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Contributor I
October 30, 2017
Answered

Alexa keeps false triggering on Sonos One

  • October 30, 2017
  • 18 replies
  • 2837 views
Apologies if this has been covered already but my Sonos One/Alexa keeps waking up/false triggering while I'm watching TV and it's driving me mad. Whereas others have complained about the mic sensitivity being too low I haven't found this - in fact for me the Sonos One hears me far better better than my Echo and Echo dots ever did and overall I'm loving it. But this issue of Alexa waking up with a loud chirp every few minutes is driving me mad. I've checked the audio files and there's nothing apparent in there that appears to be triggering it - it just seems to be random words with no pattern.

My question is are others having the same issue, is there a way to fix it, or do I have a faulty unit?
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Best answer by Ryan S
Hi everyone, Sonos version 8.2.3 is now available for the Sonos One (other Sonos devices will stay on 8.2.2). This update improves Alexa responsiveness for Sonos One users in US, UK, Germany, and Austria.

You should find that Alexa is getting better at listening, with a decrease in the times Alexa speaks up when not called. Alexa on Sonos One is now more likely to carry out your desired action when requested; especially when it’s noisy, when the speaker is further away, or when speaking quietly.

Update within your Sonos app by going to More > Settings > Online Updates.

We’re continuing to work with Amazon and the Alexa team to improve Sonos One voice control. You can expect to see more developments as we go. Let us know what you think of the changes. We’d love to hear from you.

18 replies

Lyricist I
November 1, 2017
yes, me too! It feels that there are far more false positives with the Sonos One and the “Chirp” trigger sound is driving us crazy.
Prominent Collaborator I
November 1, 2017
Me as well. As I posted in another thread, its not that sensitive at all to 'Alexa' - we virtually have to lean over it - but it appears VERY sensitive to random words whilst we are just talking near it. Wouldn't be so bad if you could turn off the 'i'm awake' ding!
On a positive note Ryan from Sonos stated elsewhere that the mic sensitivity is all in the software so I hope improvements can be made. I know the echos I have have improved immensely over time (or maybe I'm just getting more accepting of their eccentricities!)
Contributor I
November 20, 2017
Im having the same problem. Every time my wife talks Alexa chimes in. Even from 10 ft away it will chime 3-4 times during a short conversation. It is super annoying as the music cuts out constantly when Alexa picks up. My sister was over recently and it did the same when she talked. It happens more with female voices. If this doesn't improve soon I will be returning my set of Ones, with all its other short comings its just not worth it.
Lyricist II
November 27, 2017
Just received my Sonos One today -- same issue. Has anyone here found a solution or any other discussion of the issue?
jdwinva
Lyricist I
November 28, 2017
My Sonos keeps waking up when the TV is on or people are speaking nearby. It's driving me nuts. This does not happen with my Amazon Echo(s).
Contributor I
November 29, 2017
Same issue. Just posted a separate thread for this in the hopes of raising visibility to Sonos development team.
jdwinva
Lyricist I
November 30, 2017
Yesterday we were talking in the kitchen and the Sonos One triggered the Alexa app again and Alex says "Wikipedia says that Satan blah blah...." Really?! We were talking about school for our kids. Satan! Really?
PeppaAuthor
Contributor I
December 2, 2017
I received a response from Sonos technical support basically fobbing me off by implying the false triggering is not a fault of their speaker but is down to me and where I've positioned the Sonos One in my living room. This is clearly nonsense and I once again urge absolutely everyone with this problem to report it to Sonos until they acknowledge it as a major fault on their part and decide to do something about it!
Prominent Collaborator I
December 2, 2017
I sent my 3 Sonos Ones back because of this issue combined with the ironic situation that when we do want it to trigger we have to scream ALEXAAAAA! at it. We have had it wake on a variety of words - among them 'next to' (understandable) 'Leicester' (OK we'll go with that) and 'crispy' (what!!!). The dot that it replaced never, ever had this issue. Yes, it sometimes didn't hear us or misunderstood but it never misfired. 2 of the Ones never even made it out of their boxes as we were waiting for improvements in this area that just never came.
chickentender
December 14, 2017
I sent my 3 Sonos Ones back because of this issue combined with the ironic situation that when we do want it to trigger we have to scream ALEXAAAAA! at it. We have had it wake on a variety of words - among them 'next to' (understandable) 'Leicester' (OK we'll go with that) and 'crispy' (what!!!). The dot that it replaced never, ever had this issue. Yes, it sometimes didn't hear us or misunderstood but it never misfired. 2 of the Ones never even made it out of their boxes as we were waiting for improvements in this area that just never came.

I'm surprised this has yet to be addressed. We too would have returned ours but for we moved to a larger house and simply needed an extra speaker around so it stayed. Had we not moved, it wouldn't have proved itself worth keeping on it's Alexa performance alone. I'm waiting desperately for Google Home integration but fear that the mic's shortcomings will be found there as well. The saving grace is simply that the ONE doesn't cost more than a Play:1, and so it's still earning it's keep in our new house.