issue, if so it really does need an urgent fix, having to shout at the speaker from about 50cm kind of defeats the point! My experience; I have the sonos one in my dining room with no ambient noise and standing a couple of metres away with a raised voice it doesn’t respond, but the echo dot in the next room (with the TV on) does.. Overall sounds great better than the Echos but voice activation is poorer and responses slower
C
Userlevel 3
Just to add to this - when I first received my Sonos One in October I was relatively happy with it and was going to live with its limitations, giving time to Sonos to improve its software and features over time. I, in fact, posted on another thread singing the praises of the Alexa integration But after living with it for a couple of weeks now, it appears I spoke too soon, it is driving me and my family crazy. My wife is just about ready to throw the thing through the window.
We have to ask it about 5 or 6 times before it responds to 'Alexa' - either we get louder or closer. The echos we have do not have this issue. It just will not respond to the wake word consistently.
On the other hand, it makes that god-awful wake up ding sound ALL THE TIME to other words, if we are talking in the kitchen where it is placed - 6 or 7 times within about 10 minutes last night. Among the phrases that woke it up were 'next to', 'complex', 'Leicester', and most surprising of all 'Crispy'! I have tried all these phrases on the dots we have and nothing!
There appears to be something very wrong with either the mics or the software or both with respect to the wake word.
It is most definitely not a good advert for Sonos to our friends that come round - being constantly interrupted with a DING! whilst trying to chat is very frustrating for everyone.
I would suggest that Sonos allow us to set another wake word or let us turn that awful 'I'm awake' sound off. Both features are customizable in the echos/dots.
I will be keeping the One only because we wanted another Sonos in the dining room, so moved the original kitchen play 1 there. But we will be turning off the mic, at least when we are eating in there (which kind of negates the purpose of the Alexa integration)
But I am returning the two Sonos One's I bought as Christmas presents for my daughters - we believed it was a neater solution than just getting them dots to go with their current Play 1's - but we will be going back to the original plan of dots.
Maybe in a years time, things will have improved
M

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.
D
Userlevel 1
Today I tested with a second Sonos One. The problem with the recognition of the wake word is exactly the same.
So I do not have a bad device, but they are all the same.
However, the sound with two Sonos One is nice.
S
Alexa is still horrible on my Sonos One. With my kids constantly trying to invoke Alexa and it not picking up their voices consistently or mine for that matter I’ve disabled Alexa in the Sonos and am now using my Echo Dot to control Sonos.
Terms & ConditionsCookie settings