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jimrubish
Contributor I
May 20, 2023
Answered

Connect:Amps, When Paired with Other Components, Suddenly Drop Out for 10 Seconds

  • May 20, 2023
  • 13 replies
  • 555 views

I have a whole-home topology that has been working for 4+ years, nothing has recently changed in my setup.  Within the last 2 weeks, a new problem has come up.  It is highly repeatable and I am wondering if others have seen it, or have a solution.  The issue is that the ‘first component’ in a group, if it is a Connect:Amp, will frequently drop out (and then start playing again in  ~10 seconds).  The remaining components in the group will play continuously without any dropouts.  Here is a summary of my situation:

  • Approx 12 components:  6 Connect:Amps, then the rest are various Speakers such as Play 1s, Play 5s, Soundbars.
  • All components are hardwired
  • Running S2
  • This issue only happens on Connect:Amps, and only when they are the ‘first’ in the list of a group of components.  If I regroup things and change to a different Connect:Amp as the first, then the original one is fine, and the new-first-one will start to drop out.  Happens at least every 10 minutes.  Nothing drops out if I make one of the other rooms (with a Play-speaker) first in the list.
  • (Updated):  When there is no grouping, and only using a single device (Connect:Amp), it also drops out regularly.  Any one of my amps will do this… not just a single one. 

Anyone heard of this issue or have any ideas I can try?  I have very fast internet, and since everything is hardwired, it wouldn’t seem that wifi is the issue (and most components continue to play, even when the first cuts out).

 

Thanks.

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Best answer by Airgetlam

That certainly suggests at least a potential for wifi interference coming from outside your local network. I’d read through that FAQ and see if there are aspects of what is suggested that you may try implementing. 

I would also recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

13 replies

Show previous replies
Airgetlam
Airgetlam
July 10, 2023

So, if WiFi is turned off, I would hope you’re aware, as a networking professional, of the potential for other things, such as duplicate IP addresses, a rather common issue with many routers, and the way that Sonos reboots each time it updates software. You’ve not indicated if you’ve reserved IP addresses in your router’s DHCP table. This is one of the common issues that manifests itself in the described behavior. While it isn’t technically (at all) WiFi interference, it is commonly lumped in together, by many novices to networking in this forum. 

Another area most people don’t really understand very well is Sonos’ need to be on the same subnet, and how some ‘mesh’ network devices break things up into multiple subnets, with the same SSID, which many think indicates the same subnet. And Sonos, with the much higher  need to intercommunicate than most devices is certainly prone to issues there. 

One thing you probably are aware of is that CS folks are not generally experienced people, but often working from either scripts, or poor understanding of the subject matter. They are in no way ‘experts’ in networking, but they do have the substantial advantage of access to the Sonos diagnostics that are submitted. As I was attempting to suggest, submitting that data would likely be helpful, if a rep doesn’t understand what they’re looking at in the hard data, they can likely ask for help from someone else. Unfortunately, we unwashed masses do not have access to that hard data. And who knows what might show up? It could be that there’s something failing in your hardware, something that those of us outside would be unlikely to know or see.

Perhaps my reaction to yet another of hundreds of protests about ‘nothing has changed in my network’ was too much, if so, I apologize. In most cases that I’ve seen over the years in this forum, it’s just not a true statement, except for the possible fact that the individual didn’t make a change. If you’re indeed in networking, you’re well aware that no network is static. Even the server farms I’ve needed to deal with in the past were susceptible to outside influences, even though they were racked in specific rooms designed for them . 

I hope you’re able to call in to Sonos and get a resolution to the issue you’re experiencing.

 

Bruce
miataguy
Avid Contributor II
July 10, 2023

…and sometimes, despite the fact that most problems are due to common issues not fully understood by the non-technical public, it really is a bug. 

miataguy
Avid Contributor II
July 10, 2023

To follow up, Sonos Support basically just said “Use a different device as the group coordinator.”  Which is a workaround. 

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