Quit taking our money.. fix it ... what’s the deal?
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Wow, Sonos. This doesn't look to appetizing. Ok, so I get that the "pull" feature is supposed to deliver superior quality, but how am I supposed to justify investing so much money for SPEAKERS that are hamstrung by an app that is sure to fall out of date and be buggy? I sure do miss the good ole days. My Bose speaker may not have as great a quality (don't know?) but it at least doesn't have to talk to an app that procures everything. It's a SPEAKER. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. UGH.
Hey Keith, I was just on the phone with support. Thank goodness you have the feature where you can leave your number and have them call you back because the anticipated wait time was over 30 minutes. So, the guy that helped me try to solve the problem was very very nice, and I could tell he had some knowledge of the app, however he was unable to solve my situation and after a 30 minute call, had to refer to the engineers...So I am running the latest update, on an iPhone 7plus running the latest OS....the rooms don't connect and there are some other glitchy items that I addressed with him...so at this time..he has a couple screen shots from my phone and all my router info and diagnostics from my phone and is trying to see what he can do....I do want to emphasize he was really nice.....but after well over 1,000.00 invested in Sonos equipment...I can't even listen to music in my own home...and I work for a radio station....and teach music...so its important....once today I could get music on my iPhone playing..but then none of the volume controls or pause worked so I was unable to turn it off ....it just doesn't work....
You know this is beyond frustrating. Don't people think I have better things to do than research how on EARTH a SPEAKER works?!?!?! Forget it. No time to maintain. No time to research. No care. Just music. The way it should be.
I hate Sonos....none of my music is available from my iPhone. I’ll buy an album from iTunes and can’t play 3-4 songs from the album. Complete garbage. Thousands of $$$ down the drain. Complete crap
The trouble isn't with the wifi. It's with a crappy app.
One of my biggest purchase regrets over the last five years is purchasing the sonos system.
In the beginning (~2015 for us with sonos), the app worked and the entire system was amazing as a whole.
Biggest complaints?
——First, mid-play, I’ll attempt to adjust the volume and BOOM...the app cannot find the speakers. I’ll toggle WiFi on/off, close the app, restart my phone and the app still is blind to the speakers. I’ll finally delete the app and redownload it and THEN it MIGHT work.
——Second, I’ll listen to my music on my phone only to have the song skip to the next song before the first song is finished making listening to pretty much anything on my phone impossible. And yes, I’ve referred to their ‘fixes’, which do nothing.
If you are contemplating sonos...don’t. Spend your money elsewhere.
In the beginning (~2015 for us with sonos), the app worked and the entire system was amazing as a whole.
Biggest complaints?
——First, mid-play, I’ll attempt to adjust the volume and BOOM...the app cannot find the speakers. I’ll toggle WiFi on/off, close the app, restart my phone and the app still is blind to the speakers. I’ll finally delete the app and redownload it and THEN it MIGHT work.
——Second, I’ll listen to my music on my phone only to have the song skip to the next song before the first song is finished making listening to pretty much anything on my phone impossible. And yes, I’ve referred to their ‘fixes’, which do nothing.
If you are contemplating sonos...don’t. Spend your money elsewhere.
@kgroninger, sounds you'd really prefer to have a Bluetooth speaker, as it would fit your needs much better. Also, Google does not allow streaming of youtube through devices that do not have a screen.
Can we just agree that Sonos does not do what you think it should do and move on? Sonos isn't for you. Fine.
When I bought into Sonos I wanted a multiroom system to stream music services,and radio, and my locally stored music. It met my needs perfectly. It isn't what you want, and it has no wish to be. You need a different product. Your rant is pointless. Buy what you need, it isn't difficult.
Hi there, Fixit. Welcome to the Community. I was unable to locate any support tickets with your email address and want to be sure we can understand what exactly you mean. Could you give us some specific things you'd like to see changed? I have the ability to make sure this information gets to the team, but I need your help to make sure the feedback is actionable and descriptive.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
I have terrible luck with the app also. When I first open it, it works fine. But when I later try to change volume or music source, it cant find my Sonos. If I close the app (hard close by swiping it off screen) and reopen it, everything works fine again. So it is not a wifi issue, it is an app issue.
Trust I’m aware of how it works now....if I knew this ahead of time I wouldn’t have bought these. The whole idea of purchasing music and iTunes Match service for example is so I don’t have to use up space on my phone.
Hi mdinata,
Normally the Sonos system can play music that's stored on your phone. In cases where tracks are missing, please first check to make sure that the song has been downloaded on to your phone. Note that songs downloaded from music services, such as Apple Music, often have DRM protection preventing them from playing on other systems. The easiest way around this issue is to add your Apple Music account to Sonos. This way you can play their entire catalog whether the songs are downloaded to your phone or not.
Please let me know if you have any questions or continuing issues.
If you wanted a speaker, you should not have purchased a muti-room streaming system controlled by an app. Horses for courses.
Hi Sorry can you be a bit clearer on what your issue is and I'm sure we can resolve it?
iTunes Match isn't available on Sonos, only the iCloud Music Library (in combination with an Apple Music subscription).
In one of my earlier rants on the same thread I said I didn't buy it. It was a gift. I had no idea what a Sonos speaker was and my life was better before that. I need a speaker that works with what ever I want to play. Music, moives and free music streaming or audio book apps. I had no idea I would have all these restrictions that I've never had with any other speaker or sound system. The point of my rant is this, to play any audio from various sources seems not to be Sonos strong suit. And the Sonos app is full of flaws and is very clunky.
And Chris, thanks - once for reassuring me I had it right!, and secondly for clarifying it much more clearly!!
Chris, Traveller, thanks for the clarifications and additional info.
You are correct Traveller
Sonos App most services - Casting in that Sonos app tells the speakers to fetch the song direct from source
Sonos App (From this iPhone) - streaming - music comes from device to sonos so controller must remain on with good connection.
Airplay 1 - Streaming - the device actually pulls the song from source and then streams from device to the speaker (flawed in that then the connection to controller can't be broken)
Airplay 2 - BOTH - has ability to in applications fetch and send direct to speakers or stream from the iphone like Airplay 1.
Chromecast - BOTH - very similiar to Airplay 2 in that android devices can stream what they hear or certain apps will have ability to fetch. Example: Google still doesn't allow Youtube to be fetched so you have to stream from the phone Youtube.
Bluetooth - Streaming like Airplay 1 where it uses bluetooth signal vs. wifi.
So Airplay2 and Chromecast at this point are your most flexible in providing ability to fetch or stream depending on need. But then their drawback becomes being device dependent (you have to have ios to stream from Airplay2 or android to stream from Chromecast).
With Airplay 2 now on Sonos - you get the compatibility of sonos with advantages of Airplay 2. Sonos is just missing chromecast - which we have no idea if possible with google voice coming (will it include chromecast?). But it is also easy to add Chromecast to your sonos system by simply adding a chromecast Audio dongle to a Sonos unit with input like a Play:5.
I have one (actually never use chromecast though since we all have iphones).
Highlights again Sonos compatibility with multiple systems is its strength.
Sonos App most services - Casting in that Sonos app tells the speakers to fetch the song direct from source
Sonos App (From this iPhone) - streaming - music comes from device to sonos so controller must remain on with good connection.
Airplay 1 - Streaming - the device actually pulls the song from source and then streams from device to the speaker (flawed in that then the connection to controller can't be broken)
Airplay 2 - BOTH - has ability to in applications fetch and send direct to speakers or stream from the iphone like Airplay 1.
Chromecast - BOTH - very similiar to Airplay 2 in that android devices can stream what they hear or certain apps will have ability to fetch. Example: Google still doesn't allow Youtube to be fetched so you have to stream from the phone Youtube.
Bluetooth - Streaming like Airplay 1 where it uses bluetooth signal vs. wifi.
So Airplay2 and Chromecast at this point are your most flexible in providing ability to fetch or stream depending on need. But then their drawback becomes being device dependent (you have to have ios to stream from Airplay2 or android to stream from Chromecast).
With Airplay 2 now on Sonos - you get the compatibility of sonos with advantages of Airplay 2. Sonos is just missing chromecast - which we have no idea if possible with google voice coming (will it include chromecast?). But it is also easy to add Chromecast to your sonos system by simply adding a chromecast Audio dongle to a Sonos unit with input like a Play:5.
I have one (actually never use chromecast though since we all have iphones).
Highlights again Sonos compatibility with multiple systems is its strength.
I think (!) casting is supposed to mean using the iPhone or whatever, as a controller only. This is I believe how chrome cast works. With the audio pulled by the chrome cast device. Similarly with Sonos, the app controls, the system speakers pull. Airplay can work that way, with an ATV for example, where you use a phone as controller, and the ATV, or I believe, HomePod, pull from the internet. Airplay can also though be used where the iPhone etc pull and control and send to a speaker. I use both ways, iPhone to control ATV which sends stream to Sonos, and iPhone to send stream directly to Sonos.
Anyway, that’s my understanding. Hope I haven’t confused things!
Anyway, that’s my understanding. Hope I haven’t confused things!
Current YouTube options -
1. Stream via Airplay 2 with ios device and a compatible Sonos (newer units)
2. Use ios app SonosTube
3. Use a Sonos with input and add bluetooth/airplay device to
As far as Android/Google more limited right now - we don't know what Google voice support will entail when it arrives in next few months (will it include any chromecast ability to newer speakers). Chromecast can't direct play from YouTube but chromecast on android devices does have ability to work like airplay and send out all the devices audio.
P.S. I love the Sonos app - I enjoy having all services all together as one versus using individual apps.
1. Stream via Airplay 2 with ios device and a compatible Sonos (newer units)
2. Use ios app SonosTube
3. Use a Sonos with input and add bluetooth/airplay device to
As far as Android/Google more limited right now - we don't know what Google voice support will entail when it arrives in next few months (will it include any chromecast ability to newer speakers). Chromecast can't direct play from YouTube but chromecast on android devices does have ability to work like airplay and send out all the devices audio.
P.S. I love the Sonos app - I enjoy having all services all together as one versus using individual apps.
Yes, but only the very newest devices have this capability. Be sure to verify the device has support before you purchase it.
I think only 2 devices support it right now.
4 actually. The link below answers more questions about airplay.
https://support.sonos.com/s/article/1230?language=en_US
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by switching off the screen. From my experience, whenever you're using airplay 2, or Bluetooth, your airplay/Bluetooth speakers is acting as an extension of your phone/tablet/tv or whatever. Instead of playing the audio on your phone's speakers, it directs the audio to play on your airplay/Bluetooth speaker. It's not really different then if you plug in headphones to your phone, audio stops on the phone and is directed to your headphones.
So if you're phone/tablet/whatever has a way to minimize the youtube screen and still play audio through it's speakers, then it can also send that audio to airplay/blue tooth speakers. I can't do that on my phone, tablet, or tv, but maybe it's possible on some devices I don't know.
"This capability" = "Airplay target, not explicit Youtube support"
It's not listening to Youtube, it is casting youtube via airplay, those are not the same.
Right. And 'casting' doesn't have a definitive definition as far as I understand it. Airplay is casting, same as Bluetooth, and with Google's chromecast (I think). In these cases, the audio/video stream comes into your 1st device, and then 're-streamed' out to the 2nd device you actually want to play the audio or video. If you turn off the first device, or remove it from the network, the steam dies. Then there is Alexacast from Amazon. In this case, you're just passing instructions on what to play from the 1st device to the 2nd device, and the 2nd device streams the audio/video all on it's own. So if you turn off the first device, the 2nd device still plays the stream.
In a way, you can think of Sonos doing casting similar to what Alexacast does. Your first device (controller) is just giving instructions to the 2nd device (speaker). But no one really talks about it that way, so maybe not even a good idea to bring it up.
And as I think about it, I'm really not sure how Google's casting works, and haven't played with it too much. I could be 100% wrong on that part.
"Yes, but only the very newest devices have this capability..."
"This capability" = "Airplay target, not explicit Youtube support"
It's not listening to Youtube, it is casting youtube via airplay, those are not the same.
I think the Airplay receiver just ignores the video stream. I play youtube over my BT in the car, I don't know enough to give you a technical answer, but I know you can Airplay Video sources to Audio without an issue. I used to do it at work when I was at a mac shop.
With respect to screen off, I would bet it stops the stream and as a result the feed goes silent, I know that is what my phone does with Youtube/Bluetooth speaker.
I believe the PC is handling the Airplay casting, it casts whatever is set to cast, I don't think (for instance) Youtube/Chrome are "aware" they are being cast to the Airplay target. (the youtube client thinks all playback is local)
You'd have to ask someone else for a technical answer, I am basing my answer on my experiences with BT/AP and Youtube.
I don't use AP frequently at all.
"This capability" = "Airplay target, not explicit Youtube support"
It's not listening to Youtube, it is casting youtube via airplay, those are not the same.
I think the Airplay receiver just ignores the video stream. I play youtube over my BT in the car, I don't know enough to give you a technical answer, but I know you can Airplay Video sources to Audio without an issue. I used to do it at work when I was at a mac shop.
With respect to screen off, I would bet it stops the stream and as a result the feed goes silent, I know that is what my phone does with Youtube/Bluetooth speaker.
I believe the PC is handling the Airplay casting, it casts whatever is set to cast, I don't think (for instance) Youtube/Chrome are "aware" they are being cast to the Airplay target. (the youtube client thinks all playback is local)
You'd have to ask someone else for a technical answer, I am basing my answer on my experiences with BT/AP and Youtube.
I don't use AP frequently at all.
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