Skip to main content
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.
It’s only when music is playing for me, when there’s no music it seems fine. It was ok after the update, but then stopped hearing me when music was playing a week or 10 days ago
Something has definitely changed. I've been away for a few days, so I can't put my finger on exactly when, but I caught myself yelling at the One(s) today on several occasions. Surprised, I came here looking for ideas. I'll try the ideas suggested above tomorrow when I have a chance.
I have Dot 40 feet away from Sonos One and I can be standing 3 feet from the Sonos One and the Dot that is 40 feet away will respond to me. My Sonos One is in the kitchen and I like to use it as a timer. However, I find that I have to get right next to it in order for it to hear me and not the Dot from the other room.

This will be a problem for many for a long time, I suspect. Even the Dot suffers from this if not adequately separated from the speaker being used for it. When separation is provided, it does very well and for the same reason, much better than what the Echo, that must always lack this separation, does.
I have Dot 40 feet away from Sonos One and I can be standing 3 feet from the Sonos One and the Dot that is 40 feet away will respond to me. My Sonos One is in the kitchen and I like to use it as a timer. However, I find that I have to get right next to it in order for it to hear me and not the Dot from the other room.

This will be a problem for many for a long time, I suspect. Even the Dot suffers from this if not adequately separated from the speaker being used for it. When separation is provided, it does very well and for the same reason, much better than what the Echo, that must always lack this separation, does.



The point is, it was great after the update, now recently when music is playing its stopped hearing me..
Turning the mic off and on again seems to work..!
I was surprised it made such a difference, the Ones had become almost unusable. Hopefully going forward this will not be necessary.
I was surprised it made such a difference, the Ones had become almost unusable. Hopefully going forward this will not be necessary.



Agreed, they are back to be being very responsive even at reasonable volume.



Sonos support team- pls look into this, stopping and restarting the mic fixes the issue, but before I did this it had deteriorated severely.



Thx
Weird. That actually seemed to make a difference.
Sonos support team- pls look into this, stopping and restarting the mic fixes the issue, but before I did this it had deteriorated severely.



The team's already on it.



Weird. That actually seemed to make a difference.



We've had a few more reports of this coming up, and the solution for them all has been turning the mic off and back on. If anyone else is having trouble, please do that and let us know how it goes. Also, if it comes up again.
I absolutely love the build quality and sound on my Sonos One but I’ve got the same issue with the mic sensitivity too low.

Even when playing music at volume level 2 I have to shout Alexa 3 or 4 times before it hears me from the next room. Also I’ve noticed Alexa on this device is rubbish at Spotify requests. I have a Google Home in another room and if I ask that for a song on Spotify it says sure playing on Spotify where the Alexa will say I’m unable to find that song on Spotify and I have type the name of the song in the Spotify app. I have also noticed the Google Home is far better at answering follow up questions. Will probably return the One while still in return period and try again in a few months.
@Davehopper, just checking but have you tried turning off the mic and turning it back on with the press of the button on top?



Also, not sure if you heard, but the Sonos One will be getting Google Assistant later this year. The date hasn't been released yet.
@Ryan Thanks I just tried that with the mic button and it does actually seem to hear me better now. Is this a hardware or a software problem though because if it’s hardware related I’d rather return it and wait for updated models to be released. Cheers.
@Ryan Thanks I just tried that with the mic button and it does actually seem to hear me better now. Is this a hardware or a software problem though because if it’s hardware related I’d rather return it and wait for updated models to be released. Cheers.

It's entirely software. The microphones are great. We've seen a few times where the mics are getting into a weird state after rebooting and toggling it off and on clears that out. We're investigating, but if it gets hard of hearing, try that on off trick and see if that does it. It shouldn't come up often.
I have the same problem, I came on here to see if there is a setting I need to adjust, but it would appear that a £200 speaker has a lesser microphone than a £35 (echo Dot) one.

Come on Sonos, sort it out please
Hi YvieG, did you try turning the mic off and back on as I suggested above? Did that help? If not, I'd suggest that you give us a call on our support line.
Many thanks Ryan, that has improved it. ??
Still doing it, just had to reset mic again. Ok afterwards. When’s the fix for this?
Still doing it, just had to reset mic again. Ok afterwards. When’s the fix for this?

Would you mind submit a diagnostic from your Sonos system and reply back with your confirmation number? I'd like to get the details on over to our team to look over.
Still doing it, just had to reset mic again. Ok afterwards. When’s the fix for this?

Would you mind submit a diagnostic from your Sonos system and reply back with your confirmation number? I'd like to get the details on over to our team to look over.



Done 8473846 thx
Hi Ryan, I was just coming on to say I had to do this this morning as well. I went ahead and submitted my diagnostics, 8473850.
same experience here - noticed the last few days back to shouting. How can something have changed without there being any software update? Very odd. About to turn the mic on and off again as suggested here to see if that helps....
Had this happen to me again yesterday. Turning the mic on and off makes an immediate difference, but not all of my One's are conveniently located to do this. Hope there's a fix in the works soon.
I have 8 echo devices including the Sonos One and the Sonos is so weak in hearing me. Constantly at the volume I need to speak to it will actually make 1, 2 or 3 other echos in the house respond to me. I'm going to try moving the Sonos One to one more place in the living room to try to help it. Kind of sucks as I am now 3 speakers invested in Sonos.
My Sonos One in my kitchen is useless as an Alexa device. Commands are constantly heard by an Echo Dot that is 40 feet away. I can be 6 inches from my Sonos One and speak in a soft voice. The Sonos one will activate on "Alexa" but the Dot will do the command. How the Dot can even hear me is a mystery. I am surprised that it can pick up my voice at that volume from that far away.



I have tried turning the microphone on and off. That does not help.



What is the best way to get help in resolving this?
I am having this same issue with all 3 of my Sonos Ones. As stated above, turning the mic off and on again does work. However, within a week, the mic sensitivity diminishes drastically again and performing this temporary fix over and over again is getting very annoying! Sonos - when is a proper fix coming?
Terms & ConditionsCookie settings