Feature Request - Lower Music Volume of Group When Activating Alexa

  • 14 April 2023
  • 8 replies
  • 66 views
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I recently got my first set of Sonos speakers (Amp + Soance + Roam) for my patio. The idea was that I would team the Roam with the Amp to have hands-free control of the system. So far, that has worked brilliantly!

One of the few things I was annoyed with was that when I activate Alexa using the Roam, if music is playing on the grouped Amp, the volume does not lower for both members of the group. However, if I use the Sonos voice control, BOTH members of the group lower volume after activating the assistant. This greatly helps with voice commands.

It would be cool if Sonos could create the same behavior for Alexa that the Sonos assistant does.

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8 replies

Corry P
Userlevel 7
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Hi @TippyToesTutu 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

The important point here is where the speakers are grouped. To do as you describe, please place your Amp and Roam into the same Alexa group, using the Alexa app, and both devices will “duck” while you are providing a voice command. Alexa app » Devices » Groups.

Be sure to checkmark “Preferred Alexa-Enabled Device” for the Roam.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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Thank you! This appeared to do the trick for me. Now if I can just figure out why the Amp will disconnect every so often I think we’ll be near 100% satisfaction!

Corry P
Userlevel 7
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Hi @TippyToesTutu 

I think I can probably assist there too, assuming that you mean the Amp occasionally and momentarily stops playing while the Roam continues?

There are a few things to keep in mind here. One is that Amp will connect to 2.4GHz, while Roam will connect to 5GHz. The two frequencies can behave differently, but I suspect what will be pertinent in this case is that 2.4GHz tends to be much busier, including usage from devices not using WiFi, such as mobile (cellular) phones, microwaves, baby monitors, smart meters etc. Another thing to keep in mind is interference - interference near the Amp, near the router (and WiFi Access Points, if there are multiple), and if the Roam is in charge of the group (selected and listed first) near it too. Finally, it’s possible that if your 2.4 and 5GHz WiFi bands are combined into one (not unusual), the router is trying to steer the Amp onto 5GHz which it will be refusing to do.

I recommend reading and applying the advice on our Reducing wireless interference help page in regards to the three devices. Most importantly, please keep them at least 1m away from other WiFi devices and each other. For the router, this includes any smart home hubs that may be plugged into it.

If that doesn’t resolve the issue, please submit a support diagnostic right after noticing the issue occur and reply here with the number given when convenient, and I’ll take a look for you.

If I’ve misunderstood what you meant, please elaborate and provide a diagnostic as above. Thanks.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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I had done a little reading on issues people have had with this. I am not a fan of getting that boost device as it seems redundant. One of the first things I figured that I would try is creating a new SSID on my WiFi and limit it to 2.4 GHz, join both devices to it and see how that goes.

My symptom was that the Amp would show as connected to my network (UniFi hardware stack) but would disappear from the Sonos app completely. After rebooting the Amp, I could see it in the app again, then have to reconnect it. After it happened the second time in a day, I then hardwired the Amp via ethernet and it's been fine since, but I would much rather keep it on WiFi if I can.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @TippyToesTutu 

UniFi? In that case, please do the following:

  1. Log into the UniFi controller.

  2. In the Settings tab, click WiFi

  3. Click WiFi under the Settings page

  4. Click on the network SSID. Note: if there are multiple SSIDs that the players and controllers connect to, the same will need to be done for each SSID. image.png

  5. Scroll down to Advanced Configuration and set it to Manual

  6. Scroll down to Multicast Management and click on Show Options image.png

  7. Disable the following options by unchecking the Enable option:

    1. Multicast and Broadcast Control (blocks all multicast and broadcast for non-listed devices).

    2. Multicast Enhancement (converts multicast to unicast when possible).

    3. Client Device Isolation (prevents wireless client on the same AP from communicating with each other).

    4. Proxy ARP (converts broadcast to unicast when possible). image.png

  8. Click on the Apply Changes button at the bottom of the page.

  9. Once completed, allow up to a minute for the AP to provision (apply the settings) and restore online connection, then proceed to rebooting or regrouping the Sonos Players.

I hope this helps.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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I tried that seemed to help, thank you!

One last thing, and I hesitate to ask since you have already helped so much:

Do you know of a way to get the response to an Alexa (or Sonos for that matter) command to play via BOTH or all members of the speaker group? My aim was for the roam to be no more than a method to hands-free control the Amp. In order to hear responses to my commands like weather or what song is playing, I have to keep the Roam volume high enough to hear command responses but then I feel it interferes with the music being played from the Amp itself.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @TippyToesTutu 

Great!

Don’t worry about it - I get paid by the hour! And, you are very welcome anyway.

Unfortunately not - the responses from voice assistants are not available as audio that can be shared to other devices/rooms. Only the device running the voice service can verbally respond to a voice command. That’s how it stands for Alexa, at least, and is unlikely to ever change. Sonos Voice Control is ours, of course, so it’s plausible that the verbal responses could be shared to other rooms, though I have no idea how workable that idea would be in the existing software framework. There’s no harm in requesting it as a feature, however - just create a new topic, ask for it to be possible to play SVC responses in other rooms, and we’ll tag it as a feature request and pass it along to the relevant teams for consideration. This would also give other community members the chance to say “hey, that would be great” which would raise the priority of the request.

With your current setup, you do at least have separate control over the volume of your voice assistants’ voice and the volume of the music played - this wouldn’t be an option if the Amp was responding too, and is something often requested for.

I hope this helps.

Edit: I just noticed again that this thread was a feature request too, but it was not tagged as such by us because what you were asking for was already possible. Starting a new thread will ensure that the correct idea is considered (and upvoted by users), so I still recommend it.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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Ok I will do that, thank you very much!!

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