Do the group/ swap functions work for stereo pair of Roams the same as single Roam? I can’t seem to get to work.
Answered
Play/Pause grouping and swap with Roam pair
Best answer by Ken_Griffiths
Grouping using the Play/Pause button works with Roams when stereo paired. I’ve just tested that here a few moments ago to confirm.
I seem to think that I have read online somewhere that the Roam Sound Swap feature was just aimed at standalone Roams, rather than a stereo pair - I just can’t recall where I read that 
? It also said that it did not swap with TV, or Bluetooth audio, and that some devices were not included like the Play:1 or Play:3 for example.
I presume the thinking behind this, is that ‘swap’ is mostly going to be used where a user picks up a Roam to take outside the home. Anyhow I could only get ‘Swap’ to work here when I unpaired my Roams FWIW, but maybe there’s a plan to extend this feature later to ‘paired’ Roams, perhaps?
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Grouping using the Play/Pause button works with Roams when stereo paired. I’ve just tested that here a few moments ago to confirm.
I seem to think that I have read online somewhere that the Roam Sound Swap feature was just aimed at standalone Roams, rather than a stereo pair - I just can’t recall where I read that ? It also said that it did not swap with TV, or Bluetooth audio, and that some devices were not included like the Play:1 or Play:3 for example.
I presume the thinking behind this, is that ‘swap’ is mostly going to be used where a user picks up a Roam to take outside the home. Anyhow I could only get ‘Swap’ to work here when I unpaired my Roams FWIW, but maybe there’s a plan to extend this feature later to ‘paired’ Roams, perhaps?
Hmm. I can do the press-to-group and see it “group” the roams to the other room playing music, but the speakers don’t actually play any sound. I’ve tried multiple times. Maybe something going on in my network.
Ok. Thnx. I’ll play around with the grouping. Makes sense on the swap feature.
- Play some music on any Sonos ‘Room’, other than the ‘stereo paired’ Roams.
- If you count the initial press of the play/pause button on the Roam as being the ‘first tone’, after about one second, or so, you will hear a second tone, let go the play/pause button immediately after hearing that tone and the ‘paired’ Roams should group with the other playing room and play the audio.
Hmm. I can do the press-to-group and see it “group” the roams to the other room playing music, but the speakers don’t actually play any sound. I’ve tried multiple times. Maybe something going on in my network.
You ‘perhaps’ just need to let go the play/pause button sooner - as soon as you hear the tone - if you hold the button for too long it may not group/play - there’s a bit of a ‘knack’ to it.
Make sure the Roam’s volume is not too low aswell, as you may not realise it’s playing once the Roam-pair have grouped with the ‘other’ playing room.
Posting this in case others can benefit.
After a couple of hours and two chats with Sonos techs I think we figured it out. As, I also had an issue grouping the stereo-paired Roams with the Arc main room while playing TV. Turns out the Arc runs on 2.4ghz wifi and the Roams are capable of 5ghz, as well as 2.4 (see Sonos specs). What’s likely happening is 1) when trying to group while playing from TV, the tv hdmi signal goes into the Arc and the Arc broadcasts that signal onto the wifi on the 2.4 channel and the paired Roams must be looking for signal on the 5ghz channel in stereo paired mode. 2) I assume something similar was happening when I was trying to group using the play/pause command. Interestingly, when I unpaired the Roams I can group them as separate devices to the Arc/TV so in stand alone mode they must be also listening on the 2.4Ghz.
The tech pointed me to instructions on how to set my router to be compatible so all the Sonos devices on the same 2.4 ghz signal, but I don’t plan to mess with our home wifi as like it as is and we have multiple people working from home and don’t want to mess it up.
The tech also mentioned that the Arc does have a 5ghz card in it. If that’s true, maybe it’s for future software-based enhancements or future-proofing as it’s not currently being used.
To clarify, my wifi broadcasts as a single SSID. I don’t have separate 2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi IDs to select from as configured.
Posting this in case others can benefit.
The tech also mentioned that the Arc does have a 5ghz card in it. If that’s true, maybe it’s for future software-based enhancements or future-proofing as it’s not currently being used.
The Arc’s 5Ghz adapter in Sonos HT products is used to communicate with its bonded surrounds and Sub in a timely manner. This faster wireless connection is used to keep the surround audio in sync with the main player.
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