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Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
October 24, 2017
261 replies
37503 views

I still have to use either, but here is the Stuff magazine take on this, from their review:
"Finally, Alexa seems to be less responsive on the Sonos One, at least compared to the Echo, meaning you have to speak a little bit louder for it to hear you. Considering my Echo will sometimes pick up an unintended ‘Alexa’ reference while I’m chatting in another room, this probably isn’t as significant a shortcoming as it sounds.
Read more at https://www.stuff.tv/sonos/one/review#RDh9IciKOQwAQ2K0.99

But something that is a concern that Sonos ought to look at, if what you say is more applicable.

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Best answer by Ryan S

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.

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J

JTT74

Lyricist III

It’s only when music is playing for me, when there’s no music it seems fine. It was ok after the update, but then stopped hearing me when music was playing a week or 10 days ago

Master T

Prodigy I

Something has definitely changed. I've been away for a few days, so I can't put my finger on exactly when, but I caught myself yelling at the One(s) today on several occasions. Surprised, I came here looking for ideas. I'll try the ideas suggested above tomorrow when I have a chance.

K

KumarAuthor

I have Dot 40 feet away from Sonos One and I can be standing 3 feet from the Sonos One and the Dot that is 40 feet away will respond to me. My Sonos One is in the kitchen and I like to use it as a timer. However, I find that I have to get right next to it in order for it to hear me and not the Dot from the other room.

This will be a problem for many for a long time, I suspect. Even the Dot suffers from this if not adequately separated from the speaker being used for it. When separation is provided, it does very well and for the same reason, much better than what the Echo, that must always lack this separation, does.

J

JTT74

Lyricist III

I have Dot 40 feet away from Sonos One and I can be standing 3 feet from the Sonos One and the Dot that is 40 feet away will respond to me. My Sonos One is in the kitchen and I like to use it as a timer. However, I find that I have to get right next to it in order for it to hear me and not the Dot from the other room.

This will be a problem for many for a long time, I suspect. Even the Dot suffers from this if not adequately separated from the speaker being used for it. When separation is provided, it does very well and for the same reason, much better than what the Echo, that must always lack this separation, does.

The point is, it was great after the update, now recently when music is playing its stopped hearing me..

J

JTT74

Lyricist III

Turning the mic off and on again seems to work..!

K

KCS

Lyricist II

I was surprised it made such a difference, the Ones had become almost unusable. Hopefully going forward this will not be necessary.

J

JTT74

Lyricist III

I was surprised it made such a difference, the Ones had become almost unusable. Hopefully going forward this will not be necessary.

Agreed, they are back to be being very responsive even at reasonable volume.

Sonos support team- pls look into this, stopping and restarting the mic fixes the issue, but before I did this it had deteriorated severely.

Thx

Master T

Prodigy I

Weird. That actually seemed to make a difference.

Ryan S

Retired Sonos Staff

Sonos support team- pls look into this, stopping and restarting the mic fixes the issue, but before I did this it had deteriorated severely.

The team's already on it.

Weird. That actually seemed to make a difference.

We've had a few more reports of this coming up, and the solution for them all has been turning the mic off and back on. If anyone else is having trouble, please do that and let us know how it goes. Also, if it comes up again.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

D

davehooper

Contributor I

I absolutely love the build quality and sound on my Sonos One but I’ve got the same issue with the mic sensitivity too low.
Even when playing music at volume level 2 I have to shout Alexa 3 or 4 times before it hears me from the next room. Also I’ve noticed Alexa on this device is rubbish at Spotify requests. I have a Google Home in another room and if I ask that for a song on Spotify it says sure playing on Spotify where the Alexa will say I’m unable to find that song on Spotify and I have type the name of the song in the Spotify app. I have also noticed the Google Home is far better at answering follow up questions. Will probably return the One while still in return period and try again in a few months.

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