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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I’m afraid I don’t have another music streaming service.
Please monitor here and retest after it is resolved.
I’m afraid I don’t have another music streaming service.
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Diagnostic confirmation number: 1687688579
I followed all the steps to the letter and this still hasn’t resolved my issue. Everything was working perfectly fine until a couple of days ago when all of a sudden it just stopped working. Alexa will still say “Playing [whioever/whatever] on Spotify” but then nothing happens.
Alexa still works for things like turning on my TV, telling me the weather, it just seems to be Spotify that it’s having issues with. I’ve also tried removing the skill and then re-adding it but have had not luck.
Please can someone help me with this?
There is a partial Spotify outage currently, can you try with another service?
Diagnostic confirmation number: 1687688579
I followed all the steps to the letter and this still hasn’t resolved my issue. Everything was working perfectly fine until a couple of days ago when all of a sudden it just stopped working. Alexa will still say “Playing [whioever/whatever] on Spotify” but then nothing happens.
Alexa still works for things like turning on my TV, telling me the weather, it just seems to be Spotify that it’s having issues with. I’ve also tried removing the skill and then re-adding it but have had not luck.
Please can someone help me with this?
There ought to be a post that is not two years old that addresses these issues, since they are still ongoing. Has there really been no progress made in terms of the software all this time?
The steps are still valid and that doesn't necessarily imply a software defect. Do you have a specific issue?
Two years of ‘solutions’ involving logging out of amazon on every device implies that something is not working right out of the box, I would say. My devices’s Alexa drops in and out of usability at random. Current status is for over a day it’s just not responded, no “I’m sorry...” message, no tone. Shows as enabled in the Sonos app and “offline” in the alexa app. The echo dot I thought I’d be replacing still functions without any issues.
Please follow the steps in this post.
Thank you for the suggestion. I assigned permanent IP addresses to my three speakers when I first encountered issues with the new Sonos One. I’ve since sent it back to Sonos after speaking with a technician on the phone, have set up a new Sonos One (also with permanent IP address) and have encountered the same issues: alexa saying sorry I’m unable, and more importantly the speaker dropping off the network and not being able to be rediscovered without a factory reset.
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There ought to be a post that is not two years old that addresses these issues, since they are still ongoing. Has there really been no progress made in terms of the software all this time?
The steps are still valid and that doesn't necessarily imply a software defect. Do you have a specific issue?
Two years of ‘solutions’ involving logging out of amazon on every device implies that something is not working right out of the box, I would say. My devices’s Alexa drops in and out of usability at random. Current status is for over a day it’s just not responded, no “I’m sorry...” message, no tone. Shows as enabled in the Sonos app and “offline” in the alexa app. The echo dot I thought I’d be replacing still functions without any issues.
Please follow the steps in this post.
There ought to be a post that is not two years old that addresses these issues, since they are still ongoing. Has there really been no progress made in terms of the software all this time?
The steps are still valid and that doesn't necessarily imply a software defect. Do you have a specific issue?
Two years of ‘solutions’ involving logging out of amazon on every device implies that something is not working right out of the box, I would say. My devices’s Alexa drops in and out of usability at random. Current status is for over a day it’s just not responded, no “I’m sorry...” message, no tone. Shows as enabled in the Sonos app and “offline” in the alexa app. The echo dot I thought I’d be replacing still functions without any issues.
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There ought to be a post that is not two years old that addresses these issues, since they are still ongoing. Has there really been no progress made in terms of the software all this time?
The steps are still valid and that doesn't necessarily imply a software defect. Do you have a specific issue?
There ought to be a post that is not two years old that addresses these issues, since they are still ongoing. Has there really been no progress made in terms of the software all this time?
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That's not my experience, so it’s a shame you have had a bad experience. 
As a first step, can you Disable then Enable the Sonos skill within the Alexa App and see if that resolves issues 1 & 2?
Can you please disconnect the ethernet cable, then submit a diagnostic and post the number in this thread. Sonos staff can then investigate if wi-fi interference is an issue. (I use Google wifi and sometimes still experience wifi noise causing issues around my home. 
1) yes, Asking Alexa to go to Volume 2 has no effect when the box is in this state. I have tried 'quieter' .. anyhow, all efforts fail other than pressing volume down on top of the box.
2) see #1
3) A BT Home Hub latest edition with ability to provide WiFi to a whole heap of home kit without issue and Sonos One reverts to losing connection about once a week and not finding it again without a restart. Cat6 cable, issue resolved, never lost connection since.
I read about the quality of Sonos, hence when I saw one with Alexa integration I thought it would be equal. About a year later Sonos informed me I could switch it to Google ... Frying pan, fire I thought. The integration is appalling, look across this community, yet Sonos have no issue with it or how it is tarnishing their name. If the box had died it would have been replaced with an Echo, unfortunately it keeps going.
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Seeing this, and the myriad of other posts dealing with Alexa & Sonos integration (and lack of real fixes even from the experts), you would think that both organizations would want to correct this ASAP. I'm new to the Alexa ecosystem, and so far I have been happy with just the Alexa devices performance. All seems to work well.
Using just an Echo Dot to get started, I decided I'd add a good speaker for this task. I purchased a Play:1 because of it's ability to integrate with Alexa. The setup went fine, but I'm now having issues when I switch back and forth between using the Sonos app and then the Alexa App. I find that I lose some functionality (volume control of the speaker and navigation control in Amazon Music via Sonos) when just in the Sonos App, but I can't control the speaker volume in just the Alexa App. Thus, I have to hop back and forth. Ridiculous for very basic functions.
Then, what I noticed was that you loose the ability to go back to the Sonos speaker via the Alexa app. It will tell you, Speaker Off line when the darn thing is playing at the time. The only way I could regain control of the Sonos via the Alexa app was to remove the skill, reinstall the skill, and then go through the skill setup process in Alexa app.
It's as if Amazon did not want to give you full functionality via the Sonos App, but didn't realize you have no volume control via the Alexa app.
Voice control seems to work fine as long as you don't go back and forth on the apps. This is inconvenient though due to the lack of remote volume control.
This integration needs a lot of work. I'm surprised they let this go to market this chopped up. Hopefully some upgrades will help get closer to the seamlessness they market as being here now.
I should have never bought a Sonos One, I was moving into a new house and wanted music without having to fit speakers. I should have bought an Echo Dot, that works and is no trouble.
Sonos One hardly ever does what you want, volume up, volume down, anyone's guess. The music plays at volume 6 by Sonos App control, Alexa has no idea what volume she is at and so cannot reduce it. No tool to reduce volume in Sonos or Alexa if music not playing, reduce Sonos level and Alexa stays the same. She rarely follows instruction. The box is next to the router but the WiFi signal is not seen as strong enough to stay connected, solved by running a Cat6 cable the 6" from router to box, now alarm plays the radio without issue …
It is truly a pile of junk, my Dot upstairs is perfect, plays music well too. Everyone who asks what they should get I say an Echo or an Echo Dot at steer clear of anything Sonos, it's awful.
And Sonos support treat you like a fool, I have an electronics engineering degree and worked for 30 years in IT and more recently IoT hardware and software design, I know what is possible and Sonos is not it.
Hi
I’ll try to work through your issues one by one, if I miss something please reply back:
1/ ‘Sonos One hardly ever does what you want, volume up, volume down, anyone's guess. The music plays at volume 6 by Sonos App control, Alexa has no idea what volume she is at and so cannot reduce it.’ - What commands are you using? Please try ‘Alexa, volume 2’ or ‘Alexa, Softer’ - ‘Alexa, Louder’
2/ ‘No tool to reduce volume in Sonos or Alexa if music not playing, reduce Sonos level and Alexa stays the same.’ - You can adjust the volume via the App by selecting the bottom central ‘Rooms’ tab and choosing the required Sonos Room and volume control or by using the commands above. The volume of Alexa is tied to the volume of your Sonos device, there is no separate volume control although lots of people have requested this.;
3/ ‘The box is next to the router but the WiFi signal is not seen as strong enough to stay connected, solved by running a Cat6 cable the 6" from router to box, now alarm plays the radio without issue …’ - Have you tried the steps in this article?
Seeing this, and the myriad of other posts dealing with Alexa & Sonos integration (and lack of real fixes even from the experts), you would think that both organizations would want to correct this ASAP. I'm new to the Alexa ecosystem, and so far I have been happy with just the Alexa devices performance. All seems to work well.
Using just an Echo Dot to get started, I decided I'd add a good speaker for this task. I purchased a Play:1 because of it's ability to integrate with Alexa. The setup went fine, but I'm now having issues when I switch back and forth between using the Sonos app and then the Alexa App. I find that I lose some functionality (volume control of the speaker and navigation control in Amazon Music via Sonos) when just in the Sonos App, but I can't control the speaker volume in just the Alexa App. Thus, I have to hop back and forth. Ridiculous for very basic functions.
Then, what I noticed was that you loose the ability to go back to the Sonos speaker via the Alexa app. It will tell you, Speaker Off line when the darn thing is playing at the time. The only way I could regain control of the Sonos via the Alexa app was to remove the skill, reinstall the skill, and then go through the skill setup process in Alexa app.
It's as if Amazon did not want to give you full functionality via the Sonos App, but didn't realize you have no volume control via the Alexa app.
Voice control seems to work fine as long as you don't go back and forth on the apps. This is inconvenient though due to the lack of remote volume control.
This integration needs a lot of work. I'm surprised they let this go to market this chopped up. Hopefully some upgrades will help get closer to the seamlessness they market as being here now.
I should have never bought a Sonos One, I was moving into a new house and wanted music without having to fit speakers. I should have bought an Echo Dot, that works and is no trouble.
Sonos One hardly ever does what you want, volume up, volume down, anyone's guess. The music plays at volume 6 by Sonos App control, Alexa has no idea what volume she is at and so cannot reduce it. No tool to reduce volume in Sonos or Alexa if music not playing, reduce Sonos level and Alexa stays the same. She rarely follows instruction. The box is next to the router but the WiFi signal is not seen as strong enough to stay connected, solved by running a Cat6 cable the 6" from router to box, now alarm plays the radio without issue …
It is truly a pile of junk, my Dot upstairs is perfect, plays music well too. Everyone who asks what they should get I say an Echo or an Echo Dot at steer clear of anything Sonos, it's awful.
And Sonos support treat you like a fool, I have an electronics engineering degree and worked for 30 years in IT and more recently IoT hardware and software design, I know what is possible and Sonos is not it.
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What a complete disaster, some people just want a device that plugs and plays. You really want me to delete all of my amazon apps across devices and go through this Myraid just to get your speaker working.
Paid £199 for this, wasted 2 days trying to get it to function at any type of capacity.
Microphone not working, pages of manuals to get it on
Alexa not working, reprogram your whole house to connect it.
Folks please just buy yourself and Amazon Echo or an Ultimate Ears, save yourself some money and a lot of time.
I can try and help if you want me to? Can you briefly describe the progress you have made and what error message or issue that you have. Also, can you also describe if the system works fine via the Sonos App and what type of mobile device that you are using?
What a complete disaster, some people just want a device that plugs and plays. You really want me to delete all of my amazon apps across devices and go through this Myraid just to get your speaker working.
Paid £199 for this, wasted 2 days trying to get it to function at any type of capacity.
Microphone not working, pages of manuals to get it on
Alexa not working, reprogram your whole house to connect it.
Folks please just buy yourself and Amazon Echo or an Ultimate Ears, save yourself some money and a lot of time.
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Reset Alexa on Sonos
Step 1: unplug the speaker. Unplug your speaker from the socket. ...
Step 2: start the reset. Hold down the pause or Join button while plugging the speaker back into the socket. ...
Step 3: wait for the reset to complete. Within 30 seconds, the LED will flash green.
This is not good advice: A factory reset removes all diagnostic information and rarely fixes the problem. This should only be carried out when recommended by Sonos Tech Support.
Reset Alexa on Sonos
Step 1: unplug the speaker. Unplug your speaker from the socket. ...
Step 2: start the reset. Hold down the pause or Join button while plugging the speaker back into the socket. ...
Step 3: wait for the reset to complete. Within 30 seconds, the LED will flash green.
This issue has been going on for years and wow… still not fixed? I can’t get mine to at all play with Alexa.
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missyagogo, thanks for pointing this out, I have removed the instructions to Factory Reset, jgatie is entirely correct.
We will look into revising the information contained here in the near future.
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I just want to say that it is insane to have to factory reset all Sonos devices, especially when one has several rooms set up, to resolve this issue.
No idea why better solutions have not been offered. No idea why this thread is still stickied.
There is never, ever a need to factory reset, unless an update fails in the middle of updating, and certainly not for any issues with Alexa. In fact, Sonos advises against it unless specifically told to do so by support.
Step 3 of Edward R’s first post specifically mentions factory reset. This is why I am suggesting this thread either be unstickied, or edited with more current instructions.
3. Factory Reset the Sonos One by following the steps here.
I just want to say that it is insane to have to factory reset all Sonos devices, especially when one has several rooms set up, to resolve this issue.
No idea why better solutions have not been offered. No idea why this thread is still stickied.
There is never, ever a need to factory reset, unless an update fails in the middle of updating, and certainly not for any issues with Alexa. In fact, Sonos advises against it unless specifically told to do so by support.
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I just want to say that it is insane to have to factory reset all Sonos devices, especially when one has several rooms set up, to resolve this issue.
No idea why better solutions have not been offered. No idea why this thread is still stickied.
Might be the best suggestion I’ve seen yet! The OP is outdated and to learn this has been ongoing for this long is disheartening. Maybe I’ll just buy another one and keep returning it until I find one that works for more than two days.
I’m really not sure why this thread is stickied - it’s useless when the solution lands you back at the starting point two days later and each time you’ll waste ½ hour of your time following these procedures.
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