Skip to main content
mathis
Contributor I
October 23, 2017
Question

Sonos One Alexa skill language problems

  • October 23, 2017
  • 18 replies
  • 4173 views
Hello!

I got my Sonos One speaker this morning and went through the setup process. The initial speaker setup went smooth and as usual. When I tried to activate Alexa however, I was able to complete the first two steps with my German Amazon account. However, I couldn't successfully add the Sonos skill. The Alexa app prompted me to change the language of the skills to German via a link. This link leads to the setting screen inside the same app where no such setting can be found. Because I was stuck, I tried to reset everything and try it once more.
Therefore I then went to the German Amazon Website and deregistered the Speaker from the devices list where Amazon keeps record of Kindles, Echo devices and more.
Now I am stuck in the skill activation screen (third step) and Sonos doesn't seem to register that my device is no longer associated with my Amazon account.
      This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

      18 replies

      mathisAuthor
      Contributor I
      October 23, 2017
      After doing a reset of the speaker, creating a US Amazon account and setting everything to English, it works. It seems like languages other than English are only supported by Amazon Echo products right now.
        pikenw
        Lyricist I
        October 26, 2017
        Hi Mathis. Thanks for sharing. I have the same problem. I will try your solution later tonight. Just a question: after creating an Amazon US account, are you able to still order things from Amazon Germany?
        mathisAuthor
        Contributor I
        October 26, 2017
        I haven’t tried ordering anything and probably won’t try it in the future. I'd guess that what I did restricts orders to Amazon.us.
        DaxRider
        Lyricist I
        October 27, 2017
        I have the exact same problem.
        Byzatine
        Contributor II
        November 10, 2017
        same here
        hannesb
        Lyricist I
        November 10, 2017
        Same here, plus I tried changing my German Amazon account's language to English which still doesn't work.
        Micheled
        Lyricist III
        November 10, 2017
        I have the same problem. Echo already has problems with downloading skills in German when set to English. Sonos one has even more problems since it's not possible to set the language. I will probably return it.
        Micheled
        Lyricist III
        November 10, 2017
        At the moment I actually have both the devices and the things are even more strange with the Alexa app constantly popping out "something went wrong"
        Micheled
        Lyricist III
        November 11, 2017
        Hi again. I have finally found an answer to all my problems:

        - To change the Language of Alexa, you have to do it in the Sonos app, in "room settings", under "voice services". Echo has this setting directly in the Alexa app. However, it is not possible with sonos to change the wake word.

        - When changing the language to English, in Germany, the skills tab will not work. To download skills use the German language and set it back to english.

        - Most importantly, from the Sonos website:
        Not supported:
        Use voice to group rooms or move the music to another room
        Calling, drop-in and messaging
        Sports Update and Flash Briefing
        Playing eBooks
        Setting reminders
        Receiving notifications
        Changing the Sonos One wake word

        Sonos One is basically using Alexa just to control music. This is a huge limitation for me that I bought it to replace Echo.

        As a result, Sonos One is going back to the shop. It's a pity, considering the quality of the speaker.
        Kumar
        November 11, 2017
        Why not disable Alexa on the speaker, pick up a Dot and use that with it for the time it takes Sonos to get all its act together. When they do, you can probably still find another use for the Dot.
        Or use the Echo you have in this way.
        Show more replies
        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement