Contributor I

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Sonos Alexa Integration India

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
November 2, 2017
80 replies
7069 views

I am form Mumbai, India. I have been using Sonos with Alexa integration till yesterday, until Amazon launched Alexa services in India. To get the local skills I had my Amazon marketplace for Alexa changed from UK to India and since then my Sonos skill for Alexa vanished.
I am unable to search Sonos skill on Alexa Skills page. On contacting Amazon, they replied that Sonos hasn't released the skill for India 😞.
Any clue how can I enable the Sonos skill for Alexa whilst having the location India.

Regards,
Shanty

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Best answer by Ryan S

Sorry for the delay, we most certainly read every thread, but it's been so busy of late that it's difficult to keep up.

I know you're hungry for news and eagerly awaiting any announcement or details from us. I don't have an official statement for you on support for the Sonos Alexa skill in India above what's already been said.

Alexa support for Sonos is available in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and we're hard at work getting everything ready to bring the Sonos skill for Alexa to more countries. We haven't announced which countries are up next, but our aspiration is everywhere.

I think it's important to remember that Sonos isn't currently sold directly in India. While we have some great customers like you guys, we have yet to officially enter India as a company. We're definitely interested and love that you are such early adopters, and clearly interested and involved. We'd love to bring Sonos to all countries, as well as Alexa support for Sonos. We’re working with Amazon on their Alexa expansion plans, and for that matter, with Google on theirs with Assistant, to bring voice control to Sonos everywhere we can.

Stay tuned for more details!

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H

hansberkers

Lyricist I

Hi, I live in the Netherlands, bought an echo dot in the UK and via an usa based apple account downloaded the software for Alexa. Works fine (also with Philips Hue lights) as long as I give the commands in english and some local things are obviously not available: train times, etc.

I keep reading the standard response "Alexa support for Sonos is available in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and we're hard at work getting everything ready to bring the Sonos skill for Alexa to more countries. We haven't announced which countries are up next, but our aspiration is everywhere."

Can you please explain why that is the case? What is the harm for users outside of those 3 countries to be able to use Alexa with Sonos as it can obviously work. What holds that back? I would like to see an explanation rather than a statement like the one above.

K

Kumar

Sonos explanations will take time, so permit a chance:
1. There is no harm that I can see, if it works for you as it does. As it is, you don't have local content anyway.
2. Outside of these 3 countries - now 5 if you add India+Japan - the problem is Amazon. Alexa app/services have to be made available by them first to allow local content.
3. But after that, it seems to come back to Sonos. Until they catch up with the Amazon Alexa release, you will have to use the Dot the way you are using today for Sonos, or use it for local content and local relevant skills. Doing both will only be after Sonos Skills are present in the Netherlands release of Amazon Alexa. What "hard work" is needed for this either in Sonos or in Amazon, I have no idea.

K

Kumar

Squeaky wheel knocking on the door. Mixed metaphors suck, I know, but may attract Sonos attention. It is now 18 days and counting. And a weekend coming up.

PS: Sonos created a ticket for this one, directed by their CEO to do so and for those interested, a quote from my update there as well today:
"When will these be available? When can I expect a communication to an expected date? "You will know it when you see it" doesn't seem a customer friendly answer. Given that Sonos has promised simultaneous availability in its own FAQ on Alexa on this site.

It is now 18 days since Amazon launched Alexa in India on October 30th."

K

Kumar

More than a bump, a question for Ryan from the Canada thread.

As I see there, two main issues arise - the pathing working well between the two clouds involved in the integration feature. And two, accent recognition if Sonos One is to understand Indians speaking in English.

Why can't these two be dealt with in sequential steps so those of us who don't have or even want the One can get going with Amazon hardware released in India, that has been customised to our accents after a claimed 12 month effort by Amazon?

Why have us wait till Sonos One also understands what we are saying? Not having to solve such challenges is why Sonos partnered with Amazon in the first place!

Whose door do I knock on with this request - else we won't get this in India even in 2018.

Ryan S

Retired Sonos Staff

I'll pass the request along to the team so it's in the right hands.

Speaking personally, I think the team would prefer having all the main work behind the skill as done as possible before releasing it in a location, and not splitting up the release into a couple phases.

That could just be me worrying about trying to find a way to say, "Ok, the server side of the work is done, but unless you speak a certain way it won't recognize you."

I'll let you know if I hear anything I can share with you all.

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

K

Kumar

Speaking personally, I think the team would prefer having all the main work behind the skill as done as possible before releasing it in a location, and not splitting up the release into a couple phases.

Makes sense except when the two phases are separated by months and this thinking then holds up the entire release. As I wrote, Amazon took 12 months - so they say in public - to get their hardware to understand the way we speak English. I can't see Sonos doing this a lot faster on their own. And this issue will only affect Sonos One units, and nothing else. So breaking what may otherwise seem a sensible preference may be indicated in this case.

After all, doesn't Sonos work the same way all the time - not wait for any cake to be fully and perfectly baked? Witness the beta aspects of the Sonos One Alexa release, where many things are incomplete. From mic sensitivity calibration to not offering a choice of wake words, among other things.

K

Kumar

And your site continues to say this even today, Sonos:
"Can I use Amazon Alexa with any Sonos player?
Yes, Amazon Alexa works on all Sonos players.

Where is Amazon Alexa on Sonos available?
Amazon Alexa is currently available in the United States, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom."

Amazon Alexa has been available in India for more than three weeks now, and is also now available in Canada. Sonos needs to keep pace with Amazon in more ways than one, though it would be better if it did so not by changing what it claims for itself on its website, but by delivering on that claim. Marketing collateral is allowed to be flowery but it cannot be found straying from facts in statements as the above.

H

HarshitRaipur

Contributor I

As I can see I'll be facing the same music as you guys. I just bought Sonos One from Amazon UK (yet to receive it). Just on communicating with Amazon India Customer Care I came to know that Sonos Skills are not currently supported by Amazon India. Then I landed here. What I feel is that both Amazon and Sonos are equally responsible for the fiasco. Amazon India site officially list Sonos One, with Alexa built in, for sale. Based on this information I made my purchase. This is wrong information on part of Amazon as well.

K

Kumar

I had not realised that Amazon is selling the One in India as well, with Amazon Purchase Protection.

That nixes even a possible Sonos claim that the One is not officially released in India - what does that mean anyway, this "officially released" business? Amazon is a Sonos channel from much before it became a partner for Alexa, and it can't get more official than that.

R

Rohan Sharma

Listener

I have a Multi room setup with 4 speakers. On speaking to sonos over Twitter was assured integration will come soon as the official policy is to launch in every country that Alexa is offered.
Purchased echo based on that. Also in the initial days the Alexa app had a sonos icon which has now disappeared. Please make this a priority.
If possible then give us a timeline

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