Part 1 - Set up the share (System Settings/Preferences)
Open System Settings (in earlier MacOS it’s called System Preferences).
Click on the apple in top left of your screen to find that option.
Choose General
Select **Sharing**.
Enable **File Sharing**
Click the "i" symbol
Click the "+" symbol.
Add a shared folder by choosing the folder where your music is stored and selecting Open
The name of the folder here will be the ShareName that you’ll use in Part 3.
Under ‘users’, confirm that the list includes an ‘everyone’ option, and that you set ‘everyone’ to *Read Only* at a minimum (or “Read & Write”)
Ensure the customer's account is set to **Read & Write**
I’m not 100% sure ‘customer’s account’, but I took it to mean the account I login with on the computer.
Click the Options button
Ensure that both SMB and the customer's account below are checked and choose Done.
Part 2 - Find your computer’s name
At the bottom (or sometimes top in earlier versions of macOS) of the Sharing page, you’ll see Local hostname. Everything before the .local is the hostname. Copy that down - that will be your MacName that you’ll need in Part 3.
Part 3 - Add the share to Sonos
Open the Sonos app on your mac.
Choose Manage > Music Library Settings
Choose the + for your music folders.
Instead of ‘another folder or drive’, choose Networked Device
Type the network path name when prompted, and press Next. The format will be \\MacName\ShareName
Remember the ShareName and MacName you captured earlier? This is where you’ll use them. Make sure the \ are the right ones (not /, but \).
Enter the Mac username and password. The password is the same as when you login opening your laptop.
If you’re not sure about the username, you can find it this way:
Open an app called ‘Terminal’ on your macbook. (Go into Launchpad and type ‘term’ and it’ll show up)
Type whoami and press enter.
The result that shows is your username. (e.g. Perhaps my computer shows my login name as Salami Slices but my username technically is different (salamislices)). Copy and paste that into the username that Sonos is asking for.
If that doesn’t work, someone had mentioned trying the following:
From System Settings, on left side, choose ‘users and groups’
Click on the ‘i’ next to Guest User
Enable “Allow guest users to connect to shared folders” and choose OK.
Now, from Sonos app, when get prompted for username and password, leave them blank and just choose enter.
The idea is it would treat it as a guest and since gave access to guests, will work.
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@Mind.E
Are all your sub-folders and files inheriting their permissions from the hierarchical ‘Music’ folder that you first refer to in your post and is there a specific username and password setup for the (read only) share?
Next, have you then shared the ‘Music’ library folder via the Sonos Desktop controller App using the 3rd option of setting up the library share using the full UNC network path (examples: //192.168.0.123/Music or //MyPCName/Music) and then entered the above username and passwords to access the read only share?
Note the sharing protocol that needs to be used too is SMB v2 (or higher) - do not use SMB v1.
You may find this earlier thread from @press250 really helpful too…
I’m seeing the Apple playlists in the new Sonos App - see attached. Do you perhaps mean the Sonos saved playlists from that service?
Are they not in your Sonos Favourites area of the App? I’ve seen others report that, but it was mostly related to Sonos saved playlists.
Can you actually access them? My playlists show up, but if I try to play them I get the unable to browse error.
Sorry do you mean the ones in the Apple music service @krez56, or are you referring to the playlists inside the Sonos Favorites ‘Pinned Category’? - if it’s the first type of playlist in the service itself, yes they are playing okay here.
However, the playlists in the ‘Sonos Favorites’ category, whereby some users using the old S2 App loaded say an Apple playlist to a room queue and then saved it as a favourite (giving it a custom name in the process), then I am aware some users have had problems with those type of playlists, but note they are ‘Sonos Playlists’ rather than ‘Apple Playlists’ (I hope that makes sense).
I understand those ‘Sonos playlist’ playback issues have (I believe) been reported to Sonos.
Apparently the ‘Sonos Playlists’ even if not viewable or playable in the new Sonos App, can in some instances still be seen/played in the Desktop controller Apps in some cases - so maybe see if that’s the case. That’s assuming you’re referring to those type of playlists.
I hope that assists.
The imported playlists from my music library. Fortunately, I had saved a couple of those as Sonos playlists a while back, so I can still play them. The unable to browse error is on the imported playlists. Further research turns up that Sonos is aware of this bug, and plans to fix it by the end of the month. Maybe…
And I pretty much exclusively use the desktop app (OSX). Phone app only if I need to do something in another room.
@krez56,
So your further research has now turned up that Sonos are aware of your playlist issue, and plan to fix it by the end of the month… in thst case I guess you’ll need to wait for them to do that.. I was aware that Sonos were doing some fixes around playlists, but understood it to be Sonos playlists, but I guess it’s a case of now simply waiting for the fix.
Ken, thank you for trying to help. I am still at a loss.
My subfolders are have the same permissions but some of the items won’t load… “fetching”
There is only one password for my account to access everything on my Mac. There are no other passwords set up anywhere on my Mac and only one user account.
Further, the sharing preferences in system settings keeps reassigning the subfolder “Music” as “Music-1”, which it is not.
The process creates duplicate SonosDMS entries, which cannot be deleted.
SMB is turned on…
But I am unable to determine the version using the terminal command suggested in your embedded post.
Thus I am more confused than ever. I have a very complicated legacy Sonos S1 system in my primary residence with 11 zones and in 10 years it has never given me a single issue, even having changed the music server multiple times.
This newer Sonos system with only 3 zones has been nothing but problems.
Appreciate you trying to help. Thank you.
Mark
@Mind.E I’m more of a windows user myself so I’ll have to just try my best here,
I see the windows SMB share appears to be down to your account logon on the PC .. I would personally remove the other users that are not connecting or struggling to connect to the shared folder and the ‘everyone’ users at some point too, but maybe leave those for now.
Not sure what the ‘Staff’ group is doing there either. so that could perhaps go aswell later.
Anyhow …
I would just goto the Sonos Desktop App Library share features and remove any current shares and goto the 3rd option on the list for adding NAS and library folders and type the network path to the share. You can just use ”//Name-of-PC/Music”, or if that doesn’t work change the name of the share to Music-1. You can use the computers IP address instead of the PC name, particularly if its address is fixed/static on the LAN.
Then go onto next step and enter your username and password that you use to logon to your PC and see if that then indexes your library and begins working for you.
There are other things you can do later to improve security of the share but see if the above may work for you to begin with.
Thank you Ken. I will try as you suggest. And hope Sonos fixes this on their end. Best, Mark
Do you perhaps mean the Sonos saved playlists from that service?
Oh, I meant the playlists I had created with my music loaded in the Music application.
Formerly (a long time ago ...), with Sonos Mac application, adding “Folder my music” in Sonos library was simple and effective. And all playlists of Music application were found in “Imported playlists”.
It was a different time …
Thanks to this thread of discussion and Salami Slices solution, I was able to retrieve all my music and playlists. Since the last update … All files of music were kept, but no playlists.
Thanks for your attention.
Remind me, did this support link not resolve the matter for you?
Note the last line about perhaps occasionally repeating the steps too after altering the library. If still no luck, maybe see if the next App update might resolve the matter for you.
If that doesn’t work either, I would reproduce the issue/grab some screenshots later and then immediately submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and make contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.
Remind me, did this support link not resolve the matter for you?
Already tried, no success. Even if “iTunes” is no more the name of the application (but just “Music”).
Tried different name : “iTunes Library.xml”, “Music library.xml” …. etc.
That is this file indeed that should be considered. And was previously ...
Thanks, I'll wait for a next patch …
Remind me, did this support link not resolve the matter for you?
Already tried, no success. Even if “iTunes” is no more the name of the application (but just “Music”).
Tried different name : “iTunes Library.xml”, “Music library.xml” …. etc.
That is this file indeed that should be considered. And was previously ...
Thanks, I'll wait for a next patch …
FWIW in my own case I gave up using .xml playlists a long time ago now, as I always found them to be slow and often unreliable. So some years ago I exported the playlists from the .xml files I was using and later converted all the playlists to .m3u format and they are working okay in the new App. See attached.
@Ken_Griffiths I was able to complete the import of my library into the Mac Sonos, app, but unable to browse or access any of the music in my library. This is a step farther than I have gotten in the past. All of my playlists appear in the “Imported Music Library” but when you click on any playlist or search for any artist or album or genre, the spinning wheel appears for a few seconds and then the error “Unable to browse music.” I really wish Sonos would fix this. Thanks again, for your help.
Mark
@Ken_Griffiths I was able to complete the import of my library into the Mac Sonos, app, but unable to browse or access any of the music in my library. This is a step farther than I have gotten in the past. All of my playlists appear in the “Imported Music Library” but when you click on any playlist or search for any artist or album or genre, the spinning wheel appears for a few seconds and then the error “Unable to browse music.” I really wish Sonos would fix this. Thanks again, for your help.
Mark
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
@Ken_Griffiths I was able to complete the import of my library into the Mac Sonos, app, but unable to browse or access any of the music in my library. This is a step farther than I have gotten in the past. All of my playlists appear in the “Imported Music Library” but when you click on any playlist or search for any artist or album or genre, the spinning wheel appears for a few seconds and then the error “Unable to browse music.” I really wish Sonos would fix this. Thanks again, for your help.
Mark
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Sonos are unlikely to change anything there @krez56, as the Sonos Web App controller is likely being seen as the replacement for that platform and the Windows platform too… the ‘old’ desktop controllers have been in ‘maintenance-only’ mode for years.
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Sonos are unlikely to change anything there @krez56, as the Sonos Web App controller is likely being seen as the replacement for that platform and the Windows platform too… the ‘old’ desktop controllers have been in ‘maintenance-only’ mode for years.
So where can I add my music library on the web app? Settings only give me the options to sign out and create content filters. My Music Library only shows the current fake NAS. My Service has no option to add anything. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Sonos are unlikely to change anything there @krez56, as the Sonos Web App controller is likely being seen as the replacement for that platform and the Windows platform too… the ‘old’ desktop controllers have been in ‘maintenance-only’ mode for years.
So where can I add my music library on the web app? Settings only give me the options to sign out and create content filters. My Music Library only shows the current fake NAS. My Service has no option to add anything. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Thank you both. I did update the app in the last couple days (obviously no update for this issue yet), AND have waited hours for the index to update, still with no luck. My next move is to try to add the embedded, secondary “Music” folder as the music library and see if that works. But I am not optimistic since the actually music files are all organized in the legacy iTunes folder. My last resort will be to contact support, as you suggest. Thanks again. - Mark
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Sonos are unlikely to change anything there @krez56, as the Sonos Web App controller is likely being seen as the replacement for that platform and the Windows platform too… the ‘old’ desktop controllers have been in ‘maintenance-only’ mode for years.
So where can I add my music library on the web app? Settings only give me the options to sign out and create content filters. My Music Library only shows the current fake NAS. My Service has no option to add anything. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
It’s been moved to the new Sonos mobile App as of todays update, I believe - I haven’t updated yet, so can’t confirm thats the case, but maybe others here will confirm it - I have some other things to do before I can get around to doing todays update.
Hi Mark, note it can sometimes take a while to build the library index - so just check it after an hour or so and if still no joy, then I would perhaps speak to Sonos Support - as this should be working now after todays Sonos App update.
No OSX update yet.
Sonos are unlikely to change anything there @krez56, as the Sonos Web App controller is likely being seen as the replacement for that platform and the Windows platform too… the ‘old’ desktop controllers have been in ‘maintenance-only’ mode for years.
So where can I add my music library on the web app? Settings only give me the options to sign out and create content filters. My Music Library only shows the current fake NAS. My Service has no option to add anything. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Thank you both. I did update the app in the last couple days (obviously no update for this issue yet), AND have waited hours for the index to update, still with no luck. My next move is to try to add the embedded, secondary “Music” folder as the music library and see if that works. But I am not optimistic since the actually music files are all organized in the legacy iTunes folder. My last resort will be to contact support, as you suggest. Thanks again. - Mark
Maybe try using today’s updated mobile Sonos App Mark - see if that will perhaps work for you.
It’s been moved to the new Sonos mobile App as of todays update, I believe - I haven’t updated yet, so can’t confirm thats the case, but maybe others here will confirm it - I have some other things to do before I can get around to doing todays update.
I can confirm that adding, managing, and searching local libraries are now possible in the new mobile Android app released today. Can’t confirm iOS app.
...converted all the playlists to .m3u format...
This could be part of the solution.
In fact, Apple playlist format seems to be “.musiclibrary”. I can convert it into “.m3u”, but I'll have to repeat the operation every time I make a change.
One of sonos' strong points for Mac users was precisely the good integration of the Mac application. It is no longer true.
After a try : Sonos recognise the .m3u playlist … but can’t find the files through it.
I stop for now. Tomorow will (perhaps) be a different day … Thanks again.
It’s been moved to the new Sonos mobile App as of todays update, I believe - I haven’t updated yet, so can’t confirm thats the case, but maybe others here will confirm it - I have some other things to do before I can get around to doing todays update.
I can confirm that adding, managing, and searching local libraries are now possible in the new mobile Android app released today. Can’t confirm iOS app.
Thanks for confirming @jgatie. Appreciate that. I’m guessing the feature will be in the iOS App too in that case.
...converted all the playlists to .m3u format...
This could be part of the solution.
In fact, Apple playlist format seems to be “.musiclibrary”. I can convert it into “.m3u”, but I'll have to repeat the operation every time I make a change.
One of sonos' strong points for Mac users was precisely the good integration of the Mac application. It is no longer true.
After a try : Sonos recognise the .m3u playlist … but can’t find the files through it.
I stop for now. Tomorow will (perhaps) be a different day … Thanks again.
You won’t get it to work that way @Celo by simply renaming the file extension - you need to find an App/Software that can export the separate playlists in the .m3u format from the file instead. I’m not sure if there’s anything free that can do that, but maybe Google it to find the answer. I used MusicStreamer but there’s a bit of a learning curve to get it to work and it’s not free …and there’s probably much easier ways to do the export these days.
It’s been moved to the new Sonos mobile App as of todays update, I believe - I haven’t updated yet, so can’t confirm thats the case, but maybe others here will confirm it - I have some other things to do before I can get around to doing todays update.
I can confirm that adding, managing, and searching local libraries are now possible in the new mobile Android app released today. Can’t confirm iOS app.
Thanks for confirming @jgatie. Appreciate that. I’m guessing the feature will be in the iOS App too in that case.
If there is, I - and others - are having problems finding it. Apple Music (streaming) is an option, but there is no option to add a local music library. How do you access it on Android? Hoping there is something similar I’m missing on the iPhone.
@krez56
Make sure you have updated the App by going to the Mobile device Apo Store and seeing if the Sonos App shows as being up-to-date.
Then… In the Sonos App select "Settings (gear icon top right of screen)/System” goto "Manage” (above your system products) and select Music Library in the list below ‘About Your System’, ‘Alarms’ etc. I believe it should be in that list, probably just above ‘Network’. At least that’s where I think it is - let me know if you find it?
@krez56
Make sure you have updated the App by going to the Mobile device Apo Store and seeing if the Sonos App shows as being up-to-date.
Then… In the Sonos App select "Settings (gear icon top right of screen)/System” goto "Manage” (above your system products) and select Music Library in the list below ‘About Your System’, ‘Alarms’ etc. I believe it should be in that list, probably just above ‘Network’. At least that’s where I think it is - let me know if you find it?
Yes - found it. Thanks! But my only option is the fake NAS that I have been using, so I need to keep exporting and renaming playlists when I change one. I was hoping to go back to the before-May app ability where I just had to hit Update Music Library to get the playlists updated.
