Prodigy III

Answered

Adding WiFi mesh network - turn off Boost?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
February 6, 2023
17 replies
2266 views

After a lot of attempts to get good reliable playback on my system, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll probably only solve the existing dropouts by moving to a tri-band mesh-type wifi network.

So I’ve bought one of the midrange products (BT Premium Whole House Tri-band Wifi, three node), and plan to switch off my router’s wi-fi function (which is right at one end of the house and can’t easily be moved) and add the mesh network instead.

The question: I currently have a Boost which is more centrally placed in the house, hardwired to the router - should I turn the Boost off once the mesh system is in place?

(For completeness, the system comprises three Ports, two Symfonisk speaker pairs and one Symfonisk Frame)

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.

Best answer by Antifon

Thanks - I tried exactly the same procedure again and this time it worked. I think the problem last time was that a change of trusted networks has to be made on one of the Sonos devices, and the change is then propagated to the others on the network. Obviously this takes time (probably quite a long time if you have more than a few devices) and I suspect that I didn’t leave it long enough before disconnecting the Boost. The result is that only a proportion of the devices know about the “new” network setting, and those that don’t disappear from the system.

From an hour or so of testing, upgrading to a mesh network is definitely worthwhile on my system. For the first time since I installed it around 2 years ago, I can play FLAC files properly, without bandwidth issues when jumping between tracks.

It seems that the advice I was given last year to turn off the Boost was correct, and that it does become too much of a bandwidth limitation when the system grows beyond a certain size (though what that size is no doubt depends on a whole load of factors, including things that may change daily, such as the interactions/conflicts with other wifi networks in neighbouring properties).

If considering a mesh system, it probably makes sense to go for a tri-band system, as these have dropped in price a lot recently and are no longer “premium priced”. The theory behind this is that the Sonos devices are dual-band, so the mesh nodes can use the third band to communicate with one another without conflicting with the channels used by the Sonos units.

Show previous replies

A

AntifonAuthor

Prodigy III

I think we must be talking at cross-purposes. In my terminology, you can’t reserve addresses in the DHCP range. That range is for the DHCP server (in my case the one in my router) to manage. It might give out long leases, but that’s not (in my terminology) the same as reserving IP addresses.

I have an IP address range that the DHCP server is not allowed to use. That’s where I assign reserved IP addresses.

buzz

Grand Maestro

Our definitions are polar opposites.

buzz

Grand Maestro

You risk mayhem inside the DHCP range.

A

AntifonAuthor

Prodigy III

Well we can agree to differ. There are no address conflicts on the network, so as far as I’m concerned there is no issue with DHCP.

Anyway, back to the question.

The rationale is this: the Boost appears to be a bottleneck in my system, because it appears to be a single device in a medium/large house that’s handling all of the traffic for all 8 Sonos devices.

The only way I can get the system to use my 3-node triband mesh network is to stop it exclusively using the Boost. How can I get rid of the Boost from the network without doing a complete factory reset?

buzz

Grand Maestro

While BOOST is operating go to Settings → System → Manage Networks and enter your WiFi credentials. After you power down BOOST, the system will switch to WiFi. Later, if you want to return to SonosNet, simply power-up and wire BOOST. In each transition allow a couple minutes for SONOS to work out the new topology.

buzz

Grand Maestro

But, if your WiFi mesh insists on airtime fairness, or establishes multiple subnets, SONOS players will drop out.

A

AntifonAuthorAnswer

Prodigy III

Thanks - I tried exactly the same procedure again and this time it worked. I think the problem last time was that a change of trusted networks has to be made on one of the Sonos devices, and the change is then propagated to the others on the network. Obviously this takes time (probably quite a long time if you have more than a few devices) and I suspect that I didn’t leave it long enough before disconnecting the Boost. The result is that only a proportion of the devices know about the “new” network setting, and those that don’t disappear from the system.

From an hour or so of testing, upgrading to a mesh network is definitely worthwhile on my system. For the first time since I installed it around 2 years ago, I can play FLAC files properly, without bandwidth issues when jumping between tracks.

It seems that the advice I was given last year to turn off the Boost was correct, and that it does become too much of a bandwidth limitation when the system grows beyond a certain size (though what that size is no doubt depends on a whole load of factors, including things that may change daily, such as the interactions/conflicts with other wifi networks in neighbouring properties).

If considering a mesh system, it probably makes sense to go for a tri-band system, as these have dropped in price a lot recently and are no longer “premium priced”. The theory behind this is that the Sonos devices are dual-band, so the mesh nodes can use the third band to communicate with one another without conflicting with the channels used by the Sonos units.

Sign up

Login to the community