Question

Sonos speaker connecting to wrong mesh point.

  • 3 October 2020
  • 12 replies
  • 1130 views

Userlevel 1

Hi there,

 

I’m a long time user of Sonos products, all the way to the first Play:3. 
 

Lately, I updated my whole system with Sonos ones, beam, move etc… but am encountering one very frustrating issue : I updated my home wifi with an AMPLIFI Alien mesh system, that works wonderfully and provides very reliable and fast connection everywhere in my apartment, but all my speakers connect only to the main router, no matter how far they are from it, instead of the mesh point which is about 2 meters from the speaker. 
 

This causes a lower quality connection speed, and this occasional dropouts and disappearances of the speaker from the app.

 

I tried unplugging the Sonos, bringing it closer etc, but nothing helps. Both access points share the same ssid and the Sonos speaker is my only product behaving this way.

 

I submitted a diagnostic : 17083864

 

Thanks for your help!


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.

12 replies

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @User359317, thank you for reaching out to us and welcome to the Sonos Community. I appreciate you for providing us with a detailed concern and the diagnostic report. Let me help you figure out what's happening.

Upon checking the diagnostic, I can see that all your Sonos speakers are showing in the same WiFi network (Unknown). I also see the Sonos Boost but not quite sure in what network it is connected. If my understanding is correct, you are currently running two WiFi routers at the same time and it's not really a recommended setup. You can also view the Sonos system requirements article on our support website for more information.

Let me suggest the following steps to see if this would work for you.

  • Temporarily wire one of your speakers to the AMPLIFI (Main) Alien mesh router.
    • Your mobile device should be connected to your AMPLIFI WiFi as well.
    • Get back on the Sonos app. Check if you're connected and all your Sonos speakers are showing.
    • Run the Wireless setup to register your Sonos to your WiFi network.
      • On the Sonos app, please go to Settings > System > Network > Wireless Setup.
      • You will see your WiFi network name on the list. Select it and enter your WiFi password.

 

If you're still facing the same issue, please submit another diagnostic report and provide us the confirmation number. Also, if you can provide your full network setup including the make and model of each device, and how they are connected to further assist you on this.

If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know.

Userlevel 1

Hi Rowena,

 

Thanks a lot for your quick answer. FYI, in case that affets your answer, the boost is out of the picture and is not being used, while all my devices are connected wirelessly over Wifi and not sonosnet, since I had issues with sonosnet.

 

I do not have ‘’two routers’’, I have a mesh system (similar to Google Wifi if that helps) with one router and a mesh point using an ethernet backhaul, both sharing the same wifi network name (ssid) and password. My mobile devices and the Sonos Move are roaming from one to the other automatically whenever I’m getting closer to one or the other. For that reason, I only have one network available and cannot select manually another one. 

 

Here’s the list of my equipments, in the rooms listed by distance from the main router : 

Living Room : 

  • Main Router (Alien Amplifi)
  • Playbar (100% signal)
  • 2x Sonos One (no signal displayed in router since grouped with main bar)

Bedroom : 

  • Beam (100% signal)
  • 2x Sonos One

Kitchen : 

  • 2x Sonos One (93% signal each)

Bathroom : 

  • Sonos Move (100% signal - connectes wirelessly to the mesh point in the guest room)

Guestroom : 

  • Mesh point (Alien Amplifi, connected via ethernet to main router for best performance)
  • Sonos One (70% signal)

 

My router app allows me to see the signal quality to each device and if it’s connected to the main router or the mesh point, so I added the percentage next to each device above. As you can see, the Sonos Move connected without issues to the mesh point, while the Sonos one which is closer in distance to the mesh points continues to only connect to the main router, causing a signal of 70% instead of 100%. This makes me believe that it’s an issue with the way the sonos one decides which access point to connect to and not my network, since it works as intended with the Move.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Regards

 

 

 

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @User359317, thank you for your detailed response and how your Sonos speakers getting a signal from your WiFi network. I really appreciate it.

Upon further checking, I see that your Sonos speakers are connected to a Ubiquiti Network but not to your AMPLIFI WiFi network.

Is your  AMPLIFI Alien Mesh router wired to a modem or another router? How many WiFi names are broadcasting from your network?

Have you performed the suggested steps earlier? Were you able to collect a diagnostic report?

Let me suggest the following steps to see if this would work for you.

  • Temporarily wire one of your speakers to the AMPLIFI (Main) Alien mesh router.
    • Your mobile device should be connected to your AMPLIFI WiFi as well.
    • Get back on the Sonos app. Check if you're connected and all your Sonos speakers are showing.
    • Run the Wireless setup to register your Sonos to your WiFi network.
      • On the Sonos app, please go to Settings > System > Network > Wireless Setup.
      • You will see your WiFi network name on the list. Select it and enter your WiFi password.

Getting your network setup will help us understand how your Sonos speakers communicate with your network. Network set up composed of your modem, routers, WiFi mesh routers, access points, and network switches. We ask for the make and model of your network devices for us to check hardware compatibility with Sonos. You may also contact your Internet Service Provider to assist you with your network set up. 

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Userlevel 1

Hi Rowena,

 

Ubiquiti is the manufacturer of the Amplifi Alien solution, this might explain why you see that name. Just to confirm again, I only have 1 wifi network (iLoveBeer), broadcasted by the main Alien router and the mesh point. 

The main router is plugged behind a modem, not a router.

 

I did not do initially the steps you suggested, since they do not bring the result I’m trying to achieve : as soon as I plug an ethernet cable to one of the speaker, they switch to sonosnet (wm:0) insteamd of wm1, meaning they use sonosnet instead of my wifi network. This is confirmed by the fact that my router don’t see any of the sonos devices on the wifi, but now sees them on the ‘’ethernet’’ section, meaning they go through the wired sonos device.

 

Still, at the moment per your request one of my devices is wired and I created another diagnostic number : 837575481.

 

I’m hoping this is going to help you for the diagnostic, but am planning to fully go back on wifi, which has proven more reliable in my use case, apart from that stubborn sonos one not connecting to the right access point.

 

Thanks

 

Userlevel 1

Just an update : I can confirm that the speaker in the guestroom is now performing much worse since I plugged the ethernet to the sonos in the living room. It keeps dropping on sonos net whereas it was only dropping once in a while when on wifi on the wrong access point.

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @User359317, thank you for the updates and for submitting the diagnostic report. Let me help you figure out what's happening. I'm sorry to hear that when you wired one of the speakers to your router, you're still experiencing the same.

Upon checking, there's a communication problem between your Sonos speakers and your network. To correct this, the next step is to perform a sequential reboot of your network devices, all your Sonos products, and force close mobile controllers to refresh the connection.

A sequential reboot means that we need to do this in order.

  • Unplug your network devices (modem, router, any wireless access points on the network) from the power and wait for 60 full seconds before you plug it back in.
  • Once the router is back online, unplug all your Sonos devices from the power. Please wait 15 seconds before you plug back them back in.
  • Force close the Sonos app from your iOS or Android device.
  • When the status light on your Sonos speakers are solid white, get back on the Sonos app and check if you're connected.

I after rebooting your network and Sonos devices, you're still experiencing the same, I recommend contacting our Sonos Customer Care support with your full network setup including the make and model for each device.

Let us know how you get on with the advice above.

Userlevel 1

Hi,

 

I’ll contact them then. This has already been done...

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @User359317, thank you for your response.

If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know.

The Sonos Community is always here to help.
 

Userlevel 1

So I wanted to write here how my support session ended, in case someone is in the same situation : 

Sonos’ team is not able to change which mesh point is used by a speaker. The whole session was about trying to make the connection to my farther router more reliable, which totally defeats the purpose of having a powerful mesh network.

The only alternative offered was to rely on Sonosnet, which again is not the point here and in my situation was not an option, since the speakers have a lot of walls between them.

 

So in summary : investing in a very good mesh network will be useless if you have a Sonos system, unless most of your speakers are Sonos Moves, since this speaker has a 5 Ghz connectivity and is able to switch automatically from the mesh point to the router. It seems that Sonos invested more in the wifi hardware of the Move since it’s meant to be moved.

 

I hope that helps other users.

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @User359317, thank you for reaching back to us and we appreciate your feedback on this.

My apologies for the inconvenience. I really appreciate the time and effort you've spent doing all the troubleshooting steps, and it would be best for you to continue working with us over the phone to expedite the process and provide the best options for you.

You can reach our Sonos Customer Care support with your full network setup including the make and model for each device.

We're here to answer any further questions you have. You're always welcome here in the Community.

Userlevel 1

@User359317 Thanks for detailing the issues you’re having. We are having the same issues. My husband installed a mesh network so we could get WiFi onto the patio and into the backyard as our Sonos wouldn’t connect unless we left the sliding glass doors open and even then it was really weak.

I’m really disappointed that Sonos is so finnicky. We’ve spent thousands on the system and it’s frustrating to know that the product isn’t what its cracked up to be. I wish we could go back and invest in a system that is more reliable and network friendly.

Userlevel 1

@User359317 Thanks for detailing the issues you’re having. We are having the same issues. My husband installed a mesh network so we could get WiFi onto the patio and into the backyard as our Sonos wouldn’t connect unless we left the sliding glass doors open and even then it was really weak.

I’m really disappointed that Sonos is so finnicky. We’ve spent thousands on the system and it’s frustrating to know that the product isn’t what its cracked up to be. I wish we could go back and invest in a system that is more reliable and network friendly.

Sadly, I agree with you. I’ve been a Sonos fan for many years (starting with the OG Play:3 and Play:5) and kept investing because it was the best available at the time, but what used to be very reliable is becoming increasingly frustrating and makes me look at competing solutions more and more :(