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Anyone else experiencing severe APP LAG & slow loading/refresh with S2?

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P
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I have experienced the same app loading lag and have had a few SONOS speakers simply disappear from my system. I unplug, reboot every few days which temporarity fixes it. This ALL started when I began using S2. S1 worked flawlessly for years. My feeling is S2 coincided with SONOS dumping the abillity to play Apple Music and the roll out of their own competing streaming music service. It’s like the app is now so larded down that it just takes a while to load and has glitches. 

This is exactly the situation where setting reserved IP addresses would help. The router keeps losing track of IP addresses. Setting up reserved IPs would help that router from ending up in that state again, and keep that annoying delay/dropping from happening.
 

It would be easier to point the finger at Sonos and their S2 software, and wait for a ‘bug fix’, but it is a local router issue, and not something Sonos can address. 

I use FING to search my local network and I can see each of my SONOS products has their own IP address. I do have 55 IP addresses in my system….perhaps that is too many.

I have three times that amount of devices on my Home network, so it’s not that,  it takes less than 10s to open the Sonos app from a fully closed state and to find 25+ devices here on the wireless LAN (IP addresses are reserved in my case for all my Sonos devices)  - but if you’re having difficulty, then check the devices SNR levels - get them all with a reading of 45dB or higher and ideally where practical, put them on the faster 5Ghz band. Reduce any local WiFi interference too.

It’s also worth just backgrounding the App, when its not in use, rather than fully closing it, as that only takes less time to bring it into focus and have things working (ensure the device is not using things like WiFi calling and don’t have the App set to use mobile data, aswell as WiFi, as those things can give a slight improvement too.

Thanks, I’ll see if I can implement these ideas. 

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Ken_Griffiths

I have experienced the same app loading lag and have had a few SONOS speakers simply disappear from my system. I unplug, reboot every few days which temporarity fixes it. This ALL started when I began using S2. S1 worked flawlessly for years. My feeling is S2 coincided with SONOS dumping the abillity to play Apple Music and the roll out of their own competing streaming music service. It’s like the app is now so larded down that it just takes a while to load and has glitches. 

This is exactly the situation where setting reserved IP addresses would help. The router keeps losing track of IP addresses. Setting up reserved IPs would help that router from ending up in that state again, and keep that annoying delay/dropping from happening.
 

It would be easier to point the finger at Sonos and their S2 software, and wait for a ‘bug fix’, but it is a local router issue, and not something Sonos can address. 

I use FING to search my local network and I can see each of my SONOS products has their own IP address. I do have 55 IP addresses in my system….perhaps that is too many.

I have three times that amount of devices on my Home network, so it’s not that,  it takes less than 10s to open the Sonos app from a fully closed state and to find 25+ devices here on the wireless LAN (IP addresses are reserved in my case for all my Sonos devices)  - but if you’re having difficulty, then check the devices SNR levels - get them all with a reading of 45dB or higher and ideally where practical, put them on the faster 5Ghz band. Reduce any local WiFi interference too.

It’s also worth just backgrounding the App, when its not in use, rather than fully closing it, as that only takes less time to bring it into focus and have things working (ensure the device is not using things like WiFi calling and don’t have the App set to use mobile data, aswell as WiFi, as those things can give a slight improvement too.

controlav
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I use FING to search my local network and I can see each of my SONOS products has their own IP address. I do have 55 IP addresses in my system….perhaps that is too many.

Depends on your router. I remember having a Frontier router that turned to crap once I had more than 35 or so devices, turned out the NAT table was too small. Its the only time my Sonos system was ever unreliable. Fixed with a router upgrade (newer Frontier router with much larger NAT table).

The easiest way to debug slow app startup is to capture the network traffic, or look at the logs that the PC app generates (less detailed but easier for the non-networking experts). A lot of local calls are made during startup (though all very quick), but if one device is slow it will drag down the entire process. The logs can help in determine the slow device (which when rebooted will fix the issue).

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
P
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I have experienced the same app loading lag and have had a few SONOS speakers simply disappear from my system. I unplug, reboot every few days which temporarity fixes it. This ALL started when I began using S2. S1 worked flawlessly for years. My feeling is S2 coincided with SONOS dumping the abillity to play Apple Music and the roll out of their own competing streaming music service. It’s like the app is now so larded down that it just takes a while to load and has glitches. 

This is exactly the situation where setting reserved IP addresses would help. The router keeps losing track of IP addresses. Setting up reserved IPs would help that router from ending up in that state again, and keep that annoying delay/dropping from happening.
 

It would be easier to point the finger at Sonos and their S2 software, and wait for a ‘bug fix’, but it is a local router issue, and not something Sonos can address. 

I use FING to search my local network and I can see each of my SONOS products has their own IP address. I do have 55 IP addresses in my system….perhaps that is too many.

Airgetlam

I have experienced the same app loading lag and have had a few SONOS speakers simply disappear from my system. I unplug, reboot every few days which temporarity fixes it. This ALL started when I began using S2. S1 worked flawlessly for years. My feeling is S2 coincided with SONOS dumping the abillity to play Apple Music and the roll out of their own competing streaming music service. It’s like the app is now so larded down that it just takes a while to load and has glitches. 

This is exactly the situation where setting reserved IP addresses would help. The router keeps losing track of IP addresses. Setting up reserved IPs would help that router from ending up in that state again, and keep that annoying delay/dropping from happening.
 

It would be easier to point the finger at Sonos and their S2 software, and wait for a ‘bug fix’, but it is a local router issue, and not something Sonos can address. 

Bruce
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Thanks Bruce for some good potential problem solving approaches.

However, I’ve been there done all of that and more - plus I’m working with top-tier engineers within Sonos.  They have admitted that there is indeed Application lag issues with S2 but not reported directly often so while they are aware it’s tied to the S2 application (all platforms/app versions), there are not enough data points (customer complaints/diagnostics submitted) to allow for a deep dive into what’s causing it.   Some blame may be placed on iOS 14.x.

To be clear I’m not asking about song/music/streaming lags to speakers, I’m asking about using the S2 app on your phones/pads/tablets/PCs.  When people OPEN their Sonos S2 app does it take 10-40 seconds to load/refresh?  Is it laggy when changing sources, volume levels? Do the graphics take time to load after the app has started?  

Again, this ONLY happened once S2 was download and installed on various platforms and Sonos is aware and have determined it’s NOT my system. 

We love our 17+ Sonos whole house audio system, but there are ongoing issues that cause a lot of annoyances and this is just one of them.

 

 

I have experienced the same app loading lag and have had a few SONOS speakers simply disappear from my system. I unplug, reboot every few days which temporarity fixes it. This ALL started when I began using S2. S1 worked flawlessly for years. My feeling is S2 coincided with SONOS dumping the abillity to play Apple Music and the roll out of their own competing streaming music service. It’s like the app is now so larded down that it just takes a while to load and has glitches. 

Ken_Griffiths

the app sucks!! I have 6 sonos amp and the app cant find them! . I was thinking it was something with my network, so I went to buy a new switch and router but we still have the same issues after installing everything new

it need to be S2 app, because spotify app find everything with not problem .. 

What made you think it was a router, network, or switch issue, when it might simply have been an SSDP device discovery issue involving the mobile controller device? …or did you manage to somehow rule out that possibility before going to the additional expense of new network hardware and what did you do, to rule out it being the controller device?

I’m surprised you only just joined this user-community today, after changing the network hardware too, particularly as it really does sound like you’ve perhaps missed where the real ‘device-discovery’ issues may lie.

M

the app sucks!! I have 6 sonos amp and the app cant find them! . I was thinking it was something with my network, so I went to buy a new switch and router but we still have the same issues after installing everything new

it need to be S2 app, because spotify app find everything with not problem .. 

 

 

P

Wow. So that’s interesting. Sounds like you are suggesting running all speakers in WiFi mode and disconnecting the Sonos connects. I could try that. My objective has been to try and cable more speakers via Ethernet. 
 

also. The Orbi satellites are cabled back to a switch then back to a patch panel to the main router. I could bypass the switch and just do a direct cable connection. 
 

finally my new IPS doesn’t require a cable modem so that isn’t a favor.  
 

I’ll give this all a try but find it hard to believe that wireless could be the solution vs a mixed bag or wired and wireless. Sonos has suggest I try to wire more. I may actually try to shut down any that aren’t wired to see if that improves things. They seemed to indicate that once I get past 5 in a group it could be a problem. 
 

thanks for your guidance. 

Ken_Griffiths

Yes. I have two Sonos connects. Maybe that’s it. They are Ethernet connected. The matrix shows a decibel figure and some color coding. Fri. Those two things plus the way they are positioned you can see what is connected to what and how good the connection is. 

Ah our posts crossed - I have a few questions and a suggestion.

Have you tried running your setup with no Sonos devices at all cabled to the LAN? If not, then I would certainly give that a try, as Sonos has greatly improved in this area. What also would help is, if you can cable the Orbi satellites back to your Orbi Primary Hub. I accept that’s not always practical, but worth doing if you can.

Next ensure any ISP provided router is bridged (or better still put in modem mode, if that mode is supported) and that its WiFi adapters are disabled. 

I would then reboot all and let the system settle for a day or so and see if things improve.

Ken_Griffiths

… oh and ‘yes’, the blacklisting suggestion was just to perhaps put all (or some) Sonos products onto the Orbi 5Ghz WiFi band as that band is less penetrating/quicker (more localised) and you could then also use the DFS WiFi channels etc. and hopefully avoid your neighbouring WiFi signals, but it really depends on what devices you perhaps have in your setup. 

Your Sonos matrix is not going to be that helpful if running all on your WiFi signal. It’s geared for use with SonosNet …and the more modern Sonos devices are not using its full features these days anyway. 
 

 

P

Yes. I have two Sonos connects. Maybe that’s it. They are Ethernet connected. The matrix shows a decibel figure and some color coding. Fri. Those two things plus the way they are positioned you can see what is connected to what and how good the connection is. 

Ken_Griffiths

Ken. Thanks for your response. I checked and all my wifi components are on 5G so would the blacklisting help?  My guess is that is to keep it off the 2.4 band. I do think it’s all about interference because I still use the matrix that Sonos says isn’t used any longer. The matrix does show a lot of noise / interference. Also, the poor performance with high resolution sources is troubling along with the inability to really do airplay consistently without a lot of errors. Any further advise would be awesome because I am figuring the blacklisting would only insure 5ghz which all are already on 

I don’t see any information in the Sonos matrix as I’m using the Plume WiFi - do you have a Sonos device wired to the LAN then and are you using SonosNet at the moment? 

P

Ken. Thanks for your response. I checked and all my wifi components are on 5G so would the blacklisting help?  My guess is that is to keep it off the 2.4 band. I do think it’s all about interference because I still use the matrix that Sonos says isn’t used any longer. The matrix does show a lot of noise / interference. Also, the poor performance with high resolution sources is troubling along with the inability to really do airplay consistently without a lot of errors. Any further advise would be awesome because I am figuring the blacklisting would only insure 5ghz which all are already on 

Ken_Griffiths

This looks like an old thread but the problem still exists for me.  Ive got 15 zones containing 22 devices.  On an Orbit mesh network in a city environment.  When I look at available Wifi networks there are between 19-23 available.  I know I have interference.  That is what I figure is causing my App Launch to App Usable massive delay.  As others have pointed out, opening the app and waiting 20-40 seconds for it to become responsive is VERY long especially if the music came on loud or in a wrong zone…  Airplay is rough as well.  Trying to play a high resolution (TV or QoBuz) source via airplay ALWAYS causes dropouts.  Trying to play same high resolution sources to ALL ZONES also causes constant dropouts.  My Orbi network is back haul connected via Ethernet and is probably one generation old (RBR50 Router) so still very capable.  I have called in to Sonos support countless times and if I get someone (usually during business hours) that isn't worthless, we kind of arrive at the fact that I have a LOT of interference on all channels.  This is something I have not been able to figure out how to get around.  My ultimate conclusion is all the delay in the app becoming functional after being initially opened is attributable to either 1, all the local interference OR 2, the fact that I’m on a MESH network.  Not sure if SONOS likes Mesh or if there is some configuration I could manage that would improve the network’s performance.  Right now though, using the Sonos app is horrible experience and I try to manage everything through Alexa - which is much more responsive than the native SONIOS app.  .  

Sonos works well with the chosen Home WiFi mesh setup here, which is Plume WiFi. I also use a wired backhaul, but I don’t have lots of ‘other’ WiFi networks nearby to cause the issues you’re encountering.

I’m not personally familiar with the Netgear Orbi mesh system, but my thoughts are that a good WiFi mesh system should be avoiding the other nearby networks and providing a good delivery of wireless communication, especially for the shorter range 5Ghz band, which most Sonos products will use these days (except Sonos Home Theatre devices, which I guess could be wired to a Switch off the Primary Orbi Hub)

Anyhow I have a similar amount of devices and zones and the Sonos App opening time is between 7-10 seconds from its fully closed state, that’s on an iPad Pro controller.

Maybe look at blacklisting your compatible Sonos products to force them to use the 5Ghz band and wire any others that use the 2.4Ghz band to a Switch linked to the Primary hub and see if that improves device discovery/response times and see if you can then get the App up and running at least within half the time it takes now.

P

This looks like an old thread but the problem still exists for me.  Ive got 15 zones containing 22 devices.  On an Orbit mesh network in a city environment.  When I look at available Wifi networks there are between 19-23 available.  I know I have interference.  That is what I figure is causing my App Launch to App Usable massive delay.  As others have pointed out, opening the app and waiting 20-40 seconds for it to become responsive is VERY long especially if the music came on loud or in a wrong zone…  Airplay is rough as well.  Trying to play a high resolution (TV or QoBuz) source via airplay ALWAYS causes dropouts.  Trying to play same high resolution sources to ALL ZONES also causes constant dropouts.  My Orbi network is back haul connected via Ethernet and is probably one generation old (RBR50 Router) so still very capable.  I have called in to Sonos support countless times and if I get someone (usually during business hours) that isn't worthless, we kind of arrive at the fact that I have a LOT of interference on all channels.  This is something I have not been able to figure out how to get around.  My ultimate conclusion is all the delay in the app becoming functional after being initially opened is attributable to either 1, all the local interference OR 2, the fact that I’m on a MESH network.  Not sure if SONOS likes Mesh or if there is some configuration I could manage that would improve the network’s performance.  Right now though, using the Sonos app is horrible experience and I try to manage everything through Alexa - which is much more responsive than the native SONIOS app.  .  

P

I also had this Problem, changed my Network Setting on the Router.

2,4 GHz-Network channel from 1 to 6 and my Problem is solved. 

Hello, 
I had latency problems on S2 with my Sonos system (Mesh network, with a sonos boost).
I changed channel 1 to 6 and the latencies disappeared.
Thanks for the info :) 

Ken_Griffiths

@vram,

If your Sonos App is perhaps taking much longer to discover all your devices than the example shown in the uploaded animation, then it’s ‘highly likely’ a network/router issue, as @controlav mentions. It’s only ever as good as the very last Sonos device to report back - so perhaps focus on that as your starting point.

Ken_Griffiths

I manage to get things up and running these days around the 10s mark (give or take). here’s a .gif (animation) I created a few seconds ago opening the iPad Sonos App from a fully closed state, that’s with 29 Sonos devices and numerous music services installed. The ‘My Sonos’ tab has no space to add any further items - so it’s all perhaps pushing a ‘worst case’ scenario. 

The App is ready to go when the volume control on the ‘now playing’ takes up its correct position (just as a reference point).

This is whilst running all on an 802.11ac WiFi mesh system.

If I open the App from a background state instead, then it’s a few seconds only.

Sorry about the quality, but there’s a 5MB upload limit here - but hopefully the repeating animation above shows you the kind of discovery speed I manage to get. I’m quite happy with that level of responsiveness. As I say it’s a lot less waiting time if the App is just brought forward from a background state.

edit: (animation now attached instead - as it was a bit of an eye-sore) … Ken

1 Attachment
V

Same - very frustrating!

It’s usually the SSDP ‘multicast’ device discovery of each and every Sonos device across a subnet by the controller device that causes the delay/responsiveness issue, so maybe try to reduce any wired/wireless network interference and maybe reserve device IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table. It should not take any longer than 10s (that’s just a ball-park figure) to be fully up and running with any Sonos system when opening the App from a fully closed state, at least that’s been my own personal experience in the recent past. 

An SSDP scan is three seconds per the RFC. It then should take no more than a couple more seconds to obtain the Zone topology and music service list then subscribe to the events on all the speakers, which is enough for the app to be up and running.

Most common reason for slow startup is a crap router/local network. Occasionally one device can be a pain and super slow in response, a reboot of it will fix that. You can see this in the xml logs (on PC).

Not a very helpful response.  

controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Same - very frustrating!

It’s usually the SSDP ‘multicast’ device discovery of each and every Sonos device across a subnet by the controller device that causes the delay/responsiveness issue, so maybe try to reduce any wired/wireless network interference and maybe reserve device IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table. It should not take any longer than 10s (that’s just a ball-park figure) to be fully up and running with any Sonos system when opening the App from a fully closed state, at least that’s been my own personal experience in the recent past. 

An SSDP scan is three seconds per the RFC. It then should take no more than a couple more seconds to obtain the Zone topology and music service list then subscribe to the events on all the speakers, which is enough for the app to be up and running.

Most common reason for slow startup is a crap router/local network. Occasionally one device can be a pain and super slow in response, a reboot of it will fix that. You can see this in the xml logs (on PC).

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
Ken_Griffiths

Same - very frustrating!

It’s usually the SSDP ‘multicast’ device discovery of each and every Sonos device across a subnet by the controller device that causes the delay/responsiveness issue, so maybe try to reduce any wired/wireless network interference and maybe reserve device IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table. It should not take any longer than 10s (that’s just a ball-park figure) to be fully up and running with any Sonos system when opening the App from a fully closed state, at least that’s been my own personal experience in the recent past. 

V

I am also experiencing this issue and have been unable to resolve it.
 

My network (Amplifi by Ubiquity) performs excellently in all other respects but I have done a full factory reset on all routers, mesh points and Sonos speakers but noticed no improvement. Airplay 2 picks up the speakers instantly but the Sonos app is often very slow. 
 

I too have tried all the steps in the FAQ with no success. 

Same - very frustrating!

K

Thanks Bruce,

Really this question is directed AT THE SONOS COMMUNITY - not support as you can probably tell from my postings. 

I’m asking if ANY other Sonos S2 users have experienced the Sonos applications reacting/launching/refreshing slowly compared to other iOS/Android apps and S1.

 

I do agree that it makes it tough when Sonos’ support has their hands tied with communicating broadly to the community. 

 

I find the lag time is most frustrating when you want to quickly stop or turn down the volume…

I'll quickly get the next offer for the latest speaker though!

Right now why would I buy another speaker, I'm more likely to o go elsewhere completely…

My net promotor score is 4/10 for recommending Sonia right now....

In the world of smart phones and computers the lag  is a big issue…

Come in Sonos give us some hope!

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