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Esat
Collaborator I
April 8, 2022
Answered

Bad Sonos connection, what to do?

  • April 8, 2022
  • 37 replies
  • 918 views

Hello,

I live in a 2-floor house (ground level and 1st floor), which has 500 Mb/s internet connection. I use a TP-link Mesh wifi setup to distribute internet: 3x Deco M9plus (one is the main Deco attached to my modem) + 2x Deco M5. All Decos are connected by Ethernet cable to the first Deco router using a switch (star network). I am on S2.

In my living room (ground level), there are 1x Connect GEN2 (connected to my HiFi system’s DAC) and 1x Sonos Amp (using 2x Sonos InCeiling speakers) + 1x Sonos Sub GEN2 + 2x One SL’s as surround (previously I had 2x Play 3s working flawlessly). All of these were connected via Ethernet cables except the One SLs (Amp+Connect+Sub are connected via Ethernet cable to the main Deco M0Plus). In this living room, there is also a second Deco M9plus using a ethernet backhaul. In the same level, I have another room where there is a 1x PlayBar (in this room there is also a Deco M5 using also Ethernet cable backhaul) connected via Ethernet cable to the Deco M5.

In the 1st floor, there is a Deco M9plus attached with ethernet backhaul where there are 3 rooms (in my bedroom has also a Deco M5, ethernet backhaul). In this room, I have a Sonos Boost connected to the Deco M5 via Ethernet cable, and there are 2x Symfonisk bookshelves paired, and connected via Sonos Net via the Boost.

Everywhere in the house, I have at least 200-250 Mb/s wifi speed.

Sonos setup is with Sonos Net (WM 0).

Everything was working OK until now. When I changed the Play 3s (surrounds via wifi Sonos Net), and when I made the setup for Sonos Onel SLs as surround, everything worked nicely. However, since a couple of days, the 2x Symfonisks and the 2x One SLs were not working.

This morning, I made a modem reset, reset of all switches and all Decos. The unplugged all Sonos material. Replug the Sonos system. In the beginning everything worked (Symfonisks, and all the other Sonos connected via ethernet cables, except the One SLs (the system does not see them)). I passed a couple of hours without success (when I unplugged the One SLs and replugged I did undo the surround setup, and they worked. But when I tried to do surround setup, the system lost them). Then, as there was another Deco M9Plus near the One SLs, I put another switch to the Deco and plugged the One SLs via ethernet cables. Now everything works normally but I would not like to have this switch and cables near my One SLs...

Could you help me?

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Best answer by Esat

Thank you Ratty.

Sonos AMP, Sub, Connect GEN2 are wired to the primary mesh via 2 switches; one just beside the main Deco, which wires all the other Decos and the 2nd switch beside the Sonos AMP (where the other Sonos and my TEAC NT-505 streamer are wired). 

The One SLs are (now) wired to a 2nd Deco via another switch.

The Playbar is wired to another 2nd Deco via another switch in the same room as Playbar.

The Symfonisks (L+R) upstairs are connected to the Sonos Boost via Sonosnet wifi, which is wired to another 2nd Deco (same room as the Boost and Symfonisks).

Just an information: since longtime (2 years?) the 2x Play 3s (as surrounds) were working without any problem, and One SLs, which replaced the Play 3s, worked without any problem ca. 5-6 weeks...

 

37 replies

Show previous replies
EsatAuthor
Collaborator I
April 9, 2022

Hello, the WiFi was active (in fact, it is active in all products visible on the App...).

I will try tomorrow morning to uncable the Sub.

ratty
ratty
April 9, 2022

When I unplug One SLs’ ethernet cables then in the App, my Sonos Amp becomes immediately “Salon Sonos Amp (+Sub+?+?)” instead of “Salon Sonos Amp (+Sub+HG+HD)”… Which means that One SLs disappear… When I replug the ethernet cables to the One SLs, it works again correctly...

  1. Did you give the OneSLs a chance to reconnect wirelessly (at least 1 minute)?
  2. You didn’t, by any chance, disable “WiFi” on the OneSLs while they were wired? 
EsatAuthor
Collaborator I
April 10, 2022

Good morning Ratty (as I live in Switzerland, it is morning for me as well).

  1. I waited at least half an hour when I disconnected the One SLs.
  2. In my AMP room “Salon Sonos Amp (+Sub+HG+HD)”, AMP, Sub, One SL L, and One SL R are all on “WiFi activated”.
John B
April 10, 2022

If you go into Settings,  

System, Network, are your network's details (SSID, pw) in there? If so please remove them.

If that doesn't help, can you experimentally turn off the 5GHz band on your WiFi?

EsatAuthor
Collaborator I
April 10, 2022

Hello John B.

As you suggested, I erased the local network details in System, Network (I had my previous house and this one’s names).

Then, in the Support section, I tried to find the missing units. The system found the 2x One SLs. Asked me if they were cabled or not via ethernet (I uncabled them before); I said no. Then the App asked me to unplug and replug the router and wait until it is functional, which I did. Then, the App succeeded to correct the system “Salon Sonos Amp (+Sub+HG+HD)” but a couple of minutes later it became again “Salon Sonos Amp (+Sub+?+?)”. I, then, repeated the same procedure. Again, it worked but couple of minutes later lost the One SLs…

Now, I plugged again the switch and the ethernet cables to the One SLs, and the system works correctly.

Bizarre, no?

Ken_Griffiths
Ken_Griffiths
April 10, 2022

Bizarre, no?

It sounds to me like the WiFi adapter in the Amp is ‘perhaps’ not working/connecting to the SL’s. I would suggest submitting a Sonos diagnostic report and then contact/chat to Sonos Support and see what they can establish from the report. They may suggest a factory reset to see if that sorts it, but see what they say.

EsatAuthor
Collaborator I
April 11, 2022

I called Sonos today. The guy to whom I spoke looked to the plan in the this discussion, and told me that probably the Deco’s 5 GHz signal is too high compared to the Sonos AMPS’s signal, therefore the One SLs disconnect… He proposed me to leave the switch and the cables, and try to live with them...

Ken_Griffiths
Ken_Griffiths
April 11, 2022

I called Sonos today. The guy to whom I spoke looked to the plan in the this discussion, and told me that probably the Deco’s 5 GHz signal is too high compared to the Sonos AMPS’s signal, therefore the One SLs disconnect… He proposed me to leave the switch and the cables, and try to live with them...

That does not make sense to me, as the Amp auto-selects it’s wireless channels and it should be avoiding the channels in use by your Deco AP’s - I’ve not heard a case where a WiFi signal is too strong, maybe a case that all might be operating on the same channel, perhaps 🤔, in which case a channel change should immediately fix the issue... often a reboot should cause a product to re-auto-select its channels and hopefully avoid the channels in use by other nearby devices.

ratty
ratty
April 11, 2022

I called Sonos today. The guy to whom I spoke looked to the plan in the this discussion, and told me that probably the Deco’s 5 GHz signal is too high compared to the Sonos AMPS’s signal, therefore the One SLs disconnect… He proposed me to leave the switch and the cables, and try to live with them...

That does not make sense to me, as the Amp auto-selects it’s wireless channels and it should be avoiding the channels in use by your Deco AP’s - I’ve not heard a case where a WiFi signal is too strong, maybe a case that all might be operating on the same channel, perhaps 🤔, in which case a channel change should immediately fix the issue... often a reboot should cause a product to re-auto-select its channels and hopefully avoid the channels in use by other nearby devices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near%E2%80%93far_problem

Strong adjacent channels, or indeed anything blasting away in the same band, could be sufficient to deafen a receiver.

    Stanley_4
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    April 11, 2022

    The interfering device doesn’t even need to contain a radio, just be putting out enough RF noise to swamp the signal. I had an external hard drive (with no radio) that would knock my Play 3 off line if it was within a couple feet of it.

    Some days it just comes down to unplugging everything else and trying again. Even that won’t help if it your neighbor’s gear causing the issue.

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