Skip to main content
deepSpaceFine
Contributor I
November 13, 2018

Amazon Music, Sonos One, Echo.

  • November 13, 2018
  • 14 replies
  • 586 views
I've had my PlayBar along with two Play:1's for a year (almost to the day.) This year, I decided to upgrade my system: a Sub and two Sonos:One's to replace the Play:1's (each of which are in my kids rooms) and moving the Play:1's to use a s rear speakers in a surround setup.

My surround is now second to none. It's incredible. I love that I can tweak it, sound is amazing, base is thumping when I need it to be, ambient sound is fantastic (especially gaming!)

I made the mistake of confusing everything with a couple of Amazon Echo's (two for one; why not, right?) Alexa seems to add 3 (not 2) devices per Sonos: One. Super annoying and clunky AF. One physical and two virtual devices (because the Echo pairs itself with the Sonos: One's in addition to Alexa built in. So so lame.

Anyway, I decided to give Amazon Music a go, since Apple can't play well with others. The experience has been abysmal.

First, Amazon Music doesn't show up as a service in the Sonos App. Fine, the app is brutal anyway and only really useful for tweaking my theatre system.

Next, Amazon Music plays a few songs, then craps out and just stops completely. Or, even better, the songs will cycle through on the Sonos App, each one displaying "Unable to Play, incorrect file format," before skipping to the next one.

I realize there are a couple of players at work here, but I can't sort this nonsense out. Some have advised switching to Spotify which does work with both Amazon and Sonos. My question: why build in Alexa when it clearly isn't ready to launch (even after a full year of updates?) :?

So, I'll give this another go with Spotify instead; maybe that will resolve things. Reddit hasn't been able to help (first time it's let me down) and at this stage, I'm ready to still with Apple Music and forget the Amazon integration.
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

14 replies

Show previous replies
Ken_Griffiths
Ken_Griffiths
November 13, 2018
DeepSpaceFine,

The only other case I can think of, where songs tend to skip, is usually on account of local network interference. I presume if the local playing audio buffer empties, then sonos speakers moves on and fetch the next song in the queue until it finds a working stream.

Things that can often help to resolve this, are...

1. Switching the Sonos System from 'Standard' Mode over to the more exclusive 'Boost' Mode.
2. Setting the SonosNet wireless signal to the least-used non-overlapping 2.4ghz WiFi channel for the nearby locality.
3. Set the main Router 2.4ghz wifi (and any access points) to another single WiFi channel and ensure that selected channel is at least five channels apart from the chosen SonosNet channel
4. Keep all wireless devices at least 2 feet apart from each other... the further apart, the better
5. When running everything on SonosNet, remove/reset any stored WiFi credentials in the Sonos App 'Advanced Settings/Wireless Setup'. These credentials are not needed when running sonos devices on SonosNet.
6. This is optional, but recommended, Add the Sonos Speakers IP addresses to the local network DHCP Servers Reservation Table.

These few things tend to alleviate most of the common network interference issues that are sometimes encountered by some Sonos users.
    deepSpaceFineAuthor
    Contributor I
    November 13, 2018
    DeepSpaceFine,

    The only other case I can think of, where songs tend to skip, is usually on account of local network interference. I presume if the local playing audio buffer empties, then sonos speakers moves on and fetch the next song in the queue until it finds a working stream.

    Things that can often help to resolve this, are...

    1. Switching the Sonos System from 'Standard' Mode over to the more exclusive 'Boost' Mode.
    2. Setting the SonosNet wireless signal to the least-used non-overlapping 2.4ghz WiFi channel for the nearby locality.
    3. Set the main Router 2.4ghz wifi (and any access points) to another single WiFi channel and ensure that selected channel is at least five channels apart from the chosen SonosNet channel
    4. Keep all wireless devices at least 2 feet apart from each other... the further apart, the better
    5. When running everything on SonosNet, remove/reset any stored WiFi credentials in the Sonos App 'Advanced Settings/Wireless Setup'. These credentials are not needed when running sonos devices on SonosNet.
    6. This is optional, but recommended, Add the Sonos Speakers IP addresses to the local network DHCP Servers Reservation Table.

    These few things tend to alleviate most of the common network interference issues that are sometimes encountered by some Sonos users.

    These issues only arise when we use Amazon though...I should point out that it is the account included with Prime (not unlimited). With Apple Music, zero issues. Ever. I'm listening now and have been for hours....

    I just gave Home a try with Apple. Gotta admit: it's pretty slick using AirPlay 2. Obviously, I need a workaround to get the music to play in my family room, so I group that with one of my kids' rooms in the Sonos App. Sort of clunky, but not as bad as Echo/Sonos which can't play the same thing simultaneously.

    These are all first world problems, TBH. I mean, do I really need to ask an assistant to play something or turn the volume down?

    I'm probably going to return the Echo's and add another Sonos: One or a Play:5 to my kitchen and one to my bedroom. Because we still use a 20-year-old radio to wake us up in the morning. Lol.
      melvimbe
      melvimbe
      November 13, 2018
      @deepspacefine, Ken's actually doing a much better job of addressing your issue. I didn't even think about the lock screen issue. I can't add to anything else he's telling you.
      Danny
        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        November 13, 2018
        DeepSpaceFine,

        Remember too it’s not always the App (or the library) on the mobile device that’s connecting to your Sonos speaker, it’s often the connection between the actual audio source (local or online) and the speaker itself... and the area in between those ...that is where you need to look at the potential interference/interruption issues and then go onto address those to get the best performance from your sonos system.

        The lock-screen matter is one thing to look at, but also consider the overall potential network interruptions and the solutions above, that may help to address those matters.
          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement