Cannot connect to WMP library from laptop to all Sonos players. Affects FLAC files only.

Question

This is probably the weirdest issue out there on this community page. Long post.

TL;DR: Need to know what firewall rule to edit for Sonos Library service to work. Am too scared to yeet my own connection.

So, since about less than a week ago, I recently acquired (hint: sail the high seas) some Free Lossless Audio Codec files of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) OST. Of course, I was interested in hearing the differences between the 320kbps MP3 and the 44.1kHz 16-bit FLAC files I had on my hard disk drive.

My laptop and all Sonos devices are connected via several Ethernet cables to the router via a 24-port network switch. It cannot be my router.

On my laptop, I first used the Sonos Win controller. I received this error code in the Windows Sonos controller.

“Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 1:44 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Unable to play 'Into the Furnace' - unable to connect to 192.168.0.54:10246.”

That local IP address is my laptop (confirmed by accessing router’s device list).

Alright, let’s try Windows Media Player’s Cast to Device. That should work, right? Wrong.

I got this error.

Unexpected device error.
An unexpected device error occurred. Restart the device and try again.
If you can’t resolve the issue, a device update may be required. Please contact the device manufacturer for the latest updates.
HRESULT: 0xc00dc3b6

Alright, time to check Google.

The above device error corresponds to this: https://windows-hexerror.linestarve.com/0xC00DC3B6

DLNA_E_RENDERER_FAILED_TO_PLAY: The Media Renderer failed to play the content.%0

I restarted my Playbar unplugging the double-barrel power cord. Waited 1 minute, replugged in, white light was seen. Showed in Win and Android controllers.

Right, so let’s see if it’s a Sonos issue or my lappy. I copied those same FLAC files and dumped them in my phone’s SD-card. I played the same songs on the Playbar from the Android controller (On this Mobile Device) and what the fook, those songs played as intended. I heard the full song for confirmation. No error codes popped up.

Now, how do I fix this?

I checked this support article: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/688?language=en_US

Yeah, that looks right, it’s a firewall issue on Windows 10. No idea how to proceed from there.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Update: I fixed the issue. Very poggers!

I re-wrote and wrote two Windows Firewall rules using the ports mentioned here from https://support.sonos.com/s/article/688?language=en_US

In Windows Firewall with Advanced settings, I first went to Inbound rules.

I rewrote the rule for SonosLibraryService.

Under the Properties, I wrote this for the Ports and Protocols tab. Click on Protocol Type and click on UDP. Select local ports (= your connection between your Win machine, your router and your Sonos device, this should not affect your actual internet connection!).

This is what I wrote for the UDP section: 136-139, 1900-1901, 2869, 5353, 6969, 10243, 10246, 10280-10284 (copy and paste, the 10246 port was added because Sonos could not connect to that particular port for FLAC playback, if you don’t play/use FLAC files, it may not be necessary).

Again, for the TCP ports, I created a new rule, still labelled it as SonosLibraryService.

The TCP ports: 80, 443, 445, 3400, 3401, 3445, 3500, 4070, 4444.

Happy listening! I’m posting my answer to the r/Sonos community.

James L. · Answer

Hey @Noobgamer0111, welcome to the community.

If you’re only running Windows 10’s firewall then we have a detailed guide specifically for this. The changes aren’t massive and very unlikely to change how anything else functions. Once you’ve completed those steps, in the Sonos desktop controller, go to Manage → Update Music Library Now and wait for it to complete, then attempt playback again. If this fails, it would be useful to submit a system diagnostic and get in touch with our customer support team.

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