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Why has Sonos become so unreliable? Skipping songs, dropping speakers, stops playing altogether?

Describe your setup so someone can assist you. What router are you using? How many Sonos speakers do you have? Do you experience problems with all of your speakers or just certain speakers? What is your music source?


I have an Xfinity WiFi 6 router,

My network speed is 72.7 Mbps download, 14.5 Mbps upload

I have 2 play 5 speakers on the first floor, as well as a beam (same room)

I have 2 play 1 speakers on the second floor, and 2 play 1 speakers on the third floor, with a Playbar

I also have Xfinity Xpods on each floor. I work at home, so my WiFi network has to be fast and reliable, which it is. 

I have loved my Sonos system for the last few years, but now it is so poor and unreliable, dropping speakers, skipping songs turning off, that I am considering replacing all of it.

 


It's the Xpods.  Sonos doesn't play nice with extenders.  Wire one of your units to the main router via Ethernet, or get a Boost and wire that.


Ok, thanks. I’ll wire one of my speakers to the router. Will the boost help as well?


With an already wired Sonos device the Boost usually is not needed and may be ignored by your other Sonos if you add one,


Thank you!

I didn't imagine the xpods would be the culprit.

I hope this works!


Thank you!

I didn't imagine the xpods would be the culprit.

I hope this works!

 

Wiring one Sonos unit sets up the private Sonosnet mesh network, connecting to your WiFi through the Ethernet cable.  So the fact you are connected to a pod doesn't matter anymore, because it's all connecting back to the router and going out through Ethernet to Sonos.


This worked, the system is much better. Thank you so much.


Spoke too soon - speakers dropping like crazy again


It’s possible that due to the recent update, your router may have assigned duplicate IP addresses to some or all devices. Have reserved IP addresses been set up in your router?

If not, there is a simple, albeit not permanent thing you could try, by unplugging all Sonos devices from power, and then rebooting your router. Once the router has come back up, plug the Sonos devices back in to power, and wait a couple of minutes before you test.

If that works, I’d recommend that you check your router’s manual and figure out how to reserve IP addresses for all your network device, it’s a more permanent way to avoid a recurrence if this issue. 


Thanks for the response. The system has improved, but speakers still drop now and then. I’ll see if I can find out how to reserve IP addresses on my router.


I needed to refer to my router’s manual originally, but there are others who have found video instructions on youTube to be successful, depending, I suppose, on the router model, and the person who made the video.  

The challenge is that from model to model sometimes, and definitely from manufacturer to manufacturer, that process is different. 


I have a recent Xfinity router, and I cannot find a way to assign static IP addresses, unfortunately. Their website offeres plenty of canned answers for simple questions, but not this. Their chat is a bot that spits out the same unrelated nonesense over and over. Waiting on hold for 40 minutes to talk to a real person is not a possibility.


See this video (it's for Airscape devices, but it's the same steps for Sonos).

 

 

Note, default username/password for xfinity routers is admin/password.  Also, to find the Sonos devices, match the serial number under Settings > System > About My System in the Sonos app to the MAC addresses listed in the Xfinity settings.