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Contributor I
October 4, 2017
Answered

2 Issues with Alexa and Sonos, Can you help?

  • October 4, 2017
  • 32 replies
  • 16537 views
Hi,
I was able to set up my connection with Alexa and Sonos, and I can use Alexa to start playing music without any issues.
However, once the music starts, I have two issues: 1. I cannot stop the music. 2. the music stops playing after a single song.

For example, if I say "Alexa, play the Beatles in the living room", music will start up on the Sonos system. However, if I ask her to stop the music ("Alexa, stop the music in the living room," "Alexa, pause the music in the living room"), she dims the sound of the Sonos speakers, responds with "I can change the playback mode only when music is playing" and then raises the volume of the living room again.

When first requested to play music, Alexa responds with something like, "Shuffling popular songs by the Beatles in the Living Room." However, she stops playing after a single song, every time, no matter what the playlist. If I play the same playlist through the sonos app, it keeps playing.

I'm not sure what the issue is, since clearly she is connected (she can start playing music) but then she seems to forget that she is playing music, thus disabling the ability to stop music playback or continue listening past a single song.

In case it is helpful, here is a bit about the setup:
Alexa device is an Echo Dot, connected to Wifi
Sonos Living Room speakers include: Playbar, Sub, and 2 Play 1 speakers, connected to the Sonos Bridge wireless network.
No Echo devices are linked via line in to any Sonos devices.

I would appreciate some help in getting these two issues resolved. After waiting so long for Alexa integration, it's sad to see it launched but not really working. Thanks in advance for any constructive help you may have to offer.
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Best answer by MusicListenerSonos
Here is an update on how I was able to find a work-around:
1. forget all Sonos devices in the Alexa App.
2. Disable the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App.
3. Re-enable the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App.
4. Power Off then on Echo Dot
5. Power Off then on the Sonos speakers

Now I can both start and stop music in the living room, as well as advance tracks. The music does not stop after a single song.

Hopefully these steps will help someone else. The key here is that simply disabling and re-enabling the skill is not sufficient. Devices must actually be powered off to solve the issue.

32 replies

Avid Contributor I
October 4, 2017
Same here. Very disapointed with the integration so far.
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
October 4, 2017
Try using "Alexa, stop in the living room."

The second one is a bit trickier, as it should keep going. If you skip the track, does it play the next one?

Can you submit a diagnostic from your Sonos system and reply back with your confirmation number next time it stops on its own?
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
Contributor I
October 4, 2017
I have tried "Alexa, stop in the living room". Nothing happens, she just continues playing (sound is dimmed then goes back up to full volume).

There is no way to skip a track. She just stops after one song. If you try to advance the song in the controller on computer or iphone, she stops playing and no other songs are played. If I say "Alexa, play next track in living room," she responds: "I can change the playback mode only when music is playing"

Diagnostic confirmation is 7913805.
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
October 4, 2017
Thanks, can you disable your Sonos skill in the Alexa app and then re-enable it and discover your devices again?

Let us know how it goes.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
Contributor I
October 4, 2017
I did that twice, no difference. Disabling and re-enabling the skill does not fix either of the problems.
MusicListenerSonosAuthorAnswer
Contributor I
October 4, 2017
Here is an update on how I was able to find a work-around:
1. forget all Sonos devices in the Alexa App.
2. Disable the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App.
3. Re-enable the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App.
4. Power Off then on Echo Dot
5. Power Off then on the Sonos speakers

Now I can both start and stop music in the living room, as well as advance tracks. The music does not stop after a single song.

Hopefully these steps will help someone else. The key here is that simply disabling and re-enabling the skill is not sufficient. Devices must actually be powered off to solve the issue.
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
October 4, 2017
Thanks for sharing. Let us know how it goes.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
Lyricist I
October 4, 2017
Having the exact same problem here. Only playing one song and then stopping. Have tried unpluging all devices and forgetting in Alexa app/disabling skill. No luck. Hope it gets figured out soon.
cwintermeyer
Lyricist III
October 4, 2017
I actually encountered this same problem, but approached the solution differently. My Sonos Playbar is named "Living Room" and the Echo in my living room was also named "Living Room". I renamed my Echo to "Living Room Echo" and the problem of controlling playback on the Sonos disappeared.
Lyricist II
October 5, 2017
I was so excited about this upgrade but unfortunately this skill is a piece of garbage. I'm having the exact same issue and tried all of the suggestions within this thread except for one, which is to power down all of my devices. I have 12 devices in various rooms and it would take me forever to power down each one and get it back online. I can't imagine SONOS requires this anyway. Hopefully they'll get this fixed soon as I would like to continue recommending their products.