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wrcguy
Avid Contributor II
October 1, 2019
Question

Playing BBC on Play:1 using Dot somehow? Bluetooth?

  • October 1, 2019
  • 16 replies
  • 1528 views
Hello Sonos Community

I need some help please.

I am based in the UK and have a Sonos Play One linked upto an Alexa Dot. I have been using via my Amazon Prime account the Tunein service to enable me to listen to BBC Radio stations. "Alexa play Radio 2 in the Kitchen" etc etc.

However, due to some dispute between the BBC and Tunein they have pulled the BBC from their service which means I can no longer access BBC Radio stations through my Alexa and into my Sonos.

Just looking at alternatives and wondered if there is a way to connect say my iPhone via Bluetooth to my Sonos Play One so that via the BBC Iplayer app I could still stream BBC Radio stations through my Sonos

Any ideas or alternative solutions greatly received

Thank You

Brian
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    16 replies

    Show previous replies
    castalla
    Local Superstar
    October 3, 2019
    “Alexa, Play BBC Radio 2 from Tunein” does play here for me, but some other stations don’t ... I read the article as though the BBC were saying that all their stations will play via Sonos and Alexa. So perhaps this is a 'glitch', post switch off.

    I hope that proves to be the case. I am a UK resident and BBC licence payer after all. 😁

    Licence payer has nothing to do with BBC radio. The licence covers TV reception. However, I agree with most posts that the beeb have increasinglly messed up the radio streams. The half-arsed voice activation services have a lot to answer for! (And don't grt me started on those one-finger bandit smartphones).
    It's the courageous bee's knees - all 6 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝. - - - - - Make Sonos Great Again - - - - -
    AM_A
    Trending Lyricist I
    October 5, 2019
    This is a highly frustrating move by the BBC. I’d recommend adding your comments to the BBC blog, signing the change.org petition, sending a complaint to the BBC & leaving a review on the BBC Alexa skill and on the BBC Sounds app on the iOS or Android AppStore (whichever you use).

    In the meantime you should still be able to stream BBC stations via TuneIn from the Sonos app. It’s only the Alexa voice functionality which has been withdrawn. If you can’t get the Sonos app to do this something is wrong & you need support.

    There is one other workaround I often use as I find that it’s never possible to find all the BBC programmes I want to listen to (retrospectively) via the Sonos app/TuneIn.
    I have a Chromecast stick plugged into my tv (bought a few hrs ago, can’t recall precisely how much it cost, maybe £30).
    I can chromecast direct from BBC sounds to the tv. I can then group any other speakers to the speaker playing my TV so I can listen throughout my house. The drawbacks of this are that your tv must be switched on & no one else could use it during that time. Sometimes I knock the tv sound onto mute and just have the sound coming from speakers in other rooms.
    Hope that helps.
    Derrick123
    Lyricist III
    October 19, 2019

    You need to set up playing using BBC stations using IFTTT. Download the IFTTT app to your phone. Several in here have written down what to do then. But it can be done. 

    chuckalicious
    Avid Contributor I
    October 20, 2019

    It's this kind of thing that really spoils "smart home" tech. Whether it's Google being useless and not supporting their own GSuite accounts with Google Assistant, or Alexa not being able to use TuneIn any more, it makes buyers wary of investing in any tech. 

     

    Sonos is different in that it allows all services on its platform, but even it isn't immune when another service decides to make a change. 

    I was all invested in Google Home/Assistant until I discovered the various shortcomings with their own GSuite accounts, and their habit of dropping support for products at a moment's notice. So I've moved over to Alexa/Echo. But they don't have quote as good a Spotify integration, Amazon Music doesn't work well on Android Auto/Apple Car Play and now I can't easily use their voice assistant to play BBC Radio stations on Sonos. 

     

    It's very frustrating. 

    UKMedia
    UKMedia
    October 23, 2019

    You need to set up playing using BBC stations using IFTTT. Download the IFTTT app to your phone. Several in here have written down what to do then. But it can be done. 


    Please see my posts in this thread for a solution: https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/alexa-and-bbc-6831167

    Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)
    Stuart_W
    Stuart_W
    World-Class Superstar
    October 24, 2019
    “Alexa, Play BBC Radio 2 from Tunein” does play here for me, but some other stations don’t ... I read the article as though the BBC were saying that all their stations will play via Sonos and Alexa. So perhaps this is a 'glitch', post switch off.

    I hope that proves to be the case. I am a UK resident and BBC licence payer after all. 😁

    Licence payer has nothing to do with BBC radio. The licence covers TV reception. However, I agree with most posts that the beeb have increasinglly messed up the radio streams. The half-arsed voice activation services have a lot to answer for! (And don't grt me started on those one-finger bandit smartphones).

     

    This is not correct. Whilst it is true to say you do not need a TV licence to listen to radio the BBC radio service IS funded through the TV licence.

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