No. Just no. These folks you spoke with are not well trained, and don’t understand how the system works. The bandwidth you use to download a single stream of music does not increase with the number of speakers in use, it’s still the same stream of music, and is split inside your home by the Sonos, as long as you’re using the Sonos ‘grouping’ function. If you were individually streaming the same content to each speaker, that would increase the bandwidth coming to your home, as each speaker would be its own stream, and there would be no knowledge by any system that they’re the same.

So I’m assuming you’re streaming to one device/group, and have the other speakers grouped with that. So the bandwidth from the outside to your router likely has no impact. However, the bandwidth inside your home does matter, as Sonos is bouncing the signal around. 

In general, but not, I think, in your specific case, this is normally due to some sort of disconnects by your speaker’s connection to your router. Usually a case of WiFi interference is the cause, and it is still possible, as I’ll explain in a moment. The other, less common internal issue is a potential duplicate IP address issue….but that would impact all sources, not just Spotify. But we’re still possibly looking at that WiFi interference issue. And the reason for that is that each service has different tolerances for disconnects. One might accept and buffer for a two second interrupt, but another might not. So, it’s certainly worth looking at the wifi interference FAQ. 

Lots of folks think ‘but a BOOST…’ as if it’s a magic bullet. It isn’t. All it does is create a separate network that the Sonos connects to, but it’s still a radio network, and is still affected by other radio interference, which is why Sonos suggests setting the SonosNet channel 6 channels away from your normal WiFi channel.

But we haven’t talked about the Spotify servers yet. Sonos doesn’t hold the music stream…when you use the controller to point to Spotify, the controller tells the speakers to go get the data at the address Spotify has told them to do so….which happens to be a different location than what the Spotify app gets the data from. So if the Spotify server for Sonos is having issues, the Sonos system could be getting the interruption from Spotify, and there would be nothing wrong with the network in your home at all. And you’d be able to play without issue using the Spotify app, because it is pointing to a different source/connection for the music.

Not a lot of great ‘this is how to fix the problem’ information here, other than pointing to the FAQ about potential issues inside your network. 

And we haven’t even talked about the path of the data between Spotify’s servers and your home router, and the potential for DNS flapping. There simply isn’t just a single potential to point to, it could be any one, or a combination of several of these.

One suggestion, which frequently helps address ‘some’ of these issues is a network refresh (or assigning reserved IP addresses to all speakers), which includes a reboot of both the while the speakers are powered down, which has several benefits, not the least of which is forcing both the router and the Sonos devices to reload their software.

I hope some of this is helpful to you. Unfortunately, as a non-Sonos employee, I would not have access to any submitted diagnostic, which might help hone in on which issue you’re experiencing….if it is a local issue. It wouldn’t like show much if the issue was external to your home, upstream from your router. 

Thank you for taking the time, really appreciate it.  I don’t know what may be causing interference (perhaps it’s a Wi-Fi extender on the main floor that links to those on the floors above/below.  These 3 groups of 7 speakers are on the main floor, which is entirely open. I will look at the FAQs and try to solve the issue in the next few days. I will let you know how it goes.  Thanks again. 

You’re welcome. Sorry for being so verbose, but it unfortunately isn’t just a “simple” thing. And I got triggered on the incorrect information you got from the minimum wage folks (likely….that’s a generalization) on the phones. I suspect you ended up talking to some folks who are “new”, don’t really understand the system and how it works, and are basing their knowledge on some script.

Unless of course, you are really sending an individual stream to each speaker :)

No, not sending any individual streaming to seven speakers.  Three groups, 6 speakers (not 7) 
 

Pair 1: Play 5 R+L + Sub

Pair 2: One SL R+L

Play 1  

The only potential ‘interference’ I can see vs my room dimensions and configuration (it is literally one open room, no walls, no other electronics) is the Wi-Fi extender from my ISP, needed to connect to the other extenders on the basement and top two floors.  The router and boost are on the main floor where this issue is happening.  I’ve tested this extensively, issue is only present on Spotify music played through the SONOS app. 

Thanks again. 

Think outside the box, too, not just devices on the network. I’ve had two issues in my system over the years, one by a microwave going bad, the other by neighbors using the same channel as me. Any electrical device could potentially cause interference, even if it isn’t network based. 

Thx.  No microwave in the house.  Neighbours, don't know. Will look to play with the channel setting no the modem and he.  I am still perplexed why this only happens with Spotify.

Thanks again.

Cheers.

As I suggested, it could be that Spotify’s tolerance for disconnects is lower than others. Or, it could be an issue upstream from your router, and there is nothing you can do except talk to your service provider. Or, it could be Spotify themselves, who have certainly had issues in the past with the server(s) they use to provision the stream to Sonos devices. 

Yup.  I am very disappointed that Sonos, who claims to be a technology company, cannot get it’s support knowledge-base together, so that it doesn’t take 2.5 hrs to try to get help. 
Thanks again. 

Hi @Mike_033, thanks for reaching out to the Sonos Community.

As mentioned by Airgetlam, your download speed is more than sufficient, and should have no bearing on devices playing in sync within the system - apologies for that.

Was there any improvement after adjusting the wireless channel on your router?

If you’re still having trouble, feel free to submit a diagnostic after experiencing the issue and reply with the confirmation number, and I’ll be happy to take a quick look :)

Changed the channel, issue persists. 

Tired to airplay an Apple podcast to the Salon pair and added also Salon Surround speaker pair.  The Salon Surround speakers will not play the podcast. Ran Diagnostic: 37761999. 
 

Clearly this is a Sotware/speaker issue. It is not related to Wi-Fi.  Sonos appears that they do not have a clue on what their products are they are doing.  Unless the Sonos answer is, “you need new generation speakers every few years?”   That, is not customer centricity.

Thanks for sending that diagnostic over @Mike_033 - I’m seeing some large fluctuations in interference, particularly around the wired Salon (R) speaker - are there any other electrical or wireless devices close to that speaker? If there are any other devices close to the wired Salon speaker, I’d recommend powering them off or moving them further from the speaker, the jumps in wireless noise are certainly enough to cause issues with playback.

I’d also recommend setting the SonosNet channel to 1, which looks to be the quietest channel from the most recent scan.

I’m also seeing a Quantenna Communications device acting as root bridge - is this a network switch, or some other device? Is the Boost connected directly to the router, or via said switch?

The only devices near the Play 5 R speaker are the modem, which the Play 5 is connected to, and the Sonos Boost. The Sonos boost is connected straight to the modem unsung the Sonos-provided white Ethernet cable.  There is a low voltage led light transformer that powers the lighting in a kitchen cabinet, and that is about 4 ft away, inside the cabinet. 

Understood - would it be possible to create some more distance between the Play:5 and the Modem & Boost, as well as changing the SonosNet channel to 1? After doing so, if you can test for at least 10 minutes and then send another diagnostic, I’ll be able to check if the levels of interference have dropped at all.

Do you have any wireless extenders or other network devices? The interference is the more likely cause, however I’d be interested to see what the Quantenna Communications device is, and whether that could be affecting communication across the system.

I will try, I suppose.   The entire Sonos value proposition is wireless, plug-and-play.  It is entirely contrary that these speakers can have so much interference.