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Connect:Amps, When Paired with Other Components, Suddenly Drop Out for 10 Seconds

J

I have a whole-home topology that has been working for 4+ years, nothing has recently changed in my setup.  Within the last 2 weeks, a new problem has come up.  It is highly repeatable and I am wondering if others have seen it, or have a solution.  The issue is that the ‘first component’ in a group, if it is a Connect:Amp, will frequently drop out (and then start playing again in  ~10 seconds).  The remaining components in the group will play continuously without any dropouts.  Here is a summary of my situation:

  • Approx 12 components:  6 Connect:Amps, then the rest are various Speakers such as Play 1s, Play 5s, Soundbars.
  • All components are hardwired
  • Running S2
  • This issue only happens on Connect:Amps, and only when they are the ‘first’ in the list of a group of components.  If I regroup things and change to a different Connect:Amp as the first, then the original one is fine, and the new-first-one will start to drop out.  Happens at least every 10 minutes.  Nothing drops out if I make one of the other rooms (with a Play-speaker) first in the list.
  • (Updated):  When there is no grouping, and only using a single device (Connect:Amp), it also drops out regularly.  Any one of my amps will do this… not just a single one. 

Anyone heard of this issue or have any ideas I can try?  I have very fast internet, and since everything is hardwired, it wouldn’t seem that wifi is the issue (and most components continue to play, even when the first cuts out).

 

Thanks.

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Best answer by Airgetlam 20 May 2023, 20:27

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13 replies

Airgetlam

That certainly suggests at least a potential for wifi interference coming from outside your local network. I’d read through that FAQ and see if there are aspects of what is suggested that you may try implementing. 

I would also recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

Bruce
Airgetlam

Note, even hard wired units can be susceptible to network issues, even duplicate IP address issues, which get revealed by Sonos when their devices reboot when there is a software update. 

Given that, another thing I’d suggest is powering down all your Sonos devices, then rebooting your router. Give the router a few minutes to boot back up before plugging back in your Sonos devices. I would recommend all your Sonos devices, not just the CONNECT:AMPs. 

Bruce
J

Airgetiam, thank you.  I also updated the original problem statement to just clarify that even just a single device playing (Connect:Amp) will cut-out regularly.  This clearly is something new after 4+ years.

 

I will go through your ideas and try (and/or retry) them.  I will do the same with the wifi interference article.  I was not focusing on wifi, since all the other players (except the first one) continue to play….  but as you point out, that theory may be wrong.  I am quite rural, so nothing outside my home would interfere, but these are good things to try anyway.  I had rebooted router/switches, but didn’t power off ALL Sonos products during that process.  So I will try that again and report back.  THANKS 

buzz

If all of the components are wired, WiFi would only be an issue for wireless controllers.

We can’t rule out a hardware issue, and this could be something silly, such as a bad network cable or switch port. A CONNECT:AMP with a hardware issue can poison the network. Have you disabled the radio on any units?

J

Buzz, thanks.  

I was wondering about HW issues… but since the issue ‘moves around’ when I change which Connect:Amp is ‘first’ in the list, I wasn’t so focused on that.  Your point is the whole network could get impacted.   I’m just not sure how to diagnose where to focus on the network….  Maybe the System Diagnostic would give hints to that?

I need to reboot everything with all Sonos components off…. that will take me some time to accomplish.  Also, I have not disabled any radio units.

buzz

Yes, submitting a diagnostic is recommended. 

If one unit is poisoning the network, you may be able to isolate it by powering down each unit for a while. Or, conversely powering all down and bringing them up, one by one. Either technique is a bore unless you get lucky and discover a problem unit quickly.

If you haven’t already, reserve IP addresses for all regular network clients.

M
Badge +1

Did you ever resolve this? I have exactly the same issue. My hardwired Connect:AMP cuts out for several seconds, while all other Sonos components continue to play.  I don’t, for a minute, buy the “wifi interference” explanation. I’ve had my setup for 8 years, and this just started recently with no changes to my network.  I even disabled the Wifi interface on the Connect:AMP and it still happens.

Airgetlam

Do you understand how networking works? ‘Nothing has changed’ can not be true, from external sources of wifi interference, new internet devices, new firmware on the router/switch, to the possibility of duplicate IP addresses, it’s all possible. I’m happy to buy the fact that you may have not made any changes, but absolutely not that there were no changes to your network.

However, the only certain way to tell what’s going on is to submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

Bruce
buzz

A CONNECT:AMP hardware issue is likely. Submitting a diagnostic and working with SONOS support is the best approach. You could build a Group, starting with the CONNECT:AMP. CONNECT:AMP becomes the Group “Coordinator” and all network traffic for the Group will go through CONNECT:AMP. If the whole Group goes down I suspect CONNECT:AMP hardware.

Be sure to check for silly things, such as a duplicate IP address or intermittent network connection.

M
Badge +1

Do you understand how networking works? ‘Nothing has changed’ can not be true, from external sources of wifi interference, new internet devices, new firmware on the router/switch, to the possibility of duplicate IP addresses, it’s all possible. I’m happy to buy the fact that you may have not made any changes, but absolutely not that there were no changes to your network.

However, the only certain way to tell what’s going on is to submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

Thank you for your input. Actually, I’m really more interested in hearing from the OP since his experience is more indicative of what I’m interested. But since you asked, yes, I know quite a bit about networking. I’m a networking professional for a major telecommunications company with advanced degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. What I’m not an expert in is how Sonos designs their products. But if you would like to discuss it with me in more technical terms to help me understand how wifi interference can cause the symptoms we’re seeing - particularly when wifi is disabled - then please, I’m all ears.

Airgetlam

So, if WiFi is turned off, I would hope you’re aware, as a networking professional, of the potential for other things, such as duplicate IP addresses, a rather common issue with many routers, and the way that Sonos reboots each time it updates software. You’ve not indicated if you’ve reserved IP addresses in your router’s DHCP table. This is one of the common issues that manifests itself in the described behavior. While it isn’t technically (at all) WiFi interference, it is commonly lumped in together, by many novices to networking in this forum. 

Another area most people don’t really understand very well is Sonos’ need to be on the same subnet, and how some ‘mesh’ network devices break things up into multiple subnets, with the same SSID, which many think indicates the same subnet. And Sonos, with the much higher  need to intercommunicate than most devices is certainly prone to issues there. 

One thing you probably are aware of is that CS folks are not generally experienced people, but often working from either scripts, or poor understanding of the subject matter. They are in no way ‘experts’ in networking, but they do have the substantial advantage of access to the Sonos diagnostics that are submitted. As I was attempting to suggest, submitting that data would likely be helpful, if a rep doesn’t understand what they’re looking at in the hard data, they can likely ask for help from someone else. Unfortunately, we unwashed masses do not have access to that hard data. And who knows what might show up? It could be that there’s something failing in your hardware, something that those of us outside would be unlikely to know or see.

Perhaps my reaction to yet another of hundreds of protests about ‘nothing has changed in my network’ was too much, if so, I apologize. In most cases that I’ve seen over the years in this forum, it’s just not a true statement, except for the possible fact that the individual didn’t make a change. If you’re indeed in networking, you’re well aware that no network is static. Even the server farms I’ve needed to deal with in the past were susceptible to outside influences, even though they were racked in specific rooms designed for them . 

I hope you’re able to call in to Sonos and get a resolution to the issue you’re experiencing.

 

Bruce
M
Badge +1

…and sometimes, despite the fact that most problems are due to common issues not fully understood by the non-technical public, it really is a bug. 

M
Badge +1

To follow up, Sonos Support basically just said “Use a different device as the group coordinator.”  Which is a workaround. 

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