Chromecast functionality



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Why is Sonos lacking the Chromecast functionality

 

I have Android and iOS devices. I prefer Android, so I use it. Not because I don’t have a surplus of discretionary income, but because I am a technologist and Android is more flexible.

The fact that Sonos won’t address this question directly with a status or rationale tells me that it’s their choice to have not implemented it yet. A simple “we’re working with Google to add this functionality to S2 as soon as possible” would suffice… however, silence is the biggest indicator that the company doesn’t care and likely will never deploy it.

I spent 3.5k recently on Sonos gear to power my whole-home audio and for the most part have been happy with it. The biggest struggle I’ve found is the limited functionality of the S2 app in browsing my music collections across Google Music (now YouTube Music), Tidal, Spotify, and XM. Specifically, in using things like “radio stations” or “discover mixes” based on themes, artists, albums or playlists. For these, I’d like to go into the native apps on my Android phone start my music, and then transfer the audio over to Sonos to continue playing it.

I purchased Sonos knowing of this limitation, thinking I could work around it with a Chromecast dongle attached to a port, Beam, or Amp (I have all of them). But this solution is clunky and I expect more out of my premium audio vendor. The lack of Chromecast support is a far bigger inconvenience than I could have expected.

Sonos, it’s time to get off your high horse and communicate with your customers on this issue. 

Hi. Better not to ask the same question on two different threads. Please see response to this question on the other thread. 

I just purchased the Sonos 1 (Gen 2) assuming it’s compatible with Chromecast. 

I have a projector that has the new Chromecast TV plugged into it. The projector has a horrible sound so I used to have a Bose speaker connected to the projector via Chromecast TV. 

Chromecast TV has bluetooth integrated in it. Is there a way to connect the Sonos speaker to it and use it as an output for the sound?

I’d like to add my voice to this request.

 

It really is sad that Airplay is supported but not chromecast.   It mean that android users are unable cast things from our phones :(   Please add this!

 

Please!

 

 

I've just started to get into Chrome cast but it's just another thing that makes me sad I invested >$2,000 in Sonos for my new home.  

All reviews pointed to good sound quality and functionality but pretty sure they weren't talking about expanded systems which are a nightmare for disconnects well within the requirements and ranges. Customer service are pleasant to talk to but it's always the same troubleshooting (remove, repair problem speakers then recommend I hardwire speaker in group. 

 

Like most of you,  I don't recommend the speakers and have since left reviews about my experience online. I continuously get spammed by Sonos to leave a review,  but it never posts due to their website saying my Adblocker prevents it. I've gone to some effort to disable but no success. 

 

You can find the trail of Chromecast support requests to Sonos but nothing..

 

Leave reviews to save other people from being disappointed by paying premium prices for poor products. 

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I'll join the cries of others here lamenting the fact that Sonos speakers do not have a basic functionality like Chromecast support.  I wished i new before i bought them. They are Wifi speakers after all,  so i guess that like others i assumed Chromecast support would come standard. How hard can it be to implement such a functionality? 

Just wanted to note here that some of us (fortunately) read this thread in time, _before_ buying a Sonos device, and decided not to buy it because the lack of Chromecast support. You just don't know about us, because most of us doesn't invest the time to register an account here just to leave one comment and never come back. 

I have multiple Sonos speakers and have been using the ecosystem for many years but the lack of being able to cast is driving me to sell them and use other speakers. the Sonos app just cannot match the individual apps like you tube music and being able to cast from any all is a massive win.

 

Everytime friends come over or you have audio on a random app you want to listen it's another point of frustration that drives me ever closer to ditching Sonos. 

 

The new nest speakers aren't as good as the Sonos one but with more companies adding assistant and cast enabled speakers it's only a matter of time before Sonos becomes irrelevant. Google is already enabling easier streaming to multiple speakers and creating groups on the fly which irradiates the Sonos advantage imo.

 

I am at a point now for the first time in probably 7 years were I am not recommending Sonos to friends and family. 

Why is Sonos lacking the Chromecast functionality, which basically every 100€ WiFi speaker has. It makes it impossible to use YouTube music ( you have to open the Sonos controller and control it from there instead of just pressing the cast button) and it makes using the Google Assistant unnecessarily cumbersome. You have to specify the speaker after a voice command instead of being able to simply set Sonos as a default speaker. That not enough, it also makes it impossible to cast all audio to Sonos. Sonos always talks about being open and support all platforms, yet after waiting a year longer than Airplay 2 users (which got supported as soon as the service got released), we get a shitty, half-assed service lacking basic functionality. Sonos basically incentivizes people to switch to Google Home Max et al, to use get the full capability from the services.

I just bought a Sonos One, set it up and couldn't cast to it. I went online and found all this nonsense about not being able to do it. It's extremely frustrating and depressing. I'm going to try and return this to the shop and buy another brand tomorrow but doubt they'll take it as I've opened the box. I'll just have to put it on eBay or something and lose money on it. Will never buy Sonos again - this is not Google's fault, many many cheaper brands come with this as standard, it's Sonos trying to corner you in to their products for multi room sound, but it's not going to work with me unfortunately for them. There is misleading information out there about whether this should work. Lots of reviews say that you can do it. I would gladly give up google assistant compatibility for the ability to cast to it, I don't give a crap about making a phone call through a speaker, I just want to listen to music on a group of my speakers. 

An update - luckily I took the Sonos One back to the shop and they gave me a refund even though I'd opened the box and used the speaker for ten minutes. I then went to another shop and bought 2 x LG XBoom W7 speakers. I could buy two because they are less than half the price of the Sonos One. The setup was a dream and what I expected the Sonos setup to be like. I can cast to them in groups just like I had hoped I would be able to with Sonos. Highly recommended. The downsides are that the speakers are not quite as good sound quality and do not go as loud. I'm an ex professional sound engineer of 15 years and have heard a speaker or two and know that they're far from audiophile quality but for the sake of having multiroom audio they're great. 

 

I just sold my sonos one on craigslist this morning. I am thinking about the new Nest Audio by Google. I have read good reviews on it’s audio quality. I’ll check out this LG speaker too!

Why is Sonos lacking the Chromecast functionality, which basically every 100€ WiFi speaker has. It makes it impossible to use YouTube music ( you have to open the Sonos controller and control it from there instead of just pressing the cast button) and it makes using the Google Assistant unnecessarily cumbersome. You have to specify the speaker after a voice command instead of being able to simply set Sonos as a default speaker. That not enough, it also makes it impossible to cast all audio to Sonos. Sonos always talks about being open and support all platforms, yet after waiting a year longer than Airplay 2 users (which got supported as soon as the service got released), we get a shitty, half-assed service lacking basic functionality. Sonos basically incentivizes people to switch to Google Home Max et al, to use get the full capability from the services.

I just bought a Sonos One, set it up and couldn't cast to it. I went online and found all this nonsense about not being able to do it. It's extremely frustrating and depressing. I'm going to try and return this to the shop and buy another brand tomorrow but doubt they'll take it as I've opened the box. I'll just have to put it on eBay or something and lose money on it. Will never buy Sonos again - this is not Google's fault, many many cheaper brands come with this as standard, it's Sonos trying to corner you in to their products for multi room sound, but it's not going to work with me unfortunately for them. There is misleading information out there about whether this should work. Lots of reviews say that you can do it. I would gladly give up google assistant compatibility for the ability to cast to it, I don't give a crap about making a phone call through a speaker, I just want to listen to music on a group of my speakers. 

An update - luckily I took the Sonos One back to the shop and they gave me a refund even though I'd opened the box and used the speaker for ten minutes. I then went to another shop and bought 2 x LG XBoom W7 speakers. I could buy two because they are less than half the price of the Sonos One. The setup was a dream and what I expected the Sonos setup to be like. I can cast to them in groups just like I had hoped I would be able to with Sonos. Highly recommended. The downsides are that the speakers are not quite as good sound quality and do not go as loud. I'm an ex professional sound engineer of 15 years and have heard a speaker or two and know that they're far from audiophile quality but for the sake of having multiroom audio they're great. 

Why is Sonos lacking the Chromecast functionality, which basically every 100€ WiFi speaker has. It makes it impossible to use YouTube music ( you have to open the Sonos controller and control it from there instead of just pressing the cast button) and it makes using the Google Assistant unnecessarily cumbersome. You have to specify the speaker after a voice command instead of being able to simply set Sonos as a default speaker. That not enough, it also makes it impossible to cast all audio to Sonos. Sonos always talks about being open and support all platforms, yet after waiting a year longer than Airplay 2 users (which got supported as soon as the service got released), we get a shitty, half-assed service lacking basic functionality. Sonos basically incentivizes people to switch to Google Home Max et al, to use get the full capability from the services.

I just bought a Sonos One, set it up and couldn't cast to it. I went online and found all this nonsense about not being able to do it. It's extremely frustrating and depressing. I'm going to try and return this to the shop and buy another brand tomorrow but doubt they'll take it as I've opened the box. I'll just have to put it on eBay or something and lose money on it. Will never buy Sonos again - this is not Google's fault, many many cheaper brands come with this as standard, it's Sonos trying to corner you in to their products for multi room sound, but it's not going to work with me unfortunately for them. There is misleading information out there about whether this should work. Lots of reviews say that you can do it. I would gladly give up google assistant compatibility for the ability to cast to it, I don't give a crap about making a phone call through a speaker, I just want to listen to music on a group of my speakers. 

I was upset after I setup Sonos One and found out it did not work with chromecast, or be part of speaker groups. I don’t buy this license fee or restriction non sense. My 3rd party Lenovo smart display and Onyko smart speaker from two years ago support chromecast with no issues. I can cast to them, they can be speaker groups with other google speakers.

And I can use free youtube music on all above mentioned speakers but not Sonos one. I am pretty tech savvy and I still fell for this trap. If I can return this Sonos One I will but it’s not. Until Sonos decides to fix this I have one expensive bluetooth speaker collecting dust on my desk.

Or with the new Nest Audio at half the price, I could sell my Sonos One on craigslist and upgrade to the new Nest Audio.

Well I don’t know why they would enable AirPlay and not Chromecast. Is it coming, yes / no ?

 

 

I don’t really see AirPlay and Chromecast as being parallel services.  I understand that they do a lot of the same things, but there are surely different licensing feels, contracts, protocols, etc to work out...if either company thought it was in their best interest to do it.  As far as Sonos forecasting their future enhancements, they rarely do that.  Plans change, delays happen, etc, and it’s typical not the best approach.  

 

They make all their communication on enabling Google Assistant which leads clients to think there is obviously Chromecast too. And well they are 2 different things I know, and now I feel dumb for falling into the trap.

 

I don’t see it as a trap.  I get why people make assumptions, but I don’t think Sonos or other companies are responsible for making sure customers don’t make incorrect assumptions.  As an example, should Google make sure everyone knows the limitations of their multiroom audio, in comparison to Sonos, or all the streaming services they do not support?  Should Google make sure that customers know that you can’t play a Sonos One and Google mini together, even though they both support Google Assistant.  is that a trap?

Obviously they are not gonna list every protocols that they don’t support, but damn I feel dumb, and following this thread, it seems I’m not the only one. 

At that price you should feel safe on what you’re buying. 

 

 

I have the reverse attitude.  For cheaper products, I do less research as I don’t lose much if it doesn’t do exactly what I expect it to do.  For more  expensive products, I assume nothing and make sure it will do what I need.  I get that people may not even realize what assumptions they’re making sometimes, and that doesn’t make them dumb, but it’s not the product sellers job to make sure you don’t have incorrect assumptions.

 

And for other companies explaining why they won’t support this or that, there are at least Google and Apple doing it regularly via different medias. 

 

 

I’m not aware of anything specifically.  Then again I don’t follow those two companies very closely.  I will say though that Amazon does add a “We want you to know” section to a lot of there Amazon product listings.  Here’s an example.  I don’t think this is 100% necessary, but I certainly think it adds value and would not mind Sonos doing something similar.   They do in a way, as you can often see misconceptions cleared in the FAQ section, like BLE is not bluetooth and can’t be used for audio.

 

May be I’m too naive, may be they are working on it, but really that specific lack of feature makes me very disappointed in what I bought ...

I would not count on chromecast, so if it matters to you, and you can’t use other casting features, then returning is the right call for you.  

Well I don’t know why they would enable AirPlay and not Chromecast. Is it coming, yes / no ? They make all their communication on enabling Google Assistant which leads clients to think there is obviously Chromecast too. And well they are 2 different things I know, and now I feel dumb for falling into the trap.

Obviously they are not gonna list every protocols that they don’t support, but damn I feel dumb, and following this thread, it seems I’m not the only one. 

At that price you should feel safe on what you’re buying. 

And for other companies explaining why they won’t support this or that, there are at least Google and Apple doing it regularly via different medias. 

May be I’m too naive, may be they are working on it, but really that specific lack of feature makes me very disappointed in what I bought ...

The lack of official stance is such disrespectful for your clients, Sonos. I’m really pieced. 

 

What sort of official stance are you looking for?  Do you want Sonos to state all of the services and protocols it does NOT support?  Are you looking for the reason(s) why chromecast isn’t supported?  Can you give an example of another company giving the same sort of official stance you’re looking for from Sonos?

Just found out this lack of Chromecast functionnality after purchasing the Sonos Beam. Really thinking about going elsewhere if anyone knows what alternative to Sonos exists ?
 

The lack of official stance is such disrespectful for your clients, Sonos. I’m really pissed. 

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Is there any official stance on this?, Pretty sure that this will be pretty appreciated!.

It sure would! Offering AirPlay 2 to Apple users on day one but not adding Chromecast is a major disappointment. 

Is there any official stance on this?, Pretty sure that this will be pretty appreciated!.

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fact is - sonos needs also chromecast support, otherwise it’s wasted money for the buck for most android users and we better switch to other brands

 

Sonos offers pretty much every major streaming services streamed directly without the use of chromecast, airplay, or any other mechanism in between.  They also offer Tune In and their own Sonos radio as a means of accessing hundreds (thousands?) of radio stations.  I think you might be overstating the necessity of chromecast support for android users.

People don't want to use the Sonos app... maybe back in the day, but now people want to open their favourite music app and just cast. 

Speak for yourself.

Casting directly from Spotify or most other services will not allow me more than one simultaneous stream. I want to be able to have different music streaming to different rooms.

Casting from TuneIn will include the ads.

Google cast groups are static, cannot change the members of the group dynamically. 

Chromecast will not allow me mixed playback from different services and local media.

...

 

 

Dude, I am an Android user. I listed a number of reasons why I think Chromecast (or Airplay, for that matter) is inferior to the features already offered. You just respond with "we want what we want because we want it". That is not going to convince me, nor will it convince Sonos or Google to do something about it.

 

I see a lot of people on here asking for Chromecast that only have one speaker. I know I sound like a purist, but I get the feeling that they don't "get" what the Sonos ecosystem is actually about, and would maybe have been happier with an upmarket Bluetooth speaker.

 

In my day to day, I have not seen any use case that has me say "I need Chromecast on this thing". Mind you, streaming YouTube and splitting the audio from the video cannot be done on Google Home speakers either. Full YT videos can only be casted to video Chromecasts, it has to do with YT's terms and conditions.

I thankfully ditched all of my Sonos speakers a few years ago when Chromecast Audios were still around. I also thankfully bought about six extra when they were discontinued. I have on two tv's, small hidden Dolby digital 3.1 channel amps connected to an Atlantic Tech passive soundbar and 8" sub in the bedroom and 3 8" in-walls with a 10" sub in the living room. Also have a 2.1 channel amp inside a gutted 50's stereo console retrofitted with new 2-way speaker setups and an 8" sub. All three connected to chromecast audios and all three sound worlds ahead of Sonos devices for a fraction of the cost. They are more integrated into my surroundings and work better than Playbars which would be the only option for the tv's and not even an option for the living room one. Couldn't even do a connect or connect amp in the console without spending much more. the connect amp would still require a separate Sonos sub or a lot of workaround to use the integrated sub in the cabinet.

I have the complete freedom to use Google's assistant, cast everything that has the ability to cast, or device cast from the Home app for things that don't cast which is pretty much some recorded live shows and timeshifted live content.

I have much more flexibility with my setup and how to integrate it into my home without having solo speakers sitting on tables, shelves and what not. And I have no issues with getting content to any speakers. And guests can easily cast from their phones as well.

Only came upon this trying to help a friend with their setup. Has been ages since I've frequented or posted here. But I thought I'd give my take on it for those that are frustrated with the lack of integration considering there are two mobile systems out there and one has more integration than the other apparently. 

It's a shame Google made the CCA go the way of the dodo. Such a cheap way to tie people into their ecosystem and allow them better integration into their environment than spending more money on lesser quality speakers that don't integrate. And now you have to buy multiple products to do what a CCA did; a chromecast & hdmi audio extractor, to do the same thing without a display connected.

The other clincher for me in ditching Sonos was the cost of a Chromecast Audio (with digital out and better audio quality) compared to a Sonos Connect. Nail in the coffin there.

Good luck getting better casting abilities. 

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I also think not having Chromecast supported on Sonos is a huge disadvantage. Google Assistant support on Sonos is really bad, ranging from not being able to play radio stations from TuneIn, BBC and Global Player using voice commands, and the Google Assistant not working as expected when Google Home/Nest speakers work just fine. A good example of this is not being able to shuffle music using voice commands!

Also, when asking Google Assistant on a Nest Hub to play music on Sonos, it only displays basic playback controls instead of displaying song and artist information and a seekbar, rendering the screen useless when it’s being used to play music on Sonos.

The lack of Chromecast is extremely annoying and a great downside and even more aggravating considering the fact that AirPlay 2 is supported on Sonos, meaning that the lack of support is even more irksome for Android users.

 

Please fix this! Again, this is a MAJOR disappointment.

Aww! The lack of Chromecast support is very disappointing. I absolutely demand AirPlay 2, so that’s great, but I want Chromecast support too. Sonos equipment ticks all my other boxes. So close!

Between the multiple connection issues and lack of key features, it certainly hasn't turned out to be what it was cracked up to be..

I'm letting them know about the multiple disappointments I've felt through reviews on the various sites.  I feel I should prevent anyone else from feeling buyer's remorse if I can. 

Another frustrated customer here. Come on, it’s june 2020, chromecast feature could have been delivered long time ago. 

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Anyone know how to connect google podcast to Sonos?? Been using this app ever since its been out.. there's a chromecast button, I push it and nothing happens..

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How do I communicate using VLC player? This is what I have always used for personal music. There's a chromecast button.......

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