Best user friendly sonos controller

G
Badge +2

Hi guys, sorry if this has been asked before and/or is a pointless question. But I'm looking for a user friendly device that can be wall mounted to control my sonos system

 

I have sonos system covering my entire house, and we often host and have visitors. I'm getting fed up of handing my phone over, or asking people to download the app to control the music playing. Similarly, some of the speakers are out of reach so a simple task of changing the volume is effort!

 

Therefore I want a wall mounted device that is can control my sonos system. Ideally a fairly user friendly one, as I don't want people to have to struggle to use it. Does such a thing exist?

 

I also have hue lights all over, so if something can cover both systems that'd be a brucey bonus

 

Thanks in advance

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18 replies

Airgetlam

The challenge would be as the tech advances, any wall mounted controller will eventually age out. But I’d be looking at some sort of Android tablet device, with the Sonos app ‘pinned’ permanently to the man screen. 

There is no current Sonos only controller. 

Bruce
buzz

There are wall mount kits for Android and Apple tablets. There are all sorts of “deals” available for older hardware, however, some hardware is too old to run a supported operating system. Make sure that the hardware will support the current SONOS Apps.

You can enable “Kiosk Mode” (single application) on the tablet.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

You might look at having a local picture framing shop make you a frame for a tablet and mount that over a electrical box set into the wall to provide power to the tablet.

I’d go with a good brand of tablet and the newest hardware I could get. Not necessarily a high powered tablet though as the Sonos app doesn’t need much.

G
Badge +2

Thanks guys. So it sounds like I'm best off just getting a tablet and wall mounting that. I'll look out for some deals

 

I'm surprised there is not a controller available, I would suspect it would prove fairly popular

Airgetlam

History suggest it was not, it’s been years since Sonos produced the CR100/CR200 controllers. 

Bruce
G
Badge +2

History suggest it was not, it’s been years since Sonos produced the CR100/CR200 controllers. 

Yeh I suppose you're right. If there was a market sonos would probably fill it. Maybe I'm just being fussy. I just really like the idea of a walled screen that anyone can use! 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Since you're in the UK this could be something: https://rithumhome.com/product/rithum-switch/

It probably leaves little room for people to change settings, but that can also be an advantage. You should make sure the sytem is set to a different network then the on the guests are on.

G
Badge +2

Since you're in the UK this could be something: https://rithumhome.com/product/rithum-switch/

It probably leaves little room for people to change settings, but that can also be an advantage. You should make sure the sytem is set to a different network then the on the guests are on.

This looks promising. I'll look into it. Thanks! 

buzz

History suggest it was not, it’s been years since Sonos produced the CR100/CR200 controllers. 

Yeh I suppose you're right. If there was a market sonos would probably fill it. Maybe I'm just being fussy. I just really like the idea of a walled screen that anyone can use! 

Early on there was a dedicated SONOS controller and a PC controller. It didn’t take long before the Internet was burning with complaints about this. At that time pad and phone Apps were not as pervasive as they are now, but legions of users and potential users felt it made no sense to purchase a dedicated hardware device costing about 60% of a pad/phone that only performed a single function. The phone controller could be “free”.

Like many others here, I miss the dedicated controllers.

G
Badge +2

History suggest it was not, it’s been years since Sonos produced the CR100/CR200 controllers. 

Yeh I suppose you're right. If there was a market sonos would probably fill it. Maybe I'm just being fussy. I just really like the idea of a walled screen that anyone can use! 

Early on there was a dedicated SONOS controller and a PC controller. It didn’t take long before the Internet was burning with complaints about this. At that time pad and phone Apps were not as pervasive as they are now, but legions of users and potential users felt it made no sense to purchase a dedicated hardware device costing about 60% of a pad/phone that only performed a single function. The phone controller could be “free”.

Like many others here, I miss the dedicated controllers.

That does make sense. I imagine for a lot of users, a dedicated hardware device solely to control sonos seems a bit much. But I also know someone who has removed all light switches, and all lights have now voice controlled through alexa. Meaning everyone who visits needs to remember the names of each light and talk to the house everytime they enter and leave a room. It's madness. 

 

I think smart tech should make life easier, not harder. In my opinion the omission is switches and controllers hinder

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Folks that have difficulty using touch screens really miss having the CR-100s. Even more if they don’t have a Mac or Windows PC available.

I’d love to see a web browser based, run anywhere, Sonos controller. Might even save Sonos some money as they could then drop the Mac and Windows based ones.

B

You need to go to Brilliant.tech, they do some great wall controllers for Sonos + heating + lighting etc. They are American based and quite expensive though. There’s a Memorial Day sale ATM

B
Full Sonos Controller in wall solution

Hi everyone, I have found a perfect solution for having Sonos in-wall controls without slapping an iPad on the wall.

Basically, the hardware that I'm using is a “Tuya Smart Home Touch Screen Control Panel Central Control for Intelligent Scene” with some custom software mods involved. You can get the kit from lots of sites all over the place, I got this one from eBay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134124465180

 

Software Mod

To accomplish this, the device must be disassembled to access the USB port on the board. Then, a few ADB commands can be run to uninstall the pre-installed Tuya software and install a regular android launcher and the Sonos app. After completion, the onboard proximity sensor can be utilized to activate the screen when approached.

 

The resources I followed to do this can be found below. I stopped after installing the launcher and then just installed the Sonos app via ADB the same way in which you do with the launcher.

 

List of Resources

Video on finding the USB port: 

 

Sideload Apps on Tuya T6E, S6E and S8E Android Smart Home Panels: https://blakadder.com/t6e-sideload/

Use Proximity Sensor to Wake Screen on NSPanel Pro and Tuya Smart Home Panel: https://blakadder.com/android-panel-proximity/

 

Have fun and please let me know if you have any issues or need more info.

B

@Batessam88 Love the solution youve found.  Im currently exploring something similar to allow the kids to have access/control of Sonos from their rooms, without having to give them a "device”. Ive never played around with something like this before; I come from a tech background and am very comfortable messing around with hardware, but software usually does my head in!  Im looking to run either the Spotify app (which is all the kids listen too anyway) and using Connect, or the Sonos app itself - leaning towards Spotify at this stage as it give the kids access to song lyrics and the search functionality plays nicer (and they dont listen to any local content that I have saved anyway).  I presume with your solution above I could just install Spotify instead of Sonos with a similar result?

Also, as Im looking for a desktop solution, Ive been considering the Tuya panel youve used with an enclosure stand from Sonoff  https://sonoff.tech/product/accessories/enclosure-stand/  or some other custom 3d printed thing.

Ive also been looking at a comparable solution using a raspberry pi zero with a hyperpixel touchscreen, but Ive never messed around much with them before.  From what I can see Id still want a solution that runs Android so I can make use of the official apps, rather than trying to do anything else too clever…

Would love to get your (or anyone elses) thoughts on this.

Cheers

Baz

 

 

buzz

What’s the big difference between hardware and software? On hardware there are a zillion little legs and pads. On software there are just a few (million) little keystrokes. 🙄

At one point I needed a temporary solution for a problem of controlling a few pieces of hardware. It was such a mess, I’d need relays, sensors, and timers, the timers would need to be initialized in a certain sequence and the mess would be installed in an area that was subject to power failures. I couldn’t be constantly on site to supervise the mess.

While I was struggling with this, I attended a computer fair, and an inspiration hit like a bolt of lightning. I was able to purchase an EPROM board for an VIC-20 that I had on hand. In those days we didn’t have Raspberry Pi’s. It helped that I was familiar with the VIC and could deal with the EPROM. By 1:00am I was ready to deploy. It would have taken days for me to cobble parts, build, and test a hardware solution. There would have been more little “legs” on the parts than statements in my program.

B

Haha, for some reason the zillion little legs have never scared me - I always end up wasting so much time on software, even though I do usually end up getting there in the end 😂

B

@Batessam88 Love the solution youve found.  Im currently exploring something similar to allow the kids to have access/control of Sonos from their rooms, without having to give them a "device”. Ive never played around with something like this before; I come from a tech background and am very comfortable messing around with hardware, but software usually does my head in!  Im looking to run either the Spotify app (which is all the kids listen too anyway) and using Connect, or the Sonos app itself - leaning towards Spotify at this stage as it give the kids access to song lyrics and the search functionality plays nicer (and they dont listen to any local content that I have saved anyway).  I presume with your solution above I could just install Spotify instead of Sonos with a similar result?

Also, as Im looking for a desktop solution, Ive been considering the Tuya panel youve used with an enclosure stand from Sonoff  https://sonoff.tech/product/accessories/enclosure-stand/  or some other custom 3d printed thing.

Ive also been looking at a comparable solution using a raspberry pi zero with a hyperpixel touchscreen, but Ive never messed around much with them before.  From what I can see Id still want a solution that runs Android so I can make use of the official apps, rather than trying to do anything else too clever…

Would love to get your (or anyone elses) thoughts on this.

Cheers

Baz

 

 

Hey @bazfletch3 i think this solution would work for using spotify, the intructions and links i linked in this post will be super easy to follow so i would not worry about the software setup, all you would need to do is side load the spotify app insted of sonos, you can find the apk here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music

 

Moderator edit: replaced link to Spotify with a safer-looking one

S

@Batessam88 Love the solution youve found.  Im currently exploring something similar to allow the kids to have access/control of Sonos from their rooms, without having to give them a "device”. Ive never played around with something like this before; I come from a tech background and am very comfortable messing around with hardware, but software usually does my head in!  Im looking to run either the Spotify app (which is all the kids listen too anyway) and using Connect, or the Sonos app itself - leaning towards Spotify at this stage as it give the kids access to song lyrics and the search functionality plays nicer (and they dont listen to any local content that I have saved anyway).  I presume with your solution above I could just install Spotify instead of Sonos with a similar result?

Also, as Im looking for a desktop solution, Ive been considering the Tuya panel youve used with an enclosure stand from Sonoff  https://sonoff.tech/product/accessories/enclosure-stand/  or some other custom 3d printed thing.

Ive also been looking at a comparable solution using a raspberry pi zero with a hyperpixel touchscreen, but Ive never messed around much with them before.  From what I can see Id still want a solution that runs Android so I can make use of the official apps, rather than trying to do anything else too clever…

Would love to get your (or anyone elses) thoughts on this.

Cheers

Baz

 

 

Hey @bazfletch3 i think this solution would work for using spotify, the intructions and links i linked in this post will be super easy to follow so i would not worry about the software setup, all you would need to do is side load the spotify app insted of sonos, you can find the apk here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music

 

 

For a user-friendly solution to control your Sonos system without handing over your phone or having guests download an app, consider mounting a dedicated tablet on your wall. An iPad or an Android tablet with the Sonos app installed can serve this purpose effectively. Secure the tablet in a wall-mounted enclosure that allows for continuous charging, and ensure it's set up in a kiosk mode, restricting access to only the Sonos app. This setup not only provides easy access for volume control and music selection but also adds a modern touch to your home. Additionally, you might explore smart home integration options, such as using Amazon Echo or Google Home devices, which can be voice-activated and allow guests to control your Sonos system with simple voice commands. This approach offers a seamless, intuitive experience for both you and your visitors, ensuring effortless control over the music in every part of your house.

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