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Adding radio custom URLs in TuneIn (new) now that the legacy version is gone in the new controller

Now that legacy TuneIn is gone from the new (buggy) iOS controller and all my custom radio stations (in my case from Digitally Imported di.fm)  were gone and there is no information on the Sonos site I luckily found a way to get them back. However it involves recreating them which can be labour intensive depending on how many you have. You will also need the IOS version of TuneIn for this to work. No premium sign up required.

Here are the instructions from TuneIn https://help.tunein.com/en/support/solutions/articles/151000172377-what-is-a-custom-url-and-how-can-i-add-it-to-sonos-

The Custom URL feature allows you to listen to a private streaming URL, most likely not in the TuneIn directory, using the TuneIn and Sonos app.

To add a custom URL to your Sonos:

  1. Ensure that TuneIn (new) is added on your Sonos app
  2. Log into the iOS or Android TuneIn app using the same TuneIn credentials you use on Sonos
  3. On the TuneIn app, navigate to Library
  4. Tap on customURL and enter the desired stream URL
  5. While listening to that stream, tap the favorite (heart) icon on the now playing screen
  6. Select “favorite station”
  7. Enter a name for the custom stream
  8. Return to TuneIn (new) on your Sonos app, and you should now see that station in your favorites gallery there.

So far this works fine on my system.

29 replies

T
Userlevel 1

It is a right pain, but thank you. It works. And with the Windows Desktop App I was able to rename the Sonos Favourites.

It really shouldn’t be this difficult.

starflyergold
Userlevel 3
Badge

I should add this only helps for the new iOS (and possibly Android) controller. The new web controller does not show the added stations. Why nobody knows 🙄 Nothing ever works seamlessly apparently at Sonos these days 😡

T
Userlevel 1

I should add this only helps for the new iOS (and possibly Android) controller. The new web controller does not show the added stations. Why nobody knows 🙄 Nothing ever works seamlessly apparently at Sonos these days 😡

I can confirm the stations also show up on the Android (Samsung S10+) new Sonos App by doing this. 

I had to write out all the station URLs and ftp it to my phone. I could then copy/paste each one into the Tunein App and add it to my favourites on that App. I then had to open the new Sonos App, load the Tunein service, play the station and then you get the option under the 3 dots to add to Sonos Favourites. Having the Windows Sonos App on my PC, I would see the URL appear in the Sonos Favourites list. I then right clicked on it and chose ‘rename’. I could then enter the station name which shows up on the Windows desktop App and the Sonos Android App.

I just hope they don’t remove the option in the next update 🤔

 

R

I too have been adding custom URLs this way, but what a pain it is! I had about 50 favourite custom stations and it has taken nearly a whole day to add them into my Sonos system by this method. I can’t understand why Sonos can’t add the facility to add a custom station straight into the Sonos system. Why do we have to go through TuneIn at all?

On a slightly different topic why are there no images for any favourites, network drive music files, radio stations, etc, etc? I hope this is added back eventually.

C

If the app needs must be updated - please address this problem in the new sonos mobile app. Downloading and being stuck on 16.1 is fine with me, but I would imagine that’s not the goal. Thanks.

I
Userlevel 2
Badge

I contacted customer support about this, and they stated that the custom radiostations have disappeared from the app due to an issue which they're working on. As I understood, the radiostations are still there and will be visible again in a future update.

H
Userlevel 1

No luck with the tuneIn App method for me, the favorite option don’t even appear on TuneIn (new) from sonos app. Also all favorite registered before have been deleted ... Again such a basic feature broken, having to hack or use TuneIn for this is not normal.

controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

I contacted customer support about this, and they stated that the custom radiostations have disappeared from the app due to an issue which they're working on. As I understood, the radiostations are still there and will be visible again in a future update.

The stations are still there, you can use them from the Desktop app or some third party apps.

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
D

Still not fixed?

A

Thank you @starflyergold
Found this workaround on TuneIn and it work for me.

Well it's not really a workaround, it's the same system as before but the way to do it is much longer.
I can’t live without my DI channel on Sonos Speaker :p

E
Userlevel 1

This is mindbogglingly frustrating. The whole reason I had added some custom radio stations was to avoid TuneIn because I got totally  sick and tired of the advertisements and then annoying “TuneIn” chime at the beginning. As I do this for stations that TuneIn has in its repertory, the advertisements come back. Ugh! 

Is there a workaround that does not involve TuneIn?

H

The TuneIn iOS app doesn’t accept my custom url for a premium station so I can’t add it to Sonos. Their support says it’s a known problem which seems to only impact the iOS app. 
 

Doesn’t help that my MacBook which had the Sonos app on it gave up the ghost so I can’t try through that route. 
 

 

T

Thank you starflyergold for the detailed instructions, but it doesn’t work for me: On iOS TuneIn I can see my new (manually added URL-based) radio station, but in the (updated) iOS Sonos app, no (nor on the TuneIn website).  I get some really annoying defaults “From the Mind of Garth Brooks”, “Featured Collections” from MLB and Boss radio, etc. etc.

 

Really driving me mad!

A

I got totally  sick and tired of the advertisements and then annoying “TuneIn” chime at the beginning. 

Don’t worry, we just use TuneIn as a way to custom URL.

There is no advertisements or chime with this method.

J

Thanks.  But how do I find the custom URL (in my case for DI.FM) ?  I can’t find it anywhere !

 

 

A

Thanks.  But how do I find the custom URL (in my case for DI.FM) ?  I can’t find it anywhere !

 

 

here: https://www.di.fm/settings
Under HARDWARE PLAYER SETTINGS
You select your channel and quality, then you copy paste what in the box under playlist and you past it in TuneIN BUT maybe it's only for premium (what I’m) Don’t know if you have access to that in the free version of DI.

B
Userlevel 2
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From what I can tell, the “new” TuneIn service inside of Sonos only displays a partial list of Favorites saved in the standalone TuneIn app. 
 

I too lost access to all of my custom URLs in the new app. I’d tested the work around above and while you can save a custom URL to stand alone TuneIn, it will only display in Sonos in “new” TuneIn if you reorder your list of Favorites in the stand alone TuneIn app so that any new custom URLs are high enough in the list so they can displayed in the partial list in Sonos.

I didn’t count how many are carried over. I don’t know why TuneIn doesn’t let Sonos display your entire favorites list, but for me it doesn’t. 

I
Userlevel 2
Badge

I was wondering, since the old radio stations are still visible in the current desktop app and it was stated that the stations are stored in your Sonos account...

Does that mean that when you're re-adding those stations to the new Tunein app, these stations are stored twice in your Sonos account? Or are the new ones stored at Tunein?

From what I've read I think they're stored at Tunein, and that would make the Sonos system even more dependant on a third party than the old version of Tunein. Why is Sonos doing this?

 

On a related note, since today I notice that the old Tunein service keeps disappearing from my desktop client. I can re-add it without error, but after a couple of hours it disappears again.

And on top of that, in my list of custom radiostations there are around 50 which are now missing from the top of the list, so stations starting with A, B, C, and some that started with D.

It looks to me Sonos is doing some stuff on their backend, but so far I'm not happy with what's happening.

Any one else experiencing this?

 

B
Userlevel 2
Badge

I haven’t a clue what Sonos is doing but it’s not good.

Like on your case, my “legacy” TuneIn disappeared from the desktop app. I tried to reinstall but it soon disappeared again.

l gave up trying to reinstall.

I can only see it using SonoPhone, a 3rd party iOS app, however, all of my favorites are gone from Legacy TuneIn and  only a partial list is showing in new TuneIn.

However, using this app, I can see many (not all) of my removed favorites under “Favorites”. These don’t show up in the new Sonos app on iOS or Android.
 

 

I
Userlevel 2
Badge

The new TuneIn app doesn't even work on my desktop client. I wish Sonos would prioritize fixing existing stuff that doesn't work, before implementing new non-working stuff...

B
Userlevel 2
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I think that once you’ve added a custom url and saved it as a Favorite via “standalone” TuneIn Radio Pro, there is a way to also add it to “Sonos Favorites”. 
 

1. Open up “new” TuneIn in the Sonos app. 
2. Go to the Favorites section and find the custom station URL. Click on it. Click on the 3 dots at the bottom. Click “Save To Sonos Favorites”. It should then appear in Sonos Favorites.

 

Bear in mind that “new” TuneIn inside Sonos only displays a certain number of favorites that were saved in TuneIn Radio Pro. In my case I have saved over 100 but around 24-30 (I didn’t count exactly) were displayed in “new” TuneIn inside Sonos. It seems to grab the partial list from the top down in the library, cutting off those once you hit their threshold. 
 

Also, to help find custom station URLS, here’s a helpful site: https://www.radio-browser.info/history/8b3f6b80-dc27-41cb-88e9-51df312852f0

If you use a “non-TuneIn source” to find/add custom URLS to TuneIn Radio Pro, you will avoid the issue of pre-roll ads serving inside Sonos Favorites or “new” Tunein inside Sonos. 

 

 

E
Userlevel 2
Badge

Now that legacy TuneIn is gone from the new (buggy) iOS controller and all my custom radio stations (in my case from Digitally Imported di.fm)  were gone and there is no information on the Sonos site I luckily found a way to get them back. However it involves recreating them which can be labour intensive depending on how many you have. You will also need the IOS version of TuneIn for this to work. No premium sign up required.

Here are the instructions from TuneIn https://help.tunein.com/en/support/solutions/articles/151000172377-what-is-a-custom-url-and-how-can-i-add-it-to-sonos-

The Custom URL feature allows you to listen to a private streaming URL, most likely not in the TuneIn directory, using the TuneIn and Sonos app.

To add a custom URL to your Sonos:

  1. Ensure that TuneIn (new) is added on your Sonos app
  2. Log into the iOS or Android TuneIn app using the same TuneIn credentials you use on Sonos
  3. On the TuneIn app, navigate to Library
  4. Tap on customURL and enter the desired stream URL
  5. While listening to that stream, tap the favorite (heart) icon on the now playing screen
  6. Select “favorite station”
  7. Enter a name for the custom stream
  8. Return to TuneIn (new) on your Sonos app, and you should now see that station in your favorites gallery there.

So far this works fine on my system.

I am back in the 20th century when it comes to this stuff, but I get there slowly with a lot of trial and even more error, but what does no. 2 above mean? Is it the same user name/email and password?

Thank you

Essex Girl

I
Userlevel 2
Badge

Now that legacy TuneIn is gone from the new (buggy) iOS controller and all my custom radio stations (in my case from Digitally Imported di.fm)  were gone and there is no information on the Sonos site I luckily found a way to get them back. However it involves recreating them which can be labour intensive depending on how many you have. You will also need the IOS version of TuneIn for this to work. No premium sign up required.

Here are the instructions from TuneIn https://help.tunein.com/en/support/solutions/articles/151000172377-what-is-a-custom-url-and-how-can-i-add-it-to-sonos-

The Custom URL feature allows you to listen to a private streaming URL, most likely not in the TuneIn directory, using the TuneIn and Sonos app.

To add a custom URL to your Sonos:

  1. Ensure that TuneIn (new) is added on your Sonos app
  2. Log into the iOS or Android TuneIn app using the same TuneIn credentials you use on Sonos
  3. On the TuneIn app, navigate to Library
  4. Tap on customURL and enter the desired stream URL
  5. While listening to that stream, tap the favorite (heart) icon on the now playing screen
  6. Select “favorite station”
  7. Enter a name for the custom stream
  8. Return to TuneIn (new) on your Sonos app, and you should now see that station in your favorites gallery there.

So far this works fine on my system.

I am back in the 20th century when it comes to this stuff, but I get there slowly with a lot of trial and even more error, but what does no. 2 above mean? Is it the same user name/email and password?

Thank you

Essex Girl

No 2 means that you have to have a TuneIn account, which is separate from your Sonos account. If you haven’t one yet, you can create one on the TuneIn website or in the TuneIn mobile app. You use that TuneIn account to login into the mobile TuneIn app and create a new list of favourites.

When that’s done you can go back to the Sonos app. If you haven’t done already, you now add the TuneIn (new) service to Sonos, specifying your TuneIn credentials. After that your TuneIn favourites should be displayed.

Only caveat is that Sonos only displays around 30 of your TuneIn favourites. If you have more, those won’t be displayed.

B
Userlevel 2
Badge

Within the standalone TuneIn app (iOS), you can reorder the list of favorites by dragging to the top only the ones you most want Sonos to display. This is needed if you have more than around 30 and want to display in Sonos any of the saved favorites which are below the 30 cut off point in the saved favorites Library. 

Unless I’m not doing it correctly, it seems that you can only drag a saved favorite to the first place in the list. Then, when you drag another to the top, it now becomes the first in the list.

 

 

I
Userlevel 2
Badge

After the mobile app update, the old TuneIn service kept disappearing in the desktop app. I kept re-adding the service to access my custom radio-stations, only for it to be removed again some hours later.

Since somewhere last week however, this behavior stopped. The old TuneIn service now remains visible in the desktop app without me having to re-add it every couple of hours. So that's at least a small improvement in all the wreckage 😏

Now it's a matter of waiting until Sonos communicates what will happen with the custom radio-stations stored in old TuneIn. I can't speak for others, but I have several hundreds of radio-stations in there, and as long as the new way of adding stations to Sonos favorites via the TuneIn app only seems to display about 30-ish of them, I'm not going to painstakingly add them one by one to the new TuneIn service.

Aside from that maximum and the laborious procedure of adding stations one by one, I would like some sort of migration option, where all stations are transferred from old TuneIn to new TuneIn in one go. How hard can that be?

I wish Sonos would be more open about their road map. It would prevent a lot of frustration with their customers.

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