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Contributor I
Aug 28, 2023 2:47 PM UTC
Answered

Help with a 10 Year Old System

I have a 10 year old system with one ZONEBRIDGE1 and 2 CONNECT:AMP. The two amps controlled all of the wired speakers, one upstairs and one downstairs. They were controlled through a Sonos app on a very old iPad. It looks like my Bridge has died, along with the iPad. I downloaded the Sonos app on my phone, but it can’t find my system. I think I need to replace the bridge, and understand it is outdated. Given that everything is wired, is there a product I can get that would allow me to run the system as is, without having to reinvest in new speakers everywhere?

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ratty
rattyAnswer
Aug 28, 2023 2:54 PM UTC

Probably all that’s died is the Bridge’s power supply (wall wart). They have a habit of doing so with age. There are third party replacement PSUs. You might want to try one of those first.

That said, the Bridge is old tech and the more modern Boost replaces it. 

Alternatively you could run without Bridge or Boost, with the Connect:Amps configured to connect directly to your WiFi. 

See https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/remove-a-bridge-from-your-sonos-system for options.

10 replies

ratty
rattyAnswer
Aug 28, 2023 2:54 PM UTC

Probably all that’s died is the Bridge’s power supply (wall wart). They have a habit of doing so with age. There are third party replacement PSUs. You might want to try one of those first.

That said, the Bridge is old tech and the more modern Boost replaces it. 

Alternatively you could run without Bridge or Boost, with the Connect:Amps configured to connect directly to your WiFi. 

See https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/remove-a-bridge-from-your-sonos-system for options.

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Ken_Griffiths
Aug 28, 2023 3:03 PM UTC

You quite likely may not need a ‘Bridge’, that’s if at least one of your Connect:Amps are wired back to your router already. Did you definitely install the S1 App, rather than S2 and choose the option to connect to the ‘Existing Sonos System’ whilst the mobile/App controller was on the same local network subnet?

It might just be a case too though, that your Amps firmware is so out-of-date that the latest Sonos App cannot locate the devices on your network, it may depend on when things were last updated. Any idea when the Amps were last updated?

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Aug 28, 2023 3:04 PM UTC

Did you download the Sonos S1 app?  You need that rather than the one that says just “Sonos”.

What exactly do you mean by “everything is wired”?

Edit. Ken just beat me to it!

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mhorynaAuthor
Contributor I
Aug 28, 2023 3:19 PM UTC

Thank you all so much for the quick replies. I have downloaded the S1 app, but it is still not able to find my system, the Connect:Amps are old enough that all of the buttons to push are not included when I cycle through the options. 

When I say wired, all of the speakers are wired into the amps. I actually can not physically disconnect them no matter how hard I try, which makes it virtually impossible to get them to where the router is, without going to buy a 20 to 25 foot ethernet cable to connect them. 

I am assuming at this point, since I can’t physically connect them the router to get them set up on wifi, i either need to figure out a bridge powersource, a bridge replacement, or let the system go?

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ratty
Aug 28, 2023 3:25 PM UTC

Is it physically impossible to detach the speaker cables from one of the C:As and yank it out so it can be cabled to the router temporarily? It doesn’t need speakers wired to it for the simple purpose of configuring the system onto the WiFi. 

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mhorynaAuthor
Contributor I
Aug 28, 2023 3:31 PM UTC

I am a pretty big dude, and I was worried when trying to disconnect the speaker cables form the C:A I would physically damage the C:A. Not sure what the people who installed it did. 

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Aug 28, 2023 3:37 PM UTC

It doesn’t have to involve any brute force.  Perhaps this will help you to understand how the connectors work.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/set-up-your-sonos-connect-amp

 

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mhorynaAuthor
Contributor I
Aug 28, 2023 3:44 PM UTC

I’ll try that, thank you. I really appreciate all of the support on this.

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buzz
Grand Maestro
Aug 28, 2023 5:30 PM UTC

I am a pretty big dude, and I was worried when trying to disconnect the speaker cables form the C:A I would physically damage the C:A. Not sure what the people who installed it did. 

The speaker connections are press to release the wire, not banana plugs. Don’t attempt to twist or remove the binding post.

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mhorynaAuthor
Contributor I
Aug 31, 2023 8:07 PM UTC

Thanks @ratty it was the power source. Bless eBay for having this. I appreciate the help from everyone

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