Does the Boost show in the app if you wire it to your router, just for initial setup?

This is a second Boost to be used to extend SonosNet coverage. My original Boost is still connected to my router. There’s no indication in any Sonos documentation I could find that you have to connect a second Boost that will be used only wirelessly as a signal booster to the router for initial setup. 

The original, router-connected Boost still shows up in the app.

I understand the purpose of the 2nd Boost. My question still stands.

I appreciate the question, and I’ve answered it as well as I can. I haven’t attached the additional Boost to my router for initial setup for two reasons: there is already a Boost attached to the router, and there’s nothing in the setup instructions saying a second Boost needs to be attached to the router for setup. (I followed the standard Add Product instructions.) If it does, that’s new information.

If you are only going to follow the setup instructions, why are you here?

To see if I missed any steps because the setup instructions that came with the Boost, and that are online, are sparse. Thanks for the reply.

A common troubleshooting step if a speaker does not appear on WiFi is to wire it temporarily to complete setup, even if another device is already wired.

Have you checked your WiFi meets the system requirements?

https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/sonos-system-requirements

I’d tell you to plug it into your Ethernet too.

Sonos gear has a lot of stuff that either is not in the instructions or that is in there but is wrong or misleading.

Thanks for the tip. I’ll just have to hope Sonos isn’t confused into thinking I’m replacing the original Boost with a new Boost. Would you first disconnect the existing Boost before temporarily connecting the new Boost to the router for setup, or would you instead plug the new Boost into the first Boost with an Ethernet cable to force it to be recognized for setup?

WiFi does meet the system requirements -- thanks for the link. I already have 13 Sonos speakers connected, plus the original Boost. So the second Boost is more a belt-and-suspenders backup, which may not be worth the hassle to connect. But I might try the direct Ethernet connection you suggested to see if I can get it added without screwing up anything else. Thanks.

I’ll join the pack: Temporarily wire BOOST while you set it up. Since I I’m not sure exactly what you’ve done so far, I recommend that you Factory Reset the new BOOST before continuing with its setup.

You could wire another Sonos and power down the first Boost. That might make things easier.

This is a waste of time and money. If the system is working fine then it is 99.9% certain that the second Boost will be totally ignored in the SonosNet mesh, if you ever succeed in adding it.

You should send it back.

PS. If you were having problems with your system it would only be 99% certain that the second Boost would be ignored.

@Seattlenerd,
Leave your old boost wired and the Sonos system up and running - make sure you can see your existing system in the S2 App. Now wire the reset Boost to the router (do not wire it to anything else, like the switch on your existing Boost)… with it wired direct to the router get it to its ‘flashing green’ (ready to setup) state and do not press any buttons on the Boost.

Now goto ‘Settings/System/Add Product’ on your mobile controller S2 App, which must meet these system requirements.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-app-requirements

Follow the on-screen instructions to setup the Boost and add it to your system - you can later use it away from the router un-cabled, but if not positioned where it’s actually required by the system in your Home it will ‘highly likely’ be bypassed altogether by your devices, if there is already a successful path back to your original Boost, but see what your Sonos matrix shows when it’s been setup and put in place.

In fact, I should change my "the second Boost will be ignored" to "the second Boost will be ignored or simply replace a speaker that is already relaying the signal"  

I wasn’t aware of the Sonos matrix that @Ken_Griffiths mentioned in passing, so I searched for it and checked it. Everything on my SonosNet network from the wired Boost is green or yellow. Based on what (little) I know about the matrix, I doubt I could do better by adding a second Boost, as @John B said. Even the speakers on the opposite side of the 3,000 square foot house on a different level from the Boost are no worse than yellow.

I’m cutting my losses in time and dollars and sending the extra Boost back. 

I really appreciate the setup tips everyone suggested and I’ll keep them in mind for any other Sonos products I add. As a long-time Sonos user who has stuck to the basics, I haven’t had to dig into the tech backend much, so all of this is new to me and helpful. Thanks.

@Seattlenerd 

Good decision.  I think the name "Boost" doesn't help and is misleading. It doesn't boost anything. Wiring a  Boost is what creates SonosNet.  And any Sonos speaker or player can do the same job and all can act as mesh repeaters.

The Boost replaced the Bridge and that was a much better name, as the cable connection bridges the WiFi and SonosNet portions of your LAN, ie it allows data to flow between them.

If you check the Sonos store you may only find the Boost listed under “Last Chance” sales.

Sonos might be giving us a hint.

That was one reason why I bought the Boost when I did, thinking it was going away. Now I suspect either Sonos is replacing it with something else (as it did Bridge with Boost) that might work better or offer more features, or it’s seen as non-essential either by Sonos or its customers. I find the Boost I still have useful to set up SonosNet in a spot I don’t want a Sonos speaker, near my router. That may be an increasingly rare need. Hard to say.

Hi @Seattlenerd 

Thanks for your post!

A second Boost must be added to an existing system while ethernet-connected. Once setup is complete, the ethernet cable can be removed.

Please note that such a configuration will only help in very particular circumstances - in all likelihood, a wireless Boost will not help matters. It will only do so when there is a large physical gap between two sections of the Sonos system that the Boost can bridge.

I hope this helps.