Answered

Group wifi settings - problems with streaming hi-res music

Show first post
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

87 replies

D
Badge +1

Thanks, I will look into the former. No idea how to change the Devolo broadcast channel? Any ideas

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @DerkleineEnglaender

That didn’t go too well - the rooms didn’t get the message to switch to channel 1 and are now using WiFi as they can’t find SonosNet where they expect it.

Please switch back to channel 6, then make sure both the Playbase and the Play:3 are online (check that they play from the Sonos app - the app can take a minute to realise a room has gone offline) and show as WM:0 in the page in Settings » System » About My System before trying channel 1 again.

Alternatively, switch SonosNet back to channel 6 as above, but then tell your Devolo to broadcast on channel 1 instead of 6.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
D
Badge +1

Hey @Corry P - just tried moving the Boost so it is now almost immediately under the Playbase a floor above, and tried Channel 1. Seems to be still having issues, diagnostics is 110032160. Will take a look at your article too..

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

I do have a long Ethernet cable going from my router to my PC that is in a different part of the ground floor. I could try placing the Boost there (may be closer horizontally) to the Playbase. Can you have a Boost connect to the Ethernet from the router, and then wire the PC from the Boost?

It seems we’re typing at the same time!

Technically yes, but the Boost’s ethernet connection is only 100Mbit so unless your internet speed is less than that, you’re cutting the access speed of the PC. In addition, any bandwidth that the PC uses is bandwidth that your Sonos system can’t use - and it’s likely to use all it can. I would instead recommend the purchase (around £20) of a 5 or 8 port gigabit ethernet switch to be put at the end of the long cable, and plug both the Boost and your PC into that.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @DerkleineEnglaender 

When I wrote that, I didn’t realise you’d been in touch - it certainly explains all the diagnostics I found!

Yes - please separate the Playbase and Devolo physically - by at least a metre. Powerline devices do like to be connected directly to a socket rather than to an extension - can you not relocate it to another socket in the same room?

I would recommend a mesh system over a powerline, yes. Especially for use with Sonos. It would at least give you the option of wiring to a node (not ideal, but if it’s better than alternatives and it works, then great) instead of the router, and without involving your electricity cables. It all comes under the umbrella of “environment”, however, so nothing can be guaranteed. Careful placement of the nodes will have the biggest effect.

You may also find some additional information/help in my Troubleshooting Sonos on WiFi article:

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
D
Badge +1

I do have a long Ethernet cable going from my router to my PC that is in a different part of the ground floor. I could try placing the Boost there (may be closer horizontally) to the Playbase. Can you have a Boost connect to the Ethernet from the router, and then wire the PC from the Boost?

D
Badge +1

Hi @DerkleineEnglaender 

The diagnostic you shared above has the Boost, but the later ones don’t - have you removed it again?

The problem is that the two rooms are having trouble synchronising. I suspect the issue may be due to the Devolo device transmitting WiFi on channel 6 - the same as SonosNet, and it's close to the Playbar. Can you please try SonosNet on channel 1? Settings » System » Network » Change SonosNet Channel » 1. Please also see if you can separate the Playbar and the Devolo somewhat. Thanks.

 

 

Hi @Corry P - just saw your post. You will also see mine after speaking to one of your colleagues. I have tried different channels - and can try again. When you say to try separating the Playbase and Devolo - I guess you mean in terms of distance? That is dfficult as the plug socket is near the TV/Playbase. 

D
Badge +1

Spent a good hour today with the hotline - seems like I am stuck when it comes to hi-res streaming: 

1 We tried using the Boost connected to the router - but the Boost is too far away from the Playbase and the concrete floors of the house are diminishing the data flow. Only option here would be to have the Boost wired to the router, but on the same floor as my set up, which wont work as we cannot trail a cable through the entire house.

2 We tried just using wifi (i.e. no Boost or wired Playbase), but there the dropouts for the speakers were showing that the wifi isnt strong enough

3 We tested the Playbase wired to the Magic 2 powerline but that too is causing interference/ dropouts, and the Sonos technician was having problems accessing the diagnostics never mind assessing them.

I have since reduced the quality on Quobuz to CD but same issues. Cant see what options remain but to return the Boost and stream MP3 compressed music. Unless someone here knows of a reliable way of extending wifi to such a quality that it delivers the data. The technician confirmed enough bandwidth is there coming into the house, just the pipeline for Sonos is the issue. Would a mesh network be better than Poweline? Unfortunately the wife wont allow me to take up the flooring or drill through the floor to get a cable up to the first floor :-)

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @DerkleineEnglaender 

The diagnostic you shared above has the Boost, but the later ones don’t - have you removed it again?

The problem is that the two rooms are having trouble synchronising. I suspect the issue may be due to the Devolo device transmitting WiFi on channel 6 - the same as SonosNet, and it's close to the Playbar. Can you please try SonosNet on channel 1? Settings » System » Network » Change SonosNet Channel » 1. Please also see if you can separate the Playbar and the Devolo somewhat. Thanks.

 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
ratty

It’s a mystery, which only a deeper look in the full diagnostics might reveal.

D
Badge +1

The strange thing is that it is doing what it did before, when it skips the last eight seconds of the first track, it then plays the next just from the Playbase, which is no longer wired. So why just from the Playbase? That is what I meant by not being sure anything has changed (apart from me disconnecting the Playbase from the Powerline of course)

D
Badge +1

Thanks @ratty . Diagnostics 1078413567 @Corry P 

ratty

If the Boost wasn’t working you wouldn’t be able to see the players. You can look in About My System and check that everything appears to be in order.

Now that you have an officially supported configuration, i.e. no longer dependent on the powerline connection, I suggest you take a fresh diagnostic within 10 mins of a dropout and post the number.

D
Badge +1

Morning all. Boost has arrived and set it up as @ratty describes above and per instructions. Group in the living room all working (including the now unwired Playbase) but problem appears to still be there. When streaming Quobuz through Sonos app it skips last 8 seconds. When streaming direct from Quobuz app via AirPlay it drops intermittently. 

How do i check that the Boost is integrated/working in the system and doing what it is mean to be doing? Do I need to give it time to “settle”? Apart from the Sonos app telling me that the Boost is set up, and listing it on my devices, I cannot determine anything. Do I need to restart anything?

Just want to make sure I try everything before deciding to return the Boost. Thanks 

ratty

I think the controller now asks for the Boost to be wired in order to be added, so:

  1. Leave the Playbase wired to its powerline adapter
  2. Wire the Boost to the router
  3. Add the Boost
  4. Unwire the Playbase
D
Badge +1

Thanks @ratty . I was reading through some forum posts about adding the Boost to an existing set up, and saw that you have previously provided advice. If I understand correctly:

- first I will  add the Boost unwired to the network, albeit on the other floor of the house and near the router.

  • when it has settled, then I will disconnect the Playbase from the Ethernet on the floor where my system is and go to the other floor and connect up the Boost.
  • is that right or any any particular order to follow? 

 

ratty

You'd disconnect the Playbase from the wired connection. 

D
Badge +1

@ratty @Corry P  if you would be so kind to help on my last post re. Boost set up / Playbase connection. Thanks 

D
Badge +1

Quick question to set up with the Boost: if I do set it up on the other floor, connected directly to the router, do I understand it correctly that I then disconnect the Playbase on this floor from the Magic adapter and the run it also over WiFi? 
 

D
Badge +1

I saw that, so I guess nothing to lose

Smilja

@DerkleineEnglaender, Sonos has a generous return policy (100 days in Germany), if you purchase the Boost at Sonos Shop. 

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
D
Badge +1

I would prefer not to buy a mesh system having bought the Magic 2. I will try a Boost however- reading the information on it, it looks like it may provide enough of a “boost” to my system upstairs if I plug it downstairs to the router directly. Or am I being too optimistic?

ratty

A raw data rate of 300 Mbps would imply a usable throughput of maybe 120 Mbps. My point was that the OP’s 300 figure was distinctly low (I see twice that for the “up to 1200 Mbps” Magic 1), suggesting that the powerline technology could be fighting with the electrical cabling layout and/or interference, and hence be prone to spike interruptions. 

So, yes, EoP really is the luck of the draw. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

FWIW I have experience of Devolo Magic 1. The Magic 2 is supposed to offer up to 2400 Mbps (raw), and the display of ‘only’ ~300 Mbps data rate is distinctly low. It suggests it could be struggling quite a bit.

 

I would be wary of those claims - 2.4x faster than a dedicated, twisted-pair ethernet cable (or just as fast as 2.5Gb ethernet which has barely made it into the home market) seems unlikely. I assume this is in laboratory conditions with brand-new mains wiring and few other devices on the circuit. This is of course my personal opinion and not that of Sonos, and I have no experience with the device so I could be completely wrong.

Sonos is unlikely to saturate the network bandwidth with a single stream (even 24bit) to two devices so it may not even be down to bandwidth, but to something else (even 300Mbit is 3x faster than the ethernet sockets on Sonos devices) - the majority of the time (that I could see - about 20 min) the Playbase wasn’t reporting any problems. I think therefore that there may be something happening periodically that’s interrupting the stream - this could be something on the network, or something plugged into the mains power circuit (like a refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, LED ligh dimmers, etc.) which is exactly why we don’t support Powerline: there’s just too much scope for something to go wrong. 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
ratty

I’d suspected the source data was choking, but the behaviour of the other players in the household was odd.

FWIW I have experience of Devolo Magic 1. The Magic 2 is supposed to offer up to 2400 Mbps (raw), and the display of ‘only’ ~300 Mbps data rate is distinctly low. It suggests it could be struggling quite a bit.

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings