BR100’s not doing anything \\ connecting in-ceiling speakers

  • 17 May 2023
  • 6 replies
  • 76 views
S

For my relatives I have been trying to connect in-ceiling Sonos speakers to multiple (2) BR100 bridges, but without any succes. Both BR100 bridges don’t show any light on top, even though I connected them to a power outlet, as well as the UTP/ethernet cables to the router. (the cabled connection works on other devices such as laptops)

The connection worked until the router got replaced by a newer one.
The new router (a Huawei EG8145V5) supports 802.11ac dual-frequency bands. 
Could it be that the BR100 doesn’t support this wifi band?

As far as I’ve understood, the BR100 is End of Life. Should we get a newer bridge model?

Or is there anything else we can do? E.g. do certain router settings need to be applied? 

As for the in-ceiling speakers I have no idea which model they are, but they worked before with the BR100 on the old router. 

Also, when checking the Sonos mobile apps, I believe we were unable to find the speakers separately (without the bridge). So presuming they need the bridge (?). 

Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

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6 replies

melvimbe

Sonos doesn’t make in ceiling speakers.  You likely have a Sonos Amp or the old Connect:Amp to power these passive speakers.   Do you know whether this system is on S1 or S2, and are you using the corresponding Sonos app for that system?

The old bridges are out dated and probably shouldn’t be used anymore.  I would necessarily get a Boost though, as your amp (whichever one you have) may be able to connect to the router without it, or be directly wired.  

Danny
S

Thanks for your reply. 

I’ve checked the whole apartment but couldn’t find any Amp. All I see are in-ceiling speakers and two BR-100’s that don’t work. 

As for S1 or S2, I don’t know. Which kind of system parts determine that? Guessing BR100 is closer to S1. I tried that app, but it doesn’t find the BR100 nor the speakers separately. 

Since it worked with the old router (before fiber was installed), and nothing else changed, I don’t think the amp is a prerequisite. Could it be that they are Sonos compatible speakers, but not made by Sonos themselves?

I might just advise the relatives to try a Sonos Boost. If it doesn’t work, we can always return it. 

Airgetlam

No, there is no non-Sonos speaker that would connect directly to a Sonos BRIDGE. The BR100 does not have an amplifier to power any speakers in it. 

If the system was using a BRIDGE, it would have to be using S1. 

A guess would be that those in-ceiling speakers were being powered by a Sonos CONNECT:AMP somewhere, which could have been connected to a Sonos BRIDGE for data.

I would find the speaker wires from the in-ceiling speakers, and figure out where they go to.

But if you’re going to replace a BRIDGE with a BOOST, you’re going to need to find the amps that power the speakers, either Sonos, or otherwise. There may be other issues that need to be addressed.

I guess this is all predicated on these in-ceiling speakers not being Sonos PLAY:1s is some odd enclosure in the ceiling. They’re certainly not designed for that kind of use. 

Bruce
melvimbe

It might be helpful to post some pictures of the BR100s, router, the speakers, and any device that might be the Connect:amp.  Is it possible the amp got removed by accident when the router was replaced?

Danny
buzz

Physically, where are the BRIDGE’s located? There is no reason to have two BRIDGE’s sitting side by side.

Are any of the network port lights on the rear of the BRIDGE’s active? At least one of the BRIDGE’s should have an active network connection.

—-

Who installed the new router? Some uninformed installers have fully bought into the idea that “everything is wireless now, isn’t it?”, and they’ll simply remove all of the network wires.

In some cases the status light on BRIDGE has become so dim that you’ll assume the unit is not active. There is also a user option to disable the status light, but it will always briefly be visible while the unit is booting — unless it’s too dim.

S

No, there is no non-Sonos speaker that would connect directly to a Sonos BRIDGE. The BR100 does not have an amplifier to power any speakers in it. 

If the system was using a BRIDGE, it would have to be using S1. 

A guess would be that those in-ceiling speakers were being powered by a Sonos CONNECT:AMP somewhere, which could have been connected to a Sonos BRIDGE for data.

I would find the speaker wires from the in-ceiling speakers, and figure out where they go to.

But if you’re going to replace a BRIDGE with a BOOST, you’re going to need to find the amps that power the speakers, either Sonos, or otherwise. There may be other issues that need to be addressed.

I guess this is all predicated on these in-ceiling speakers not being Sonos PLAY:1s is some odd enclosure in the ceiling. They’re certainly not designed for that kind of use. 

I can hardly believe they are PLAY:1s, so presuming they are indeed passive powered speakers. I checked the whole appartment to see if I could find where the wiring ended up, but no luck yet.

I will not be in the apartment anymore for the next months, so I can't do physical checks, unless I ask my relatives to check a few things. 

 

It might be helpful to post some pictures of the BR100s, router, the speakers, and any device that might be the Connect:amp.  Is it possible the amp got removed by accident when the router was replaced?


I can't take pictures, as I won't be there anymore for the next months.
But I’m 100% sure I didn’t see a Connect:AMP (new or old gen).
It could indeed be a possibility that there was an AMP before, and it got removed. I wasn’t there during the time they got into the appartment and a new router. Thanks for your reply.

 

Physically, where are the BRIDGE’s located? There is no reason to have two BRIDGE’s sitting side by side.

Are any of the network port lights on the rear of the BRIDGE’s active? At least one of the BRIDGE’s should have an active network connection.

—-

Who installed the new router? Some uninformed installers have fully bought into the idea that “everything is wireless now, isn’t it?”, and they’ll simply remove all of the network wires.

In some cases the status light on BRIDGE has become so dim that you’ll assume the unit is not active. There is also a user option to disable the status light, but it will always briefly be visible while the unit is booting — unless it’s too dim.

 

The bridge was located right next to the router. Because the first one didn't show any LED, and using the S1 app it didn't find anything on the local network, we got a spare BR100. The spare BR100 showed the exact same behavior. I am not entirely sure whether the network ports light showed any light (I'm far away from the apartment right now, so I can’t test this).

The new router was probably installed by the ISP (fiber provider).

The BR100 didn't show any sign of life, we plugged and unplugged them in a few times. Thanks for your reply.


 

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