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Issue / question on 'Sonos-Only Wifi'

  • 11 October 2021
  • 9 replies
  • 454 views

Hi guys - we recently moved to a new house which is long and the router is at one end (cannot be easily moved / rewired due to where Verizon set it up). At the other end of the house, we have an extender to with a different SSID to allow access for some of our other devices - TV, laptop, phones, etc. 

As for the Sonos, we have (i) a Play 5, (ii) Sonos Beam, (iii) three Play 1’s, and (iv) a Move. The Play 5 is hardwired to our router and broadcasts a ‘Sonos-Only Wifi’ around the house. I sometimes have issues with one of the Play 1’s and the Move, which are both at the other end of the house, dropping out intermittently when music is being played. 

I believe maybe with the Play 1, the issue may be because it is too far from one of the other speakers to transmit the Sonos-Only Wifi. Based on my other research, does the Move now use the ‘Sonos-Only Wifi’? If so, any recommendations on best way to achieve seamless sound? 

Would a mesh system would be the best / only solution here? 

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Edit: Submitted a diagnostics - confirmation #: 1911232793

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9 replies

bockersjv
Userlevel 7
Badge +21

The Move(and Roam) can only connect via WiFi.  The other units can use Sonosnet, you can see what they are connected to in “About my system” in the settings area. WM0 designates Sonosnet or hard wired and WM1 means the unit is connected via WiFi.

 

I have had the same problem with my house.  The way I solved this was to run an ethernet cable to the other side of my house (right down the garden to my Garage) and set up an access point (using an old wifi router I had) with the same SSID as the rest of the house.  This is working well for me but it can cause issues if there is an overlap in coverage I believe.  Lately I hard wired some of the speakers to the access point via ethernet cables, that’s my preference if possible

 

A mesh wifi is another option, but probably more costly, although that does also enhance your coverage for other devices using the internet.

 

I did manage to get Powerplugs to work, although they were always an issue when I needed to update the system and they are not recommended by Sonos.

melvimbe

Hi guys - we recently moved to a new house which is long and the router is at one end (cannot be easily moved / rewired due to where Verizon set it up). At the other end of the house, we have an extender to with a different SSID to allow access for some of our other devices - TV, laptop, phones, etc. 

As for the Sonos, we have (i) a Play 5, (ii) Sonos Beam, (iii) three Play 1’s, and (iv) a Move. The Play 5 is hardwired to our router and broadcasts a ‘Sonos-Only Wifi’ around the house. I sometimes have issues with one of the Play 1’s and the Move, which are both at the other end of the house, dropping out intermittently when music is being played. 

 

 

“Sonos-Only WiFi’ is called ‘sonosnet’ or a ‘wired network’.  It’s referred to as wired since the setup requires at leasted one of your speakers to be wired to the router.  A Sonos wireless network means all devices are connected to your router’s WiFi directly.

For homes where Sonos devices are too far apart to get a good sonosnet mesh network going, you can add a Boost in between the devices to bridge the gap, so to speak.  Really, any Sonos speaker will do, including the ikea speakers.  Bookshelf speakers can be had for the same price as the Boost.

 

I believe maybe with the Play 1, the issue may be because it is too far from one of the other speakers to transmit the Sonos-Only Wifi. Based on my other research, does the Move now use the ‘Sonos-Only Wifi’? If so, any recommendations on best way to achieve seamless sound? 

 

 

Move and Roam do not use Sonosnet.  Mesh networks require the network devices to be physically stationary for the most part, and cannot be relied upon for this since it’s portable.  The Move needs to be connected via WiFi to the same router that the rest of your system is connected to, if you want it on the same network.  You could connect it to your extender, but it would only see other devices connected to that SSID.  The Move does have a pretty strong wireless radio, so it may appear to connect from a wireless distance better than some of your other WiFi gear.

 

Would a mesh system would be the best / only solution here? 

 

 

Maybe.  A Boost would likely fix the issue for your play:1 but nothing for your Move.  It’s cheaper than a mesh system so maybe you’re ok with the Move not always connecting well?  If you went with a mesh system, then you could switch your network over to a wireless Sonos setup and let everything use your WiFi.  Of course, that may be an improvement to your home network overall for all your devices, and you would never need to manually switch WiFi on phone or tablets.

I have an Orbi mesh network, but I got it for my non-sonos devices, to extend my range into the backyard mostly.  Sonos is still using sonosnet on my system.

 

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Edit: Submitted a diagnostics - confirmation #: 1911232793

 

Danny
G
Badge

Thank you both.

 

Ended up trying out the eero 6 mesh system to (i) help with the Sonos issue and (ii) to help with wifi in the house for all the other devices. Everything has been working much better than before. However, I do sometimes get a brief pause on some of the devices (e.g., the bedroom Sonos Play:1) which happens every so often - once every ~2 hours of play time. Any ideas of why that may be?

 

George

J

Do you still have a Play:5 wired to your router so as to use SonosNet?  Your profile suggests it’s a gen 1.  If so, then the wireless radio in that device would be much weaker than in a Boost, or a Sonos Five.  So you may not be getting SonosNet off to the best start.

Have you put your Orbi wireless details into Sonos?  I would guess you have had to in order to connect the Move.  Check in About My System that all speakers except the Move have WM=0 next to them (this indicates connection to SonosNet).

G
Badge

I took off the wired connection to the router to force it through the mesh - or was that not a good idea?  All speakers are WM:1. And FYI - the Play:5 is a Gen 2.

 

Thanks again,

 

George

skullc
Userlevel 7
Badge +13

Wm1 is wifi only

Wm0 is sonosnet

It does work but I had an issue with a pair of 5's where the left channel would start playing and right channel started 20 seconds later

I went back to sonosnet with my arc wired and issues went away 

I use eero 6 as well and setup reserved ip’s for all my speakers 

There is a video on YouTube showing how

Network= livewire cpe pro 3 +eero 6 pro wireless
J

Mesh systems in WiFi mode can be problematic for Sonos. I would still favour running SonosNet in most cases.  I suggest you give it a try and report back.

Keep the wired.speaker at least a metre away from the router if possible. 

Does the eero mesh include a device acting as router or does it connect to an ISP router?

G
Badge

Thanks, let me go back and try playing it this weekend to see how things go. @skullc do you have the link to the youtube video by chance?

My Play:5 is a good meter or so away from the eero 6 and it is acting as the router (i.e., no ISP router or modem in between - wire comes straight from the ONT box from Verizon Fios). 

 

Thanks,

George

G
Badge

Hi all - tried a few things including plugging in the Play:5 to the router to use SonosNet. Unfortunately, that made the connecting in the bedroom worse. Ended up unplugging it and going back to just the eero wifi. Works ok but I do get the occasional drop in signal.

 

Do you guys have any idea if a diagnosis would help determine what the cause is of the signal sometimes dropping?

 

George 

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