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Hello,

 

I’ve already posted a few months back about my Sonos Connect which was giving me problems (see thread here), but I got some interesting updates I wanted to share since then.

Shortly after that thread I had to move to a new place, so I left the Connect in a box for a while, but I still wanted to give it a last chance. A few weeks later, I went ahead and opened it up to check the power supply output as a last ditch effort (was suspecting a PSU issue). Nothing wrong there, voltages were stable as it should.

Now the funny thing is, after putting it back together, it suddenly started working like a charm! Not a single crash for weeks on end. Got me really puzzled as to what happened since the only thing I thought I did was to check the voltages, nothing else.

Fast forward 6 months to a few days back, and it finally crashes again.

Now here’s some observations I could gather better this time:

  • The Connect was set up on a new wifi since the “fix” (new home, new router, new wifi).
  • The last thing I did before the crashes came back was to plug the new Sonos Beam to ethernet, which triggered a SonosNet to be created for the first time and all devices to be switched to WM0 (which I suspect is the issue here). Before that, all were strictly on Wifi.
  • After unplugging the Beam from ethernet, the Connect stayed on WM0 (would crash all the time), even though all other devices joined back on WM1 (WM2 for the surrounds).
  • Like last time, I just repeated the steps I did for the “fix”: open, check voltages, looks good, close. This time I went to the app to check the network: still on WM0, even though there’s not a single wired device in the house anymore. So I followed with a factory reset. Result: Connect is now on WM1 and working like a charm again.

So, this all made me wonder: are there known cases were SonosNet would cause such issues (compared to Wifi) ? Why does the Connect stay on WM0 when all the other devices switched back to WM1 after unplugging the Beam from the network ?

My current assumption is that the initial fix had nothing to do with the opening of the device at all (“you don’t say!”), but instead that it finally ended up on a new unknown network. When factory resetting, the WM0 didn’t “stick” as it was a whole new network, and thus it selected WM1 where it worked again. So there’s still an issue whenever it switches to WM0, but as long as it stays on WM1 it works perfectly.

 

Any ideas anyone ? I know this is a strange one. Couldn’t find similar symptoms anywhere on the web.

 

Cheers!

 

A wireless device simply can’t be WM:0 if there is no wired device to connect to via SonosNet. Moreover you wouldn’t be able to interrogate it to ascertain that it was WM:0, because it would be uncontactable. 

Cue a philosophical discussion about Schrodinger’s WM ….

Hi @ratty,

 

Indeed, hence this post. How come the Connect was still listed under WM0 in these conditions ? Bug in the app? Bug in the Connect software ? Bug in the Connect hardware ?

In the previous post I listed one of the issues with the Ethernet port, where the network activity lights would turn off after a few minutes when plugged in. Maybe there’s a physical issue with the port that makes it think it is somehow wired ?

 

cheers,

M

Indeed, hence this post. How come the Connect was still listed under WM0 in these conditions ? Bug in the app? Bug in the Connect software ? Bug in the Connect hardware ?

If you didn’t force-quit and restart the controller it’s most likely that you were simply viewing stale cached information.

If the network port lights do not agree with the physical situation, I suspect a hardware issue. I did encounter one case of a defective in-wall network cable causing some confusion. While the cable seemed connected to a network switch wired to the SONOS player, no data was available from the network connection to the switch. The player figured this out, connected to SonosNet, and shared its data connection with the switch and supported everything connected to the switch. The human was confused because the only symptom was that everything connected to that switch had a lower speed connection than expected.

No issues with the cable (tested on multiple ones, some that were used successfully by other devices). Indeed I suspect some form of hardware issue on the Ethernet port on the Connect, as I’ve never been able to set it up using a wired connection after a factory reset.

So all I know now is that the second I switch to SonosNet (either from the connect or another device), it starts malfunctioning (reboot loops, activity light intensity all over the place, cracking/popping sounds on the speakers).

I see most posts where SonosNet is the solution to a problem, here it’s the opposite. I can’t quite understand how a hardware issue would prevent only one of the modes to work.

The wireless function and network function are separate hardware modules. One module can fail independently of the other.

If the network port lights are flashing without a connection, I suspect a power supply issue -- especially since there are audio issues even though nothing is playing.

 The wireless function and network function are separate hardware modules. One module can fail independently of the other.

Do you mean that as wireless vs wired or as SonosNet vs wifi ? The former wouldn’t be related to this issue as it’s been wireless all the time (except a few tests during the first post 6 months ago). The latter would actually explain it.

If the network port lights are flashing without a connection, I suspect a power supply issue -- especially since there are audio issues even though nothing is playing.

Small correction here, I was talking about the white light between the play/pause and volume buttons, not the network activity LEDs at the back. I’ve moved away from even trying to get it wired (and I don’t have a network cable in reach of where it sits now). The issue reoccured only when I wired another Sonos device (Beam) which caused the entire set to switch to SonosNet (WM0).

Again, I checked the power supply when opening it up as all things pointed towards an issue with it. The 2 output voltages I monitored were according to spec, without any form of instability (measured over 15 minutes, much longer of a period it usually takes before crashing).

All units switching to WM: 0 when one or more units are wired to the network is the design.

Here are status light meanings.

This seems like a hardware issue, especially since there is audio output mischief when nothing is playing.

Thanks @buzz.

Yeah I know how it’s supposed to work when wiring one or more units, was just trying to identify clearly when the issue starts to happen.

So to recap, it has some form of hardware issue that somehow only affect its operation in WM0 mode (no issues at all in WM1).

I didn’t know the Connect had separate hardware depending on the mode of operation, but if that’s the case then it’s definitely the most plausible explanation.

My Connect 2 has developed similar behaviour in the last few days.  But it reboots either on ethernet or wireless, and only when there is a stream playing.  Is it hardware or a consequence of the recent update to 13.3?

The unit itself is brand new and only in use for 2 months. 

I didn’t know the Connect had separate hardware depending on the mode of operation, but if that’s the case then it’s definitely the most plausible explanation.

There may be some miscommunication. There is a single wireless card (which allowed Sonos to slip in “wireless” (WiFi) operation pretty seamlessly some years back). The protocol stack would however be somewhat different for SonosNet compared to WiFi. Where the dividing line in the stack sits, between software and hardware, depends on the design. 

My Connect 2 has developed similar behaviour in the last few days.  But it reboots either on ethernet or wireless, and only when there is a stream playing.  Is it hardware or a consequence of the recent update to 13.3?

The unit itself is brand new and only in use for 2 months. 

‘Brand new’, only if it was from old stock. Port replaced Connect/gen2 two years ago.

Yes - old stock but unused.  Still under warranty apparently. 

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