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New Windows 11 refuses Sonos access to Music Library

  • 27 November 2022
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K
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I have a new HP Windows 11 PC that replaced my old Windows 10 PC.  The new PC “refuses” Sonos 1 Controller access to my Music Library.  The old PC, when put back on network, still allows access.  I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support, also with HP support, Norton antivirus support and Microsoft support, all without success.  We have uninstalled and reinstalled the Sonos app on my PC more than once, have changed Norton traffic rules, blocked firewalls, uninstalled Norton, made sure Sonos has all permissions, checked SMB, used the InPlace file to essentially reinstall Windows 11, etc.  Sonos has assured me that the Sonos 1 Controller is compatible with Windows 11, but all other tech support point to Sonos being the problem.  Am I the only the one experiencing this problem?  If not, what solution have others found other than the unsuccessful manipulations mentioned above.

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Best answer by Kirk D 17 December 2022, 00:14

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33 replies

S
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This is probably the actions of a dangerous, computer illiterate nut, but…

Private network > Defender Firewall ON > incoming connections > clear “Blocks all incoming connections including those in the list of allowed apps.”  I can now “see” my music library and windows (11) controller works.  But was having same issue.  

H

On a W10 system I worked with the ports required by SONOS were not enabled to pass through the firewall.

Not quite for the feint of heart: First make sure that there are entries for SONOS, then open these settings and make sure that that the required SONOS ports are allowed. Scroll farther down on this page for the list of ports.

I use Eset for my network security. Personally, I’ve never had to set up any ports for my Sonos system. Contained within the firewall rules are two Sonos rules (in and out) for the desktop application. Both rules are very generous in which ports they allow. I’m no expert in networking, but I though the firewall was only relevant to controlling the interface between the local network and the external network (the internet)?

buzz

On a W10 system I worked with the ports required by SONOS were not enabled to pass through the firewall.

Not quite for the feint of heart: First make sure that there are entries for SONOS, then open these settings and make sure that that the required SONOS ports are allowed. Scroll farther down on this page for the list of ports.

H

I had a similar problem with the Android App (Sonos S1) attempting to locate my music library on a freshly-constructed Windows 11 machine. My new PC had the same settings as the old PC, the only change was that I named the new PC the same as the old one and change the name on the old PC to something different to avoid any network issues. Also, the music library on both PCs was exactly the same - same drive, same folder naming, same tracks.

I tried many of the ideas suggested in this discussion but my solution was somewhat unique, First, I thought it might be a weak wifi signal since the Play 5 speaker was located at the other end of the house where wifi coverage is known to be weak (the microwave easily interferes with the wifi signal at this end of the house). I thought I’d bring the speaker closer to the PC, instead I grouped the speaker with another Play 5 that was already in the study. That went well. I then thought I’d better update the system before I try another connect. Went into the Android app and when to “System Updates” and selected “Check for Updates”. The app asked me to provide my login details which I entered. My system was up to date and no downloads occurred. Went back to “Music Library Setup” and behold the music library I had been attempting to connect to was there. Note: while the music library details was the same for both PCs, I had entered new details several times in an attempt to get things working.

I’m not certain what the solution was exactly. When attempting to connect to the library the message observed was “XXXXX did not respond”, where XXXX is my computer name. So, was the issue simply a weak wifi signal and pairing the far-away speaker with one closer to the router fixed this problem? Or was there some interrelationship between the Android app not being logged into Sonos HQ and the fact the  speaker couldn’t connect? I’m hesitant to attempt eliminating one of these options, after nearly six hours of frustration I don’t want to end up with a lost music library! Another note: I didn’t need to “Update Music Index Now” before I played a test song. Such an update usually takes several minutes, but I could play music instantly. Yes, I had previously used my Android app with my old Windows 10 music library.

Anyway, hope this contributes to helping people who are fighting to get their Android app to connect to a Windows 11 music library. Consider weak wifi signals and ensure the app is logged in.

 

 

B

I have Also a new HP pc, and excactly the same problem; i’m not so techinical, but I can help myself on pc.
Also Norton 360, restall it over and over again, nothing helps.

Please help me

 

Charel B

 

G

Hi, I had issues connecting my NAS (Synology) to Sonos S2 and couldn’t find the answers so am posting it out if it helps others. 

Under settings > music library > input the NAS address under the LAN settings, which is one digit away, in my case 192.168.1.2 instead of 192.168.1.1

Another tip is not respecting the syntax suggested by Sonos, but input in the following style: //192.168.1.2/music

with Login and Password if applicable

Restart and voila!

denvermtnguy
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For some folks (I use a Buffalo NAS) and as I recall, Sonos access and indexing is finicky about the Secure Messaging Block protocol.

 

Because it is working I have not converted the protocol. If I do, I will likely need to change the switch in the NAS config.

 

You can search for my earlier post of all details of this configuration with a Buffalo NAS on this forum. (I found in my NAS, a switch for “Switch between” that threw a wrench in everything. I recall I set it to SMB1 (the older less secure encryption)). On update, Windows 11 isn’t allow opening the drive as a mapped drive or with its ip address. Fortunately for me, it DOES allow me to access and play things just fine from my Sonos controller (mobile and windows varieties).

 

Hope this may be of some help to some folks.

 

K
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The initial error messages I was getting were on the order of “The computer [computer name] cannot be found.”  Later it was that the computer refused access to the Music Folder.  My suggestion for anyone running across similar problems is, after you do basic trouble shooting (like enabling SMB-1 and setting network to private, etc.), to insist on Level 3 Sonos support.  Level 1 support was time consuming, redundant and worthless.  Level 2 quickly punted to Level 3.

BTW, after resolving the above issue, the next day I could not access the Music Folder again.  But this time simply rebooting my router and Sonos components (unplugging and plugging in my Connect and Play 5s) quickly resolved the issue.  I don’t know if rebooting both was necessary or whether rebooting one or the other might have worked.   In either case this measure had not worked before the more technical Level 3 support made the changes outlined in my previous message.

K

I don’t see any useful answers here that I understand.  I do see that many running windows 11 cannot access music files on their PC because the Sonos app (S1) is not recognizing the PC.

 

Ken_Griffiths

@Kirk D,

Thanks for coming back and posting the solution - so it was your Firewall - Ah well glad to hear it’s all sorted and hopefully the info here will prove helpful to others too. 👍

K
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Problem resolved today with very helpful and competent Level 3 Sonos tech support.

The problem was not my Sonos using the 5 GHz router band since I have a Sonos Connect and that essentially creates its own WiFi channel for access to the system or something like that.

The problem was not related to broken Windows file sharing, so no registry changes were necessary.

I have Norton 360 as my anti-virus app.  That was not the total issue as uninstalling it as I had done previously did not solve the problem, so it had been already been reinstalled.  But it was a contributing factor.

Sonos was not getting a good IP address when trying to resolve the computer name so as a workaround the tech added my Music Library using the IP address.  The name of the shared folder was Music so the path we added was \\192.168.1.19\Music.  To make sure this doesn't break at the next DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) lease renewal [I own, not lease, my router] we reserved the IP address of the computer in my Arris router.
The second thing we did was open port 3445 for local traffic in the Norton firewall.  Sonos sometimes uses this port for file sharing.

The Level 3 tech, Mike, was kind enough to send me the steps he took, as above in bold, but he emphasized that not everyone with the same problem necessarily has the same solution.   He also indicated that replacing to router with a new could cause the same or similar problem.  So for those with this problem, you might try the above steps or mention them at your Level 1 tech support call to maybe shortcut the repeated, ineffective and time-consuming steps that wasted a lot of my time.  Or press Level 1 to elevate the support to a higher level sooner than I was able to do.  The Level 1 steps taken above were well above my computer competency (and maybe above Level 3 tech support), so the above solution is not something I can elaborate on further.

I appreciate the Sonos Community members’ suggestions in response to my initial post.

So far I am enjoying Windows 11 and see no need to revert to  Windows 10.  Converting to a new computer with a new Windows OS has always been traumatic for me because of the hassle resolving issues and conflicts with the apps I regularly use.  But when everything eventually settles into place, I figure I am good for another 8-10 years.
 

D
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I have this same issue.  The library worked until i gave up resisting the upgrade to Windows 11,  and now SONOS cant seem to find the   music library.  Anyone try converting back to Windows 10?  I guess SONOS isnt ready for Windows 11

Ken_Griffiths

@Kirk D
I’m not sure that the 5Ghz band will be the issue looking at the requirements mentioned here:

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-system-requirements

Did you ever go onto try the things mentioned in the link I posted previously? …(this one)… 

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-11-file-sharing-broken/76d47c4b-a0e6-4324-a458-cdd2ec37d3b6

I’m thinking this might be part of the reason, but maybe raise that matter with level-3 support too.

I hope you get it sorted and perhaps also try to get the fix posted back here too, to assist any others who may encounter the same problem with Win 11.👍

K
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Ken,  I am not exactly sure how to do that, but that will be on my list of questions for the level 3 tech that I am supposed to talk to soon.  Not sure if it is related, but I have no problem accessing other Sonos functions/services on my Connect and Play 5 speakers, just unable to access my music folder on my Win11 PC.

I wondered if it could be that Sonos is trying to connect via the 5 GHz setting on my router, something that Sonos did not notice until I pointed that out to the level 2 tech.  It is possible, maybe likely, that the Sonos 1 Controller may not work with 5 GHz.  So I went into my router settings.  Band steering had been disabled for the 2.4 GHz band, so I enabled it and tried the current channel 11, then 6 and 1, but with no success.  I tried all three channels with band steering disabled and with the same result.  In some cases Sonos could not find my PC, in most cases the PC refused Sonos access.  There might be more along these lines that could be done with the router settings to make sure that Sonos only connects to 2.4.  We’ll see what Sonos level 3 support thinks about that.

Ken_Griffiths

My problem is the same as KRMart except that my PC is an HP.  The setup did not allow naming the NetBios longer than 15 letters and no special characters were allowed either.  SMB-1 is enabled.  Network is set to Private.  All permissions for Sonos access have been granted.  Norton 360 has been ruled out as the cause because the problem persisted even when Norton was uninstalled. And as already mentioned, Microsoft also did not have an answer.  Somewhat reassuring that I am not the only one with this problem, but frustrating that Sonos does not have a ready solution since the problem is obviously not unique  to me.  I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support with remote access, which was then elevated to their level 2 tech and I am awaiting level 3 tech assistance, scheduled soon.

Is it perhaps a case you need to have a secure client for Microsoft Networks and therefore have a username and password to logon to the PC …and then use those credentials for the share, perhaps🤔? Maybe worth trying that and see if it works for you.

K
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My problem is the same as KRMart except that my PC is an HP.  The setup did not allow naming the NetBios longer than 15 letters and no special characters were allowed either.  SMB-1 is enabled.  Network is set to Private.  All permissions for Sonos access have been granted.  Norton 360 has been ruled out as the cause because the problem persisted even when Norton was uninstalled. And as already mentioned, Microsoft also did not have an answer.  Somewhat reassuring that I am not the only one with this problem, but frustrating that Sonos does not have a ready solution since the problem is obviously not unique  to me.  I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support with remote access, which was then elevated to their level 2 tech and I am awaiting level 3 tech assistance, scheduled soon.

Ken_Griffiths

Added my Sono’s system (Sono’s S1) to a new Dell computer which was already running Windows 11. No problem connecting to existing Sonos system (five rooms). Does not recognize Dell computer for connecting to music library.  No problem running services such as Sirius XM.

 
Had no problem connecting Sonos S1 to an HP computer music library running Windows 10. 
 

If you’re referring to a new library held on the Dell PC then you will need to enable SMB-1 protocol on that PC and share the folder. There’s information about enabling SMB-1 if you search for it via Google.

You will also need to ensure the PC’s netbios name (if using) is no longer than 15 characters with no special characters included.

K

Added my Sono’s system (Sono’s S1) to a new Dell computer which was already running Windows 11. No problem connecting to existing Sonos system (five rooms). Does not recognize Dell computer for connecting to music library.  No problem running services such as Sirius XM.

 
Had no problem connecting Sonos S1 to an HP computer music library running Windows 10. 
 

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks for that, Ken.  Interesting.  That was not done by the Microsoft tech support, although they did create a restore point in case something went wrong after installing the In-Place file, which was supposed to correct any corrupt files or settings.  I am hesitant to make registry changes myself, but I will check with Microsoft support directly to see what they think about those changes.  One of add music library screen in Sonos asked for username and password if required, but it was not clear when it would be required.

I just came across it online, but I still use Windows 10 here, so can’t help to test if the fix works, but maybe someone will try it and post back.👍

K
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Thanks for that, Ken.  Interesting.  That was not done by the Microsoft tech support, although they did create a restore point in case something went wrong after installing the In-Place file, which was supposed to correct any corrupt files or settings.  I am hesitant to make registry changes myself, but I will check with Microsoft support directly to see what they think about those changes.  One of add music library screen in Sonos asked for username and password if required, but it was not clear when it would be required.

Ken_Griffiths

Maybe see if the things mentioned in this link will assist to fix the share…

Windows 11 File Sharing Broken?

K
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I updated to Win11 22H2 as soon as I got the PC, so I did not have chance to check access to the Music Folder before the update.  That could be the problem, but Microsoft tech support did not have any insight into that possibility, putting it  back on Sonos to fix the problem.

O

I can connect to a folder I made on my laptop, connected to the network. I transferred some music . flac files - and they are found by sonos.

 

What I find strange is that it has worked for years, also on win11. I ran it since it first arrived.  The sudden loss of connection - without any changes beeing made - makes me think one of 3 things - win11 update - sonos software update or NAS firmware update. I don’t know.

Can see on this website, that there are others with problems connecting to NAS-drives so perhaps a sonos controller issue...

K
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Nice to have company in this issue, I guess.  Too bad Sonos has not been able to troubleshoot this issue to a satisfactory conclusion, wherever the barrier originates.  One of my long Sonos tech support calls was with someone who indicated he was not very familiar with Win11.  Another one had trouble seeing my screen.  Others had so much distracting background conversation.  Despite all that, they all seemed sincere in their attempts to help.  I just wonder if there might be someone higher up in Sonos who needs to solve this issue.

O

I got the same problem.

Have used Sonos for years. Got many Sonos products (gen.1) using the “old” app for mobile and controller for windows. Have all my CD’s (FLAC files) on a NAS-drive - QNAP TS-673

Have run Win10 with sonos for years. Have run sonos with win11, until recently… Started with app and controller could not find music on my playlist. Could not find out what was the problem. In my attempt to solve the problem, I removed the library and would reconnect. It did not work. Have not been able to connect to my NAS-drive ever since. Have cheked EVERY thing several times. Can not find out what to do. Have used computers since the mid 80’s have had different NAS drives for around 20 years, feeding my network with data. Think it could be a windows update or NAS firmware update. But I think it then would be a bigger issue with many more havning problems. Computer and phone have no problem connecting to NAS, seeing everything, opening files etc. But Sonos controller NOT… 😠😩😬

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