Likely going to be WiFi interference from the Wireless networks and SonosNet channels in use. Can you perhaps outline the SSID’s/Wifi channels/Channel-widths in use by each network and state the SonosNet channels too. Maybe then some suggestions can be made to reduce the interference.

It would also help to describe how far away each Boost/Wired Sonos device, is from its nearest wireless AP.

If the Bridge worked well for you, you could pick up it's successor, the Boost, while it is still available - it is out of production.

Your statement “its the ability of the Sonos app to connect to the Sonos system” might be read as if it puts the blame on the app. Remember the app is running on your phone, that needs to mak the connection to your network and down the line to your devices. The problem could also be the connection between your phone and the network.

I wanted to upgrade because it thought the grass might be greener, so I bought a new speaker to test it out. I setup the speaker on the S2 app by itself and I instantly saw what everybodys been talking about. I tried simple operations like changing volume and the speaker takes 5-10 sec to respond. An the speaker flickers on and off in the app. Ridicules. 

I remember somebody saying that it is not the app but the network because all operations is made on the speaker itself. I believe it is the entire S2 operating system on the speakers that is fundamentally flawed. It has been a number of years now and with no fix on the root problem but 20 new products in that same period. What is going on at Sonos?!?!

I will sell the new speaker and keep to the old system. S1 works for me and I will have nothing to do with S2. If I need to change from S1 it will be to another system and by that time i might be interested to hear where you all suggest I should go. 

  

Device discovery is entirely the same whether it is S1 or S2. Your router is by far the most probable cause, please tell us what kind it is (and whether you are using WiFi [likely] or SonosNet [less likely].

Device discovery is:

SSDP broadcast (3 seconds per UPnP spec)

SSDP multicast (3 seconds concurrent with broadcast)

mDNS search (concurrent)

When a device is found (on the correct Household) then it is scanned for services, and the interesting services are subscribed to. Some UPnP calls are also made to each device.

That is all local network device-to-device calls, and as we have seen too many times, some routers suck at this.

None of this has changed between S1 and S2.

If using a PC or a Mac then there are some human-readable logs generated which might give a clue. On all devices you can always generate a Diagnostic for Sonos support to take a look at.

Using what service? I do not recognise this - I’m using Spotify.

Another thread about this problem.

Link.

Hi, I’ve been experiencing similar issues since I upgraded to the S2 app too.

“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?” - Yes!

I have recently bought an Amp, Move and Arc and connecting to those speakers via AirPlay and the Sonos S2 app were very unreliable (also my other Sonos speakers). As you described my S2 experience was very laggy, taking many seconds to connect to the speakers if I was lucky. As you have experienced yourself, this was immensely frustrating when spending a not small amount of money on Sonos speakers expecting them to perform professionally and very disappointing.

Since researching about this issue and coming across this community post, I’ve now connected one of my speakers directly to my router, which means my Sonos speakers are now using SonosNet Channel 6 (you can also choose channel 1 or 11) to talk to each other rather than using my Wi-Fi channels and the lag has almost disappeared (AirPlay connection reliability seems to have improved too). This may have been caused by too many devices being on my Wi-Fi router. I only carried this out earlier today, but the results so far have been very promising.

I know there has been an update to the S2 App since you posted this, so I may also be experiencing an improved service due to the App update. I hope this helps.

Same problem - takes what feels ages to load just the app. Got significantly worse over the past month or two. FIX THIS PLEASE. Incredibly annoying

I’ve also been experiencing this lag in the app for some time finding all the system components upon launching the app.
 

I recently went into my router settings, and reserved/assigned  specific IP addresses (vs dynamic assignments by the router) for every Sonos product in the system (which is a considerable amount of Sonos Products, I admit). . My experience so far is an immediate and considerable  improvement in load time and listing all the products in the system. 
 

I’m not suggesting this may work well for everyone, but time will tell for me. So far, I have completely closed the app several times, and upon opening the app, I am currently down to 5-6 sec for finding a system with over 24 components! Let's see if this lasts! 

Except that mine still only takes 2 seconds to load, and this thread still has only a few posts after nearly three months.

That is different than my slowness issue, I’d sure send in a diagnostic and ask Sonos to look at it.

Because Sonos requires inter-device communication on the local network to work correctly, and sadly many routers can’t do this correctly.

I agree the new App opening time for our main Sonos setup here, takes 16 seconds, compared to 9-10 seconds on the old S2 App, but in complete fairness to Sonos, everything is loaded and ready to go on the main Home Screen, whereas I used to have to go onto scroll the My Sonos tab for its icons to later appear post start-up. I can live with these delays, as it’s only on opening from a fully closed state - The new App is almost instant & ready to go when it is brought into focus from a backgrounded state on my iOS controller devices.

I don’t much like the shadowy ‘slide-over’ animation on the various screens during navigation of some screens, whilst waiting for some things to load - that really makes it feel ‘laggy’, even if it only ‘slides-over’ for a second or so. I guess though some users may be okay with this.

Undoubtedly, we ALL would like everything to work as instant as possible, but it’s not going to happen - but as long as most of the missing things (widely discussed) are put back in the App, I will be okay with it.

Unlike some others, I like the App layout and find it easy to use (it’s simple, in fact). ‘Yes’ there are some bugs and issues with screen layout/positions, particularly on the iPad, but I’m thinking these things will all eventually be fixed and when that’s all done, I see it potentially being a much better App than the old S2 App.

It’s a pity that the App has lost some credibility by being released (too) early in this incomplete state, as ‘first impressions’ really do count …and so this new controller has an upward climb to win back ‘hearts and minds’.

All said and done, I’m personally happy to be patient and hang in there and will wait to see it develop as I do (still) see lots of potential in this new software. We shall perhaps have to wait and see…

@skilletP You’ve made two changes to your system:

• You went from S1 to S2; and
• You removed the Bridge that made your speakers use Sonosnet.

I’m wondering if your current problems aren’t more related to the removal of the Bridge. You could try cable connecting one of your speakers or buy a Boost to build a Sonosnet again.

Same problem for me.  EVERY time I open the S2 app, it takes 10-30 seconds to load.  No other apps have this issue.

update:  uninstalling and reinstalling the S2 app resolved it for me.

Yes, @Ken_Griffiths, I agree completely with your conclusion. I just hope that, in restoring functionality they take the opportunity to have a red hot go at optimising it under the bonnet so they and we can be proud of it rather than simply recreating what was there before. 

Fingers crossed but I'm not holding my breath. 

John

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. 

I get regular marketing from Sonos pushing the latest speakers, which I will NEVER buy until whatever happened with S2 Controller is fixed. I’ve tried switching channels as per advice, but if anything it’s more laggy or dysfunctional. Given I’m using an iPhone 15 with top tier broadband, I shouldn’t have to start messing around with configuration. Reality is that most of the talk amongst fellow Sonos users around here is what to move to.

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? 

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 

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.

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.  .  

I’m staying, the new App is working okay here… not seeing too much of a delay and even then it’s only in one or two areas, but even so, I suspect that the App optimisation may come later - the developers aims at the moment are clearly the targets they set for July, as outlined in the Sonos support page.

I can live with what I have and will just wait patiently for the rest.

I’ve got no lag, on my 18 speakers and 5 controllers, using S2. Which makes me think there’s a local issue in your system.

I’d suggest three things to you. First, review the wifi interference FAQ. There’s some potential that your system is troubled, perhaps by outside influences. Worth reading through and applying what solutions are presented.

Second, try a network refresh. Unplug all your Sonos devices from power. While they are unplugged, reboot your router. When the router comes back up, go ahead and plug back in your Sonos devices. 

Third, if neither of those work, system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it, or post the diagnostic number here for a Community Moderator to pick up.

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, there are more options available beyond just the diagnostic analysis.

UPDATE: It is with mixed feelings I’m happy to have found a resolution to my S2 App lagging issues. I just purchased a new iPad Air 5 and the performance difference from my 1 year old Lenovo & Samsung Tablets is Night & Day. This confirms as I suspected it had nothing to do with Wi-Fi inference, Router type, Router Settings, with or without Sonos Net, hard wiring and so on. I take serious issue with Sonos that I should have to upgrade to an expensive controller to get satisfactory performance. Nowhere have I ever read from Sonos that as you add more and more devices (up to 32 indeed!) you need more horse power in the controller. This explains why the Desktop Windows software runs smoothly on my Laptop (Wi-Fi) or Desktop (hardwired) lots of processing power in these controllers. I don’t have the time or inclination to test a comparable Samsung S8 Tablet to the iPad Air 5 to see if the performance would be the same. If they are, then this would confirm that Android Apps run as smoothly as Apple and indeed you need an expensive Tablet either way.  If they don’t, again shame on Sonos for not making it clear to customers that you will get better performance from Apple devices. My goal here is to help others experiencing the same frustration I was after updating many devices to S2, investing a lot of money in my current 26 devices only to find out I need to spend more money on a Tablet to get them to work properly.