Sonos system losing connection to controllers.

  • 7 February 2015
  • 28 replies
  • 9813 views

My Sonos system (Bridge & Play 3) has been working flawlessly for years up until about 2 months ago.

Now when I try to use my system, my phone, laptop, tablet, and home computer suddenly can't find the system.  Rebooting the system does not fix this issue.  Instead I have to reboot the system, then re-attach my controller devices to the bridge.  The system will then work for a day or two and then this process repeats all over again.

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28 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Hi User860270,

Normally, once connected, your controllers should stay connected to your Sonos system. There can be a few reasons why the your controller lose connection. If your controllers are connecting to another wireless network, or even and open guest network, they would lose connection to Sonos. Also, if your router is having some issues sending data between your controllers and the Sonos system, you may see this behavior.

Have you added any networking components to your home network recently? If you added a wireless extender, or something similar, it is possible that your devices can't connect to Sonos through this extender.

It might help us figure this out if we see some data from your system. Please send us a diagnostic report and reply here with the confirmation number: How to submit diagnostics.
Userlevel 1
I have had my SONOS System for about 1-2 months. I have the Soundbar, Sub, a Player 3 and a Player 5. It worked just fine for a few days, then started dropping music. The Bestbuy salesrep said I may need a "Wifi booster"...so I bought it. Hooked it up...the BOOST is plugged directly into the "wifi router/booster". I keep having to go throughout my house and reset every part of the system. It sometimes will work for a few hours to a few days...then it starts dropping music (through my Google Play app)...and sometimes the other apps. When I spent the (almost $2600 now) on all of this...the Bestbuy salesperson did not inform me that I needed to be a network engineer or have a degree in radio signal interference. He said...just follow the easy instructions to connect the BOOST to your WIFI and it'll be up and running in a matter of minutes! THIS IS TRUE...it only took a few minutes to connect everything and get it up and running. And to be quite honest...I actually love the system when it's working. I have replaced my $3500 Bose system with this system. HOWEVER...I do NOT even know HOW to access the cable company's router...even if I did, I wouldn't know what in the heck to do. It seems to me (being the CEO of a good sized company), that there would have been a lot of testing from SONOS R&D department prior to charging the PREMIUM rate that Sonos is charging for a system that relies so heavily on Internet/Network connectivity and WIRELESS connectivity. In theory, this system is amazing. In reality, I wish I would not have purchased it yet. Not until all of these bugs were worked out. I find this deeply disturbing. $2000 to $3000 investment in a system like this is pretty steep.
Hi User860270,

Normally, once connected, your controllers should stay connected to your Sonos system. There can be a few reasons why the your controller lose connection. If your controllers are connecting to another wireless network, or even and open guest network, they would lose connection to Sonos. Also, if your router is having some issues sending data between your controllers and the Sonos system, you may see this behavior.

Have you added any networking components to your home network recently? If you added a wireless extender, or something similar, it is possible that your devices can't connect to Sonos through this extender.

It might help us figure this out if we see some data from your system. Please send us a diagnostic report and reply here with the confirmation number: How to submit diagnostics.

Done.

Your confirmation number is: 4355185.

System layout:
PC and Bridge wired directly to same physical switch.
Play 3 connected via Bridge.

All devices lose connectivity to the system regardless of using wired or wireless network.

Rebooting system does not bring it back, I have to actually re-join one controller to the system via the button on the bridge, and then all devices connected to the system work just fine for a day or two.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
I have had my SONOS System for about 1-2 months. I have the Soundbar, Sub, a Player 3 and a Player 5. It worked just fine for a few days, then started dropping music. The Bestbuy salesrep said I may need a "Wifi booster"...so I bought it. Hooked it up...the BOOST is plugged directly into the "wifi router/booster". I keep having to go throughout my house and reset every part of the system. It sometimes will work for a few hours to a few days...then it starts dropping music (through my Google Play app)...and sometimes the other apps. When I spent the (almost $2600 now) on all of this...the Bestbuy salesperson did not inform me that I needed to be a network engineer or have a degree in radio signal interference. He said...just follow the easy instructions to connect the BOOST to your WIFI and it'll be up and running in a matter of minutes! THIS IS TRUE...it only took a few minutes to connect everything and get it up and running. And to be quite honest...I actually love the system when it's working. I have replaced my $3500 Bose system with this system. HOWEVER...I do NOT even know HOW to access the cable company's router...even if I did, I wouldn't know what in the heck to do. It seems to me (being the CEO of a good sized company), that there would have been a lot of testing from SONOS R&D department prior to charging the PREMIUM rate that Sonos is charging for a system that relies so heavily on Internet/Network connectivity and WIRELESS connectivity. In theory, this system is amazing. In reality, I wish I would not have purchased it yet. Not until all of these bugs were worked out. I find this deeply disturbing. $2000 to $3000 investment in a system like this is pretty steep.
Hi User9861,

While the majority of installs are fairly simple, we can't anticipate every network and each piece of hardware out there. The good news is that we have a very skilled support team who can help you get everything up and running. We've created a support ticket for you: 150210-002158. Please give us a call and we'll get your system working again. How to contact us.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Hi User860270,

Normally, once connected, your controllers should stay connected to your Sonos system. There can be a few reasons why the your controller lose connection. If your controllers are connecting to another wireless network, or even and open guest network, they would lose connection to Sonos. Also, if your router is having some issues sending data between your controllers and the Sonos system, you may see this behavior.

Have you added any networking components to your home network recently? If you added a wireless extender, or something similar, it is possible that your devices can't connect to Sonos through this extender.

It might help us figure this out if we see some data from your system. Please send us a diagnostic report and reply here with the confirmation number: How to submit diagnostics.

Hi User860270,

When the system was not connected to your controllers, it had lost its network information. This generally means that the Sonos components were not able to communicate with your router. This could be due to settings on your switch, or faulty cables or ports.

You might try bypassing the switch, wiring the BRIDGE into the router directly. You could also connect the BRIDGE to the ethernet cable ahead of the switch, then run another cable from the extra port on the BRIDGE and into the switch. This would let us know if some of the data from the Sonos system is not getting through your switch.

Another option would be to use the new, fully wireless setup. This would remove the need for the ethernet cable and would simplify your network. The PLAY:3 would need to be within range of your router's wireless signal though. For a guide to setting up your system in the wireless mode, please see this guide: How to set up Sonos wirelessly.
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
The frustration is more than understandable, but in Sonos defense most home network appliances like routers, switches and access are shipped in so many different configurations that it is impossible to predict every brand's scenario. This becomes even mode difficult if the equipment id provided by a phone or cable carrier which alter the firmware.

Yet, Sonos probably has to consider some remote assistance where they can connect to the customers network and verify/alter the necessary settings. We are in the 21st century and 'least customer engagement' is the support model of choice these days. Additionally instead of telling us customers how to contact us, rather asking for availability to reach out proactively.

This might be a privacy concern for some customers, but the Sonos system should submit automatically diagnostics when network interference or dropouts are recognized. 

Proactive engagement is key.

This said, id like to offer some advice from my own setup:

'Lost' components: Most routers assign dynamic IP addresses to any device connecting to the network. This is very convenient for smartphones, tablets etc, but for systems like Sonos (and not limited to them) not ideal because any change in IP addressing creates a virtual break between the controller app and the components.

Resolution:
Assigning static IP addresses to the Sonos components in the router can usually fix this along with assuring that UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) is enabled. 

@User9861, if you don't mind sharing your modem/router model, i am positive the members of this forum can help guiding you through this process.
Userlevel 1
I have had my SONOS System for about 1-2 months. I have the Soundbar, Sub, a Player 3 and a Player 5. It worked just fine for a few days, then started dropping music. The Bestbuy salesrep said I may need a "Wifi booster"...so I bought it. Hooked it up...the BOOST is plugged directly into the "wifi router/booster". I keep having to go throughout my house and reset every part of the system. It sometimes will work for a few hours to a few days...then it starts dropping music (through my Google Play app)...and sometimes the other apps. When I spent the (almost $2600 now) on all of this...the Bestbuy salesperson did not inform me that I needed to be a network engineer or have a degree in radio signal interference. He said...just follow the easy instructions to connect the BOOST to your WIFI and it'll be up and running in a matter of minutes! THIS IS TRUE...it only took a few minutes to connect everything and get it up and running. And to be quite honest...I actually love the system when it's working. I have replaced my $3500 Bose system with this system. HOWEVER...I do NOT even know HOW to access the cable company's router...even if I did, I wouldn't know what in the heck to do. It seems to me (being the CEO of a good sized company), that there would have been a lot of testing from SONOS R&D department prior to charging the PREMIUM rate that Sonos is charging for a system that relies so heavily on Internet/Network connectivity and WIRELESS connectivity. In theory, this system is amazing. In reality, I wish I would not have purchased it yet. Not until all of these bugs were worked out. I find this deeply disturbing. $2000 to $3000 investment in a system like this is pretty steep.
Jeff, Thank you so much! I spoke to Scott at your service department tonight. I am absolutely amazed at the level of professionalism and great customer service your company provides! Scott was able to fix the system! Thank you very much!
Userlevel 1
The frustration is more than understandable, but in Sonos defense most home network appliances like routers, switches and access are shipped in so many different configurations that it is impossible to predict every brand's scenario. This becomes even mode difficult if the equipment id provided by a phone or cable carrier which alter the firmware.

Yet, Sonos probably has to consider some remote assistance where they can connect to the customers network and verify/alter the necessary settings. We are in the 21st century and 'least customer engagement' is the support model of choice these days. Additionally instead of telling us customers how to contact us, rather asking for availability to reach out proactively.

This might be a privacy concern for some customers, but the Sonos system should submit automatically diagnostics when network interference or dropouts are recognized. 

Proactive engagement is key.

This said, id like to offer some advice from my own setup:

'Lost' components: Most routers assign dynamic IP addresses to any device connecting to the network. This is very convenient for smartphones, tablets etc, but for systems like Sonos (and not limited to them) not ideal because any change in IP addressing creates a virtual break between the controller app and the components.

Resolution:
Assigning static IP addresses to the Sonos components in the router can usually fix this along with assuring that UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) is enabled. 

@User9861, if you don't mind sharing your modem/router model, i am positive the members of this forum can help guiding you through this process.


Thanks for the offer of assistance! Sonos customer service was able to get my system on the right track (no pun intended!)!!
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
The frustration is more than understandable, but in Sonos defense most home network appliances like routers, switches and access are shipped in so many different configurations that it is impossible to predict every brand's scenario. This becomes even mode difficult if the equipment id provided by a phone or cable carrier which alter the firmware.

Yet, Sonos probably has to consider some remote assistance where they can connect to the customers network and verify/alter the necessary settings. We are in the 21st century and 'least customer engagement' is the support model of choice these days. Additionally instead of telling us customers how to contact us, rather asking for availability to reach out proactively.

This might be a privacy concern for some customers, but the Sonos system should submit automatically diagnostics when network interference or dropouts are recognized. 

Proactive engagement is key.

This said, id like to offer some advice from my own setup:

'Lost' components: Most routers assign dynamic IP addresses to any device connecting to the network. This is very convenient for smartphones, tablets etc, but for systems like Sonos (and not limited to them) not ideal because any change in IP addressing creates a virtual break between the controller app and the components.

Resolution:
Assigning static IP addresses to the Sonos components in the router can usually fix this along with assuring that UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) is enabled. 

@User9861, if you don't mind sharing your modem/router model, i am positive the members of this forum can help guiding you through this process.


Glad to read that it worked out.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
I have had my SONOS System for about 1-2 months. I have the Soundbar, Sub, a Player 3 and a Player 5. It worked just fine for a few days, then started dropping music. The Bestbuy salesrep said I may need a "Wifi booster"...so I bought it. Hooked it up...the BOOST is plugged directly into the "wifi router/booster". I keep having to go throughout my house and reset every part of the system. It sometimes will work for a few hours to a few days...then it starts dropping music (through my Google Play app)...and sometimes the other apps. When I spent the (almost $2600 now) on all of this...the Bestbuy salesperson did not inform me that I needed to be a network engineer or have a degree in radio signal interference. He said...just follow the easy instructions to connect the BOOST to your WIFI and it'll be up and running in a matter of minutes! THIS IS TRUE...it only took a few minutes to connect everything and get it up and running. And to be quite honest...I actually love the system when it's working. I have replaced my $3500 Bose system with this system. HOWEVER...I do NOT even know HOW to access the cable company's router...even if I did, I wouldn't know what in the heck to do. It seems to me (being the CEO of a good sized company), that there would have been a lot of testing from SONOS R&D department prior to charging the PREMIUM rate that Sonos is charging for a system that relies so heavily on Internet/Network connectivity and WIRELESS connectivity. In theory, this system is amazing. In reality, I wish I would not have purchased it yet. Not until all of these bugs were worked out. I find this deeply disturbing. $2000 to $3000 investment in a system like this is pretty steep.
Hi User9861,

That is great news. Please let us know if you have any further issues, we're here to help.
Same here guys...
I have a lot of sonos equipment working flawless for years and since a few months its constantly loosing connection.
My controller says the sonos system was not found, from my iphone controller as well as a controller on my laptop. Alle sonos equipment is physically wired into the same network as my laptop which is also wired.

So it's not a network problem, I believe this all started a few software updates ago.

Very annoying!! And I am very disappointed.

I constantly have to reset the whole system and add one by one all the devices to the controller. It than works for a fews days, maybe a week or so, and the same problem starts again.
Eddy Marinus,

Please describe your SONOS system and your network for us.
I, too, have issues with cutting out. Only occasionally do I have to reset all four sonos devices in my house. But this morning, for instance, my sonos radio has cut out about ten times in three hours. It just drops and I have to click "play" to get it going. I have only one wifi network. One sonos device is connected by ethernet. The other three by wifi.
Userlevel 4
Badge +3
I, too, have issues with cutting out. Only occasionally do I have to reset all four sonos devices in my house. But this morning, for instance, my sonos radio has cut out about ten times in three hours. It just drops and I have to click "play" to get it going. I have only one wifi network. One sonos device is connected by ethernet. The other three by wifi.

Hi Sally, have you tried multiple stations? Can you confirm it's not only BBC stations? If in your favorites, try removing it/them from there then search for the station(s) again to see if they work better that way. If it's still problematic kindly send a diagnostic and reply here with your confirmation number, thanks.
It's all NPR. I switch between the two. This morning, starting at 5 am and now almost an hour later, I've had to restart the radio 8 times. I'm on my computer, so I just switch windows. But it's a pain, because often I have to listen to the opening ad and often I hear repeated bits. Really not happy.
I went to Service Settings>Advanced. I see 3 tabs: General, Music Servers, Improve Sonos. No submit diagnostics. Don't see it in the left column list either.

I pulled down Sonos menu and clicked Services, which took me to Service Preferences and saw nothing having to do with Sonos.

No sign of Diagnostics. Could my problem have anything to do with the SonosNet Channel. I have a choice of 1, 6, 11. It is set automatically to 6.
I deleted the two NPR stations and re-added them to my favorites. For a while, it worked perfectly. Now it's cutting out again.
Userlevel 4
Badge +3
I went to Service Settings>Advanced. I see 3 tabs: General, Music Servers, Improve Sonos. No submit diagnostics. Don't see it in the left column list either.

I pulled down Sonos menu and clicked Services, which took me to Service Preferences and saw nothing having to do with Sonos.

No sign of Diagnostics. Could my problem have anything to do with the SonosNet Channel. I have a choice of 1, 6, 11. It is set automatically to 6.


You can try changing wireless channel in Sonos, preferably not the same channel as your router. So if your router is on 1 try setting Sonos to 6 or 11 (these three channels are less prone to wireless interference).

If the problem persists, restart your router and all Sonos products by unplugging the power cables for 10 seconds then try sending a diagnostic (as per instructions in my previous post), finally reply in this thread with the confirmation number.
Well, I switched the channel to 11. I'm not going to reset all the devices, becuase I did that a couple of months ago and it was a huge pain. I have to get ladder to reach one of them. I thought that the problem might be only on those days when I have the radio on, but I've had the radio on for less than an hour and the music has cut out three times. And I'm not listening to the same station I complained about to begin with. If I get really frustrated, I'll reset everything. Experience tells me, however, that it will be fine for a little while and then start again.
Sally -

My state's NPR station is unreliable. it predictably fails every weekday afternoon around 4:30, plus at other. less predictable times. I believe it is related to poor infrastructure and the amateur station personnel (college kids and less-than-professional staff). Perhaps your "local" station is as poorly managed as mine. WNYC and WBUR station always seem solid - doubtless other well-funded NPR affiliates are also reliable. This is an issue of pig-headed under-funding, I think.
Same problem here. Sonos controller frequently and intermittently loses connection with my playbar and Play 1 (music/tv will continue to operate fine). Just as quickly as it loses the connection, it seems to find my systems again. Running dual band router and changed the 2.4 ghz to channel 1, but still happening. Don't quite get it. Will expand songs network further to create 5.1, but this is ridiculous.
Submitted diagnostics and number is 5215263
Userlevel 6
Badge +3
Submitted diagnostics and number is 5215263
Hello Bentley82, welcome to the community.
I have reviewed your diagnostic and found peaks of WiFi interference. Be we start troubleshooting your network/router wireless channels. I would like to know if it would be possible to take the PLAY:1 and wire it to the router via an Ethernet cable. Once to make sure to also reboot both the PLAYBAR and router.

By doing this the PLAY:1 will play the role of a bridge between your network and the PLAYBAR. In short the Sonos system will make its own wireless network.
Test you system and let us know how it goes. Also, submit a new diagnostic.
Same here guys...
I have a lot of sonos equipment working flawless for years and since a few months its constantly loosing connection.
My controller says the sonos system was not found, from my iphone controller as well as a controller on my laptop. Alle sonos equipment is physically wired into the same network as my laptop which is also wired.

So it's not a network problem, I believe this all started a few software updates ago.

Very annoying!! And I am very disappointed.

I constantly have to reset the whole system and add one by one all the devices to the controller. It than works for a fews days, maybe a week or so, and the same problem starts again.


TRY THIS! (skip down to "SOLUTION" to get straight to what worked for me)

I seem to have fixed the constant issue of my controller not being able to find my sonos devices. Was frustrated beyond belief, so I hope this helps someone in a similar situation!

A quick rundown first:

ME: I am not super tech savvy, but can figure a few things out with enough googling. You don't need to be a networking professional, but do need to be able to access some router settings. If it sounds like I'm super smart on tech-y stuff, that's only cause I'm regurgitating what I learned while googling.

MY SETUP: Two Play:1's, each in it's own room. That's it. No Bridge, Connect, or the rest of the gizmos. My router is the Western Digital Mynet n750.

MY ISSUE: Pretty much every new time that I tried to play some tunes, my iphone 6 controller could not find the sonos players. Same happened with my wife's phone. "No sonos system found" or something like that. I'd try to run through the "connect to a new system" and/or "connect to existing system" steps to no avial, pushing the two buttons and watching that orange light flash and eventually turn white. Or unplug a speaker, and plug it back in. No dice. Eventually (if I didn't give up), I'd swallow my pride, go unplug and re-plug the router, and it'd usually work... until the next time. Sometime's if that didn't work I'd have to actually walk the speaker into the other room, and plug it directly into the router via ethernet cable. It still would only work until the next time tried to connect. So Frustrating!!

SOLUTION: ... [Not sure which of these changes is responsible, but It's been 2 weeks and I haven't had a lost connection since.]
Log into your router settings by entering its ip address into your browser url bar. If you have no idea what it is, try 192.168.1.1 as that's the standard for most routers unless someone changed it. For login credentials, try "admin" as the user, and "password" as the password. I think different router manufacturers have different defaults, so google what it is for your router maker. Then adjust these 3 things, which should all be under the wifi settings section (which might itself be in "advanced" settings):

1. If your router is Dual Band (2.4 and 5.8 Ghz), make sure you have a different name for each network. It's true that SONOS players only use the 2.4 Ghz band... UNLESS playing along with a Playbar as part of a 5.1 home theatre setup... which means they can access the 5Ghz band even if they're not using it. I'd set the same network name (SSID) and password for both bands, so I figured it was entirely possible that after some down-time it would try to reconnect and accidentally log into the 5 Ghz band since it's the same credentials.

2. The 2.4 Ghz network (the only one if you don't have a Dual Band router) Channel should NOT be set to "Auto." This is actually what I think is the most likely reason for the issue. Regardless, set it to a specific channel, either 1, 6, 11. Google it if you want to know why only those. This may not be as important, but I WOULD RECOMMEND setting it to Channel 1. Reason being that (warning- this is weird) your microwave might be interfering with the signal. Due to frequencies and other physics-y stuff I don't understand, apparently most microwaves happen to run at a frequency somewhere on the 2.4 Ghz, and channel 1 is the only one of those 3 (1, 6, or 11) that doesn't fall in the microwave range. (of my microwave at least, which I think is standard for most).

3. Set the CHANNEL WIDTH to "20 Mhz". NOT "auto" or "20/40". I don't really understand this one, but it was suggested by someone. What I did learn via another googling is that you're better off limiting it to 20 Mhz anyway (even if you don't have Sonos) cause it'll be less congested and you'll have faster wifi speeds cause the signal won't "stray" into the the other channels (6 or 11). Or something like that.

That's all I did, and I'm a happy Sonos user ever since. Hope this helps someone else.
Sure wish it was easier for me to figure out!

Cheers.
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