My Sonos Controllers disagree over how many zones I have

Hi there, Alan_6. Sonos should have an update available to v9.1. Please update your Sonos Controllers and let us know if the problems persist. Thanks!

Just installed the update. And... same problem. Four zones. Two copies of Sonos desktop, both with a different idea of how many of the four zones actually exist. Oh, and as a bonus, now my iOS controller has lost zones!

Only thing I can think of is that different Sonos hardware units behave differently (the Connects are fine, but the Play speakers are missing).

Try assigning your Sonos devices static/reserved IP addresses from your router's DHCP page. Power down the Sonos, reboot the router and controllers then power uo the Sonos about a minute apart, start with any wired units then the closest WiFi ones.

Well I'll try that. Although I can't see how that explains different controllers talking to the same Sonos unit and that Sonos unit randomly reporting how many zones are on its network. Unless each controller talks to a different "master" Sonos unit.

For info: all my Sonos units are wired, controllers are a mix of wifi and ethernet connections. Only started seeing this issue yesterday.

...and now, without doing anything, my controllers are reading Windows machine #1: 4/4 zones, Windows machine #2: 2/4 zones, iOS: 3/4 zones. Time to try more re-booting and IP address reservation to get back to what I had a couple of days ago...

Mumbles and hand waving... "Sonos mesh, changing DHCP assignments, software getting confused."

So yes, I don't have a good explanation for what is happening but for a lot of folks reserving IP addresses makes it stop.

Update: after a load of reserving IP addresses and rebooting everything, it's almost fixed. Apart from the two Windows 10 machines still disagreeing over whether there are 3 or 4 zones in the 4-zone network they're both controlling, everything is almost back to normal. Another round of random rebooting might do the trick. Still a bit confused, but as I work in IT, not completely surprised.

Thanks for the help.

I don't do Windows but isn't there a way to flush their networking information cache?

I don't do Windows but isn't there a way to flush their networking information cache?

Think so. But... the controller app (on iOS or desktop, both have misrepresented my Sonos zones this week) repeatedly asks my Sonos network “which zones do you have?”, and the Sonos network replies with either the correct answer, or a variety of misleading answers. I’m pretty sure the issue is not two identical copies of an app on two Windows 10 machines performing differently, but rather my Sonos network getting confused because of some as-yet unresolved issue. I know this works. I’ll get it working again. It might just take another few rounds of rebooting things...

If it is an IP address based problem with the Sonos getting confused it is best to get the Sonos Net completely down before bringing it back up. Same situation on your DHCP server in your router, if it is caching old IPs and reauthorizing them instead of issuing the new static ones it isn't helping. Cached IP info in the controller's systems can also confuse things. So many possible versions of all the bits involved it is difficult to guess which is the issue.

I haven't seen any IP issues survive a Sonos power down, router and controllers reboot and then bringing the Sonos gear back up at one minute intervals giving SonosNet time to stabilize. If you did that and the problem persists you may have additional issues that a diagnostic sent in and the number posted here for Sonos staff to look at may solve.

Update: I now see a potential difference - the "Associated ZP", in the "About My Sonos System" diagnostic screen. Each of my controllers lists the IP address of a different Sonos unit as the associated ZP, and different controllers / associated Sonos units are reporting a different network of zones. Doesn't seem to be a way to link a controller to a "preferred" Sonos player, but hopefully another round of re-booting everything will finally fix things.

...and I rebooted. And it might not be the "Associated ZP" setting, as both of my Windows 10 machines link to the same zone player, which then gives each PC a different list of either 3 or 4 zones. Grr...

Hi Alan_6

Looking at your profile you've been around for a while (i.e. this ain't your first rodeo) 🆒. If I were you I 'd move to a Boost setup. JMO :8

Cheers!

If you compare your "About My Sonos" data with your router's DHCP server data are the Sonos and router IP addresses matching?

Do the router logs show the Sonos gear requesting/renewing their IP addresses and being given the assigned ones?

Hi Alan_6

Looking at your profile you've been around for a while (i.e. this ain't your first rodeo) 🆒. If I were you I 'd move to a Boost setup. JMO :8

Cheers!

Thanks, but I'm not sure how a new wireless device will help a PC with a wired connection to an all-wired Sonos network. Unless there is a problem with the kit I have, and I've just been incredibly lucky to have it work flawlessly and survive multiple re-boots for the last few years.

If you compare your "About My Sonos" data with your router's DHCP server data are the Sonos and router IP addresses matching?

Do the router logs show the Sonos gear requesting/renewing their IP addresses and being given the assigned ones?

Yes, the IP addresses match - Sonos controller info and DHCP table agree on the IPs (static IP assignment for all zones). According to the router logs, all the Sonos units got the correct IP assigned, and no other device "stole" the IP of the "missing" (according to one controller app) zone.

The "all wired" is what keeps pointing me back to IP issues. The problem persisting past a reboot of everything is puzzling too, don't think I've seen that in the past.

I'd love to be able to move the Sonos bits and one PC based controller to their own LAN segment (to reduce outside network traffic and events) and bring everything up from a powered-down state, watching just what happens as things wake up. Once up I'd watch the DHCP service (setting a short lifetime would make this faster) and how the Sonos gear is dealing with it.

It is obvious something is going wrong but finding the rat in the wall in situations like this can be less than fun.

From the posts that were made referencing Static IP addresses I made the assumption that you were in Standard Mode (Wi-Fi). I wasn't suggesting investing in a dedicated Boost component but switching to a Boost setup which can be accomplished by wiring one Sonos component via Ethernet to your router. I also missed where you indicated that all your Sonos units are wired :(

As you can see from my signature I have multiple Sonos components using only a single dedicated Boost component. I chose the dedicated boost so not to limit my speaker placement. My router is an Asus AC5300 located on the ground level with one below it and one above it. My coverage IMO (knock on wood) is excellent. My Sonos controllers are on iOS devices (wireless), OSX (wireless) and Windows (wired).

It may be I just have a better location geographically with less interference. Who knows? Obviously, something has changed in your environment and submitting a diagnostic may help. Good Luck to resolve your issues.

Cheers!

Update: I finally solved the issue and got my Sonos network back with a total switch-everything-off-slowly-switch-on re-boot of everything involved in my network - routers, Sonos, PCs, powerline adapters, switches hidden in hard-to-get-to places - everything. I probably missed something important first time.