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Sonos App doesn't find existing system.


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Hi there,

 

I am so fed up with your buggy systems I can't even describe the level of frustration. I am using the latest version of the app on Android as of now and for no apparent reason the app does not recognize the set up system anymore (my wife's phone and app does and works no problem). I tried to reconnect to the system but says it doesn't find any devices on the network (which obviously isn't true - see screenshot)

 

I am sitting next to a Sonos One and following instructions on how to reconnect pressing button on the back - but no doesn't find the system sitting right next to it.

 

I don't want to go through the process of reinstalling the app and setting up the whole system again for the x time - it costs half an hour each time and at the price of your products we should be able to expect that you can employee at least one software engineer and one app developer that can create a better experience than a 10 year old hobby programmer with the attention span of a humming bird could.

 

Rant = off

 

Do you have any solutions to offer that are not requiring me to reset the system completely?

 

Moderator note: We updated this article in October 2023 with new information below.

If you are experiencing this issue and your controller won't connect to you existing Sonos System please have a look at this support article and follow the steps.

If your Sonos app still won’t connect after following the steps in the article, please contact Sonos Customer Care for further help.

 

 

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Best answer by Konstantin79 25 July 2020, 16:32

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75 replies

For most of us it is…..

I see that with all of your free time from not having to fuss with your speakers, you use on this forum replying to everyone lol 

Userlevel 7
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For most of us it is…..

I should be able to open my music app, choose how I want to listen, and listen to music. It should be that simple. 

I can't believe the amount of time I've spent trying to reset, unplug plug back in, re group rooms, reset router, install uninstall app, and everything else support has told me to do and still CANT listen to music when I want to. Nothing has been a permanent fix and for the amount of money I paid for all my speakers this is total BS. 
i even write a letter to them complaining and they emailed  me a reply telling me to do the same stuff I already did and listed in my letter. 
I'll be switching back to BOSE

Hi,

I was having the same issue with my wife’s iPhone (my phone works fine). Not sure why this setting on her phone changed - but what resolved the issue was going to setting>privacy>Local Network - and flipping the Sonos to “allow” or “on”. 
 

No issues logging on or with the app connecting after this (so far today). 

this worked for me! thank you

I am using an Android phone and have been having issues connecting the Sonos App to my system. App cannot find the system and have tried numerous times to uninstall, re log into existing system etc. I can play music from my Spotify app (sometimes by holding the on/off button on the Playbar to initiate connection) but nothing else on the Sonos App itself. 

Tried to send diagnostics to Sonos and even that fails.

No changes to my router etc. 

 

Frustrating.

 

UPDATE:   Found the Issue………

 

I had VPN on my phone on.

 

Thanks Anyway.

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I was able to fix the issue for my system, using iPhone 15 and Eero mesh WiFi.

In Sonos app > Settings > App Preferences > Manage iOS Settings > (takes you to iPhone settings) Allow Sonos app to access Local Network


This was toggled OFF initially. 

Yes, several times. Just like the hundreds of other people. Do you know why Sonos hasn't done anything to fix this known problem? Btw all the years I owned Bose products, I NEVER had any problems. 

Userlevel 7
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Have you tried the measures mentioned earlier in this topic?

I'm having this problem too. I wish I had known this stuff before I bought a bunch of your speakers. Why hasnt this issue been fixed? 

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Thank you for your valuable contributions…….

Sell your Sonos stock if you have any, their software sucks.  And there customer support can’t make it work

 

Great sound terrible software,  I  quess Sonos has shot their wad. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

I’m so fed up with this system as well. I’m having the same problem as the original poster.

Submit a diagnostics within 10 minutes of the event and call Sonos support.

I’m so fed up with this system as well. I’m having the same problem as the original poster. The system works fine (some days) on my phone but can’t find the system at all on my wife’s phone. I have tried unplugging the beam from the tv, have unplugged and replugged the beam, turned off and on my wife’s phone- all to no avail. We are seriously considering taking the system back. For this kind of money, I would expect it to work better than a cheap Bluetooth speaker. 

 

I have an Amazon DOT that is barely six feet from a SONOS unit. Usually, Alexa figures out which unit is closest to me and should play.

“Reserving” IP addresses results in a much more stable system.

SONOS has been a wireless mesh (SonosNet) system since inception in 2005. Lately, the consumer router manufacturers have started their own mesh products. At one point the SONOS competition was accusing SONOS of being a liar for calling SONOS a “wireless” system because at least one SONOS unit had to be wired. This was such a marketing headache that SONOS finally enabled WiFi (a cheap trick for SONOS) and took the wind out of the competition’s sail. In my opinion, SonosNet is more reliable than WiFi, but at least no one can now claim that SONOS is not wireless. SONOS will automatically switch to SonosNet when one or more units is wired. ROAM and MOVE are WiFi only.

Yes, you can instruct Alexa to play in a specific Room.

I successfully asked Alexa to play BBC 4.

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As soon as you wire a Sonos component, it creates Sonosnet. It ignores your wifi and provides a far better wireless network. My advice: step over to Sonosnet.

 

Sorry, by that you mean hard wire one of the speakers to the router via an ethernet cable? OK I’ll give that a go next time it all disappears. Which will probably be after i’ve fixed the IP addresses.😑

Userlevel 7
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Does it help to have fixed IP addresses for the SONOS speakers

Most definitely yes.

 

  

what is SONOSNET

As soon as you wire a Sonos component, it creates Sonosnet. It ignores your wifi and provides a far better wireless network. My advice: step over to Sonosnet.

 

 

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Hi I’ve had 2 Sonos Onesfor a few days and am experiencing issues much as described in this thread which is disappointing as its a few years old. Also the same programmer seems responsible for the forum registration screen as after you enter all you info it then says that user name is in use, deletes it all so you can go through it all again. Anyway...

Few questions

  1. I think my Sonos devices are connected to 2ghz wifi but my phone is on 5ghz. Is that a problem.
  2. Does it help to have fixed IP addresses for the SONOS speakers
  3. if i have an amazon echo (quite old) and a SONOS speaker in the same room and say ‘Alexa play radio 4’ which one will listen, or both , or can i change the wake word on the echo dot without changing it on the SONOS.
  4. what is SONOSNET
  5. is there a way of voice controlling which speakers are playing , if say, I just want the kitchen on can I say ‘ specific speake off’ or can I start on just one speaker with a voice command?
  6. Am I right that SONOS speaker with voice control can’t play BBC Radio 4.

If all this info is in a sticky thread , web page for newbies, or help document somewhere please point me in the right direction 

Thanks

 

 

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My Sonos Connect G2 has been connected to for at least 24 hours since separating the 2.4 and 5.0 bands. I’ve got it connected to the 2.4 band. The only issue I have found with separating the bands are that I can’t control my IOT devices from my phone since my phone was connected to the 5.0 band, which doesn’t affect controlling my connect. So, I’ve switched my phone to the 2.4 band to prevent all these connectivity issues.

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So far so good. After changing my routers WiFi setting to separate the 2.4 and 5 bands my HEOS Link G1 has been connected all this time. I will connect my Sonos Connect G2 next and test it out. 

SONOS does not work well using WiFi that is constantly changing channels.

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I had switched from my Sonos Conner G2 to my Heos Link G1, and after a couple of weeks of working just fine, it now doesn’t show up on my WiFi’s network just like my Sonos. After searching my NETGEAR nighthawk AX80 router under the WiFi setting I noticed that it was set to the smart option—it automatically selects whichever network has the highest bandwidth not the strongest connection, which selected the 5 rather than the 2.4. So, I’ve changed the settings to where the 2.4 and 5 bands are separate. We will see if this solves the issues. 

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I’m going to run a Cat6 line to my garage and see if that fixes the issue. Otherwise, I will have to try to sell this unit or exchange for a WiiM mini streamer. I’ve been thinking of giving one of those a try. 

If you’re able to, then you’re a better person than I. My sanity went away years and years ago.

Glad it helped! Networking is such a pain, and Sonos does a great job of exposing every possible issue :)

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