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HartWilke
Contributor I
December 11, 2017
Answered

Alexa controlling a group

  • December 11, 2017
  • 11 replies
  • 5495 views
I have three Sonos speakers: a Play:1 in the Kitchen, a Play:5 in the adjacent dining room, and a Play:1 in the living room. I also have an Echo Dot in the Kitchen, and I have enabled the Sonos skill in Alexa.

I have placed all three of Sonos my speakers in an Alexa group called "Downstairs". Alexa can't find it.
At best, I can specify one speaker, say "Kitchen", and hope the other speakers are linked somehow.

Also, Alexa can't find any Sonos playlists. Or, adjust the volume of the Sonos speakers.

What exactly can Alexa do with the Sonos skill? Because it seems like, not much of nothing.
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      Best answer by jgatie
      Alexa app groups are not possible for 3rd party speakers at this time. You need to group them using the Sonos app, then ask Alexa to play to any one of the grouped rooms and it will play on the entire group.

      Alexa will not play Sonos playlists, but any playlist in your Alexa supported service of choice will play. Say "Alexa, play playlist (playlist name) from (service name if not the default) in (room name)".

      Alexa can most certainly raise and lower the volume. Say "Alexa, raise volume in (room name)" or "Alexa, lower volume in (room name)". Also, "Alexa, volume (level 1-10) in (room name)".

      For a full listing of capabilities and commands for Sonos via Alexa, see this link:

      https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4343

      11 replies

      jgatie
      jgatieAnswer
      December 11, 2017
      Alexa app groups are not possible for 3rd party speakers at this time. You need to group them using the Sonos app, then ask Alexa to play to any one of the grouped rooms and it will play on the entire group.

      Alexa will not play Sonos playlists, but any playlist in your Alexa supported service of choice will play. Say "Alexa, play playlist (playlist name) from (service name if not the default) in (room name)".

      Alexa can most certainly raise and lower the volume. Say "Alexa, raise volume in (room name)" or "Alexa, lower volume in (room name)". Also, "Alexa, volume (level 1-10) in (room name)".

      For a full listing of capabilities and commands for Sonos via Alexa, see this link:

      https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4343
      HartWilkeAuthor
      Contributor I
      December 11, 2017
      The whole raison d'etre of getting Sonos speakers in the first place is that you can group them.
        jgatie
        jgatie
        December 11, 2017
        The whole raison d'etre of getting Sonos speakers in the first place is that you can group them.

        You can still group them. You just can't do it via Alexa (yet).
        HartWilkeAuthor
        Contributor I
        December 11, 2017
        Alexa (with the Sonos skill) can't:
        * Work with other 40 streaming services that work with Sonos.
        * Work with Sonos groups.
        * Work with Sonos playlists and favorites.

        But, we can stream Amazon music to one speaker.

        Were we a little premature here?
        jgatie
        jgatie
        December 11, 2017
        You are entitled to your opinion. I'm just giving facts. If you wanted to complain and not learn, I apologize for trying to help you and will yield the floor to your complaining.
        HartWilkeAuthor
        Contributor I
        December 11, 2017
        jgatie, thank you for confirming my observations.

        I thought my comments were facts as well.
        jgatie
        jgatie
        December 11, 2017
        jgatie, thank you for confirming my observations.

        I thought my comments were facts as well.

        Whatever. :8
        losian79
        Lyricist I
        February 5, 2018
        Alexa app groups are not possible for 3rd party speakers at this time. You need to group them using the Sonos app, then ask Alexa to play to any one of the grouped rooms and it will play on the entire group.

        Alexa will not play Sonos playlists, but any playlist in your Alexa supported service of choice will play. Say "Alexa, play playlist (playlist name) from (service name if not the default) in (room name)".

        Alexa can most certainly raise and lower the volume. Say "Alexa, raise volume in (room name)" or "Alexa, lower volume in (room name)". Also, "Alexa, volume (level 1-10) in (room name)".

        For a full listing of capabilities and commands for Sonos via Alexa, see this link:

        https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4343

        I say : Alexa, raise volume in (room name)"[/i] or "Alexa, lower volume in (room name)". Also, [i]"Alexa, volume (level 1-10) in (room name).

        There is no response.
        losian79
        Lyricist I
        February 5, 2018
        Alexa responds "(room name)" doesn't support that. Maybe since it is a Play:1?
        ximian
        Contributor I
        February 24, 2018
        I have three Sonos speakers: a Play:1 in the Kitchen, a Play:5 in the adjacent dining room, and a Play:1 in the living room. I also have an Echo Dot in the Kitchen, and I have enabled the Sonos skill in Alexa.

        I have placed all three of Sonos my speakers in an Alexa group called "Downstairs". Alexa can't find it.
        At best, I can specify one speaker, say "Kitchen", and hope the other speakers are linked somehow.

        Also, Alexa can't find any Sonos playlists. Or, adjust the volume of the Sonos speakers.

        What exactly can Alexa do with the Sonos skill? Because it seems like, not much of nothing.
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