Contributor II

When will Alexa "Routines" become available?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
May 28, 2019
67 replies
12558 views

I love my Sonos Beam w/ Alexa, but it really sucks that a lot of baseline Alexa functionality doesn't work w/ Sonos. For example, I want to set a Routine that shuts off my TV, dims the lights, and plays Jazz music from Pandora at volume 10. I can easily setup this Routine on my iPhone, but Alexa on Sonos doesn't support it at all, which is incredibly annoying.

Does your engineering team have a roadmap or timeline to adopt more of the standard or baseline Alexa functionality, like Routines?

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D

danellisuk

Lyricist III

I would say to call their support center directly and just ask them for a reference number so you know it has been logged as an issue.

https://www.sonos.com/contact/contact-options

C

crwh05

Lyricist I

Has his been logged as an issue yet?

Very frustrating that the features kind of work but then as @Kirk33 says you always get the lecture first.

E

Enrvukuk

Lyricist III

Until this is resolved I’ll keep telling my friends to avoid Sonos. Two friends have gone elsewhere so far and I’ll keep telling others.

the product is hobbled because they don’t prioritis defect fixing.

UKMedia

Until this is resolved I’ll keep telling my friends to avoid Sonos. Two friends have gone elsewhere so far and I’ll keep telling others.

the product is hobbled because they don’t prioritis defect fixing.

This isn’t a true defect if Sonos didn’t design the product to have this functionality, more of a design limitation. However, what is the functionality you are looking for? As per my post earlier my Routines output Audio to Sonos devices without issue.

Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)

E

Enrvukuk

Lyricist III

Until this is resolved I’ll keep telling my friends to avoid Sonos. Two friends have gone elsewhere so far and I’ll keep telling others.

the product is hobbled because they don’t prioritis defect fixing.

This isn’t a true defect if Sonos didn’t design the product to have this functionality, more of a design limitation. However, what is the functionality you are looking for? As per my post earlier my Routines output Audio to Sonos devices without issue.

The beam does not operate as an Alexa enabled device should and as other non-Amazon Alexa enabled devices do. You might want to get into a semantic debate about whether it’s a defect or not, but that’s what I am calling it and as someone in Product Management, I’d accept that terminology if it was my product.

I certainly won’t be recommending anybody else buys Sonos.

I want to run a routine without it telling me it can’t do it.

UKMedia

I’m just trying to help people on the forum, I’ve no axe to grind one way or the other.

And I’m not going to get into a competition on who has the most relevant experience with relation to IT or Product Management after 35 years in the business.

Most people buy Sonos products because of the ability to play great music in a multi-room environment. I do find it strange that such a minor issue within a very narrow focused use case can generate such emotion but this obviously is a make or break issue for you. Sorry I couldn’t help.

Remember: Sometimes Red Wine helps :)

E

Enrvukuk

Lyricist III

I’m just trying to help people on the forum, I’ve no axe to grind one way or the other.

And I’m not going to get into a competition on who has the most relevant experience with relation to IT or Product Management after 35 years in the business.

Most people buy Sonos products because of the ability to play great music in a multi-room environment. I do find it strange that such a minor issue within a very narrow focused use case can generate such emotion but this obviously is a make or break issue for you. Sorry I couldn’t help.

Who defines what constitutes a minor issue or a very narrow focus? Routines are becoming a core service in smart speakers.

I appreciate you may feel you are trying to help, but by downplaying the importance of the issue on a Sonus forum you are doing exactly the opposite.

B

Boyley

Lyricist III

Exactly this. It is false advertising to state that these sonos devices are certified for use with Alexa.

They cannot do routines nor drop in - two of the main benefits of owning an alexa based system. Ridiculous and i wish i had never purchased my sonos enable devies especially now you could have a simple Amazon Echo and set the default outputted speaker to one of your sonos’!!!

J

jpoeppelman1

Enthusiast I

Sonos, any update?

X

Xcntrk

Contributor I

To further add to @mfowmes comment above. These steps allow for the playing of music at a specific time or via a voice command:

1 Open the Alexa App and click on the menu 3 bars in the top;
2 Select Routines in the Menu;
3 Click the ‘+’ sign in the top right corner of the App;
4 Click ‘When this happens’ and then ‘Voice’;
5 Enter ‘audio test’ – it’s still best to not use capitals;
6 Click ‘Add action’ and then click ‘Play’;
7 Type in ‘Ed Sheeran On [Sonos Room Name]’;
8 Click ‘From’ and then select a source;
9 If you need a ‘Timer’ please click ‘Set Time’;
10 Click ‘Save’

This will now work via the command ‘Alexa, Audio Test’

This worked perfect for me!

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