Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

Have listened to newscasts for a couple hours now with zero false triggers. Able to interrupt at any time without having to yell. It’s now working exactly as it should have from the get go. Did Amazon finally share their keyword tuning? Whatever changed, it’s very welcome!

Now, let’s get those skills like Radio Paradise working, and the One will be complete!

Brilliant 8.2.3 seems to be so much better Alexa hears me now even in a whisper. Great job guys just as it should be. I'll have to check for false triggers, the odd one is acceptable so long as its not triggering every couple of hours I'll be happy. Thanks and Happy Christmas to all at Sonos

Cool! Does appear to work better now... Don't have to shout, even when music is playing, to get Alexa's attention. Will see if it self-triggers when playing NPR over the next few days. Fingers crossed.

I've decided to return my four ONEs for a refund while I can. I suppose they'll let me buy them again later if they figure out how to have a workable voice control feature. So I'll be trading great sound with poor voice recognition, for some new Echo devices with good voice recognition and passable sound (but at a much lower price). First world problem, solved for now.

This is very aggravating. The whole point of buying Sonos One is for the voice controls, but that is the part that is failing expectations the most.

Yes, the Echo and Dot have some history now, but my first generation Echo had no trouble hearing me way back then. I never felt like a beta tester for Amazon's Echo or Dot, as I do now for Sonos ONE. As my refund window closes, day by day I am increasingly likely to return my four ONEs with regeret, perhaps to buy them again after they have had the two years of history you might think they deserve. I am rooting for them because the ONE is sort of a dream machine, especially with the promise of Google integration, too. But although I have the product, I am tired of shouting, and the dream does not seem to be a reality yet. I understand it's software, and I understand it can be tweaked and refined over time. I just don't want to shout any more. It's not practical, and it's no fun, either.

I have to chime in as well -- this is a very poor implementation of Alexa -- a 1st gen Echo and Dot work better to hear my Wake Word. If it's software then give us the option to make it more or less sensitive ? Kinda tired of Sonos releasing product that isn't ready yet and won't comment on when they will make it work correctly.

Official answer here:

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.

No email needed. :8

I put in my request to return both my Ones today. I have simply had enough of these speakers not only not working properly, but actually getting worse.

I have been patiently waiting 6 weeks for "improvements" as I purchased the Ones on launch date. While the Alexa responsiveness seemed to improve a month ago (from 3-5 screams to 2 or so), it has definitely gotten worse since then. And the final straw, the One has recently gotten in the habit of resetting the speaker volume to the loudest setting.

This sad scene has been playing out on a nightly basis: progressively screaming louder and louder "Alexa" in order to shut off the lights, and if by some miracle the One responds before I get to a scream, the One booms back at god volume "OKAY". And at any point during this process, the baby inevitably wakes up and starts crying.

Now I understand people justifying the One by its virtues as a music speaker. It is indeed great for music. I have justified my prior patience by both this reason and Sonos' reputation as a quality company. I do after all have a Play 5, Playbar, and a Sub. My buffer has run out. Sonos, if you advertise these speakers as working with Alexa, they damn well better work with Alexa. Otherwise do not ship a half-assed product. Your pricepoints do not justify half-assedness.

It occurred to me that Amazon should be concerned, too. Just picture all of us One owners angrily shouting "Alexa!" repeatedly in frustration. Not the image Amazon would want. I know Amazon can't be responsible for the third party devices that integrate with the Echo-sphere, but someone at Amazon should look at the negativity this flaw has brought to "Alexa! Alexa! ALEXA!!!!"

I don't think sensitivity to the wake word is in the cloud: it's claimed that nothing is sent to the cloud until the wake word has been recognised.

Using that logic, one shouldn't be able to make any changes to the behavior of an Echo or Alexa-enabled device without a hardware or firmware update. Yet, on my Echo Dots for example, I can go to the app on my phone or alexa.amazon.com on my PC from anywhere in the world and change the wake word to "Echo" or "Computer." Those changes are made via the cloud and communicated to the Echo devices. Just because the Sonos One isn't communicating your verbal requests until after it hears the wake word, doesn't mean the device isn't communicating with the cloud otherwise.

I don't quite follow your logic. The wake word has to be processed on the Alexa-enabled device, not the cloud, otherwise a constant stream would need to be sent to the cloud to determine when the wake word was uttered. Changing the wake word in the app to "computer" just sends an update to the configuration of the Alexa-enabled devices linked to the Amazon account so it listens for a different wave pattern.

Anyway, I'd also like to voice my disappointment with the Alexa microphone sensitivity in the One. One of the most impressive things about the Echo-Dot was it's ability to pick out a voice accurately in a noisy room. The One just doesn't compare here sadly. It quickly gets tiresome shouting "Alexa" three times just to change the volume or set a timer. The sound quality is amazing though but I do think I should have just got a Play:1 and kept the Dot.

I just got my Sonos ONE in the mail the other day and my HUE color lights for my room. It is amazing what I can do and I am a first-time Alexa user. Even I know I shouldnt be shouting at this device to hear me. I know Sonos, that you have been busy working on Spotify and numerous other issues so far, but this is crucial. Im very displeased that i cant turn my lights off in bed without waking up my child upstairs. I contemplated getting a wall mount to point the microphone in the direction of my bed but i may end up unplugging it in the middle of a "waking session". I mean no disrespect. I love the product. Make it hear me PLEASE!