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As the subject line says - I can play to my neighbour's Sonos system via Airplay - should I be able to do this?

As backgrounder, I had an issue when I paired my Move with their Move, via wifi - just to see how they sounded as a pair.

I then ended up having all kinds of issues with my Sonos system becoming entangled with theirs.

Despite not being connected to their wifi and resetting the Moves to their rightful owners/wifi, I was still seeing their Sonos speakers via the Sonos app, when logged into my wifi and their email address intermittently appeared in my App log in page, instead of my own - it seemed their system had become baked into my app...

After resetting the iOS app didn’t stop this happening, I appear to have eventually resolved this by:

  • Wiping my iPhone and reinstalling the Sonos app
  • Factory resetting my router
  • Factory resetting/re-adding all of my system in the Sonos app

My Sonos system appears to now be stable, though I have had one of my surround One’s drop off twice.

However, I am still seeing their Sonos speakers when using Airplay in other apps (AppleMusic, Spotify and the Apple Podcast app) and I’m able to connect and play media to them - any ideas whether this is connected to my earlier issues, possibly it’s a problem at their end?

I’m working on the basis that I should not be to connect to their kit if I’m not on their wifi but happy to be corrected!

This is the first time I’ve had issues with Sonos in a couple of years but it’s become a mind-numbingly frustrating issue to fully resolve.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Chris
 

Two possibilities:

  • Your system and next door’s shared the same Sonos Household ID. If both systems were in wired/SonosNet mode the two networks could have been bridged together. A full factory reset and setup as a new system should have cleared any such issue.
  • You have next door’s WiFi credentials stored somewhere: on your phone or your Sonos system. Again a factory reset should have purged any such information from the Sonos.

Are you sure you’re not using ‘Connect’ rather than Airplay? Also just reset your mobile network settings and then connect the mobile back to your own WiFi network and then finally goto ‘Settings/System/Network’ in your Sonos App and ensure your neighbours WiFi is not stored on your speakers - if it is, then this link explains how to remove their WiFi network:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3488

When you’ve done those few things, you should then be fine.

Two possibilities:

  • Your system and next door’s shared the same Sonos Household ID. If both systems were in wired/SonosNet mode the two networks could have been bridged together. A full factory reset and setup as a new system should have cleared any such issue.
  • You have next door’s WiFi credentials stored somewhere: on your phone or your Sonos system. Again a factory reset should have purged any such information from the Sonos.

Thanks for the swift response, @ratty

Yes, they do have appear to have been ‘bridged’, as you say. I think the hard reset at my end may have cleared most of the issues but they probably need to do the same at their end to break that connection.

I’d seen a few posts where app email logins had ‘cross-pollinated’ between systems but couldn’t get to the bottom of it (and the Sonos helpline folks certainly didn’t mention ‘bridging’ as a possible issue).

Cheers

Are you sure you’re not using ‘Connect’ rather than Airplay? Also just reset your mobile network settings and then connect the mobile back to your own WiFi network and then finally goto ‘Settings/System/Network’ in your Sonos App and ensure your neighbours WiFi is not stored on your speakers - if it is, then this link explains how to remove their WiFi network:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3488

When you’ve done those few things, you should then be fine.

Cheers @Ken_Griffiths - appreciate the response.

I’m definitely using Airplay when I see their speakers…

That’s a useful link indeed, a shame the Sonos helpdesk didn’t nudge me in that direction when I spoke to them, and outlined the timeline and details of the problem, at length last week!

Grateful for your help.

Chris

Two possibilities:

  • Your system and next door’s shared the same Sonos Household ID. If both systems were in wired/SonosNet mode the two networks could have been bridged together. A full factory reset and setup as a new system should have cleared any such issue.
  • You have next door’s WiFi credentials stored somewhere: on your phone or your Sonos system. Again a factory reset should have purged any such information from the Sonos.

Thanks for the swift response, @ratty

Yes, they do have appear to have been ‘bridged’, as you say. I think the hard reset at my end may have cleared most of the issues but they probably need to do the same at their end to break that connection.

No, the neighbours don’t need to do the same. By completely setting your system up from new again your Household ID will now be unique.

 

I’d seen a few posts where app email logins had ‘cross-pollinated’ between systems but couldn’t get to the bottom of it (and the Sonos helpline folks certainly didn’t mention ‘bridging’ as a possible issue).

Moving units between systems can cause such ‘cross-pollination’ of settings, which is why it’s essential to reset such units before re-adding them to your own system.

As for the Sonos helpline, well, they perhaps work through their scripts and this possibility didn’t occur to them. It stands to reason that if Sonos devices share the same Household ID they’ll interconnect, and if one gets taken next door it will continue to try and phone home.

Two possibilities:

  • Your system and next door’s shared the same Sonos Household ID. If both systems were in wired/SonosNet mode the two networks could have been bridged together. A full factory reset and setup as a new system should have cleared any such issue.
  • You have next door’s WiFi credentials stored somewhere: on your phone or your Sonos system. Again a factory reset should have purged any such information from the Sonos.

Thanks for the swift response, @ratty

Yes, they do have appear to have been ‘bridged’, as you say. I think the hard reset at my end may have cleared most of the issues but they probably need to do the same at their end to break that connection.

No, the neighbours don’t need to do the same. By completely setting your system up from new again your Household ID will now be unique.

 

I’d seen a few posts where app email logins had ‘cross-pollinated’ between systems but couldn’t get to the bottom of it (and the Sonos helpline folks certainly didn’t mention ‘bridging’ as a possible issue).

Moving units between systems can cause such ‘cross-pollination’ of settings, which is why it’s essential to reset such units before re-adding them to your own system.

As for the Sonos helpline, well, they perhaps work through their scripts and this possibility didn’t occur to them. It stands to reason that if Sonos devices share the same Household ID they’ll interconnect, and if one gets taken next door it will continue to try and phone home.

Safe to say, I won’t be trying out the pairing experiment with anyone else’s kit in a hurry. Thanks again @ratty 

Thanks again to @ratty and @Ken_Griffiths.

My system now appears to be stable and I’m not seeing any connection to my neighbours.

it took a couple of resets to get the surrounds to play ball but glad that I can just enjoy the kit again 🙏

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