Speakers in a Group drop out when audio switches

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Well, this one is annoying. I have a Yoga Studio and have 6 Play 3’s mounted on the walls, when you switch tracks or playlists or even when they songs run themselves and switch to the next track at least half of the speakers drop out, but within 30 seconds they all reconnect.

 

Internet speed is 300MB+ and I did try turning off the modem and router (just those 2) and for a short time afterwards the audio was switching perfectly no dropouts at all. Then today we are back to speakers dropping out again. 

 

In conclusion, the audio will drop from certain speakers and return within 30 seconds without intervention, the system consists of 6 Play 3’s, 2 SYMFONISK’s, a Connect, and a Boost.

 

If anyone has a solution or idea please share, one of my teachers ditched this epic Sonos system to use a JBL BT speaker for a class “because it works”, so please any help here is huge

 

Best!

53 replies

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

**Resolved**

 

Thanks everyone for your support. The resolution for me was the inclusion of the Travel router. It wirelessly connects to Starlink the all devices connect to it. Plus I got all new Era 300s for the studio and Era 100s for the lobby 😉

Ken_Griffiths

So this issue of the audio dropping out of certain speakers is still going on. I created a new dedicated network and the issue persists. I have since dropped the Boost from the system.

Here is what I know for sure: If you start a new playlist or switch to a different song, about half the speakers will drop out, they will all come back in under 30 seconds. If the tracks change on its own, like when the song ends, there is zero issues, works perfectly. 

After adding a new dedicated network, I can rule out interference on the network as a potential issue. Seems strange it just when you manually change tracks. 

If the audio buffer is depleting to an empty state after approximately the same amount of time 2-3 songs - and it’s not the ‘sending’ source, then I would still hazard a guess, that it’s interference from somewhere, or an issue with the ‘primary’ group co-ordinator, but without details of the network setup, including channels, channel-widths and the identity of devices etc; then it’s difficult to make any suggestions.

You are perhaps best to to reproduce the issue with your new network setup and then immediately submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.

Doing that might at least help to rule out a hardware issue with your grouped devices - it may even help you identify a much better group co-ordinator to handle the audio to the secondary devices and to change channels/channel-widths to improve the situation.

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

This issue has been going on for more than a year: are you out of contract with your service provider? If so see what router you can get from alternative providers. 
Or, another consideration: can you hang a travel router off your Starlink router and use that to control your Sonos devices? Perhaps others on this forum can comment on that as a solution? 

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Worst case if Starlink offers no other choices would be a travel router, connect it to your Starlink and then connect your Controllers, Sonos devices and music library (if you have one) to it.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Sonos doesn’t like extenders, they seem to cause issues rather than solve them.

A decent travel router will let you do simple things like assign static/reserved IP addresses.

Airgetlam

Power outage certainly lends credence to the issue being caused by duplicate IP addresses, as the Sonos being handed ‘dirty’ IP addresses by the router when they were being rebooted. Is there a specific reason why you’ve chosen not to assign IP addresses in your router for the Sonos?

I don’t think your download speed has anything to with this issue, it’s the ability for the speakers to connect to your router which is the main concern here. Which means either duplicate IP addresses, or some sort of wifi interference .

There is always the extremely low chance of a hardware failure, which is why the previous recommendation for the diagnostic and a call to Sonos to discuss it. 

Bruce
N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

**Resolved**

 

Thanks everyone for your support. The resolution for me was the inclusion of the Travel router. It wirelessly connects to Starlink the all devices connect to it. Plus I got all new Era 300s for the studio and Era 100s for the lobby 😉

I’m glad it’s finally (hopefully!) resolved - it must have been a frustrating year or so for you!

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Please try setting allocated ip addresses. It’s a step that’s  fixed problems for so many folk…
 

Following your power outage it’s also worth powering down all your Sonos devices and your router. Restarting them should ensure “clean” ip addresses for your system. Reboot the router first and be sure to wait until wifi is fully established before starting Sonos devices one at a time. 
 

Why come on these forums and ask for help if you’re not willing to try what’s suggested? 

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

I’ve just looked at the other thread you started on this topic, a year ago. In it, you say the problem goes away when you restart the whole system. This does add to the likelihood of duplicate ip addresses being the problem; allocating ip addresses will eliminate the occurrence of duplicate ip addresses. If it doesn’t solve your problem it will at least take one unknown out of the equation and get you one step closer to a resolution. 
 

You also say, a year ago in that other thread, that you will try setting ip addresses…

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Took me five minutes to set my Sonos addresses to static/reserved from my router’s DHCP server settings page and it ended several very frustrating issue.

 

It is worth the time to try it, even if it doesn’t help it hurts nothing and takes a whole class of potential issues off the table.

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

100% agree with setting up with IP addresses, this will be done today.

 

So the question of why didn't I already do this, well a very good question but here is the answer, thought it was a lengthy process and that everytime I was going to do that the audio seems to start to work, so I kept saying leave well enough alone. Well that was not a good idea clearly.

 

Taking all that info, there is still something I can't square and setting up the IPs might not answer this I don't believe, we have a playlist called "Yin Yoga" on Sonos and whenever I play that playlist, there is never an issue not a single one. Then I switch to basically anything else and it goes south and fast immediately. Why would  a certain playlist be ok while others are not?

 

Still not sure how to setup the IP addresses, but I'm sure it's not rocket science so I will do that and report back with the results. 

 

Thank you for the feedback everyone 💯

melvimbe

So I am using the new Gen 3 Starlink Router, then I plugged the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh extender with main unit plugged into Starlink Router and the 2 extender cubes in the lobby and Studio. Sonos is connected to the Netgear Nighthawk (better range then Starlink router by itself)

 

Do I do all this in the Nighthawk app?

 

Thanks!

 

In the Nighthawk app.  Also make sure that your Starlink router is in bypass mode, and not transmitting it’s own wifi network that device might be trying to connect to.

Danny
N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

You say “I installed the speakers again anew and things seemed perfect”. Do you mean you did a factory reset and then re-installed them? If so this lends weight to the issue being duplicate ip addresses. The router will have had to issue new ip addresses during setup. 
If so, I fear that new Eras will be prone to the same problem. 

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

As soon as you add an extender you are in “unsupported by Sonos” networking territory.

I’d try the travel router plugged into the Starlink and see how it works, you could always add a longer Ethernet cable and move it to where it would work.

Another option is a HotSpot (WiFi in and out) capable travel router that you can place anywhere it can connect to the base’s WiFi and your client devices.

(haven’t used this one just a suggestion)

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Travel-Router-TL-WR902AC/dp/B01N5RCZQH/ref=sr_1_6

Page 90: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/D1hwLqTgBPS.pdf

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Yes for ones set to use DHCP (IPv4 and IPv6) to obtain addresses from the ISP’s servers.

There are other methods that are used, mostly on legacy or specialty connections.

 

Do note that the above is your public IP, which has nothing to do with your internal LAN’s IPs. Sonos uses internal IPs to communicate and the router is used to connect them to the external/public IP.

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Have you set reserved ip addresses for your speakers? Is the Starlink wifi set to one of the channels 1, 6 or 11? These simple steps can eliminate a lot of problems. 
 

Yes: I’d be inclined to use the 2.4Ghz band. 

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Also here: 

 

Airgetlam

It’s really weird. I have a Sonos system I semi-manage that was connected to a StarLink system, had no issues at all. Not a bunch of speakers, though, but was certainly playing Spotify without perceived issues. 

However, the quality of the StarLink signal, with its frequent dropouts were an issue for video calls, this home has moved over to a 5G device. I think the homeowner is close to ditching StarLink (although he shares his signal with his neighbors, who want him to keep it). And StarLink had no way of setting up reserved IP addresses, at least that I could find.  Unfortunately, in this remote location, options for Internet service are a challenge. 

Bruce
Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Play the good playlist for a while then submit a diagnostic, data doesn’t go too far back so maybe 30 minutes of playing first. Note the diagnostic number.

Play a problem playlist and when it glitches send in another diagnostic, soon is good, less than 10 minutes or so.

Call Sonos with both numbers and ask what they see in the internal data we can’t see.

 

On the different lists, any chance the music formats on the lists are different? Heavily compressed MP3s play well even in problem environments, full resolution FLAC music is a bit pickier and if you try any of the “Better than your ears can hear” high resolution stuff it can be even more demanding of a clean RF environment.

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

As said, allocating ip addresses is usually quite straightforward. If you give us the router details, someone here may be able to help. It’s usually detailed in the user manual, too. 

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Thanks for the replies! So, the only thing that is hard wired to the router is the Boost and the Connect is hard wired to the Boost. 

 

I will try to raise the Boost’s location. I noticed something when the issue seems to be present. I come in the next morning and the only speaker connected is the “Studio Left Wall” speaker. Sure, I hit the icon and add the rest of the speakers or press “everywhere” and they are supposed to connect, yes, they connect but like before it takes about 20 seconds before the do. 

 

I removed the boost completely and this did not resolve the issue at all. I also manually added each speaker back into the system and the problem went away but later presented itself once again. 

 

I have not messed with the wifi or the wifi settings yet. Also, Stanley_4 the link you left is broken and does not pull up a page.  

 

Appreciate all the help

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Strange, the link works for me. Here is the bit from there:

Look at your network matrix and see if you are seeing problems there.

Use any of your Sonos IPs except the Boost

http://172.16.1.115:1400/support/review

 

If the Boost is wired to the router and you are using the second port on the Boost to wire the Connect, effectively you have wired the Connect to the router, using the Boost as an Ethernet switch.

Having the Sonos app take 20 to 30 seconds to wake up seems pretty common. I usually see 20-22 seconds from starting the app until the rooms populate and the controls work. My-Sonos usually takes a lot longer to populate.

You can always submit a diagnostic and contact Sonos with the number it gives you. Submitting one within about 10 minutes of the problem gets Sonos the log data they need to assist.

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

So the Starlink router is on ceiling so plugging a travel router up there may lose its signal before reaching the speakers. What if I plug in the travel router via Ethernet to one of the Netgear extenders in my lobby, could that work?

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

**Update**

 

So this issue of the audio dropping out of certain speakers is still going on. I created a new dedicated network and the issue persists. I have since dropped the Boost from the system.

 

Here is what I know for sure: If you start a new playlist or switch to a different song, about half the speakers will drop out, they will all come back in under 30 seconds. If the tracks change on its own, like when the song ends, there is zero issues, works perfectly. 

 

After adding a new dedicated network, I can rule out interference on the network as a potential issue. Seems strange it just when you manually change tracks. 

 

Any ideas on this?

G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

So I am using the new Gen 3 Starlink Router, then I plugged the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh extender with main unit plugged into Starlink Router and the 2 extender cubes in the lobby and Studio. Sonos is connected to the Netgear Nighthawk (better range then Starlink router by itself)

 

Do I do all this in the Nighthawk app?

 

Thanks!

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