Using an Echo Dot to control 3 existing Sonos speakers.
Have speakers set up as Kitchen / Dining Room and Bedroom
Can start and stop music fine 'play blah blah in (or on) Kitchen'.
Volume commands, for example 'turn it down in the kitchen' and Alexa responds with 'that command does not work on device kitchen.'
I've disabled and re-enabled the Skill to no avail.
Am I doing something silly or is it a bug; should I try deleting all the devices and resetting?
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New to Alexa and have been trying a few things. I’ve managed to get her to play Deezer music through my Sonos speakers but there’s a couple of minor issues, one of which relates to this thread.
1. When I say ‘Alexa , turn up the volume to 7’ or whatever, she doesn’t do it, the volume stays the same. She hears the question as the volume goes quiet but when it returns a few seconds later, the volume is the same. Does she only turn up volume when the music is being played via an Echo device or am doing something wrong with the Sonos?
2. When I say “Alexa, play favourite tracks’ she always plays my Deezer Flow. Tried that a few times with the same result.
After having read through the thread, I suspect I have duplicate Sonos speakers. If I go to all devices, My speakers are listed there with a speaker icon, but there’s also other devices with an Echo Dot icon with the same name as the Sonos speakers in that room. A tthe moment, the only room where there’s an Echo Dot and a Sonos speaker is the kitchen diner. The Sonos speaker is called ‘Kitchen Dinner’ and the Echo Dot is called ‘Kintchen Diner Echo Dot’. I think when I’m trying to change the volume, Alexa is changing the volume on the duplicate Echo Dot speaker rather than the Sonos speaker it’self.
The obvious solution would be to delete the duplicate Echo Dot Speakers but I can’t see an option to do that in the Alexa app.
Any possible solutions would be most welcome, thanks.
Otherwise, things have gone pretty well. Loving the Dot and Spot so far. So much so, I’ve ordered 4 more Dots and 4 Amazon smart plugs and faved £160 in the process as part of the Black Friday deals.
1. When I say ‘Alexa , turn up the volume to 7’ or whatever, she doesn’t do it, the volume stays the same. She hears the question as the volume goes quiet but when it returns a few seconds later, the volume is the same. Does she only turn up volume when the music is being played via an Echo device or am doing something wrong with the Sonos?
2. When I say “Alexa, play favourite tracks’ she always plays my Deezer Flow. Tried that a few times with the same result.
After having read through the thread, I suspect I have duplicate Sonos speakers. If I go to all devices, My speakers are listed there with a speaker icon, but there’s also other devices with an Echo Dot icon with the same name as the Sonos speakers in that room. A tthe moment, the only room where there’s an Echo Dot and a Sonos speaker is the kitchen diner. The Sonos speaker is called ‘Kitchen Dinner’ and the Echo Dot is called ‘Kintchen Diner Echo Dot’. I think when I’m trying to change the volume, Alexa is changing the volume on the duplicate Echo Dot speaker rather than the Sonos speaker it’self.
The obvious solution would be to delete the duplicate Echo Dot Speakers but I can’t see an option to do that in the Alexa app.
Any possible solutions would be most welcome, thanks.
Otherwise, things have gone pretty well. Loving the Dot and Spot so far. So much so, I’ve ordered 4 more Dots and 4 Amazon smart plugs and faved £160 in the process as part of the Black Friday deals.
Hi there, Jon_15. Make sure you are using the commands listed here to control Sonos with Alexa. If you continue to have problems please let us know the details. The more details we know the better we can assist. Thanks!
I have exactly this issue. Very annoying.
@jimwallace This worked for me! Thank you! This is definitely a bug that needs to be worked out.
I *think* I might have discovered a pattern in volume commands not working. When saying “turn down volume in living room” it seems to work; when saying “turn volume in living room down” it says that the command doesn’t work. I think the problem is using a split infinitive in the command.
I’d be interested to know if this solves the issue for others.
So, my issue is similar but my error is different I think. Same symptoms though, play/pause always works, but volume does NOT work if I issue a command to another device and then quickly try to change the volume.
Example: "Resume in the Living Room" Works. "Volume up in the Living Room" Works. "Turn on the Patio Lights" Works. "Volume up in the Living Room" does not work "Living Room is not responding." Have verified in history my commands are heard correctly and have actually removed all skills and restarted from scratch with just the Sonos skill and a single light to test.
Here's the weird part. If I take the same exact scenario above, but wait say 15 seconds and then issue the "Volume up in the Living Room" command again, it will work.
Example: "Resume in the Living Room" Works. "Volume up in the Living Room" Works. "Turn on the Patio Lights" Works. "Volume up in the Living Room" does not work "Living Room is not responding." Have verified in history my commands are heard correctly and have actually removed all skills and restarted from scratch with just the Sonos skill and a single light to test.
Here's the weird part. If I take the same exact scenario above, but wait say 15 seconds and then issue the "Volume up in the Living Room" command again, it will work.
Anyone got anywhere with this? I have exactly the same as above will do anything but change volume, same for both my sonos rooms “that command doesn’t work on device....” what ever volume command I use, so frustrating.
Exactly same issue...I have echo dot and sonos Play1 and there is no way to change volume..Play, stop never fail but volume no way. Any idea when this bug should be fixed pelase?
Userlevel 7
+20
There was a Spotify outage today:
https://en.community.sonos.com/music-services-and-sources-228994/spotify-connection-6795783/index1.html#post16176028
https://en.community.sonos.com/music-services-and-sources-228994/spotify-connection-6795783/index1.html#post16176028
I'm getting the same issue. I assumed that it would be ironed out pretty quickly when Sonos / Alexa integration improved but no such luck. Pretty annoying.
Hi - I’m having the exact same issue. Got my new echo dots this week, volume control worked fine. Then today tried it (turn up in kitchen/ turn volume up in kitchen), either said not supported or not responding as per other comments in this thread.
Play/Stop etc work absolutely fine. I’m using Spotify as the music service, one amazon account.
If others are experiencing this issue, it must be a bug surely?
Play/Stop etc work absolutely fine. I’m using Spotify as the music service, one amazon account.
If others are experiencing this issue, it must be a bug surely?
Userlevel 7
+20
Customer service have come back and suggested it may be a network issue, giving me some instructions for testing.
Let us know if you manage to fix it?
It's still quite random. Sometimes it'll consistently work and others not at all.
Customer service have come back and suggested it may be a network issue, giving me some instructions for testing.
Customer service have come back and suggested it may be a network issue, giving me some instructions for testing.
Userlevel 7
+20
They are set in the Alexa app under Settings>Your Sonos One. You should be able to set a Country specific address for each Sonos One. I'm not sure of your location but I find it better to use https://alexa.amazon.co.uk or .com rather than an Android or iOS app.
Should the location of Sonos devices be set somewhere in Alexa or are they set by Sonos? Attempting to change these details in the Alexa app just gives an error.
Userlevel 7
+20
If you use the PC app https://alexa.amazon.co.uk the Forget All command is still available. This still sounds like an Amazon account conflict to me, as the devices are not replying the same. Can you check that you haven't logged on to your other Amazon account on ANY other app?
I'm not sure what you mean, are you saying I need to log out of the Alexa app and all other Amazon apps including Kindle if it's not the Prime account?
That's a bit extreme. I then can't access any of my (non prime account) content?
Yes, that appears to be the case with other people that I've helped. All sorts of strange behaviour occurs otherwise... Here's an example:
https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/2-sonos-one-speakers-in-differnet-geographical-locations-and-one-alexa-app-is-showing-both-speakers-6793735
If you use the PC app https://alexa.amazon.co.uk the Forget All command is still available. This still sounds like an Amazon account conflict to me, as the devices are not replying the same. Can you check that you haven't logged on to your other Amazon account on ANY other app?
I'm not sure what you mean, are you saying I need to log out of the Alexa app and all other Amazon apps including Kindle if it's not the Prime account?
That's a bit extreme. I then can't access any of my (non prime account) content?
Currently both dots are on the Prime profile. The iPad and iPhone are in the Prime account in Alexa. The Android is in my account.
Userlevel 7
+20
I will now try just enabling the skill and discovery from the prime account. I may re-register the dots to the prime account too.
Still no luck:
1. Removed skill and forgot devices from both accounts;
2. Re-registered both dots to Prime account;
3. Power cycled Play:1s and used add player in Sonos app;
4. Enabled skill in Alexa app using my Sonos account and Prime account;
5. Discovered speakers using Alexa app,
6. Volume command not supported by speaker :(
If you use the PC app https://alexa.amazon.co.uk the Forget All command is still available. This still sounds like an Amazon account conflict to me, as the devices are not replying the same. Can you check that you haven't logged on to your other Amazon account on ANY other app?
Userlevel 7
+20
Then "Alexa turn the volume up in the kitchen." or "Alexa turn the volume up in kitchen."- and she responds with 'That command doesn't work on device kitchen.".
"Alexa turn the volume down in the kitchen." - and it often goes down!
I have no devices named similarly and the Dots still have their default names.
I only have one Sonos account and one Amazon account.
I've looked in the Alexa app and Settings - General - History and all command are written exactly as I've said them so it's not as though it doesn't understand the request.
I've disabled and re-enabled and re-linked accounts too.
I'm doing the above from a quiet room with a Dot in, not in the same room the music is playing.
Separately, I read many of the comments about how poor the Sonos One is at hearing commands and I wonder how poor they really must be and how challenging it must be to have the mics so close to the actual speaker - as I find the Dots (about 3-4ft from the speaker) struggle to hear when anything of any volume is playing.
I think voice control and how regimented many commands need to be is so far away from mass acceptance that if it doesn't get better quickly, people will be switched of it all and pass it off as the latest craze and move on..
Have tried just saying Alexa, Volume 4 (Any number up to 10)
Here are the commands that are supported:
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4343?_ga=2.148042807.1095743978.1506552577-1491669311.1488879254&_gac=1.184731227.1511606155.CjwKCAiAxuTQBRBmEiwAAkFF1oALnz96PmYXSnBA2S5Va6kZH-GMxirNsBm3OEv4x_UDJRYzPiX8OxoCxj8QAvD_BwE
I will now try just enabling the skill and discovery from the prime account. I may re-register the dots to the prime account too.
Still no luck:
1. Removed skill and forgot devices from both accounts;
2. Re-registered both dots to Prime account;
3. Power cycled Play:1s and used add player in Sonos app;
4. Enabled skill in Alexa app using my Sonos account and Prime account;
5. Discovered speakers using Alexa app,
6. Volume command not supported by speaker 😞
I spoke too soon it's not working again and here's something I found out from playing around: disabling the speakers in both household accounts via the app doesn't disable the speakers; Alexa was still able to playback!
I wonder if this issue was introduced by the updated Alexa app with this disable rather than forget feature.
As noted earlier, from the prime account Alexa will say the command is not supported by the speaker. From the 2nd account Alexa will say there are no devices.
I will now try just enabling the skill and discovery from the prime account. I may re-register the dots to the prime account too.
Same issue here. I start the radio for example in the Kitchen. Starts OK.
Then "Alexa turn the volume up in the kitchen." or "Alexa turn the volume up in kitchen."- and she responds with 'That command doesn't work on device kitchen.".
"Alexa turn the volume down in the kitchen." - and it often goes down!
I have no devices named similarly and the Dots still have their default names.
I only have one Sonos account and one Amazon account.
I've looked in the Alexa app and Settings - General - History and all command are written exactly as I've said them so it's not as though it doesn't understand the request.
I've disabled and re-enabled and re-linked accounts too.
I'm doing the above from a quiet room with a Dot in, not in the same room the music is playing.
Separately, I read many of the comments about how poor the Sonos One is at hearing commands and I wonder how poor they really must be and how challenging it must be to have the mics so close to the actual speaker - as I find the Dots (about 3-4ft from the speaker) struggle to hear when anything of any volume is playing.
I think voice control and how regimented many commands need to be is so far away from mass acceptance that if it doesn't get better quickly, people will be switched of it all and pass it off as the latest craze and move on..
Then "Alexa turn the volume up in the kitchen." or "Alexa turn the volume up in kitchen."- and she responds with 'That command doesn't work on device kitchen.".
"Alexa turn the volume down in the kitchen." - and it often goes down!
I have no devices named similarly and the Dots still have their default names.
I only have one Sonos account and one Amazon account.
I've looked in the Alexa app and Settings - General - History and all command are written exactly as I've said them so it's not as though it doesn't understand the request.
I've disabled and re-enabled and re-linked accounts too.
I'm doing the above from a quiet room with a Dot in, not in the same room the music is playing.
Separately, I read many of the comments about how poor the Sonos One is at hearing commands and I wonder how poor they really must be and how challenging it must be to have the mics so close to the actual speaker - as I find the Dots (about 3-4ft from the speaker) struggle to hear when anything of any volume is playing.
I think voice control and how regimented many commands need to be is so far away from mass acceptance that if it doesn't get better quickly, people will be switched of it all and pass it off as the latest craze and move on..
Userlevel 7
+20
Well done, all of the documentation states this isn't possible!
This is your issue - the linking of a Sonos account to an Alexa account must be 1:1. e.g. you can only have one Amazon account linked to a single Sonos account. You will need to have all of your Alexa devices signed into the same Amazon account.
I had only enabled the skill on my account and discovered the speakers on my account.
Alexa allows both adult accounts that are part of an Amazon family to be signed; one can then easily switch profiles.
Previously there was no issue with volume control when switched to my wife's account (with Amazon Prime) to make use of Prime music until the week I initially replied here.
I appear to have now fixed it:
1. Skill enabled on both family accounts;
2. Speakers discovered on both family accounts;
3. Speakers disabled on my account.
Userlevel 7
+20
The volume control still doesn't work properly but the message Alexa states is 'That command doesn't work on device bedroom/kitchen' rather than 'You don't have any Smart Home devices To get started, go to the Smart Home section of the Alexa App'.
So question, does the skill need to be enabled for both family accounts? Do the speakers need to be discovered for both?
The Sonos account is my account rather than my wife's, does that matter?
This is your issue - the linking of a Sonos account to an Alexa account must be 1:1. e.g. you can only have one Amazon account linked to a single Sonos account. You will need to have all of your Alexa devices signed into the same Amazon account.
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