This thread is intended to help get you going if you get stuck setting up Alexa with Sonos, or if you have run into any errors. The setup process does use two different apps, so don’t stress if you’re having trouble, we can help.
If you are reading this thread, you will now be aware that integrating the two platforms requires several authentication steps which require you to move between applications and interfaces, providing login details and authorising services along the way.
Simply put: It involves some moving back and forth, providing information as you go.
The issues this post may help you resolve include but are not limited to:
- "Your Spotify account does not support streaming on this device."
- Radio stations not playing when you ask them to.
- Asking for something to play- whether this is acknowledged or not- only to be met with silence.
It is worth noting, however, that several of your desired functions may simply not be available on Alexa via Sonos just yet. We have articles that describe exactly what services to expect at this time.
Visit this link for the UK or this one for the US.
Is your desired functionality available? Then let's move on to fixing your issue.
If you get to a point where you're not able to complete a step, just skip to the next section.
1. In the Alexa app, go to the Sonos skill, go to Settings > Manage Smart Home Devices > Tap 'Forget All'.
Note: The step to 'Forget All' will delete all actions in all Routines within an Alexa set-up.
2. Go to Alexa's UK site or Alexa's US site (again, depending on your region).
Please do this in a web browser on a computer (PC or Mac).
It's also best to do this using private browsing or incognito mode to avoid using cached information.
Go to Settings. Click on your Sonos One in the list of devices. It will probably be listed both as '(your name)'s Sonos One' and whatever room name you gave it in Sonos. It's the '(your name)'s Sonos One we're looking for. On this page, click on 'deregister' and confirm that.
If on this page you do not see your Sonos One already set up, then it's probably linked to a different account somehow. In this case you can skip the rest of the troubleshooting. Just add the Sonos skill on this website, then follow the prompts.
3. Make sure you know your Amazon account password, and then log out of your Amazon account everywhere. Log out of the Alexa app, log out on your web browser, log out on the shopping app, the music app.
4. Delete all your Amazon apps, including the Alexa app, and then just install the Alexa app.
5. Add the Sonos One back to the system in the Sonos app, via Settings -> Add a Player or SUB. Follow the prompts to set up voice services which will require you log in to your Sonos account, and then your Amazon account, to link them together. You'll also need to enable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app at this point.
6. If that's all worked you should hear the Sonos One say "Hello". Try asking it to play something like a radio station (Radio by TuneIn is enabled by default) and see if that works.
If this does not work, or you are getting stuck at any stage, please post a diagnostic confirmation number and describe how/where it went wrong.
Thank you, keep us posted as to whether or not this helps!
Resolving (the majority of) Issues with Alexa on Sonos
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Userlevel 7
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Hi Steven
This is far from my experience with the Sonos One - sorry, I know this statement won't make you feel any better but it is an indication that there is something specific about your set-up that is causing this issue.
Before we start looking specifically at the Alexa integration, can you confirm your set-up: Is your system wired, SonosNet or Wi-Fi connected? Have you reserved IP addresses for your Sonos devices within your Router settings pages?
My initial thinking is that this may be some form of connectivity issue and I think it best if we explore that before moving on to Alexa specific troubleshooting.
This is far from my experience with the Sonos One - sorry, I know this statement won't make you feel any better but it is an indication that there is something specific about your set-up that is causing this issue.
Before we start looking specifically at the Alexa integration, can you confirm your set-up: Is your system wired, SonosNet or Wi-Fi connected? Have you reserved IP addresses for your Sonos devices within your Router settings pages?
My initial thinking is that this may be some form of connectivity issue and I think it best if we explore that before moving on to Alexa specific troubleshooting.
Where should I start? I'm currently on my 3rd Sonos One. Every one has had the same issues. I'm absolutely sick of the thing and wish I'd never bought it.
Firstly, after a few days Alexa stops responding to voice commands. Sonos technical's solution to this is to reboot the Alexa skill. I'm currently doing this 2-3 times a week just to make the product usable. I'd say that makes it unfit for purpose.
If I set an alarm and choose a radio station as the alarm it works for about 2-3 days, then when it comes on the volume is so low it can barely be heard. Any attempt to ask Alexa to change the volume fails. If I attempt to change the volume by using the touch buttons on top of the device, nothing happens. The only way to alter the volume is to open the Sonos app and do it from there.
Some days the radio doesn't launch when I select it as the alarm. In these cases I'm greeted with the standard alarm tone and have to open the Sonos app to turn it off as Alexa doesn't respond to my command to stop the alarm. Whenever this problem arises, the white light on top of the device pulses at a very high speed, much faster than when it flashes during the set up process. What does this mean? Nobody seems to be able to answer this.
As far as I'm concerned the Alexa skill is useless. There is clearly some issue with Sonos & Alexa that nobody is prepared to admit to.
I'll wait for the Google assistant to launch and try that instead. If that fails to work then I'm binning the thing.
BTW, I'm a Sonos retailer and have been for well over a decade. This has completely changed my opinion of the Sonos range of products, which up until the integration of Alexa had been absolutely faultless and superb.
Firstly, after a few days Alexa stops responding to voice commands. Sonos technical's solution to this is to reboot the Alexa skill. I'm currently doing this 2-3 times a week just to make the product usable. I'd say that makes it unfit for purpose.
If I set an alarm and choose a radio station as the alarm it works for about 2-3 days, then when it comes on the volume is so low it can barely be heard. Any attempt to ask Alexa to change the volume fails. If I attempt to change the volume by using the touch buttons on top of the device, nothing happens. The only way to alter the volume is to open the Sonos app and do it from there.
Some days the radio doesn't launch when I select it as the alarm. In these cases I'm greeted with the standard alarm tone and have to open the Sonos app to turn it off as Alexa doesn't respond to my command to stop the alarm. Whenever this problem arises, the white light on top of the device pulses at a very high speed, much faster than when it flashes during the set up process. What does this mean? Nobody seems to be able to answer this.
As far as I'm concerned the Alexa skill is useless. There is clearly some issue with Sonos & Alexa that nobody is prepared to admit to.
I'll wait for the Google assistant to launch and try that instead. If that fails to work then I'm binning the thing.
BTW, I'm a Sonos retailer and have been for well over a decade. This has completely changed my opinion of the Sonos range of products, which up until the integration of Alexa had been absolutely faultless and superb.
I have a lot of (expensive) SONOS speakers in my home and would really really really like to work with voice commands (Alexa or Google) but this won't work in BELGIUM!! WHY WHY WHY ????? Belgium is a civilised country with a lot of SONOS buyers. Too difficult to implement or ...?
During the last weeks (maybe from the latest sonos/alexa update), music played with Sonos:One will interrupt if the request is made via Alexa [music service connected as default: Deezer (Hi-Fi account)].
There are no issue if I use the sonos-app from the cellphone (no interruption); to better explain here we go:
USER - "Alexa, play Pink Floyd"
ALEXA - "Pink Floyd playing from Deezer"
--Music Starts-- after 1/2minutes
ALEXA - "Impossible playing..."
Silence... //\\DEAD//\\
Who is responsible? Sonos or Amazon?? 😃
There are no issue if I use the sonos-app from the cellphone (no interruption); to better explain here we go:
USER - "Alexa, play Pink Floyd"
ALEXA - "Pink Floyd playing from Deezer"
--Music Starts-- after 1/2minutes
ALEXA - "Impossible playing..."
Silence... //\\DEAD//\\
Who is responsible? Sonos or Amazon?? 😃
I just bought a Sonos one without realising that in effect, only Amazon Music is supported. I can sometimes get it to play other things via the app but usually Alexa shuts them down, I only listen to classical music and my preferred service is Idagio. After following the procedure it still does not work. I bought the device on the basis that I could do this as (fraudulently) claimed by Sonos. I cannot return it as it is working so onto Ebay it goes. Sonos have scammed me.
Hi,
Having issues with Alexa at the moment. All spotify voice commands results with a “Sonos is offline”. All devices are “Online” on the Alexa app. Playing music through the Sonos and spotify app works fine. Spoke to Sonos tech this afternoon and they said it’s a widespread issue with Alexa.
Anyone else experiencing this?
Having issues with Alexa at the moment. All spotify voice commands results with a “Sonos is offline”. All devices are “Online” on the Alexa app. Playing music through the Sonos and spotify app works fine. Spoke to Sonos tech this afternoon and they said it’s a widespread issue with Alexa.
Anyone else experiencing this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you've added your Sonos speakers to iOS HomeKit using the Home app, it will periodically (nightly i believe) sync the room names in the Sonos app with the Home app. So maybe you have it labelled as 'Jeff's Sonos One' in the Home app? For me, the room names in the Sonos app kept resetting back to 'Sonos Speaker' - turns out it was the Home app doing this, so i just renamed them their and it's now good.
+1
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
FWIW, this sounds a lot like what I'm seeing, if not identical: https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/starting-yesterday-alexa-cannot-discover-any-sonos-devices-as-speakers-but-sonos-devices-accept-voice-input-6819621
I ran into an issue last night (and am still trying to resolve). I have a Beam and a One, with room names Living Room and Kitchen. When I first set up Sonos integration with Alexa, all worked perfectly. including Alexa grouping with Sonos. Last night my Sonos devices in Alexa no longer displayed the Sonos room name, but showed 'Jeff's Sonos One', the icon changed and I couldn't have both Sonos devices as 'Preferred Speakers' in my group. I've reset literally everything, but I can't get the Sonos room names to show back up. See attached screenshot for the icon in Alexa.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Use Alexa groups. See this thread for details:
https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/sonos-now-playing-with-alexa-groups-6817588/index7.html#post16305403
https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/sonos-now-playing-with-alexa-groups-6817588/index7.html#post16305403
Is there a way to not silence all Sonos speakers when Alexa is active? We have Sonos speakers throughout the house (two stories). We have two echo dots (one on the first floor, one on the second floor). Every time someone makes a request to Alexa, all of the Sonos speakers go silent. This is annoying when someone is listening to music on the second floor, for example, and someone is asking a question on the first floor. Ideally only the speakers near the Echo dot would go silent. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Userlevel 7
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Regards my commands going to the wrong system I thought I needed to be on the same network / WiFi to operate the respective systems?
Not for voice command but yes for the App.
Thanks again.
Yes, I expect so. To run multiple Sonos locations you need two Sonos accounts and the relationship between your Sonos Account and your Amazon account must be a 1:1, so you'll need two Amazon accounts.
********************************************
So this probably explains why the one Sonos Play 1 device I have installed in my works office (completely different network) cannot be recognised when I try scanning for devices. I am loathe to "delete all skills" as it has taken so long to get the home Sonos network functioning properly (I think) with Alexa, that to throw it all away and to have to go through the pain again is not something I am willing to endure. I now simply control my Play 1 in my works office using the App on my desktop PC. I have no desire to have duplicate accounts for Sonos/Amazon etc. :(
EDIT: Just mulling further on this .... If I were to plug the works office Play 1 into the LAN and then re-scan for devices from my desktop PC App, would this give me a better chance of success for it being found? I have tried scanning for it from the Alexa App on my iphone which is on the same office wi-fi network as the Play 1 itself?
As long as you only use a specific controller on one system then you should be okay.
Userlevel 2
+3
Regards my commands going to the wrong system I thought I needed to be on the same network / WiFi to operate the respective systems?
Not for voice command but yes for the App.
Thanks again.
Yes, I expect so. To run multiple Sonos locations you need two Sonos accounts and the relationship between your Sonos Account and your Amazon account must be a 1:1, so you'll need two Amazon accounts.
********************************************
So this probably explains why the one Sonos Play 1 device I have installed in my works office (completely different network) cannot be recognised when I try scanning for devices. I am loathe to "delete all skills" as it has taken so long to get the home Sonos network functioning properly (I think) with Alexa, that to throw it all away and to have to go through the pain again is not something I am willing to endure. I now simply control my Play 1 in my works office using the App on my desktop PC. I have no desire to have duplicate accounts for Sonos/Amazon etc. :(
EDIT: Just mulling further on this .... If I were to plug the works office Play 1 into the LAN and then re-scan for devices from my desktop PC App, would this give me a better chance of success for it being found? I have tried scanning for it from the Alexa App on my iphone which is on the same office wi-fi network as the Play 1 itself?
Great, this worked with my Sonos One. It would respond to the Alexa wake up word, but little else. Only limited testing so far, but seems to be working properly. Went through the factory reset and App delete sequence. Many thanks.
This should be the FIRST thing to check in the troubleshooting list for a non-responsive Alexa scenario.
I have noticed a major downgrade in alex on sonos understanding me. For the first month or so it was almost perfect. 99% of the time it did exactly what I wanted it to do. Not sure what happened but now it will understand my commands about 30% of the time. especially in my kids room. Some times it even says it can not find the device (light) or there is another device using that name, or device does not support this. When I go to the alexa app it shows it got my voice 100% correct. Other times it just can not understand the device name I am saying. (when before it had 0 issues). Sonos and Amazon need to fix this its driving me crazy and making alexa on sonos useless.
“Every time you curse at Alexa, she gets better — so don't stop." — Jeff Bezos
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There is still a difference between the two devices but the gap has narrowed significantly - not sure when first tried.
What is the current state of Alexa on Sonos? When I first tried it with the Sonos One it was pretty bad. is it equal to an Echo device now or am I better off using an Echo Dot and Sonos skill?
Userlevel 7
+20
However, if I leave the speakers on for something like 12 hours then the voice commands return???
Hi
If you are willing to switch off your Sonos One again, can you please open the Alexa App>Settings and confirm if the device is shown as 'Online'. I suspect that this could be connectivity issue, how far away from your router is the Sonos One located?
Exactly the same for me....if I turn off the Sonos speakers at the wall and then turn them back on again I get the following message Alexa says "hmm, ensure that the sonos skill is enabled in the alexa app, then say discover devices."
However, if I leave the speakers on for something like 12 hours then the voice commands return???
However, if I leave the speakers on for something like 12 hours then the voice commands return???
Now....I looked at the Sonos App/settings/advanced/control from other devices. It was ticked...but I toggled it off, then back on. Then things worked consistently! If it still works tomorrow, a virtual beer for you ?. Thanks for your assistance so far...... I'll tell you tomorrow. Have a nice evening Ken, wherever you are !
The Play:1 does emit music from the Sonos app. I just noticed after saying 'Alexa play radio 4 in Kitchen' (Dot then says playing on Kitchen) but silence happens - if I go to the Sonos App, the Kitchen Sonos says 'started from Alexa' and I need to press ▶️ to make the sound emit, and then ⏹️ stops it. It's like the Sonos App has retained the control over that.
Soooo.....?
Strange it worked the one time, did you restart the router and speakers? I’m just wondering if it’s a network issue? What happens if you plug the Sonos One onto your router, does it work then every single time or not ?
Weeelll, it worked, but only once. 'Alex stop kitchen' silenced it. 'Alexa play (anything) in kitchen' = Silence. But the Play:5 in the dining room responds and works as one might expect.
The Play:1 does emit music from the Sonos app. I just noticed after saying 'Alexa play radio 4 in Kitchen' (Dot then says playing on Kitchen) but silence happens - if I go to the Sonos App, the Kitchen Sonos says 'started from Alexa' and I need to press ▶️ to make the sound emit, and then ⏹️ stops it. It's like the Sonos App has retained the control over that.
Soooo.....?
The Play:1 does emit music from the Sonos app. I just noticed after saying 'Alexa play radio 4 in Kitchen' (Dot then says playing on Kitchen) but silence happens - if I go to the Sonos App, the Kitchen Sonos says 'started from Alexa' and I need to press ▶️ to make the sound emit, and then ⏹️ stops it. It's like the Sonos App has retained the control over that.
Soooo.....?
pjb904,
Go to your Alexa App ... remove the sonos devices in the smart-home section (Devices Tab) .. then goto skills and remove the Sonos Skill. Give it a minute or so. Now restart your Router and the two Sonos devices. Wait till they are booted and both speakers are back online and appearing in your Sonos App.
Now reinstall the sonos Skill in the Alexa App, logging into both your Sonos Account and your Amazon Account and accepting the sharing agreement.
As the Sonos Skill install finishes, it will prompt you to scan for devices .. during the scan it should find both your Play: 1, called Kitchen and your Play 5 Room too.
When the Alexa scan has finished try the voice command again “Alexa play music in the kitchen”.
Go to your Alexa App ... remove the sonos devices in the smart-home section (Devices Tab) .. then goto skills and remove the Sonos Skill. Give it a minute or so. Now restart your Router and the two Sonos devices. Wait till they are booted and both speakers are back online and appearing in your Sonos App.
Now reinstall the sonos Skill in the Alexa App, logging into both your Sonos Account and your Amazon Account and accepting the sharing agreement.
As the Sonos Skill install finishes, it will prompt you to scan for devices .. during the scan it should find both your Play: 1, called Kitchen and your Play 5 Room too.
When the Alexa scan has finished try the voice command again “Alexa play music in the kitchen”.
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