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Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

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262 replies

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.
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
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.
M
+1 same issue here - i think is very bad that Sonos has not yet fixed this.
N
Terrible experience, my sonos one is on my bedside table and it still doesn't respond unless I shout! sometimes it says it's playing something and nothing happens? Also won't turn on other sonos speakers....This might just be going back!
S
I did some follow up testing. I placed my Echo Dot next to my Sonos One and went into the other room about ten feet away. With my back to the Dot I was able to speak in a normal voice and control it. I then switched to the Sonos One and standing in the same location and facing the same direction I was unable to get Alexa to respond even when yelling. I pretty much have to be a few feet away facing the speaker for it to hear me. I'm curious how the microphone layout in the One compares to the Echo. I know that it's being said that this is a software issue, but I still wonder....

We appreciate the input everyone, and we’ve received the feedback on voice recognition sensitivity with Sonos One. The team is hard at work making cloud software updates to improve the experience, and will continue to make additional updates as needed.

When, Ryan, when is this going to be solved? A week, a month, a year? Just saying it will be better somewhere in the future is not good enough.
K
No experience of the One, but I am very impressed by just how well Dot - or even Echo - does this even in a room that isn't a very quiet one. With some complaining about over sensitivity, this seems like a bit of a challenge for Sonos. One consolation for buyers is having paid just what was the price of the play 1 till the One release and the easy cure of this issue by adding a Dot.
V
Same issue here. extremely annoying. And Sonos saying this will get better in time is just not good enough. Can Sonos explain how this is linked to cloud in any way. I think this is to do with mic sensitivity.
C
Just got the Sonos one after enjoying experience with Dot. I can't believe how terrible the experience is with Sonos. I've been so pleased with their products in the past (own several Ones w/o Alexa, Playbar, and Sub) and this is the first disappoint. So bad in fact, that it isn't worth keeping...
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7
I have lived with the Sonos One since release date. In fact I have two in stereo pair. My observations thus far....

1. No difficulty with the Sonos One and Alexa picking up my voice when in the same room. Full disclosure they are in my bedroom which is much smaller in size than other rooms in the house. Also, there is no ambient noise to cause interference.

2. I can direct the Sonos One to play music (streaming Amazon Music or Sirius XM) in any room without it playing in the bedroom. Likewise I can stream Amazon Music to one room and Sirius XM to the bedroom simultaneously.

3. When I first setup the Sonos One I had difficulty getting it to control my Hue lights. So introduced my Echo Dot which for some reason made everything work. I also changed the wake command on the Echo Dot to Amazon. Everything still worked as I could play music through the Sonos One and control the lights. Now B4 you call me an idiot...I did correct the setup to be able to use the Sonos One's to control my Hue lights without the Echo Dot. In fact the Dot isn't on line.

Reference 3 above...Although, I can't prove or disprove my theory I think the Sonos One needs to be setup properly so that no Echo product is required to make it work. If the Sonos One and an Echo product are in the same room (with Alexa as the wake command for both) the Echo product maybe overriding the Sonos One. As I said I can't prove or disprove my theory but it's worth a try if you are using both in the same room or using an Echo product as a go-between to control one of the Sonos One Alexa skills.
Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
M
Same problem here, unless I use my John Lovitz Master Thespian voice. So incredibly bummed, I was SO stoked for how streamlined my Alexa/Sonos experience was going to be, but now...it's just terrible. And for some reason, I'm a bit wary of Ryan's "it's gonna be a software fix" assurances. I only have a few weeks to return this since I purchased it on Amazon, and boy, is my wife gonna laugh at me if I'm forced to do so. -sigh- Kinda wish Amazon had just really upped their sound quality game with the most recent releases.
D
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
I can't believe it's going to be a software fix either. To give you more time you could return it to Amazon as it's defective and buy another one from Sonos to get the 100 day return window.

Same problem here, unless I use my John Lovitz Master Thespian voice. So incredibly bummed, I was SO stoked for how streamlined my Alexa/Sonos experience was going to be, but now...it's just terrible. And for some reason, I'm a bit wary of Ryan's "it's gonna be a software fix" assurances. I only have a few weeks to return this since I purchased it on Amazon, and boy, is my wife gonna laugh at me if I'm forced to do so. -sigh- Kinda wish Amazon had just really upped their sound quality game with the most recent releases.
nicka99
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
unless they have the identical mic hardware as an echo I dont think it can be linked to software alone so am also wary of these statements. Im holding off my purchase until the feedback from the many sources that have commented on this issue (press reviews, amazon reviews, this forum) tell of an improved situation.
S
Userlevel 1
I got an update today. Seems to have improved the sensitivty. Still not perfect but defintitely better.
K
I’m have lost all hope this this released Sonos One. Very concerned now the bad name Sonos is getting my many investments into my house full of speaker will be a total loss in value. I will look at returning my 2 new play ones. Will be calling to return Monday. I may start dumping others as well. Had a house full of family and Alexa just would not do like always what I had to yell at her from 5 feet away. I was part of the preorder. I was confident it was going to be get to remove my echos and convert my play1s to ones. I just got a couple couple google homes and based on reviews I may just remove all the Alexa’s also from my house.
V
SONOS - where are you? Can you provide us with any feedback on what are you doing to resolve this. In its current state, the product is not fit for purpose for voice recognition. I will be out of my return window soon as I would prefer to avoid the hassle of returning my 4 Sonos One back if someone can confirm that an update is coming to resolve this.
chicks
I’m sure they’ve been busy getting Spotify and Flash Briefing working. Now that those are working, let’s hope that this issue has risen to the top of the Alexa integration list. Really is annoying having to shout so loud at the One that the Dots in other rooms wake!

Ryan, I hope the team is aware that this is a real issue. Not sure all the shouting “Alexa!” before it finally triggers is being captured in your data...
K
Just going to chime in here. I recently set up a Sonos One speaker and I'm having the same issue with mic sensitivity compared to my Echo Dot. Hopefully this is updated soon.
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