Hello ​@NightSkyWalker, welcome to the Sonos Community!

I’ve marked this thread as a feature request and forwarded it to the appropriate teams for consideration.

Thank you for the post and feedback, it is much appreciated!

Thank you! Just to stress how much urgent this is, yesterday I had a total network fallure due to a loop cused by the subwoofer. RSTP should *really* be the minimum standard for each and *every* consumer device. Let alone premium devices like Sonos’. And, from what I see, this is a common request since years now.

If the managed switches are managed correctly (ie configured), Sonos is not a nightmare.

https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/configure-stp-settings-to-work-with-sonos

There will probably be specific guide(s) for particular switch online and how to configure if using Sonos in a wired configuration.

Unfortunatelly they are. Especially on Unifi systems. Especially if you want to have both wired and wireless sonos devices. Even if everything is managed really well.

In my case, I really want to have my home theatre to be wired, while other Sonos to work on WiFi, in order to place them in specific sposts in the house. I read a lot of guidelines (including this one), but no chances. 

This said, I think the bottom line here is that Sonos uses incredibly outdated (and not eve standard) STP (dating back to when Windows XP was brand new, think about it!) even in newer, high end devices. This becomes a big drag for everything else in the network and, in my opinion, is unacetable from a company that puts thier communication focus on their “software quality” and that puts a quite high pricetag on their devices.

So, please: get this sorted out. Quickly. 

Sonos does work on UniFi switches, if the network is correctly configured. There are many guides that can help you, eg:

https://github.com/IngmarStein/unifi-sonos-doc

If you have a correctly configured WiFi, there is no good reason to attach the speakers to network via Ethernet, unless high density in a rack or similar.

Yeah, I get what you mean. Sonos can be a real pain on managed switches without proper RSTP support. It’s crazy that in 2025 they still don’t have it - it would solve so many network loop and discovery issues. I really hope Sonos listens to feedback like this. A simple firmware update adding RSTP would make life so much easier for people running more advanced home networks. You’re definitely not the only one frustrated about it.

Again: read everything. Agian: implemented this one also. Again, no chances. 

And agian: it is not normal that there are so many guides to configure smoething that could work out of the box if only Sonos’ high end devices would be programmed on this millenium standards. Could we just agree on this?

I may add: sure there is a good reason to wire: I have children and I dont want to be, litterally, immersed in WiFi signals when they are enjoing their tv time. Look silly? Maybe. But i feel it is not my fault, since Sonos offers wired alternative (eighter you get it right or you don't offer it, in my opinion). And this could, in future, lead me to reconsider Sonos alltogheter. (Had and hard time to stick to the brand during the recent app-gate).

Thank you. Maybe writing to the new CEO would work? ;)

If you don’t want Wi-Fi in your TV room, then you will need a fully wired setup. Follow the guide here:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64d25b2ad1525118c018cbb3/t/67d08e530115140fb1f951be/1741721172373/01_TheGuildFieldGuides_SonosNetworkingBestPractices_Nov2024.pdf

You will need to go into another room where there is Wi-Fi coverage to use the Sonos App.

You clearly don’t get the point. Let me sum it up for you:

1. I have WiFi in my house that can reach the TV room, but I don’t want to use it for Sonos home theatre’s devices. 
2. I do have other Sonos device working on WiFi (also because some of them don’t even have Ethernet). 
3. Manage both wired and wireless Sonos devices is a nightmare on any (slightly modern) managed network due to 25 year’s old STP protocol still used by Sonos firmware.
4. This problem would be solved if Sonos decide to update their STP protocol.
5. Thus my request, hereby, to Sonos to get up to their presumed and advertised “eccellent software” standard.
6. Sonos, implement RSTP in a next firmware release. Thank you.

I do get your point, you don’t want Wi-Fi in your TV room.

If you correctly configure your network switches you can achieve this, whilst you wait for Sonos to make the ‘urgent’ feature request you have asked for.

Followed every procedure I could find to “correctly configure” my netwrok (as you say) and I’m here to tell you that they simply don’t work. 

I’m not saying that Sonos are bad produts, but that in this case - based on my (and not just my experience), the workaround is not working anymore. Simply it gets your network to crash down very badly.

So, please, could we just try not to ignore it, just by implying it’s user’s fault? Sonos already had a rough year by doing that.

​@NightSkyWalker, STP is critical only for the SonosNet. As SonosNet is being phased out, it is currently unrealistic to wait for Sonos to upgrade to RSTP; unless Sonos decides to develop SonosNet 3.0 after all.

I believe STP and RSTP are provided by the Linux kernel. If this is correct for Sonos then implementing it may require a move to a newer kernel. We saw that with the SMB protocol issues. I haven't dug into the Sonos open-source pages in years but that is where one should probably start If they wish to identify the magnitude of the problem.

Not supported by the current kernel is a big issue.

Supported but not enabled is much less of a problem.

Seeing Sonos on a current, Long Term Supported kernel would be great, for users and Sonos core developers. 

Thank you. If this is the case, probably the feature request would be: give us an option to disable SonosNet alltogheter, since there is no need in a WiFi covered room.

That said, hope they will still support and develop SonosNet devices...

Early SONOS units reportedly don’t have enough RAM to support a kernel capable of running SMBv2. It might be similar for RSTP.  At some point SONOS may be able to include RSTP for the newer units.

That makes the option to disable Sonosnet activation when. Ethernet is connected look like a good alternative.

​@NightSkyWalker, Turn off the WiFi module on each wired Sonos unit.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/disable-or-enable-wi-fi-on-your-sonos-products

Thank you for the hint. Unfortunatelly this also doesn’t work (anymore). My setup was already like that: no WiFi for wired units (the one composing the home theatre). This doesn’t work anymore, and since month now I’m constantly having ports blocked due to STP problems on wifi-less units. 

As you can see, Unifi is quite clear right now on Sonos: Best Practices for Sonos Devices – Ubiquiti Help Center (either all wired or all wireless).

I bet Sonos Beam 2, Sonos Mini Sub and Sonos One could not be considered “old”. (Beam rev2 and mini Sub are even still produced).

Sonos doesn't seem interested in having model specific kernels, having onny one each for S1 and S2. So until we see something different announced we probably shouldn't expect that to happen.

There may be some tuning of user-space components on a model by model basis, I think music library indexing is, not sure about anything else.

I use Ubiquiti for my network and I have no issues with Sonos. I have older and newer Sonos devices and some are wired and some are not. In the past year or so, I switched from STP to RSTP and it didnt affect my system. 

Do you have more than one managed switch in your network? If so, make sure the Priority is set correctly for each switch

I have my Arc hardwired, but my Sub and surrounds are connected to it wirelessly. I have a Play 1, Amp, and Five hard wired with a Connect and a Play 5 Gen2 wireless. Grouping, Local Library, and HD audio all work all day long.

New Sonos devices have to be compatible with older Sonos devices. Many users have Sonos devices in their systems that span decades.

Your use case is very specific, where you want to use wireless speakers but don’t want Wi-Fi signals in your TV room. If you revisit the guides I posted, you will be able to achieve this.

Interesting, thank you. Yes, more switches, all set to correct priority. So, no STP warning and port blocked? This was also my experience, since this did not work anymore.

I have had an issue with Sonos crashing my network when I removed the Bridge and used hardwired a speaker instead. I did a little research and back then there was a Cisco engineer who wanted to have a large Sonos system that was fully wired. I followed his configuration and everything worked!

Sonos adopted his configuration and its is a simplified version on their support site.

I have also had Universal Remote Control (URC) DMS audio in my home. They make a MAC filtering switch specifically for their amps, because without it their amps will also crash your network.

Does Sonos need to make a switch? I don’t think so. If your settings are correct, your system should run fine without bringing down your network. 

You may find this page helpful:

https://github.com/IngmarStein/unifi-sonos-doc