Unable to add second Boost to S2 system

I’ll join the pack: Temporarily wire BOOST while you set it up. Since I I’m not sure exactly what you’ve done so far, I recommend that you Factory Reset the new BOOST before continuing with its setup.

You could wire another Sonos and power down the first Boost. That might make things easier.

This is a waste of time and money. If the system is working fine then it is 99.9% certain that the second Boost will be totally ignored in the SonosNet mesh, if you ever succeed in adding it.

You should send it back.

PS. If you were having problems with your system it would only be 99% certain that the second Boost would be ignored.

@Seattlenerd,
Leave your old boost wired and the Sonos system up and running - make sure you can see your existing system in the S2 App. Now wire the reset Boost to the router (do not wire it to anything else, like the switch on your existing Boost)… with it wired direct to the router get it to its ‘flashing green’ (ready to setup) state and do not press any buttons on the Boost.

Now goto ‘Settings/System/Add Product’ on your mobile controller S2 App, which must meet these system requirements.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-app-requirements

Follow the on-screen instructions to setup the Boost and add it to your system - you can later use it away from the router un-cabled, but if not positioned where it’s actually required by the system in your Home it will ‘highly likely’ be bypassed altogether by your devices, if there is already a successful path back to your original Boost, but see what your Sonos matrix shows when it’s been setup and put in place.

In fact, I should change my "the second Boost will be ignored" to "the second Boost will be ignored or simply replace a speaker that is already relaying the signal"  

I wasn’t aware of the Sonos matrix that @Ken_Griffiths mentioned in passing, so I searched for it and checked it. Everything on my SonosNet network from the wired Boost is green or yellow. Based on what (little) I know about the matrix, I doubt I could do better by adding a second Boost, as @John B said. Even the speakers on the opposite side of the 3,000 square foot house on a different level from the Boost are no worse than yellow.

I’m cutting my losses in time and dollars and sending the extra Boost back. 

I really appreciate the setup tips everyone suggested and I’ll keep them in mind for any other Sonos products I add. As a long-time Sonos user who has stuck to the basics, I haven’t had to dig into the tech backend much, so all of this is new to me and helpful. Thanks.

@Seattlenerd 

Good decision.  I think the name "Boost" doesn't help and is misleading. It doesn't boost anything. Wiring a  Boost is what creates SonosNet.  And any Sonos speaker or player can do the same job and all can act as mesh repeaters.

The Boost replaced the Bridge and that was a much better name, as the cable connection bridges the WiFi and SonosNet portions of your LAN, ie it allows data to flow between them.

If you check the Sonos store you may only find the Boost listed under “Last Chance” sales.

Sonos might be giving us a hint.

That was one reason why I bought the Boost when I did, thinking it was going away. Now I suspect either Sonos is replacing it with something else (as it did Bridge with Boost) that might work better or offer more features, or it’s seen as non-essential either by Sonos or its customers. I find the Boost I still have useful to set up SonosNet in a spot I don’t want a Sonos speaker, near my router. That may be an increasingly rare need. Hard to say.