Speakers keep changing room names

  • 20 January 2022
  • 20 replies
  • 2502 views

Userlevel 3

I’ll start by saying I DON’T use apple HomeKit with my Sonos and they aren’t even registered with the home app. 
 

I have a play 5 that always reverts to kitchen. I’ve removed it, factory reset, reinstalled and named living room. 24 hours later and it says kitchen again. 
 

I have a move that does the same thing except it always goes to dining room. 
 

sonos has no clue how to fix it. 
 

help!!!


20 replies

I’d love that too….but I suspect is counter to the way those systems require things to work. It’s certainly frustrating to those of us on the other side, but I suspect required in order to integrate.

Would like a setting in the Sonos app, that blocks third party apps from renaming. Have deleted all third party apps (i think.. will double check on Alexa though), and the problem persists.

Userlevel 1

One additional tip - I had deleted the home app from my iPhone and was still having this issue and I FINALLY figured it out. Apple Home still existed on my wife’s iPhone and it was changing because of that! I deleted apple home off all remaining devices on the network and then this stopped happening. Hopefully this helps anyone who deleted it off their primary device and was still facing the issue.

Hopefully someone sees this...I too have been vexed since adding an Era 300 in my kitchen (named ‘Kitchen’) and moving the previous One SL to my closet. I renamed the One SL at least 3 times to “Closet” only to see it revert to ‘Kitchen’ over and over. 

I was set to blame Sonos until I searched the bowels of my iPhone and found the Home app (and frankly do  not even know wtf it is even for) but sure enough in addn to numerous Lutron and other wireless devices (perhaps I set it up years ago) was the original name for that One SL. Literally as soon as I changed that device to ‘Closet’ it appeared accurately in the Sonos app on my Mac laptop.

Will see if it stays. Good luck to all.

It’s not just Sonos products either!!… My TV HDMI inputs are listed in the Home App and if I change their names on our LG TV the iOS Home(kit) App renames them back - so it likes to take control. I have to rename them in the Home App to stop them being changed back.

Userlevel 3

Hopefully someone sees this...I too have been vexed since adding an Era 300 in my kitchen (named ‘Kitchen’) and moving the previous One SL to my closet. I renamed the One SL at least 3 times to “Closet” only to see it revert to ‘Kitchen’ over and over. 

I was set to blame Sonos until I searched the bowels of my iPhone and found the Home app (and frankly do  not even know wtf it is even for) but sure enough in addn to numerous Lutron and other wireless devices (perhaps I set it up years ago) was the original name for that One SL. Literally as soon as I changed that device to ‘Closet’ it appeared accurately in the Sonos app on my Mac laptop.

Will see if it stays. Good luck to all.

Userlevel 1

Thank you so much everyone for the helpful tips. I think I finally figured it out. My speakers were linked to Google voice assistant and therefore Google home. I had to go into Google home and unlink Sonos and my speakers stopped renaming, finally. 

Something that I notice: As I add new units to my system, I must add them individually and give them a unique Room name. For units that I will eventually bond as stereo pair, or surrounds this initial name is arbitrary. I’ll give each new unit a characteristic Room name, such as “Move1_L” and “Move1_R”. After I bond the pair, I’ll rename the new stereo Room. I can see these arbitrary names in ALEXA. I imagine they will popup elsewhere. Prior to resorting to my arbitrary initial room names scheme I would get confused if I unbonded the pair and they reverted to their original Room name.

Now, at least I know which unit is being referenced.

I am having the same issue. NO APPLE HOMEKIT, NO ALEXA. It’s supremely frustrating- the speaker/room names keep changing back to where I had previously named them. I even deleted the HomeKit app to make sure. Yet the only solution from Sonos support it this is caused by HomeKit. I don’t have HomeKit.

Admittedly, I’ve only ever personally seen Apple HomeKit cause this issue with some manufacturers products, including Sonos devices - I guess another way around the issue, is to perhaps factory reset the device, but that’s providing it’s not your one and only Sonos product setup on you Sonos system/household, otherwise you will lose the system settings. If you have more than one product in the system then maybe give that suggestion a try.

Userlevel 1

I am having the same issue. NO APPLE HOMEKIT, NO ALEXA. It’s supremely frustrating- the speaker/room names keep changing back to where I had previously named them. I even deleted the HomeKit app to make sure. Yet the only solution from Sonos support it this is caused by HomeKit. I don’t have HomeKit.

Userlevel 3
Badge +1

“I have the same problem. No HomeKit. Sonos app runs the Sonos speaker and consistently changes the name of my kitchen speaker to speakers in the hall. Shows up in Alexa. The Sonos one has Alexa voice control but it’s names is kitchen there too.
 

any idea what is causing the rename?  And if someone is condescending and tells me to call Tim Cook so help me god.”

 

Have you tried calling Tim?

But seriously, I suddenly had one of my speakers changing names. I’d change it back, and a few days later it would change again. My first thought was HomeKit, but it wasn’t.
 

After a bit, I realized that I had angered Alexa recently when I started trying to rid myself of her. I remember being confused because I had disabled her on that particular speaker. SHE DOES NOT LIKE WHEN YOU TRY TO LEAVE HER. I used caps for that other poster just to be a little overdramatic. Anyway, I did not want Alexa involved in my new life with Sonos. I knew I could figure out why, but I just deleted the Sonos skill, and deleted all my Sonos speakers from devices in the Alexa app. That stopped the name changing for good. She tries to add every single device she senses. I need some time away from Alexa. She’s too controlling.

I also have a feeling the other poster has another app or piece of home automation changing their names too. I wouldn’t be surprised if google assistant does similar renaming. Sometimes I forget which made up name I gave a person. It happens.

Sonos 

we pay good money for your products you should fix this glitch in your system 

I have been putting up with this annoying issue for over a year

GET WITH IT SONOS SUPPORT 

It’s not a Sonos issue. It’s a well known and documented Apple Home(Kit) issue and it not only affects Sonos devices, it affects many TV’s that work as Home App accessories too.

An example is …if you register an LG TV as an accessory in HomeKit, the HDMI devices can each be named and given an ID on the the TV in the LG device connector and will show/register in the Home App (See screenshot). If you change and device name/ID on the TV then HomeKit will rename them back as the master smarthome hub takes control.

So it’s NOT a Sonos issue .. you are pointing your finger at the wrong manufacturer on this occasion. You need to complain to Apple.

So when the original post said that he doesn’t use apple HomeKit and is having this problem, everyone idea of a solution is to say go to apple HomeKit?  And that it’s a apple issue not Sonos?  If you can’t read the whole thread don’t jump to sonos’ defense.     
 

I have the same problem. No HomeKit. Sonos app runs the Sonos speaker and consistently changes the name of my kitchen speaker to speakers in the hall. Shows up in Alexa. The Sonos one has Alexa voice control but it’s names is kitchen there too. 
 

any idea what is causing the rename?  And if someone is condescending and tells me to call Tim Cook so help me god. 

I have seen this issue on here about 20 times I would guess. At fault so far:

Homekit 19

Alexa 1

Sonos 0 

So get with it @JamesL DFW , and sort out your Homekit.

Sonos 

we pay good money for your products you should fix this glitch in your system 

I have been putting up with this annoying issue for over a year

GET WITH IT SONOS SUPPORT 

It’s not a Sonos issue. It’s a well known and documented Apple Home(Kit) issue and it not only affects Sonos devices, it affects many TV’s that work as Home App accessories too.

An example is …if you register an LG TV as an accessory in HomeKit, the HDMI devices can each be named and given an ID on the the TV in the LG device connector and will show/register in the Home App (See screenshot). If you change and device name/ID on the TV then HomeKit will rename them back as the master smarthome hub takes control.

So it’s NOT a Sonos issue .. you are pointing your finger at the wrong manufacturer on this occasion. You need to complain to Apple.

Sonos 

we pay good money for your products you should fix this glitch in your system 

I have been putting up with this annoying issue for over a year

GET WITH IT SONOS SUPPORT 

I have precisely this issue with a stereo pair of 5s. After years in the living room and being quite happy with their name, they've decided they want to be identified as kitchen dwellers, sneakily changing their location back to kitchen no matter how often I change it.

Do you have the speakers registered as an accessory in Apple Home(kit) App, if so try renaming them in that App initially and it will propagate to the Sonos App and retain the name given (hopefully).

I have precisely this issue with a stereo pair of 5s. After years in the living room and being quite happy with their name, they've decided they want to be identified as kitchen dwellers, sneakily changing their location back to kitchen no matter how often I change it.

Rename your speaker(s) again and when one of them reverts back to its earlier name, submit a Sonos diagnostic report via the App within 20 minutes of that happening and make a note of its reference, then perhaps contact/chat online to Sonos Support Staff via this LINK, to see if they can identify what maybe altering its name.

 

Userlevel 3

Thanks for the thoughts… I’ve never used Alexa; don’t have one. 
 

I’ve used Spotify, but their app gets device name from the Sonos app. There’s no naming of rooms in the Spotify app

Userlevel 7

If you use Alexa make sure Sonos products are labeled the same under Alexa Devices as they are in the Sonos app. 

Do you use (or have you ever used) any application outside of Sonos? I don’t think speaker renaming is exclusive to HomeKit, it just happens to be the most frequent one that does it. 

I’ve never seen this issue where Sonos’ own software has been at fault, which isn’t saying it isn’t possible, but I suspect it is pretty unlikely. 

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