Microphone sensitivity for the “Alexa” wake word is low

Same issue here with Sonos one not responding while playing music. I will literally be standing over it and yelling. As far as Dots go, I have them scattered throughout the house as well as other Alexa enabled devices. It is very common for me to be speaking to a dot or Alexa device with a response coming from another device in another room.

My main concern is having to yell at the Sonos One. Hopefully an update is around the corner.

Again, try turning the mic off and then on again by pressing the button on top of the Sonos One. That will usually restore the sensitivity of the device, at least until Sonos releases a permanent fix.

I'm shouting at Alexa like an annoyed parent to turn the volume down ... given up on it to be honest

So.... @Sonos, are you ever going to resolve this issue or should we start expecting shoddy/unfinished products to be released by Sonos with no solutions in sight, just barren promises?

Consumer Reports writes a scathing review about Tesla, and within a very short period of time, they release an update to their vehicles, addressing the issue that was discussed by the Report.

Not to conflate the two scenarios, but the Sonos One has been release for over a year now and the software (Including the uselessness of Alexa) have not changed.

It's annoying and embarrassing when I have to yell at my Sonos ONE (Alexa) to carry out a command when there is music playing, or even when there is not. Whereas with other products, which I will not mention, the sensitivity to engaging the device is considerably more attuned.

I realize that Sonos has a policy of secrecy and not releasing any information to the public, especially when it comes to timelines-- but there is only so long I am willing to settle before I write a product, or in this case, an entire company off, as being obsolete due to said company turning a willing blind eye to its' more than loyal consumer base and thinking that because we own the product, we are therefore trapped within the ecosystem with no other option but to accept the fact. Software patches these days can be worked on and released within weeks, if not days. The sheer fact that we are forced to pay so much for a product that has yet to meet basic standards is insulting.

Hopefully with heavyweight hitters such as Apple entering the market, the added competition will add a fire under Sonos to get with it. Just because some people are invested in the product lines offered by Sonos does not make them unwilling to sell them off and start purchasing in a different ecosystem.......

So.... @Sonos, are you ever going to resolve this issue or should we start expecting shoddy/unfinished products to be released by Sonos with no solutions in sight, just barren promises?


Sonos released Alexa integration as a beta product. I'm not saying that there is no reason to expect Alexa integration to work better by now, just that Sonos isn't trying to pass this off as finished production as far as Alexa integration is concerned.


Consumer Reports writes a scathing review about Tesla, and within a very short period of time, they release an update to their vehicles, addressing the issue that was discussed by the Report.

Not to conflate the two scenarios, but the Sonos One has been release for over a year now and the software (Including the uselessness of Alexa) have not changed.


Not over a year. It was release last September/October timeframe.


It's annoying and embarrassing when I have to yell at my Sonos ONE (Alexa) to carry out a command when there is music playing, or even when there is not. Whereas with other products, which I will not mention, the sensitivity to engaging the device is considerably more attuned.


I have a similar issue with echo products. I'm not saying it's as bad, just that it seems to be an issue with Alexa across the board to some extent.


I realize that Sonos has a policy of secrecy and not releasing any information to the public, especially when it comes to timelines-- but there is only so long I am willing to settle before I write a product, or in this case, an entire company off, as being obsolete due to said company turning a willing blind eye to its' more than loyal consumer base and thinking that because we own the product, we are therefore trapped within the ecosystem with no other option but to accept the fact. Software patches these days can be worked on and released within weeks, if not days. The sheer fact that we are forced to pay so much for a product that has yet to meet basic standards is insulting.


Sonos has a lot of features and fixes that customers are waiting on. All of them with a set of customers who are threatening to leave if they don't get attention soon. I wouldn't want to be the guy that has to prioritize development tasks right now. Regardless, I don't think it's accurate to say that Sonos is willing turning a blind eye on customers. It probably feels that way, not denying that.


Hopefully with heavyweight hitters such as Apple entering the market, the added competition will add a fire under Sonos to get with it. Just because some people are invested in the product lines offered by Sonos does not make them unwilling to sell them off and start purchasing in a different ecosystem.......

I can't agree with the thought that Sonos isn't motivated by competition already. It's why they are working on improvements with Amazon integration, why are they are working on Google integration, probably talking to Apple about Siri integration, working on Airplay 2 integration, working on a new product release, working on the 'works with Sonos' program, and who knows what else. I can't see a company doing all this without already being motivated by competition.

I think it's kind of interesting that you mention Apple as the motivator for Sonos though. Apple was the first to bring voice interface to the market, yet they have fallen behind Amazon and Google. Amazon and Google have had their home voice control products out for years, and Apple only months, after missing the Christmas season entirely. Apple release the homepod with several promised features missing, to be released later. They just release airplay 2, but it only works with homepod for now, you have to wait for all the other speakers. I'd say that Sonos is aware and motivated by the competition, but looking at Apple's recent history in the space, it's hard to conclude that Apple is motivated to compete.

Well put @melvimbe 😃. I'll concede to your rebuttal, it's just that it's a little frustrating is all.

I agree with your frustration, with the entire voice control industry. It's really in it's infancy as a technology goes, and no where near it eventually needs to be in terms of hearing you properly and ease of use. We've really barely touched the surface as to what all we will eventually be able to do. Maybe a decade from now.

Overall, I really glad Sonos has sort of positioned itself in the middle of all this. Not only is it adding more features to my existing system, but I think it's adding more motivation to the other players, particularly in terms of integrating well with others. But again, Sonos hasn't been prefect by any means at this point.

I gave up. I just replaced my Sonos One with the Echo Dot. It's an extra hassle to say "play music in the living room" to get music playing on the Sonos One but it's definitely less annoying than having to repeat every command twice because the Sonos one didn't pick it up.

I'm really dissappointed. I definitely understand that Sonos has other priorities but if you sell a "premium" product, you also need premium features and Sonos is not delivering with its voice recognition on the One.

I gave up. I just replaced my Sonos One with the Echo Dot. It's an extra hassle to say "play music in the living room" to get music playing on the Sonos One but it's definitely less annoying than having to repeat every command twice because the Sonos one didn't pick it up.

I'm really dissappointed. I definitely understand that Sonos has other priorities but if you sell a "premium" product, you also need premium features and Sonos is not delivering with its voice recognition on the One.

Now that is an option, but will you then lose your Airplay 2 functionality as this is the sole reason I bought the Sonos One to be able to drive my Sonos Play 1s I have?

There has been much Alexa talk on UK forums about what it will and won’t do and when features will be available.
The UK, and EU, are now under the much stricter privacy law that GDPR has established.
Any developemnts for global release, Sonos being a global company and not wishing to fragment its OS, must be aware of and be compliant with local legislation and proposed future legislation (info of which is reaily available by looking in the right place which legal depts do) of which voice control is a “big thing”. Ensuring that devices only listen when commanded to and then stop is a big “if” at present. Devices continuing recording without command fall foul of EU legislation and can attract a HUGE, and I mean HUGE, fine.(IIRC something like 4.5% of turnover)