How to play songs from a folder of a music library (since app update)

Thanks a lot.

Despite the update I didn’t saw the change after closing and reopening the app it works.

In the latest app 'fix', you can play all files in a folder but the app won't add any files in any sub folders. So, for example, if you have a folder for an artist and then sub folders for albums you can't select the artist folder and play or shuffle play all the albums. 

Nor can you select a folder and add it to the queue. So again, for example, if you wanted to play 2 albums back to back, you can't add both albums to the queue. You have to play 1 album, wait until that's finished playing, than play the second album.

In other words, IT'S FOOBARRED! 

Customer comments tell me that the new Sonos mobile application does not connect with personal iTunes collections. It is unclear if Sonos plans to reinstall this functionality or expects people to use streaming services. It does not appear that the company conducted market research or customer surveys. 

I do not understand SMB v2 or v3. “ Sonos by manually sharing your music folder using SMBv2 or SMBv3, then adding it back to your system using the Sonos app for macOS” means nothing to me. So how do now get Sonos to play files in my music folder. Error 913 is all I get despite trying various things.

My music library is stored on a hard drive attached yo my computer. It s not a NAS drive.

Many thanks to jgatie who found this Mac / Sonos music library work around.  It worked for me!

It’s too bad that Sonos can’t even recommend this simple workaround...

Thank you, thank you. I’ve restored my system. Why on earth Sonos couldn’t advise these settings is beyond me!

Some background and context for folks to better understand this snafu …

A few days ago, I explained this disconnect between Normal People who think Sophos is going to ‘fix’ music library sharing and You & Me who know better. Bear with me, I’m going to explain this step-by-step so others can follow along.

Six some odd years ago, Sonos implemented proprietary local music sharing (using http) in the Windows and Mac desktop clients. Credit where credit is due, they made this click-click simple and it required zero knowledge of file permissions, user accounts, or sharing protocol.

Fast forward to May 2024: Sonos sends an email to some users advising that SMBv1 and http sharing will no longer be supported “in a few months.” Unfortunately, that email—and nearly all subsequent communication—failed to connect the dots for Normal People (who don’t know SMBv1 or http sharing from Adam) that this meant “the Sonos local music mechanism that we built into the Windows and Mac desktop clients.” Even more unfortunately, a “few months” turned out to be “oh, 10 days” and SMBv1/http sharing vanished with the arrival of the v16.2 firmware in mid-May.

Thus began the “Sonos took away my local music” poop-hiting-fan barrage here on the forums, including but not limited to “Error 913.” Silicon Valley At Its Finest: rather than popping up, “Hi there, your Sonos system no longer supports the file sharing we built into the Windows and Mac desktop clients, please click here for instructions on what to do now,” someone decided “Error 913” was all users needed to suss this out.

Here’s the thing that we “advanced users” missed: when Sonos said words to the effect of “local library music will be improved in mid-June,” what tons of Normal People heard was “Sonos is going to fix the local music built into the Windows and Mac desktop apps.” In a cruel failure, Sonos has never removed the local music wizard (first two choices in the screen shot above) from the desktop clients, leaving the APPEARANCE that it was temporarily broken rather than forever eliminated.

Some background and context for folks to better understand this snafu …

A few days ago, I explained this disconnect between Normal People who think Sophos is going to ‘fix’ music library sharing and You & Me who know better. Bear with me, I’m going to explain this step-by-step so others can follow along.

Six some odd years ago, Sonos implemented proprietary local music sharing (using http) in the Windows and Mac desktop clients. Credit where credit is due, they made this click-click simple and it required zero knowledge of file permissions, user accounts, or sharing protocol.

Fast forward to May 2024: Sonos sends an email to some users advising that SMBv1 and http sharing will no longer be supported “in a few months.” Unfortunately, that email—and nearly all subsequent communication—failed to connect the dots for Normal People (who don’t know SMBv1 or http sharing from Adam) that this meant “the Sonos local music mechanism that we built into the Windows and Mac desktop clients.” Even more unfortunately, a “few months” turned out to be “oh, 10 days” and SMBv1/http sharing vanished with the arrival of the v16.2 firmware in mid-May.

Thus began the “Sonos took away my local music” poop-hiting-fan barrage here on the forums, including but not limited to “Error 913.” Silicon Valley At Its Finest: rather than popping up, “Hi there, your Sonos system no longer supports the file sharing we built into the Windows and Mac desktop clients, please click here for instructions on what to do now,” someone decided “Error 913” was all users needed to suss this out.

Here’s the thing that we “advanced users” missed: when Sonos said words to the effect of “local library music will be improved in mid-June,” what tons of Normal People heard was “Sonos is going to fix the local music built into the Windows and Mac desktop apps.” In a cruel failure, Sonos has never removed the local music wizard (first two choices in the screen shot above) from the desktop clients, leaving the APPEARANCE that it was temporarily broken rather than forever eliminated.

So where does that leave us? Forever unable to play the music files stored on my Mac?

That is not what the poster said, and you can still play files stored on your Mac  You need to share the folder on your Mac, then add it using the “Networked device” button instead of the “My Music folder” button.  Here’s a video detailing the steps:

Thanks, I did that and it worked, then all my music disappeared again. I’ll keep trying!

I updated to the latest app, but the “context menu” on folders was still missing.

For comparison (file vs. folder), here are 2 screenshots that I made, right after the update:

Needless to say, this used to work before.

So at least for now, back to the old app.

PS. (sorry, I have to vent-out somewhere, it’s the first time that I do).

I work in IT, and I would be ashamed to come up with such an “update” to a product that I work on.
I’ve seen products with bad products managers, I’ve seen products with no product managers, but I’ve never seen such an “update” being rolled-out.
It’s unbelievable what SONOS did...

Thanks Chris Beck57 for explaining this mess. And unbelievable how Sonos can leave their customers in the dust. Not even a hint in the menu that the folder library feature is discontinued and will never be supported again. Instead we get menu options that make us believe that a folder could be selected if only some hidden change to the Windows system configuration can be made. Just plain disgusting! Folder access is the ONE reason why I bought my Sonos system in the first place. 

The big question is now how can I get back to the Windows app that used to work? I have scanned the web for an answer and came up with nothing. Anyone out there who has an idea?

Hi @WolfHomma, you’re absolutely correct that music libraries in the desktop apps is fubar. Hopefully this explanation helps you get your music library up and running …

And here’s a post from a few days ago with background/context on how we got here …

WOW - IT DOES WORK!

I just spent 45 minutes waiting on the phone support line until a very helpful support technician answered and took control of my system. There needs to be a new ‘user’ added with privileges for the music folders to be shared. It was quite complicated, but apparently the process is described in the link I attached below.

Low and behold, after the SONOS PC app was finally able to ‘see’ my music folder system it took ca. 5 minutes to crunch the data (I assume it looked at each file in the subfolders). 

In my iPhone app I can now add and access folders. Apparently, in different threads on this forum, this issue has been described as resolved, unbeknownst to others who get email updates to this very thread. There is the claim that folders will never work, which discouraged me. Apparently, folders (even on an external USB drive, like in my case) now work with some massive massaging of the Windows share/security settings. 

Thanks to John, the support technician who helped me! Others who get stranded can try to call tech support which will take a lot of patience, but it’s worth it. In my case, the issue that had been bugging me for weeks has now been resolved. 

https://support.sonos.com/en/article/share-your-windows-music-folder-with-sonos

I’ve just seen this, interesting that the previously simple method of adding your music folder is “no longer supported”: The method described did work once but them my music disappeared and I’ve been unable to get it back. Is there some extreme sensitivity to sharing permission settings?

“This error commonly occurs when you’re trying to add a music library share using the Sonos apps for macOS or Windows, specifically when choosing either the “Music folder” or “Another folder or drive connected to my computer” options. These methods of sharing a music folder are no longer supported.

To fix this error, follow the steps below to add your music folder via its network path instead:

1. Manually share your music folder on your local network by following the instructions in one of these articles:
   1. Share your macOS music folder with Sonos
   2. Share your Windows music folder with Sonos
2. Add your shared music folder to Sonos using its network path.”

I’ve got the same problem.  All my music is on a NAS.  Using the old version of the Sonos S2 app, I could see all this music and play it. (It still works with my old devices on S1!).  In the Sonos app. I can only see “Your services” (no sign of “Your sources” mentioned by others in this thread.  I can no longer access my music library how can they take this functionality away.  This is the major reason for having over £1000 worth of kit!

It seems Sonos want to make everything difficult!!

Roger: Yes, painfully difficult, but not impossible. They explained to me that the reason for changing to SMB v2 or v3 is security. Not being a security expert, I have to take this at face value. 

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/add-your-music-library-to-sonos

I repeat a post I have made on a thread elsewhere as it may help for those of you with a Synology NAS . You need to make sure you change the min SMB setting to v2 as well as the max SMB setting to get the music library to be retained.