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Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

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262 replies

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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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!
B

Ryan, This is a disappointing answer as it's clearly intended to obfuscate that the ONE has a microphone issue.

THIS!!
B
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.

EXACTLY!!!
K

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.
J
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.

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.
D
Userlevel 1
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.
Master T
Userlevel 6
Badge +9
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.

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.
D
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
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.I've got 3 Sonos Ones and the responsiveness is bad on all of them compared to Dots and Echos.
D
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.
B
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.
D
Userlevel 3
Badge +4

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.
D
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
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.
I've got 2 in a stereo pair and have the lack of sensitivity issue whether I have one or two microphones turned on.
chicks
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.
D
I have no issues with mic sensitivity with my two paired Sonos One's. I'm usually 5 or 6 feet away.
K
But then there is also the mystery of the minority that finds things to be the other way - that the mic is too sensitive.
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