Unable to connect to Sonos in App but system is working

  • 14 January 2021
  • 15 replies
  • 2699 views

So this is very odd.  I just got a full Sonos Arc system with the sub and rear SL1's.  So I get everything connected in the app and then plug the arc into my TV's ARC port via HDMI and it's working fine.  I watched a little bit of John Wick 3 on Vudu to hear how it sounds with the rears and it's great.  Turned on my PS5, same thing, sounds fantastic, but I can't use my app now.  When I start my app it keeps telling me Unable to login to Sonos now. 

It was working a little bit after the initial install, but oddly separated my rear SL's into living room 2 instead of my main living room with the arc and sub.  I brought them over from that room to the main living room, then it said my rear left wasn't connected, even though it was and working, so I tried to disconnect and re-configure them.  Let's just say it didn't work and then I was just getting sound out of 1 SL and getting a blinking white light on the other.

Fast forward a few hours.  Wife had to go to work, and I had to take kids to grandma's for some back up with all my kids.  I came home to take a quick shower, then was going to trouble shoot some more.  Turned on Vudu and boom, all speakers were connected and working again (wtf?).  So its all good now right?  Nope, my sonos app still won't connect to anything and all my options are greyed out.

I'm at a loss for what's happening.  Tech support is closed wanted to get some ideas from you guys.  Sorry for wall of text.  Again, it's working, but app is not so I can't configure or tinker with anything.


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15 replies

Userlevel 7

Is your phone connected to the same WiFi as your speakers? Have you tried unplugging your router for a minute or two? 

Yes my phone is.  I haven't unplugged it recently to try that.  Now question on top of this.  Should I be able to use the app and tinker while it's being used on the TV?  None of my speakers or products lights are on yet they are all working.  Watching Cobra Kai right now and it's fine, just no app working.

Userlevel 7

Yes, you should be able to adjust settings in the app while the speakers are in use.

Do you have any other Sonos speakers? Are you able to connect any single speaker directly to your router or network with an ethernet cable?

I just have the arc, sub and rear SL's.  My baby girl is in my living room sleeping so I can't really move stuff right now to connect to ethernet, but maybe I'll try that tomorrow.  

Like I really love this system, how it sounds and it being wireless, but these trouble shooting problems are really starting to irk me, especially for how much I spent.

Will I need to plug each one in ethernet individually?  Or just do the arc and hopefully the whole system is recognized?

Userlevel 7

Try unplugging your router for about a minute first. If that doesn’t help, try connecting the Arc directly to the network with an ethernet cable. Connecting one Sonos speaker with an ethernet cable to your network will create a SonosNet mesh network that usually improves network performance for all of your speakers. Unfortunately you cannot use the Sub or rear surrounds as the single connected speaker.

Here’s more info about a wired setup: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3209?language=en_US

Oh that's fine.  I will get an extra ethernet cable tomorrow, that won't be an issue at all.  I'll unplug my router first for a few minutes, then I'll plug in my arc via ethernet as well.

 

I'll let you know how it goes.  Thanks again Guitar for the support.  Appreciate it.

I have a similar problem. My sonos S1 system is active: I can interact with it from my desktop PC (wired) my macbook air (wifi) and my android phone (wifi). But, suddenly, my spouse cannot access it from her macbook air (wifi) nor her iphone (wifi).

 

Tried rebooting her mac/iphone with no luck. Both the S1 iphone app and the S1 Mac app (installed from Sonos’ support website) tell us that it cannot find an existing system.

 

Both I and my wife use the same WiFi access point/SSID/password. What could possibly be the problem?? The SSDP discovery works for me but not her??

Much more likely that your mesh network has her device connected to a different subnet. It’s one of the reasons you’ll see many of us users suggest that Sonos doesn’t always play very well with various mesh devices, depending on how they work, everything can be fine, or it can operate as you’re experiencing.

Try wiring one Sonos device to the hub of your network, wait a couple of minutes for the Sonos to recognize the change, then test. I suspect it should work for both of you.

If it’s untenable to leave one of your current devices connected to your router in your cutprrent environment, you can substitute a BOOST, as I have in my home.

There’s more data in these links as well:

the wired and wireless modes FAQ

the remove Wifi data FAQ.

 

Oh, another thought. There are a small number of routers that can have challenges in passing data between 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz incoming signals, so if your other device was on one band, and the Sonos and the other devices on the other band, it’s possible there might be an issue there, too. 

Oh, another thought. There are a small number of routers that can have challenges in passing data between 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz incoming signals, so if your other device was on one band, and the Sonos and the other devices on the other band, it’s possible there might be an issue there, too. 

Thank you, Bruce. That is a fair point. In my case the wifi AP is downstream from the actual router so routing is orthogonal to the wifi channel being used. Besides, my phone/mac are using the same 5ghz band as my wife’s phone & mac. If sonos-->wifi-->router-->wifi-->me is working then it should be working for her.

Much more likely that your mesh network has her device connected to a different subnet. It’s one of the reasons you’ll see many of us users suggest that Sonos doesn’t always play very well with various mesh devices, depending on how they work, everything can be fine, or it can operate as you’re experiencing.

Try wiring one Sonos device to the hub of your network, wait a couple of minutes for the Sonos to recognize the change, then test. I suspect it should work for both of you.

If it’s untenable to leave one of your current devices connected to your router in your cutprrent environment, you can substitute a BOOST, as I have in my home.

There’s more data in these links as well:

the wired and wireless modes FAQ

the remove Wifi data FAQ.

 

Thank you for this. In my case I have verified that she is on the same subnet & vlan as I am. I have verified that she has firewall line of sight between the sonos devices from her machine via ping and http://sonosdevice:1400/tools.

It just seems that SSDP discovery is blocked for her but not me (on the same subnet/vlan).

It might be helpful to folks more savvy in networking if you were to provide model numbers / brands of your network devices, as well. I’m at my limit here. 

It might be helpful to folks more savvy in networking if you were to provide model numbers / brands of your network devices, as well. I’m at my limit here. 

  • Unifi Security Gatway (USG 3Pro; firewall/router)
  • Unify Nano Access Point (WiFi AP)
  • Various Unifi managed switches

System configured with multiple subnets and vlans. Vlans are aligned on subnets (eg. 192.168.10.x is the “guest” vlan).

The USG has mDNS & SSDP proxies enabled allowing both protocols to span all subnets/vlans.

My mac & android phone work fine over wifi 5ghz band. My wife’s mac & iphone fail to work over the same wifi 5ghz band. All devices are on the same vlan/subnet.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Have you tried switching off “wifi assist” and/or “private address”?

Have you tried switching off “wifi assist” and/or “private address”?

Good catch. However disabling both wifi assist and private address did not help. I fear I am going to have to break out a network sniffer and track discovery requests and their subsequent responses.