For those of you who hate having to use the sonos app, here's a useful alternative

R
Userlevel 4

Of you're like me and despise the Sonos app and the inability to use apps like you tube (well technically any app since the Sonos app only works 1 out 20 times). I've found this app called Air Music, that allows you to cast audio to your Sonos speakers using any music service or app/player/webpage that produces audio for Android, it's basically the closest thing to Apple Airplay that if found. I can just launch you tube or spotify or my local file player and cast the audio without having the headaches of being forced to you use Sonos beyond terrible interface, highly recommend it, it's been total ges changer for me and actually makes Sonos products useable. 

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.airmusic.trial

27 replies

D
Userlevel 2

Merry met!  And fortuitous you just posted this.

Yes, yes & yes.  Spent thousands on Sonos equipment only to find how much their software sucks.  First it was just unintuitive UI, then they got rid of play from “this device” (android phone), but figured work-around with network drive.  Now S2 and that's gone as well. I’ve gone on windows and enabled SMB2, but not sure what to do from there.  Can’t find anything in the new S2 app about connecting to network.

Seems like every time I just want to put on some music there is some issue, and I have to spend hours trying to get it to work.  Spent 30 minutes waiting for Chat support today, then ran out of time before I could get any solution.  When I came back, I tried phone support: “Your expected wait is 150 minutes”.  Of course it closed before I could get anyone on the line...

Am definitely going to do the trial on this Air Music. 

Will it allow me to play music from any phone music app (I use Poweramp) to my sonos connect, etc...so I can play it on [normal] speakers connected to Sonos amps?  I have one Sonos beam, but rarely use it...

H

Will it allow me to play music from any phone music app (I use Poweramp) to my sonos connect, etc...so I can play it on [normal] speakers connected to Sonos amps?  I have one Sonos beam, but rarely use it...

Yes. It will capture all sound going to your phones speaker, and send it through the AirPlay protocol.

D
Userlevel 2

It actually works!

A bit scary though, as it has to have full access, and warns that the app can see everything (including passwords)….  Does that not concern you?

H

It actually works!

A bit scary though, as it has to have full access, and warns that the app can see everything (including passwords)….  Does that not concern you?

Yes. That is concerning, i forgot it need that. But it does record everything, and we then just have to hope it will not report back to the mother ship.

M
Userlevel 3

Why can Sonos not withdraw the awful new app and put the old one back?  Or have it as an alternative as they did with classic view??

D
Userlevel 2

These people have a pretty serious track record of making bad choices.  I spoke to someone on voice support (hour wait), and we kept coming back to “That doesn’t work yet…. They’re working on it…  Might be in June release...”

I think our best hope is that their mismanagement will drive the company into the ground, and perhaps it‘ll be bought out / taken over by another company that knows how to write software.

Or just use Air Music app.

D
Userlevel 2

It actually works!

A bit scary though, as it has to have full access, and warns that the app can see everything (including passwords)….  Does that not concern you?

Regarding this, I wrote to Air Music, and this was their reply:

AirMusic does not collect any sensitive data! This dialog about password/screen-recording etc. is a generic dialog of the Android-system and re-used by it also if just the audio is recorded.

AirMusic records and transmits your internal audio in real-time - nothing is stored and the screen-content isn't even recorded.

I am developing AirMusic as a single developer in my spare time since 2012 (previously called AirAudio) and I don't have any interest in any of your data - nothing is collected, nothing is shared with any other platform from my side.

Only in case of an app-crash, it might be possible that crash-logs are sent to Google's servers, but they do not contain any sensitive data, just information about your used Android-version/hardware/etc.

 

So in short: You can be sure that absolutely no private/personal/sensitive data is collected or transmitted - just the audio and just to your selected speakers :-)

F
Userlevel 6
Badge +4

No sonos less headache

A
Userlevel 2

I decided to leave the sonos app a while ago and just use AirPlay, then I returned when I heard about S2. Life was fine again. Then they trashed S2. The new “official” Sonos app is rotten to the core. I figure I’ll sell off my Sonos gear now and go with a different choice.

 

if Sonos makes it possible to return to S2, I’ll reconsider.. at this moment, however, I’m inclined to head for the exit. 

D
Userlevel 2

I decided to leave the sonos app a while ago and just use AirPlay, then I returned when I heard about S2. Life was fine again. Then they trashed S2. The new “official” Sonos app is rotten to the core. I figure I’ll sell off my Sonos gear now and go with a different choice.

 

if Sonos makes it possible to return to S2, I’ll reconsider.. at this moment, however, I’m inclined to head for the exit. 

I too had thought about changing, but I have so much invested in Sonos hardware; won’t be able to recoup most of it… 

But moreover, I could not really find anything that seemed to be rated better.  If you find another system that works [a lot] better overall, please post your findings here.

A
Userlevel 2

Hi there!

It’s been on my mind to just scrap this Sonos stuff altogether and go for a streaming-friendly receiver, what with the new products available now.

Thanks so much for your input. It’s distressing to know that you have put so much money and effort into Sonos gear. The new app really is appalling.
 
In my household, Sonos has had its day in court.
 

All the best to you.

K

For those of you that have line in jacks on your Sonos kit and a spare Echo Dot lying around, wire that to the Sonos line in jacks after setting them to autoplay via the Sonos app. When the Dot is online, you will see it as target option in the Spotify native app on your phone. Select that to get the music to move from the phone to the Dot and thence to whatever speakers are wired to the terminals of the Sonos Port or Amp. You could also wire the Dot to a Sonos 5 unit’s line in jack.

The phone will be out of the music play loop, music will sound as good as your speakers are capable of delivering, and you will not need the Sonos app for music to play, it gets bypassed.

You could also do this via voice command to the Dot. In terms of its streaming capability of services it can play, with Spotify being one, and as to the quality of the analog signal out of its audio out jack, the Dot is as good as any streamer out there, including Sonos.

If you use a Echo Show 5/8 that has the audio out jack, you will also get album art for what is playing.

T
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

I decided to leave the sonos app a while ago and just use AirPlay, then I returned when I heard about S2. Life was fine again. Then they trashed S2. The new “official” Sonos app is rotten to the core. I figure I’ll sell off my Sonos gear now and go with a different choice.

 

if Sonos makes it possible to return to S2, I’ll reconsider.. at this moment, however, I’m inclined to head for the exit. 



same here. Exploring other options as well. I fortunately know a some people who will buy some of my speakers. (Well, maybe they wont now, after seeing this new app!) 

anyway, its useless now. Airplay through iphone is fine but i can pair speakers through there unless I am missing something?

Sonos really needs management change. This history of screw ups and bad business decisions is alarming. Think the CEO is asleep at the wheel or something. This might be historically the worst app update I have ever seen anywhere. Honestly, the entire development team needs fired from top to bottom. This is grade school app design.

R
Userlevel 4
Badge +8

I decided to leave the sonos app a while ago and just use AirPlay, then I returned when I heard about S2. Life was fine again. Then they trashed S2. The new “official” Sonos app is rotten to the core. I figure I’ll sell off my Sonos gear now and go with a different choice.

 

if Sonos makes it possible to return to S2, I’ll reconsider.. at this moment, however, I’m inclined to head for the exit. 

please, please, please make the “old” S2 app available again. That way I can still use my Play 5, Playbase, Boost, Port, and three Play 1 speakers!

T

Agree with all the above getting seriously fed up….I just want to get My Tuner stream, because no ads as far as I can tell unlike Tune In, but the app won't add it to the list!

A
Userlevel 2

Merry met!  And fortuitous you just posted this.

Yes, yes & yes.  Spent thousands on Sonos equipment only to find how much their software sucks.  First it was just unintuitive UI, then they got rid of play from “this device” (android phone), but figured work-around with network drive.  Now S2 and that's gone as well. I’ve gone on windows and enabled SMB2, but not sure what to do from there.  Can’t find anything in the new S2 app about connecting to network.

Seems like every time I just want to put on some music there is some issue, and I have to spend hours trying to get it to work.  Spent 30 minutes waiting for Chat support today, then ran out of time before I could get any solution.  When I came back, I tried phone support: “Your expected wait is 150 minutes”.  Of course it closed before I could get anyone on the line...

Am definitely going to do the trial on this Air Music. 

Will it allow me to play music from any phone music app (I use Poweramp) to my sonos connect, etc...so I can play it on [normal] speakers connected to Sonos amps?  I have one Sonos beam, but rarely use it...

Is Air Music only for android?

D
Userlevel 2

 

Is Air Music only for android?

 

I’m not sure.  Anyone have an apple phone to check?

9
Userlevel 1

You can reinstall the previous Android app, the one that allows playlist editing, shows every song in your playlist without cutting it off partway along, has convenient navigation buttons at the bottom to navigate around, all the stuff that they didn’t put into their newest pile of crap app.  Here’s a repost of the link to the old install hosted on an archive site: <https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/sonos-inc/sonos-for-android/sonos-for-android-16-1-release/> 

 

You must uninstall the new, next to useless app that they just updated to, install the one from the archive site, then change your Sonos system settings to never update automatically.  This will buy you some time to find a way to move playlists over to a service that will support your playlists, you know, not Sonos. 

A
Userlevel 2

To all of you who have so graciously corresponded with me on this topic: I am essentially an Apple user. With Sonos’s latest app debacle I’ve decided to stream from my music app directly to my “AirPlay” Sonos speakers thusly bypassing the Sonos app/interface. 
 

There is, however, the issue that my iPad doesn’t stay connected to AirPlay on the Sonos products. I have to reconnect often. I’m advised that an Apple HomePod will stay connected, so indeed I might sell off my Sonos hardware and replace it with Apple stuff. I never have any difficulty with Apple or Spotify home pages. Sonos’s home page is notoriously awful, imo. 
 

Thanks all, for your responses.

E
Userlevel 1

So it’s not just me! I mostly use the controller on my laptop, but also have a ‘droid tablet - it was ok last night after the updates - now it’s pants. Can’t play any of my favourite radio stations - just get a ‘something went wrong’ Damned right it did. Bizarrely I can play BBC podcasts from BBC Sounds, and my Spotify playlist. I hated the new look of the app right from the start, and I’m not really techy enough to pursue alternatives - it takes me ages - I am an older user who started out on typewriters and am largly self-taught computers etc. No wonder my other half hates them.

E
Userlevel 1

This is beyond me! Can someone with a better brain than mine tell me please

Does this APK thing work on a Windows laptop - I looked at the FAQs and couldn’t find an answer.

I don’t have a Smart Phone but do have an Android tablet - but I can’t see in the FAQs what download I need. Can someone give me a bit of a guide please? My head is starting to ache from looking at the screen for so long - and what the heck is Sonos doing to rectify this mess? I haven’t seen anything from them. 

I love my music - there’s precious little to attract me to tv these days. I’m away next week with no internet, maybe it will all be sorted by the time I get back, can only live in hope.

D
Userlevel 2

This is beyond me! Can someone with a better brain than mine tell me please

Does this APK thing work on a Windows laptop - I looked at the FAQs and couldn’t find an answer.

I don’t have a Smart Phone but do have an Android tablet - but I can’t see in the FAQs what download I need. Can someone give me a bit of a guide please? My head is starting to ache from looking at the screen for so long - and what the heck is Sonos doing to rectify this mess? I haven’t seen anything from them. 

I love my music - there’s precious little to attract me to tv these days. I’m away next week with no internet, maybe it will all be sorted by the time I get back, can only live in hope.

No, the APK is only for android (your tablet).  It’s a bit complicated; read all this before you try.

First, as he said above, need to completely uninstall the current Sonos.  Then...

You need to go to the link above (preferably on the tablet browser) and download the 16.1 APK (probably the arm64-v8a one*).

Once you have the right one downloaded, you need to go to your download folder (using any file explorer app).  Select it and it should start to install.  It will probably force you to go to settings to allow the APK install.

Mind you, I have not done this install yet.  I’m still deciding whether I want to go back to 16.1.

So...If anyone sees anything I have advised wrong or incomplete, please chime in for Essex Girl.

 

*I had to look up a way to tell which one I needed for my phone, so I searched for it and found a page recommending putting “Droid Hardware Info” app.  But it was no longer there, so I installed “Device Information” from Yalintech, and ran it and went to “CPU” and learned I had the arm64-v8a, not the armeabi-v7a.  So that is the APK I downloaded. Then I uninstalled the Yalintech app.

E
Userlevel 1

Thank you for your help. I’ve tried the simple route as suggested by one poster - about it being the network - turned off router, turned on again - no different. Besides I seldom have issues with the network and this only started after the new updates were downloaded. I was looking at internet radios a while back for my other half - he hates computers! perhaps that’s a route I’ll go down myself.

My next trick is to uninstall the Sonos from the laptop and reinstall it to see if that works.

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye!

V
Userlevel 1

I was so excited when I saw the post from 907sjl with the link to the old app.  I thought for sure that would solve my problems, and allow me to play my own music again.

But alas, after removing the crap app and installing the previous version, I still can’t access my Music Library (12,000 MP3 files located on my Win10 PC).  The old app no longer lets me browse my own music.  I recall that when the crap app was installed, it said that it was updating my hardware as well.  So apparently the hardware is now ruined as well, and can’t be controlled from the old version of the app.

For now, I have found an alternative that works somewhat for me.  I installed the Hi-Fi Cast app, which can send music to my Sonos speakers. Unfortunately, it couldn’t see the playlists on my PC, so I installed the MinimServer app, which can see my playlists.  So now at least I can listen to my music again. But I do miss having scheduled playlists that the Sonos Alarms feature allowed.

Y

What a disaster.  I’ve been with Sonos since the VERY beginning (remember those ipod-like controllers on the wall?), and this app fiasco is the last straw.  I just hope I can make enough money back on my Sonos stock puts to enable a systemic change.

Something tells me there will be a surplus of used Sonos speakers on the market soon, and it won’t be because we’re upgrading to a different Sonos product… we’re abandoning.

In the meantime, I’ve bought the Air Music app, and it works like one would expect (unlike Sonos’ app).  Does anyone know if I’m getting high res audio through that app, or if there’s a way to force that (streaming from Tidal app)?

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