I think we need to talk, it may not be working out, your not the easy going down to earth Speaker you told me. You are very high maintenance and difficult, why after all these years?

  • 30 December 2017
  • 8 replies
  • 1719 views

I have 13 speakers (14 if you count the five that if you plug in will kill the whole system) inclusive of the playbar, sub & sub - along with speakers in every bathroom and bedroom in this HUGE 1,200 Sq. Foot (being sarcastic). I have had them for at least five years, some newer than others. For the love of God, if I have to unplug the speakers one more time and replug them in again they are going out the window, and I will just chalk up my financial loss as a lesson the rest of the world can learn. First, Sonos support states it's my internet. I threw out Xfinity and got Fios (my Mbps is hovering at about 890 - 980 fast right...). Of course, after I ran around the house for hours with support on the phone up ladders down ladders, under here and over unplugging and then plugging back in. Resetting the modem, disconnecting the switch, unplug anything connected to the wifi, (this is a "dedicated Sonos Net" Mesh under boost -- well I think we are working with words that Sonos defines differently). Still, if I use more than five speakers at once well then drop here drop there. Out I went to spent MORE MONEY and picked up a Wifi System just for Sonos (seems Sonos requires a dedicated network to work more than four speakers ...what really?). Therefore, $390 later for Linksys Velop dedicated just to Sonos, so far so well last night went to bed happy. As if the Sonos techies were waiting for me to wake up, it was like clockwork, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop. Then volume up to full blast. Now, wait for it ---drop, drop one by one, finally I thought I heard someone yell "run forest" as I was trying to get to the player to stop the music in what seems to be the survival of the fittest speaker at full blast, and the player hits the fan. So yep, you guessed it unplug everything in the apartment. Therefore, wanted to be sure there was no "interference" (akin to the Airlines saying your flight is delayed...but they don't know why but you can just have a seat they will make an announcement (which such an announcement will only come hours later or when you head to the bathroom). I decided to ensure that nothing in my apartment was interfering with my Sonos. Therefore I unplug everything and anything plugged into electrical outlets. That was all but the wifi connection; yep you got it even the washer and dryer, the refrigerator the dishwasher, 23 surveillance cameras (no they are hardwired, good try Support), and the water heater. Lucky no one is on O2 or life support cause they too would have been unplugged, of course just for good measure, leave nothing to chance.

Which brings me to my overarching question: what could be so hard and challenging about connecting wireless speakers? I mean it's not like we are left scratching our heads on how we can get the 1.26M pound Airbus A380 (the double-decker mega jet) off the ground with about 400 people aboard, as a point of reference the Boeing 747 weighs in at approximately 404.6K pounds. Brilliant people out there perhaps we ran out of them, now that may indeed be plausible. Nevertheless, despite the wonders of the modern earth, I have called Support over and over, more than I call my mother, and yes, of course, submitted diagnostic after diagnostic, error report after error report. Going as far as taking matters into my own hands and trying to make sense out of the Matrix (Sonos Support Network Matrix), I know there has to be a golden nugget in there somewhere. Short of wiring every speaker to my router (which is not the reason I bought the speakers -- and it is not what they advertise ...(queue legal) "Sonos wants consumers to know they don't deserve crappy speakers, shared dirty earbuds or jerry-rigged speaker systems—the listening community can do better. To that end, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based seller of sound systems is debuting a new campaign, "You're Better Than This," which will begin Sept. 1. Created with 72andSunny, which also worked on Sonos' most recent holiday push, the new global effort includes TV, digital and out-of-home advertising.

A 60-second video begins with a clip from "I Love You, Man," the comedy starring Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones, as both actors strain to listen to tiny speakers. The video moves on to other terrible listening situations, like a speaker made of Solo cups, and a sound system hooked up to a roaming vacuum.

"There's a huge gap between how people feel about music and how they experience it at home," said Joy Howard, who joined the 14-year-old brand as chief marketing officer last year, in a statement. "We're using the weight of our brand and our unique position in the industry to create a better future for music." (http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/sonos-turns-volume-campaign-partnerships/305666/) I hope the future of music is audible if not is it music?

Are these "alternative facts"? After five years with Sonos speakers and spending on average about $300 per speaker (not including the Sub and Playbar) times 14 is $4,200 all in the hope to obtain a "better than that experience." I don't think Sonos meant the experience was to take me away from the music or was it? Nonetheless, I have spent most of my time, running up and down this townhouse plugging and unplugging (especially fun right before or during a dinner party). I would surely (as offered) pay Sonos to send a bright engineer (maybe Airbus can loan one out) to my Boston home and set this system straight, yet in the words of John Belushi, "but Noooooooo." That would be too easy. Surely a consumer like me would not want to miss out on the high-levels of frustration, and forced physical exercise to; plug, unplug, reset, pick up, put down, up ladder down ladder, up four flights down four flights, change out wires, move routers, and change internet providers, whew. Miss all this, hell no, that would be like Russian Roulet without the bullet, what fun is that.

At last my questions:
1. Did Sonos think only folks that lived out in the country with miles between them and their closest neighbor are the only ones to purchase a Sonos system? Admittedly, there would be little to no "interference" except of course perhaps caused by the mother of conspiracy theories... you know the one that starts with an N and ends with an A (hint: a gov't agency)). My thought is NO; they were targetting people just us the music lovers that would overspend on anything to bring that music home (like when Apple launched the iPod then the next one and next and next.. you get the idea). Afterall with Sono's new retail store in NYC -- unless they are gluttons for pain, NYC would be the last place to open. Talk about interference, mice and rates have wifi. I could not resist the fresh, exciting, modern advertising campaign promising to take the music lover to Nirvana. Perhaps Apple's HomePod could deal with "interference" and actually connect and play music consistently at the desired volume. This thought does leave me wondering -- what the hell? Is Sonos (conspiracy theory coming) linking me to a fake Support group made up of comedians in training? Preparing for a Broadway musical called "Driving Crazy, Resting at Profit" about an IT department that through its means of ill effect increases the levels of self-medicating customers and slowly takes back all of their equipment to show six digit profits.

2. If you look at all of the posts, pages of questions (especially where Sonos Support chimes in with "can you please submit a Diagnostic Report," rants, mine included. I think I have come to face the truth...I am not alone in my frustration or forced physical exercise of stair and ladder climbing, squats and backward twisting just to get my hot hands on that holy grail the potential of Music freedom the electrical cord leading from the speaker of all speakers, you know the one, it has a yellowish halo over it. Building up my hope, like the pressure of a balloon being inflated. "This is my time, this guy/gal at Sonos Support is going to invoke divine intervention and all the music angles and musicians past to rain down on my Boston apartment and Voila.... we are resetting, and the player is rebooting....waiting, waiting. Feeling a bit like Major Tom as my countdown continues, I select some music as my swan song; I chose Havana by Camila Cabello Featuring Young Thug. I am so ready; my heart was racing with nervousness, alive again is that 16-year-old boy on his first date, excitement fills my home with what can only be described as my moment, and like a needle scratching across vinyl, it all ended, geez. Not all is not wasted, I could not help but draw a connection with my feelings at that moment and those felt by many people. You know the one of disappointment, complete deflation, and almost shame that somehow you thought it was going to happen tonight. You picked the perfect restaurant, the right perfume, the candles and off you go running with your partner holding hands and you both fall back into bed (in slow motion of course). On the journey to an explosive time, when it comes crashing down that someone forgot to consume that little blue pill and the train comes to an abrupt stop in the middle of NOWHERE! Now, what? Don't know about you, but I am getting some, therefore, for guaranteed fulfillment, I met a couple of backups san blue pill, named Bose and the Bang. To cover the anticipated let down I had a couple of others and wanted to see how they bounced. While my poor Sonos ran to the bathroom (I think there were tears, dam I did not to mean to cause any embarrassment, it happens I know but every time?). All three of us were getting busy jumping from genre to genre even with the so-called Sonos Support interference all three of us were connected we got little funky, little hip-hop, downright punky and finally we paid our respects to Barry White.

There, you have it. My Sonos can't seem to take me there, yes I had some fun on the side and wow what I have been missing, connectivity, crisp music at volumes I set, controlled by a player that does not require resetting everytime we start. How was it, you ask? Of course, the music was big and yet seemed to be endless. Being honest big has never really excited me, now stamina has me wrapped, oh the hours on end without a break, hitting those high notes making me scream in excitement, yet bringing me back down with the lows transforming me to the middle of heaven. I know I am cheating, and I know its wrong after all we have been together for 5 or more years, and yes you are right, I knew from the start you had difficulties, and back then it was cute, and I loved you for being you, and I looked past it. But now, I need it and want it, and if you can't deliver, I have to move on. I know you met the American and Dane guy whom both seem so promising

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.

8 replies

Userlevel 1
So your frustrated, Huh? I have some of the same issues. Losing the wifi connection. Losing connection to my music library. You sure dumped a lot of money into something you are frustrated with. When they work it is amazing but would you put up with a vehicle, tool, computer, or spouse that failed you as much?
My situation may be opposite because I have just one Play 5 that has worked like a charm for years; got a Play 1 for Christmas and have since been stuck in the app for updates and request to add system, finally got the Play 5 to update and send diagnostic (hardwired to router) only to be told that my Play 5 needs to be replaced for $350. During this whole process I have yet to hear the Play 1. Have it hardwired to router as we speak and expect them to tell me I need a new bridge for $$. Merry Christmas!
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Your post made me smile and I appreciate your sense of humour - it must have been tested! :?

Your comment about no more than four players without a dedicated Wi-Fi channel is not what I have experienced. This may make you feel better, it may make you feel worse but...

I live in an old house in Wales (Original part was built in 1600), walls were thick then! I don't think I have an internal wall less than 2ft thick, and they are solid stone, which doesn't make for great Wi-Fi coverage but my system listed in my signature works fine with SonosNet - sorry:P

Now, in some areas I have invested in Ethernet cable connections because of drop outs but overall everything is good. Do you think your apartment has a steel structure and this it is creating some form of Faraday's Shield? (Not that there is much you can do about it, apart from run Ethernet cables throughout your apartment!)
Sometimes it’s worth looking at the basics and not the overall bigger picture.

I would try the following ...

Get a PC/laptop and install a WiFi scanner, such as INSSIDER and scan your waves around the home and see what WiFi channels the neighbours are using.

Next set the router 2.4ghz WiFi band to a unique channel that is not in use by others in your locality.

As an example my neighbours mostly use channels 11 and 6 ... so I have set my own router to channel 9

Assuming you use SonosNet ... with one device only cabled to your router, set the SonosNet channel in the Sonos App Settings to something different ... in my case I use channel 1... so it’s not the same as my router and not the same as my neighbours WiFi channel.

The Sonos device that is plugged into the router needs to be at least 4 feet away from the router... I personally use a Sonos Boost which is a good six feet away from my router.

Next switch on the next nearest Sonos speaker and then the next etc. till all are powered up and online. Check the "about box" in the app and make sure all speakers are running on SonosNet. They will have 'WM: 0' at the end of the details for each Sonos device.

Then ensure your WiFi credentials are removed from the Sonos App ... goto “Settings/Advanced Settings/Wireless Setup” to reset and remove any stored WiFi credentials ... they are no longer needed when the speakers are all running on SonosNet.

If problems continue, then it’s probably interference, or obstacles in the vicinity of the speakers... so it’s then time to look at those things. Keep the speakers away from other wireless devices, including printers, DECT (Cordless) phones etc... if there are obstacles in the way like beams and thick walls, then you may have to cable the Sonos device to overcome the obstruction in its way.

I would try to not bother with things like powerline adapters or WiFi repeaters or extenders as in my experience they can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help.. and cabling a speaker is much better than relying on such adapters or extenders.

The only other thing after this is the speed of the internet connection ... the highest for home use in the U.K. is virginmedia who offer 200Mbits/s in many areas and 300Mbits/s in a few areas.

I use their 200Mbits/s service and it adequately supports playing streaming music on all my 12 Sonos Speakers at the same time when they are grouped together.

The Sonos Matrix, which can be seen via a web browser at http://(YOUR-SPEAKER-IP-ADDRESS):1400/support/review .. should, in an ideal world, have all its squares coloured green... but that is in a perfect world. The colour red in the matrix is not so good, but a speaker may still work.. and if it works, then my advice is to leave it.

Finally, there is a need to review the WiFi networks in the locality from time to time, using the WiFi scanner software, as you may find your neighbours will change their channels and/or router. I tend to perform a scan every 3 months or so and (if necessary) alter my own WiFi and SonosNet channels.

One more very important thing... once everything is working just fine, I strongly recommend you reserve the IP addresses of all your Sonos devices in your routers DHCP RESERVATION TABLE... this ensures the Sonos devices gets the exact same IP address next time, even after they are switched off, or rebooted.

My Sonos devices are all reserved at a local set of IP addresses beginning at 192.168.1.200 and above.

Reserving the IP addresses in the router table has ensured that my Sonos speakers do not ever cause any IP conflicts on my home network and I would recommend everyone should perhaps consider doing this step with their own router, as it can often prevent many problems, particularly following system reboots, post Sonos updates.

Anyhow, the above is my suggestions to try, before even considering contacting Sonos Support.
Badge
I just had trouble hardwiring 3 Sonos:CONNECT. Two were daisy chained to the port in the back of the router, and the 3rd was running on the Sonos wireless network. It worked, but I wanted to bring the 3rd onto a hard wired network too. I ran a a new hardwire line to the 3rd Sonos:CONNECT, and tested the network line with a computer. The line worked, however, as soon as I plugged in the 3rd Sonos to this new line, the whole network went down. No WiFi or connectivity to the internet anywhere.

I'm about to ask about this on a different thread, but I suspect what happened is the 3rd Sonos:Connect was plugged into the back of the router, not a daisy chain to a Sonos, and I think the Sonos have a high network demand between them that swamped my old router. When I reconnected this new line to also daisy chain from the other Sonos and not directly from the router, it worked.

This is still a work in progress to figure out, but maybe your hardwire router is involved too. Hope you get it sorted out...
I just had trouble hardwiring 3 Sonos:CONNECT. Two were daisy chained to the port in the back of the router, and the 3rd was running on the Sonos wireless network. It worked, but I wanted to bring the 3rd onto a hard wired network too. I ran a a new hardwire line to the 3rd Sonos:CONNECT, and tested the network line with a computer. The line worked, however, as soon as I plugged in the 3rd Sonos to this new line, the whole network went down. No WiFi or connectivity to the internet anywhere.

I'm about to ask about this on a different thread, but I suspect what happened is the 3rd Sonos:Connect was plugged into the back of the router, not a daisy chain to a Sonos, and I think the Sonos have a high network demand between them that swamped my old router. When I reconnected this new line to also daisy chain from the other Sonos and not directly from the router, it worked.

This is still a work in progress to figure out, but maybe your hardwire router is involved too. Hope you get it sorted out...
Your guess at an explanation is incorrect. Sonos bandwidth requirements are fairly small. Please see that other thread.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Jim your experiencing a network storm because your router is having an STP issue.

See this other thread today on https://en.community.sonos.com/community-feedback-229090/hardwiring-sonos-connect-takes-down-network-6805834/index1.html#post16226341
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Ah hey that’s your thread too