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Big Bull
September 19, 2023
Answered

Connect Amp keeps dropping out audio

  • September 19, 2023
  • 105 replies
  • 15459 views

Hi I have 4 Connect Amps that have been working fine for some years but just recently they are dropping the Audio for a few seconds which is very annoying. I have spoken to Sonos Support on a few occasions and done everything they have suggested to fix this which they say is WiFi Interference such as switching channels etc but still have problems. This happens on any music source but I have noticed when the speakers go silent the sound levels are still going up and down on the app as if its playing the audio in other words not muted, not sure if this helps identify the problem. I am getting to the point now where soon these will be removed as they just aren't worth the hassle. I have seen a few threads where people have had the same problem but the only answers I have seen are contact Sonos Support.

Has anyone had this problem and got a viable solution??????

Some posts suggest an issue with S2 being introduced so does anyone know if this is a problem??

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    Best answer by Ken_Griffiths

    So far I have tried as suggested by Sonos to give the 5GHz Wifi a different name, turned off auto on 2.4GHz channels so I can force it to be 1, 6 or 11, I haven't tried setting to 20Mhz so will give this a try.

    Btw Ken can you give me more advice re your comment “give Sonnet a shot”? I did originally have one C:A hard wired to my switch with ethernet cable and then daisy chained the other 3 C:A’s but this didnt help, do you think it would be better for each C:A to be hard wired to the switch?

    SonosNet is where one device is wired to the router (but positioned at least one metre away) - that allows Sonos to use its own in-built wireless mesh signal… so all your other Amps connect back to the wired device either directly or indirectly. If doing that, it’s best to do two further things…

    1. Set the SonosNet channel in the App’s network settings so it is at least 5 channels away from your chosen 2.4Ghz router channel, which should in turn be on fixed channel 1, 6 or 11 and ideally set at 20Mhz channel-width (if the router allows).
    2. Remove the router WiFi SSID from the Sonos App network settings as the local WiFi signal is no longer used and that will stop the Amps trying to hop onto your WiFi signal.

    All that said however, the fact you now have the option to wire all to a switch - it makes sense to go with that option instead and you could even choose to switch off the Amps WiFi adapters in the Sonos App to reduce the potential for network loops/storms, but if they do work fine with the WiFi adapters enabled, then I would just leave them - that’s a matter for yourself.

    Here are some links that may assist too…

     

    105 replies

    Show previous replies
    djflynn
    Lyricist I
    December 17, 2023

    Exact same issues as described above. Started in June 2023 and have followed all the suggestions with no fix other than buying two new amps to replace the Connect Amp. Historical dealings with Sonos help are similarly frustrating - KPI seems to be how quickly they can get you off the call. Answer to everything is - upgrade to a new product with 15% discount - they must not get much training on any of the products. 
     

     

      Adam Clayton
      Lyricist III
      January 24, 2024

      Hello, I have been having similar issues with 2 of my 3 Connect Amps dropping out when playing music, the ones that we use the most are the Kitchen and Garden which I have the issue with but I can have the kitchen and the lesser used lounge one playing together and the kitchen drops out and the lounge continues to play, oddly I never seem to have issues when using the line in from my HDMI matrix for Firestick and Sky audio. Anyway, frustrated at the problem last week I decided to factory reset my Kitchen CA and re-add it to my system, so far I have only had a couple of drop outs and I use the system virtually every day for a couple of hours and most of the day on weekend's fingers crossed this will be a fix for the short term. 
       

      I just have a couple of questions, 

      Does anyone know if Sonos are going to roll a fix out for this? 
       

      I would also like to know if anyone knows where I can find the detailed firmware build release notes, as I have just applied another update today and it’s moved from 76.2-47270 up to 76.2-49050 it would be interesting to know if they are trying to fix the issue.  
       
      Thanks

      Edit, just to confirm I have disabled the WiFi on all CA’s as they are all wired directly to my network switch. 

      Airgetlam
      Airgetlam
      January 24, 2024

      I wouldn’t think it’s really on their radar to roll out a fix, unless you’ve been in communication with them, and provided them diagnostic data that they could hand over to their engineers. 
       

      Most unfortunately, Sonos doesn’t post notes for firmware updates. I, too just updated my speakers, and went to look in the release notes, the last entry was back in December, so I think no one outside of Sonos knows what was in this firmware update. But I also am of the impression that when someone does post release notes, it’s only sometimes, and only when they update the controller. Which irks me, too. 

      Bruce
      Micha007mk
      Trending Lyricist I
      January 27, 2024

      Hello all, same issue here, I have 4 connect amps and they keep dropping out, I went away on vacation but before I left I went through an entire day of trouble shooting with support and at the end was told that my product is at the end of its cycle and I need to upgrade…of course they offered me the same BS 15% to upgrade but the more I think about it the more it doesn’t make sense.

      Sonos sold products which they rendered useless by upgrading the software without consent…I’m no genius but I believe that this kind of behaviour is liable!? 
       

      I noticed that there was another software upgrade in Dec, they worked fine for a few days but are now on the fritz again.

        Airgetlam
        Airgetlam
        January 27, 2024

        Sonos did not force any upgrades to operating system software, and in fact went out of their way to continue to support older devices with S1. It remains the consumer’s choice to upgrade to S2 or not. 

        It sounds like there are other network issues your system is dealing with, you may want to call Sonos Support directly to discuss it.

        Bruce
        SteveWelham
        Trending Lyricist I
        January 27, 2024

        This same problem has been reported on other threads and Sonos have confirmed the older speakers/devices such as the Connect:Amp and Play3 do run out of memory after a period of continuous running. Apparently the newer speakers/amp have twice the memory. Only fix is to periodically reboot the speakers/Connect:Amp or upgrade 😫

        Sonos staff on another thread have said they’re work g on a fix with ‘high priority’ but can give no timelines or realistic likelihood that a fix will eventually be released. My thinking is the longer this goes on the less likely they are to invest time/effort in coding fixes for older kit. Memory leaks to me suggest some resign may be necessary if they’re going to accommodate S2 functionality in older devices with constrained memory.

        Micha007mk
        Trending Lyricist I
        January 27, 2024

        Sonos did not force any upgrades to operating system software, and in fact went out of their way to continue to support older devices with S1. It remains the consumer’s choice to upgrade to S2 or not. 

        It sounds like there are other network issues your system is dealing with, you may want to call Sonos Support directly to discuss it.

        Not exactly sure what you mean by « sounds like other network issues your system is dealing with » there aren’t and I’ve done the troubleshooting thing with Sonos for several days and tried everything mentioned in all the posts only to be told at the end that the simplest thing is to get new hardware.

        also my system has been running fine with no issues up until last June/July and only got worse from there. 
        It was at some point that an update created the problem and they are fully responsible. Apple was doing the same thing until they got sued and now you have to specifically accept that your devices performance can decrease with an update. 
         

        I can accept evolution but not at a rate of 5 years, and if that’s the case just let me know in advance so that I can chose in advance so I can make an educated decision on which system to dump over 5K$ into. 

          Alexhp
          Lyricist I
          January 28, 2024

          Just an FYI , I have this exact same problem, its been going on for about a year now. I always play with 2 zones grouped and every now and then one of the zones just stops for a few seconds and then starts again. both zones are Sonos AMPs gen 1 . 1 is hardwired the other is near a boost which is hardwired. At first i thought one of the ams must be getting old and faulty so i swapped it with another one that has had very little use. and same problem still happens.  its annoying but i have learned to live with it.  I thought it was Spotify at first but it also happens with local music on my server. and only 2 the zone that is hardwired. 

          Anonymous
          January 30, 2024

          Same problem here.  I have a mix of old connect:amps and newer amps.  I’ve been plagued with recent drop outs whereas the system had been solid and stable for years.  Only recently had it occurred to me that the dropouts are with the older generation amps only.  So it looks like I will have to replace the 3 amps, with a total layout of £2100 minus 15% upgrade.  Not really happy about this.  
           

          Based on comments here an earlier firmware upgrade has rendered the older kit less reliable.  The onus really is  on them to acknowledge the issue and provide guidance for their users.  Has there been no official communication on this, or have they let their poor support staff take the flack ?

           

          andrew 

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