Netgear GS724Tv4 - Data Storms

Disabling the radio (‘WiFi’) usually requires that the device be directly connected to the network, i.e. not daisy-chained.

Your daisy chain observation is interesting as the device that I can't disable WIFI on is the first one in the chain.  This morning I did a factory reset as you suggested on both fives and as ever I can't get DEFECT to disable WIFI (it tries but cycles back to enabled) so perhaps you are right that it’s got some kind of ethernet connection issue?

I have come across a SONOS article which describes how to use the http://:1400/wifictrl?wifi=persist-off command to permanently disable WIFI (which I could use on DEFECT) but if it can't then connect via wire I fear I may inadvertently turn it in to a brick?

Here’s the latest Matrix view from the Beam:

The matrix shows both speakers connecting by Ethernet: switch → GYM → DEFECT. Neither has its radio disabled.

If you were trying to disable the radio in DEFECT whilst in this arrangement it would usually refuse. DEFECT would need to be wired directly.

The /wifictrl URL no longer works. The procedure was made user-accessible by including the option in the controller, wrapped up in checks and balances to stop a user from accidentally marooning a player.

So doesn't that make it odd that if both FIVES are successfully connected via wire then WIFI should be ignored and not cause issues?  

Pursuing the “unintentional (weak) connection to SONOS NET from the house” theory for moment. I luckily have 4 ethernet cables running to my shed.  So I will use lines 1 and 2 for the FIVEs, and line 3 for the TP-LINK WAP.. Then I will try and disable WIFI on both the FIVES, do you think that’s work a try?  

The speakers should certainly favour wired over wireless, as they’re doing at present. It’s still unclear why one or both should be disappearing, unless as I say for some reason the wired connection is flaky. That’s assuming neither has a higher level internal fault which is causing the Sonos process to hang/crash.

If you have spare lines to the shed it would certainly be work splitting them onto separate feeds in an attempt to isolate the problem(s).

Ok, so after a bit of experimenting it seems to suggest that 2 of my 4 LAN cables in to my shed are problematic.  Eventually I found 2 lines that seem good and voila not only was I able to Disable WiFi on DEFECT but I was then able to set up a completely stable stereo pair with GYM and DEFECT using the line in function from my phone, this is the first time I have ever got this to work properly in 2 years of trying :).

Interesting as the SONOS telephone help line have repeatedly told me “you can't really do stereo pair with mark 1 FIVES” and that “you definitely can not do line in with and stereo pair together”.  So I'm very pleased.

Does seem odd that you can't daisy chain a stereo pair, I will experiment more with that as it’s going to mean making yet more long ethernet cables.  Evidently you can daisy chain a WAP off a FIVE though..

Huge thanks for your help.

Well, some light at least. If you wired the terminations on the Ethernet lines yourself I would check them carefully. It’s easy to use an incorrect pinout.

The comments you had from Sonos phone support are wholly incorrect. Play:5/gen1s can of course be paired, and each of the two Line-Ins can be independently selected.

You can also daisy-chain a stereo pair, so if you were told otherwise it’s yet more nonsense.

“You can also daisy-chain a stereo pair, so if you were told otherwise it’s yet more nonsense.”  OK so do you think it’s worth me trying that now that I've managed to Disable WiFi on both FIVES..

If you want to daisy-chain, based off a known-good feed to the shed, it should work fine.

Do you actually need to wire the second Play:5 though? Now that you have a working arrangement I would (a) re-enable the radios on both Play:5s and (b) wire just one of them, ideally the left unit. The wireless one should simply connect to the wired one. 

Ok but isn't that going total back to where we started, ie if I enable WIFI on DEFECT it will somehow try to connect wirelessly to the BEAM in the house and thus all the dropping out starts again?