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Question

Alarm randomly cutting out

  • March 27, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 17 views

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Hi Guys.

I have about 8 Sonos speakers in various locations around the house. Of current concern is a Play1 in the Master bedroom. I set an alarm on this speaker with the S1 app before it was called the S1 app - probably about 10 years ago if not more. 6 days a week (I have Saturdays off) it streams a local radio station from 6:30 am for two and a half hours - so it shuts off at 9 when everyone has either gone to work, or should be up in the office if they are working from home that day. If I hear it stop, I know I’m late into my home office. For more than a decade it has worked like clockwork.

2 or 3 months ago it started shutting off randomly. Its supposed to run for 150 minutes, but might go for 45, might go for 10, this morning it only went for about 2 minutes before cutting off. Sometimes it substitutes the stream for the chime when the radio cuts out (like this morning) but usually it doesn’t - just stops. The one thing it hasn’t done in the last three month is just run for the full 150 minutes. Every day it cuts off prematurely, and I haven’t been able to identify a pattern in how long it runs.

I rarely ever use the app. Had to go and charge up an old iPad just to check if the alarm was still set as it should have been (and it was) as I don’t even have the app installed on my phone. I quit using the app after getting so frustrated with the relentless upgrad-a-thon that inevitably broke things time after time. I have the Sonos integration installed in my Home Assistant server which controls 99.9% of everything the speakers ever do and has been working beautifully for years. But I can’t set up an alarm through Home Assistant as it can only enable or disable an alarm set up through the app - which is primarily why the alarm setting has not been touched in years.

My speakers use the old mesh wireless link - not wifi - and the speaker with the RJ45 network connection is in the next room only about 5 meters away from the speaker in the bedroom that is exhibiting this behaviour. The Play1 sits on top of the wardrobe where nothing has moved in nearly a decade. There is a non-smart TV and PVR up there, but neither of these have been used much in years (generally only if someone is sick in bed.) The only reason I haven’t taken the PVR away is because it has a useful clock on its screen that I can see from in bed. Nothing gets charged anywhere near the Play1 to generate any interference.

I have a 500 meg fiber broadband connection, and the Play1 with the network plug is connected to a gigabit switch fed directly from the modem so bandwidth shouldn’t be an issue.

Clearly something has changed - but I’m at a loss to identify even a plausible candidate.

 

Anyone have any clues?

 

Cheers.

3 replies

Airgetlam
  • March 27, 2026

Not sure I understand your statement of ‘ the old mesh wireless link ‘ , do you mean SonosNet, since at least one speaker is wired to the router? If so, SonosNet is just a variation of regular WiFi, and is equally susceptible to forms of wifi interference , not only internal to your home, but from external changes as well (think neighbors). 

My guess is the speakers are losing connection, which is why they’re stopping playing, or just playing a chime. 

At the least, I’d recommend a fairly simple network refresh, by powering off all your Sonos devices by unplugging them completely, then performing a reboot of your router. Wait two minutes, then plug back in your Sonos devices, wait another two minutes, and test.

 If this behavior continues, I would recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it. Don’t post the resulting diagnostic number here.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the Support staff, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.


AjTrek1
  • March 28, 2026

Try changing the start time by 5 minutes before the current start time. You’ll have to adjust the play time to coincide with the previous stop time.


buzz
  • March 28, 2026

For any adjustments or diagnostic submission you’ll need an S1 controller. As you install the controller there will be a forced update.