Sonos sound cutting out

No, I wouldn't return it to the store. What I would do is submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this issue, and call in to Sonos to discuss it.

They'd likely be able to see something there in the diagnostic that would identify what's causing the cutout, and help you fi your system so it works as designed.

I'm unable to call Sonos in my country - but I can submit a diagnostic report - how do I get in touch with customer support?

Just post the number here. Depending on the volume of posts and folks they're currently dealing with, it might be 10 minutes, or several days before they have a chance to get back to you. They're a good group, these forum monitors, but they're often swamped.

There's always a benefit to a direct conversation. If there were a need to remote into your computer to check settings, that can't be done using a forum post. You may want to try the 24/7 twitter support, which is also on that page I linked.

Hi,

I'm had some drop-outs within the last 10 minutes, I've submitted a diagnostic report

The confirmation number is: 1592334456

If Sonos could please look into and let me know how I can resolve these sound drop-outs?

Thanks

Hi there, Naekyr. Thanks for the diagnostic report. Typically, audio dropouts point to a problem getting the data to the players in time. This can be due to wireless interference or network latency. Based on the diagnostic report you submitted, it seems the Playbar is having a hard time talking to the router. In fact, it drops about 6 - 21% of the data at any given time forcing the data to be resent multiple times before moving on. This would certainly cause audio dropouts.

That being said, is it possible to plug one of the Sonos devices into the router directly with an Ethernet cable?

Hi Keith,

Thanks for looking at the report, firstly I do not have the option of plugging in any of the devices directly to the router
So I'd like to look at options that don't require this

For the interference part, I'm having a hard time believing my wireless network is to blame

My router is a Netgear Nighthawk X8 and I have a gigabit fibre internet connection, it's the 2nd most expensive router sold by Netgear and it's never given me any issues. In the room with my playbar/sub/play1s I also have my PC, my iPhone X, PS4 and Samsung KS8000 TV - all these devices connect wirelessly to the router and have never had any issues - my PC connects using the 5ghz frequency at 850mbps and I'm able to stream 4k video from Netflix without a hitch on the TV and PS4 (I've never had any stuttering or lag streaming 4k video). I have the router producing 1 2.4ghz signal and 2x 5ghz signals, the 2.4ghz signal should be picked up by any devices within a 200 foot radius, that's how powerful the router is. The room with all my devices is 10 feet from the router and passes through 2 walls

I don't see why the Playbar should be dropping so much data when I've got a very strong wireless network and I've never had issues with any of my other devices in this room

Please advise on the next steps - I really like the Playbar, but if these dropouts continue I will take it back to the store for a refund

Thanks

Understood. First, your connection to the outside internet does not have an impact on how quickly data is routed along your local network. This is determined by the network setup itself. Sonos specifically connects to your network over the 2.4 GHz band, but talks to your other Home Theater components (Sub and surrounds) through 5GHz. Because of this, it's important to address any wireless interference or latency on the network.

Looking closer at the Playbar, it seems that it is specifically dealing with physical electronic interference and a fluctuating noise floor. Both of these normally point to an electronic device that is broadcasting a wireless signal and physically close to the Playbar interfering with it's communication to the other components. Can you describe the immediate location around the Playbar? What devices are located nearby?

Thanks in advance.

Better yet - have a picture

I'll describe what is there:

The playbar is on the top layer of a 3 tier glass unit - on the shelf underneath is a bunch of remotes and controllers - I have a ps4 and xbox controller, both connect to their device using Bluetooth. On the bottom layer is a PS4 PRO - it connects via wifi to the router. Above the soundbar is my TV which also connects to the router over wifi. On the floor next to the unit is the Sonos Sub. The desk next to the TV unit has a PC - it connects using 5ghz wifi to the router. That pretty much describes what is close to the playbar

Thanks

Thanks for the photo, Naekyr. Seems like there is a lot of wireless communication right in that corner, not to mention being surrounded by a couple large electronic devices like your computer and WiFi TV. Is it at all possible to test by plugging the Playbar into the router? This will keep the PLAYBAR from needing to broadcast through the wireless traffic and instead give it a hardline connection. We could try another hardwiring another Sonos unit, but ultimately the Playbar will still need to wirelessly talk to the other Sonos units giving us the same problems.

Alternatively, if you remove the power from both the computer and TV are you able to play audio without interruptions?

Hi Keith, to plug the playbar into the router via cable would require lots of wiring through the house (as I don't own the house this will not be an option).

I could try disconnecting those devices - however the sound drop-outs are so sporadic that I cannot predict when they will happen, its like one day I may get sound drop outs for 10 minutes and then the next 3 days I get no drop outs, it's just random and I only use the soundbar with the TV and/or PC on as well (because I use my Sonos setup for movies/games - I don't listen to music on it)

But if I look past the issue of trying to do isolation tests (because the sound cut outs are unpredictable) then even if that fixes the issue, that means I can't use my TV and PC which is not going to work at all

It feels like this is heading towards the path that involves me returning this to the store for a refund - I will unfortunately lose the money I paid for the play 1 floor stands 😢

Hi again, Naekyr. Thanks for your efforts so far while we've been digging into this. I saw that you said that there is no Sonos Support available on the phone for you in your country. I'd like to take a closer look at this. Please send me a PM with the following information and I will reach out to the team about getting some real-time support your way. Thanks again for your patience.

First and Last Name:
Contact Number:
Email Address:

I also have the same problem, I have a good wifi mesh system connected to my broadband router directly and Sonos Playbase is also connected to the mesh router directly and I also have a sonos boost, yet I still get sound dropouts across my surrounds and its very annoying.

Diagnostics dump is 1044951830 if someone from Sonos could take a look.

Thanks

Mark

I'm also having this issue and have been for about two years. I'd like to think it's the TV that I have - it was purchased over ten years ago - but I only have this issue when I try to watch video from the Hulu, YouTube, VUDU, or Netflix apps on my 4th generation Apple TV.

The diagnostic number for my setup is 346090404. (I am using a lot of bandwidth at the current moment, but this happens most of the time regardless of what devices are using the network).

If you want Sonos support now try the twitter or facebook contacts, here expect staff some time Monday.

Was there a determined solution? I am experiencing similar issues on a Google Wifi Mesh setup. I've tried both using wireless connection to my soundbar and using a hardwired into one of my wireless mesh hubs but I still experience sound drops. Any help?!

using a hardwired into one of my wireless mesh hubs

Try hard wiring a speaker to the MAIN hub that's plugged into your router. Plugging into a wireless hub can still result in packet loss that may cause the audio cut out.

I have a playbar a boost and 4 play 1s. I am an expert on configuring this system now
i had comcast replace all the wiring to my house they gave me their best router anew hd dvr box. They put an attenuator on the line. I have my playbar connected to the router with ethernet and the 4 play 1s connected to a switch since i only have 2 router ports. The switch connects to the playbar directly. The sound cuts out whenever it is wireless. My only solution was to wire the entire system. Playbar alone works wireless but when it talks to a play one it fails. Ive been thru this interference and network latency bullcrap. It is a flaw with sonos. Even wired there is a very occasional blip or stutter. In a perfect environment the wireless may work but i even had to turn off dolby on the tv to
minimize issues and use pcm bitstream. Very sad
that the design fails. I spent 3 months troubleshooting this. Sonos gave me a free boost but it did not help. Great speakers but using a tv and netflix or movie is a failure with wireless. I dont know anyone who has a working sonos system and thats sad.

Glad others have this issue. I've had this issue for 3 years now and per Sonos support, I pretty much should not have any WiFi capable devices in my home.

There's quite a bit of wifi interference that comes from outside your home. When I moved most recently, I had to switch both my wifi and SonosNet channels, due to the overwhelming number of others in my neighborhood using the same channel I was using.

Hey there. I’m having the same issue. Seems to only happen when playing on the PS4 but I haven’t tested it for that long yet.

The diagnotic number is 570026208

Thanks and speak soon,

George

I've been having the same problem with my Sonos playbar. I kept blaming Comcast, but now realize that it can't be Comcast, since my other crappy little tvs, which do not have any playbars or sound but their own tv speakers, work fine. I'm really disappointed to see so many others with this same issue, which probably means I now possess a $600 piece of useless trash. I'm glad I found this forum, though, because it has saved me from buying 2 more Sonos playbars, something I was just about to do. My playbar is connected to my Samsung 55" TV, and I'm trying to watch cable TV--which the playbar is making essentially impossible. The sound is cutting out and back in, over and over. Since I'm not tech savvy, I'm going to have to pay someone the big bucks just to disconnect the worthless playbar, so my TV can use its own sound. Very disappointing, Sonos!

I would recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this issue, and either post the number here, or contact Sonos Support to discuss it. I prefer to suggest the phone folks, they have more tools available, but are only available Monday through Friday during business hours. Both the Twitter and Facebook support folks are available 24/7.

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

Its unfortunate, but an anecdotal report such as yours doesn't carry enough data in order to make an appropriate diagnosis. I do hope that it relieved some of your frustration, though. Submitting that diagnostic would go a long way in helping to resolve the issue you're experiencing.

Mine is doing the same. However, it never used to. So I think it must've happened from some update, perhaps? 

My playbar is connected directly to the regular with the Ethernet cable, so I'm not sure why I'm having the issue. But it sure is annoying as hell. And frustrating. 

Would it be because I have the 2 play 1s for the surround sound part of it? (Wirelessly) 

 

Diagnostic number - 778389512

 

I tried unplugging the play 1s for a few minutes and it made no difference. Soooooo... C'mon Sonos! Please come up with a reasonable answer for us. These speakers are far too expensive for this to just be shrugged off. 

Thank you. 

 

 

You should contact Sonos support with that diagnostic number, the contact page has some 24x7 options.

 

What does your Network Matrix look like?  http://172.16.1.111:1400/support/review  (change the IP to yours)