I’m posting this in hopes of saving someone else from the hours of frustration I’ve endured to resolve this issue.
From the time I set-up my Arc + Sub + Surrounds system in July with an Asus RT-AC88U router (connected to Fios Gigabit internet) it has worked without issue. I’ve used Asus Smart Connect with all settings at default. No problems with the S2 app and no problems when I upgraded to an iPhone 12, other than the loss of Trueplay support, which continues to be a problem. (HELLO Sonos! Anyone home?)
Then I recently upgraded to the RT-AX86U using same Smart Connect default settings and, initially, all seemed fine. But soon the dropped connections started. I’d reboot and the Sonos system would connect for 10-30 minutes, then lose wifi connection again. Meanwhile, all other wifi devices in my home worked just fine--the Sonos was the only problem child.
I did all the troubleshooting I could, then called into Sonos support and spent almost 2 hours with a tech rep trying every potential solution possible, but nothing worked. (However: KUDOS to such extraordinary tech support!) He then escalated the issue to an appointment with the Senior Support Team.
Meanwhile, I went into the router settings once again, looking for anything that might be an issue--even though I had gone through them all with the tech rep, and these were all the same settings that had worked on the AC88U. On a whim, and not expecting it to help, I turned off the QoS feature, which I have set to prioritize bandwidth for media streaming over other tasks. BINGO. That was it. Sonos system has stayed connected ever since. I can’t explain why that would be a problem--I’ve always had the QoS set that way, and with gigabit service, an AX router, a modest load of wifi clients in my apartment and no gaming, there should be bandwidth aplenty. But that was the issue and it’s finally solved.
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I can confirm that I have had almost constant connection to Sonos for over 2 months now with the following enabled:
SmartConnect
WiFi 6
So I would cross these off the list of settings that might be causing problems.
I changed my settings yesterday to enable Wi-Fi 6 for 2.4 and 5ghz bands and set the control channel to 6 for 2.4 Ghz while leaving 5ghz set to auto. That seems to make things stable as long as I keep the Guest Network off. If I turn on the Guest Network, my Sonos speakers continue to lose connection.
Interesting! So it seems that Guest Networks enabled is at least one of the settings that causes the dropped connection issue. I think I’m up to almost 2 weeks without losing my connection even once. By the way, if your connection does get dropped, try cycling the power switch on the ASUS router to restore it. I’ve been finding that I mostly don’t have to reboot my Sonos system any longer to restore the connection—just the router. The Arc comes back online pretty quickly, but the Sub and Surrounds take a while longer.
I changed my settings yesterday to enable Wi-Fi 6 for 2.4 and 5ghz bands and set the control channel to 6 for 2.4 Ghz while leaving 5ghz set to auto. That seems to make things stable as long as I keep the Guest Network off. If I turn on the Guest Network, my Sonos speakers continue to lose connection.
Just an update. My Sonos Beam disconnects off and on with these settings …. it definitely seemed more stable with Wi-Fi 6 disabled.
A couple of updates:
After two weeks of no dropped connections, I had three over the past week. Who knows why. But the fact that 3 drops in a week is now highly unusual is a sign of how stable things have been. Also important: restoring the connection never involved a reboot of any Sonos components--I just cycled my Asus off and back on to restore it,
Merlin has posted a new finished release of Asus firmware: 386.2.0. Against my better judgement I installed it--there was a voice in my head yelling, “Leave well enough alone!” But so far, so good. When the router rebooted after the firmware updated, Sonos system reconnected without issue or me having to do anything. Which is how it SHOULD work, of course, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, since Merlin’s releases are focused on bug fixes to the stock Asus firmware and performance improvements--as opposed to adding new features and thus additional bugs--the Merlin releases are pretty solid.
A couple of updates:
After two weeks of no dropped connections, I had three over the past week. Who knows why. But the fact that 3 drops in a week is now highly unusual is a sign of how stable things have been. Also important: restoring the connection never involved a reboot of any Sonos components--I just cycled my Asus off and back on to restore it,
Merlin has posted a new finished release of Asus firmware: 386.2.0. Against my better judgement I installed it--there was a voice in my head yelling, “Leave well enough alone!” But so far, so good. When the router rebooted after the firmware updated, Sonos system reconnected without issue or me having to do anything. Which is how it SHOULD work, of course, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, since Merlin’s releases are focused on bug fixes to the stock Asus firmware and performance improvements--as opposed to adding new features and thus additional bugs--the Merlin releases are pretty solid.
I am still having dropped connections almost on a daily basis with the latest Asus firmware, especially with my Sonos Beam. The Play 1s drop less frequently and my Sonos move, rarely drops. How easy is it to install Merlin? Also, please keep us informed of how stable your system is. If it is consistently stable, I may consider installing Merlin.
darkelf, I’m not sure that what works for the Arc will necessarily work for the Beam, but Merlin is easy to install. Here’s what I do on a Mac, which may/may not be the same if you have a PC. First, download the latest release firmware here, which is version 386.2.0 : https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AX86U/Release/ You’ll end up with a folder that contains four files.
Next, login to your Asus router. At the top center of the Network Map screen you see first upon login, click on the firmware version number you currently have. That takes you to the firmware upgrade page. About mid-page, you’ll see Manual firmware update, and click on “Upload” next to it. That will allow you to navigate to the folder you downloaded. Click on it to open to the four files. Then click on the file that begins with the router model in the file name, then click on Choose for Upload. That’s it. Then wait until the upload is finished and you’re good to go.
charlesnyc, I have a pc but the procedure should be the same for me as you. One other thing, once you install merlin, can you go back to the stock Asus firmware, if need be? Also, any issues with merlin not keeping your previous settings? Thanks for your help.
Yes, you can easily go back from Merlin to stock Asus firmware (just google it for directions), though it’s hard to imagine a reason why you would. Merlin essentially IS the Asus firmware, just with much more attention paid to quashing bugs and improving stability.
Since installing the latest release version, I’ve had two dropped connections over the past week--in both cases, just cycling the power switch on the router got everything restored.
Hey everyone, just adding to this - I just got an ASUS RT-AX86U, and I have a new Play:5 and an older Sonos Playbar+Sub. The Play:5 worked fine, but the playbar and sub would get 1001 and 704 errors. Just factory resetting the router and reconnecting the sonos devices to the network via the app did the trick. I turned Smart Connect off just because I want the separate bands for other reasons, but otherwise left with default settings (QOS off etc.).
So before installing Merlin, I thought I would do what some other threads recently said fixed their Sonos devices, which was to upgrade to the latest firmware and then do a factory reset.
I did a factory reset yesterday afternoon (already had latest firmware) and so far almost 24 hours and no disconnects. Will keep you updated.
Similar issues here, but changing the before mentioned settings didn't help. Sonos devices kept disappearing and when they were listed they couldn't connect to the radio stations. I solved it by changing the authentication method in my router from WPA2/WPA3-Personal to WPA/WPA2-Personal.
It used to work fine until I upgraded to the latest firmware 3.0.0.4.386.42095 with the WPA2/WPA3 setting as WPA2 should be supported.
Since updating to the latest Merlin firmware, I’ve noticed an uptick in my disconnects--I’d say once every other night--though hard to know if that’s due to the new firmware or some other source of interference. I will say that Sonos is the only wifi device I have that drops its connection like this, so in my mind, the glitchiness is ultimately due to Sonos, not the router.
Unlike the “bad old days” when I first got my AX-86U, I don’t have the issue with repetitive dropped connections any longer, where I’d no sooner reconnect after rebooting everything, and a half-hour later it would drop again. Now if it drops, I reconnect by just switching the router off and then back on, and I’m good for at least a day or as long as a few weeks. Not perfect, but it doesn’t drive me crazy.
Since updating to the latest Merlin firmware, I’ve noticed an uptick in my disconnects--I’d say once every other night--though hard to know if that’s due to the new firmware or some other source of interference. I will say that Sonos is the only wifi device I have that drops its connection like this, so in my mind, the glitchiness is ultimately due to Sonos, not the router.
Unlike the “bad old days” when I first got my AX-86U, I don’t have the issue with repetitive dropped connections any longer, where I’d no sooner reconnect after rebooting everything, and a half-hour later it would drop again. Now if it drops, I reconnect by just switching the router off and then back on, and I’m good for at least a day or as long as a few weeks. Not perfect, but it doesn’t drive me crazy.
If you have not done so already, have you considered reserving the Sonos IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table?
Also, maybe try a different ‘fixed’ non-overlapping 2.4Ghz WiFi channel set to a channel-width of 20MHz, with any SonosNet channel (if using) set at least 5 channels away from the chosen 2.4Ghz channel.
See if that perhaps eliminates your intermittent audio/device dropout issues.
Besides, disabing the Guest Networks and turning off 802.11ax/ Wi-Fi 6 modes for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, I also have the following:
SmartConnect disabled
QOS disabled
Airtime Fairness disabled
Universal Beamforming enabled - some people have said to disable this, but I’m not sure. Disabling didn’t seem to do anything.
Control Channel set to Auto
With these settings, my Sonos devices stay connected. Do any of you have the Guest networks enabled? I will try this weekend to enable the Guest Networks and Wi-Fi 6 and set the channel to 6 and see if it works.
Damn, so you literally can’t use your router at this point. Sonos is so buggy I’m thinking of replacing it at this point. It should just work. The router reports it’s connected, there’s no reason it should disconnect.
Since updating to the latest Merlin firmware, I’ve noticed an uptick in my disconnects--I’d say once every other night--though hard to know if that’s due to the new firmware or some other source of interference. I will say that Sonos is the only wifi device I have that drops its connection like this, so in my mind, the glitchiness is ultimately due to Sonos, not the router.
Unlike the “bad old days” when I first got my AX-86U, I don’t have the issue with repetitive dropped connections any longer, where I’d no sooner reconnect after rebooting everything, and a half-hour later it would drop again. Now if it drops, I reconnect by just switching the router off and then back on, and I’m good for at least a day or as long as a few weeks. Not perfect, but it doesn’t drive me crazy.
If you have not done so already, have you considered reserving the Sonos IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table?
Also, maybe try a different ‘fixed’ non-overlapping 2.4Ghz WiFi channel set to a channel-width of 20MHz, with any SonosNet channel (if using) set at least 5 channels away from the chosen 2.4Ghz channel.
See if that perhaps eliminates your intermittent audio/device dropout issues.
Ken, if I had any idea of how to reserve IP addresses in the DHC reservation table, I’d give that a try! And honestly, it shouldn’t be this hard for Sonos owners. It is the ONLY wifi device I have that gives me problems.
Had lot of problem witth this, did clear my data and cash for Google home and sonos, then opened Google home and linked sonons again. This finally sovled my problem!
Prior to this I had changed this settings. After clearing the data an cash this solved my problem.
Wireless / Wireless MAC Filter -Enable MAC Filter-No
Wireless/ Professional:
-Roaming assistant --> Inaktivera -Enable IGMP Snooping --> Aktivera -Airtime Fairness --> Inaktivera på 2.4GHz och 5GHz -Universal Beamforming/ Universal strålformning --> Inaktivera på 2.4GHz och 5GHz Tryck verkställ
På vänster sida klicka på LAN och efter IPTV -->Enable Multicast routing (IGMP Proxy) - Aktivera -->Efficient Multicast Forwarding (IGMP Snooping)- Aktivera Tryck verkställ
Starta om alla högtalare efter att dessa inställningar har gjorts/kollats för bästa resultat.
Wireless / Wireless MAC Filter -Enable MAC Filter-No
Wireless / Professional:
-Roaming assistant -> Disable -Enable IGMP Snooping -> Enable -Airtime Fairness -> Disable at 2.4GHz and 5GHz -Universal Beamforming / Universal Beamforming -> Disable at 2.4GHz and 5GHz Press apply
On the left side click on LAN and after IPTV -> Enable Multicast routing (IGMP Proxy) - Enable -> Efficient Multicast Forwarding (IGMP Snooping) - Enable Press apply
Restart all speakers after these settings have been made / checked for best results.
Hi @MrJohansson
Thanks for sharing that!
Since updating to the latest Merlin firmware, I’ve noticed an uptick in my disconnects--I’d say once every other night--though hard to know if that’s due to the new firmware or some other source of interference. I will say that Sonos is the only wifi device I have that drops its connection like this, so in my mind, the glitchiness is ultimately due to Sonos, not the router.
Unlike the “bad old days” when I first got my AX-86U, I don’t have the issue with repetitive dropped connections any longer, where I’d no sooner reconnect after rebooting everything, and a half-hour later it would drop again. Now if it drops, I reconnect by just switching the router off and then back on, and I’m good for at least a day or as long as a few weeks. Not perfect, but it doesn’t drive me crazy.
After doing a factory reset on the latest Asus firmware, I have had no dropped connections since the reset last Saturday (4/10).
Since updating to the latest Merlin firmware, I’ve noticed an uptick in my disconnects--I’d say once every other night--though hard to know if that’s due to the new firmware or some other source of interference. I will say that Sonos is the only wifi device I have that drops its connection like this, so in my mind, the glitchiness is ultimately due to Sonos, not the router.
Unlike the “bad old days” when I first got my AX-86U, I don’t have the issue with repetitive dropped connections any longer, where I’d no sooner reconnect after rebooting everything, and a half-hour later it would drop again. Now if it drops, I reconnect by just switching the router off and then back on, and I’m good for at least a day or as long as a few weeks. Not perfect, but it doesn’t drive me crazy.
After doing a factory reset on the latest Asus firmware, I have had no dropped connections since the reset last Saturday (4/10).
That is great news, darkelf!
hi all, thank you all who contributed constructively here. I too have a Asus router AX88U and had dropped connections with my beam + sub + 2 SL Ones. it happens whenever i turn on my guest network. Even after i deactivate the guest network, the sonos will go missing. Never understood why. I tried all the solutions suggested here excluding rolling back the firmware. Nothing has really worked. But i tried to update my firmware to
Version 3.0.0.4.386.42819
2021/04/29
after the firmware update, i did a factory restore of my router.
I also deleted all my sonos speakers and re add them.
So far so good. I have not tried turning on the guest network as i am tired of all these troubleshooting and my family have been complaining that i keep bringing down the internet/speakers to troubleshoot. haha. FINGERS crossed!
It does seem that a factory reset is required on some Asus routers after a firmware update is installed.
Thanks, everyone, for sharing!
No update yet on my RT-AX82U, last one was Feb and still has the issue! Downgrading to November update fixes the issue.
I had been trying to solve this issue for a few weeks, applied most of the suggested setting changes suggested with mixed success. The factory reset was the solution
I have had 2 weeks of no drop outs on Sonos 1,3 and 5.
The QoS was disabled by the factory reset, leave it that way
My other settings of note on the 2.4 GHZ Wireless:
wiFi 6 mode enabled
Bandwidth 40MHz
Channel 1 (sonos ch 6)
I had been trying to solve this issue for a few weeks, applied most of the suggested setting changes suggested with mixed success. The factory reset was the solution
I have had 2 weeks of no drop outs on Sonos 1,3 and 5.
The QoS was disabled by the factory reset, leave it that way
My other settings of note on the 2.4 GHZ Wireless:
wiFi 6 mode enabled
Bandwidth 40MHz
Channel 1 (sonos ch 6)
Can you confirm router and firmware version please? Thanks
