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SirCadian
Contributor I
October 23, 2017
Question

Error discovering devices in Alexa app

  • October 23, 2017
  • 23 replies
  • 26359 views
Hi,

As part of trying to resolve issues I was having getting Alexa to play my flash briefing, I de-registered all my Sonos devices with Amazon. Unfortunately, Alexa now can't "discover" the devices with the Sonos smart home skill. I get the helpful message "There was an error discovering your devices". I've tried:
- disabling/enabling the Sonos skill.
- re-installing the Alexa app.
- cycling the power on all sonos devices.

Nothing works, my devices cannot be discovered and I can't control anything with Alexa. Control of the speakers through the Sonos app works as normal.

Any help to get everything working would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
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      23 replies

      Show previous replies
      UKMedia
      UKMedia
      October 31, 2017
      Hi

      Just to confirm this setting is only available within iOS and the Android app (not PC). If you select 'Settings' then your Sonos 1 you should see voice services in the top of your screen.

      If this doesn't work leave the voice service removed and select 'Add a player or sub' and add the Sonos 1 again. It's worth the effort 🙂
      Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
      dhansel
      Contributor I
      October 31, 2017
      I finally sorted things out by completely deleting the Alexa App off of the iphone. Had to do this process twice before the Alexa app would properly "discover devices". So, not only do I have Sonos going finally, but also my Smartthings hub, and hue lights. All, being controlled through the Sonos One. Not an easy process, but the end result can be achieved! Wish I could index and ask to play from my local storage... oh well.
      Ryan S
      Ryan S
      Retired Sonos Staff
      November 1, 2017
      Glad you're all set, dhansel. If anyone is still having trouble, I'd recommend that you give us a call on our support line. We're happy to help you get your Sonos One's all set up or discover other devices that are missing.

      If you're unable to find any device, we've seen some trouble if you have multiple Amazon accounts and you're signed in with the wrong one on your mobile device in a different app, compared with what you're using on the Sonos side of things.
      Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
      dhansel
      Contributor I
      November 1, 2017
      Good point Ryan, I think I may have compounded my install issues in the beginning by inadvertently using my wife's amazon account on the Alexa side and my account on the Sonos side.
      sprotzman
      Trending Lyricist I
      November 1, 2017
      After a lot of messing around I worked out how to fix this. In case anyone else is having the same problem, here's how to resolve it.

      - Open your Sonos app.
      - Go to Settings/Rooms.
      - Click on "Amazon Alexa" under "Voice Services".
      - Click on "Remove Amazon Alexa from this room".
      - Use the options under "Voice Services" to re-add Alexa to the room.

      That should fix it. Hope this saves somebody the couple of hours of farting around in the Alexa and Sonos apps that it took me to find a solution. ;)

      So curious, can you actually get flash briefing? All three of my Ones just say "Flash briefing is not supported on this device"
      dhansel
      Contributor I
      November 2, 2017
      I am not able to get flash briefing as of last night either..Odd, since I didn't t think this had anything to do with Sonos per se.
      jlee
      Lyricist I
      November 7, 2017
      I had the same problem with Alex being unable to discover my Sonos One. This meant that Alexa "worked" (for time, weather, etc.) but it couldn't play any music. It kept telling me to enable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app.

      It turns out that I had the Sonos account under my name but the Alexa app on my iPhone was signed on to Amazon under my wife's name.

      I deleted the Alexa app, reinstalled it and signed in using my own Amazon account. After that, Alexa was able to discover my Sonos One and I'm now able to play music through Alexa.
        yo.ian.g
        Lyricist I
        November 8, 2017
        @jlee 's suggestion to delete the Alexa app and reinstall it fixed it for me! However I didn't have the same confusion between accounts, only one Sonos account and only one Amazon account.
        pwt
        pwt
        Virtuoso
        November 11, 2017
        The advice here was helpful -- thanks.

        I also had a naming issue, as discussed in:
        https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/sonos-one-showing-as-two-devices-in-alexa-app-6792846

        Up and running now without _too_ much messing about.
        4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port | Era 300
        subzeroes
        Lyricist I
        November 26, 2017
        Guys, was having the same problem not being able to discover sonos device from alexa app... I have somehow resolved it by redo the adding echo dot setup procedure...

        The problem could be due to echo device is connecting to a different witeless network from your sonos device.

        After setting the echo dot again... all are good. Discovering all Sonos device in all different rooms just in seconds.

        Hope this helps... good luck!

        Kim.
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