Sonos app frequently disappears from iPhone lock screen

Hi @Mmmzzz, 

Welcome to the Sonos community and thanks for letting us know about your concern. Let me share some information about how you can controlling Sonos from the iOS lock screen.

iOS does not natively provide a way to control devices on your home network from the lock screen in iOS, the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself. The Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos, we made the decision to remove the functionality in households that use AirPlay.

iOS lock screen controls will not appear in the following scenarios:

• A non-Sonos AirPlay capable device is present.
• Disable the AirPlay feature on all non-Sonos AirPlay endpoints to allow lock screen controls to appear when using Sonos.
• Another app on the device is playing music or video.
• While connected to a Bluetooth audio device.
• VoiceOver is enabled.
• Headphones are connected to the iOS device.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns, we’ll be glad to assist you. 

Lock Screen control does not work for me using the sonos app. Lock Screen controls do work with my YouTube music app. Looks like a sonos app issue, how can I fix this?

Hi @bramschats, 

Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the Sonos Community. I appreciate for bringing your concern to us and letting us know about it. Let me help you figure out what's happening. 

Sonos supports the control of your system from the iOS lock screen under certain conditions. The Sonos app has a 5-minute window to reconnect and re-enable the lock screen. When the device leaves the WiFi range or disables the WiFi, the lock screen will restore itself if reconnection is made in that 5 minutes.

To confirm that the Lock Screen controls are enabled, you can check your iOS and Sonos app settings. You can also check this article Control Sonos from the iOS lock screen.

• On your iOS device, please go to Settings > Face ID (Touch ID) & Passcode. Scroll down and look for Allow Acces When Locked if Control Center is enabled.
• Within the Sonos app, please to Settings > App Preferences. Tap Lock Screen Controls and see if it’s enabled.

The volume buttons on your iOS device can also control the volume of Sonos from the lock screen. View our article on the hardware volume control to learn how to enable this feature.

Let us know how you get on with the advice above. If you have any questions about this. We and the community are always here to help.

Hello Rowena, 

Checked all the above and all settings were correct, the hardware volume control is also not working. other apps like YT music is working in Lock Screen. Does it have something to do with the 14.2 issue? https://status.sonos.com/?utm_source=embed. 

Hi @bramschats, thank you for your response. The ongoing issue on iOS 14.2 is with setting up S2-enabled products on an S1 system. Can you stream via AirPlay on your Sonos devices? The Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos, we made the decision to remove the functionality in households that use AirPlay. If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know.

Hello @Rowena B. thnx for your reply. I recently did use airplay to my samsung TV (probably AirPlay 1). In that case the functionality of Lock Screen control is removed I guess? I normally don’t use airplay to my tv but in this case I had to use it.

Can I re-enable the functionality?

Thnx for your help.

HI @bramschats, thank you for your response and for updating us.  When you stream via AirPlay you don’t need to use the Sonos app. You can directly stream on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to stream your favorite music, movies, podcasts, and other audio directly to your Sonos products. Sonos is only compatible with AirPlay 2. Check if your Apple devices can play AirPlay 2 audio in Apple’s AirPlay article. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns, we'll be glad to assist you.

Hello @Rowena B. I use the sonos app because when I am getting out of reach or having connection issues with my phone the music keeps playing on my sonos devices. I would rather use my YouTube music app but I don’t know if I can set this up like this?

Hi @bramschats, thank you for your response and for updating us. YouTube Music is a new music app that allows you to easily find what you're looking for and discover new music. Get playlists and recommendations served to you based on your context, tastes, and what's trending around you. You can stream using your YouTube music app via AirPlay and by adding the YouTube Music on the Sonos app. If you need help in setting YouTube Music, you can reach out to our phone support team to assist you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the community. We are always happy to assist you.