Answered

some music library files will not play

G

I haven’t seen this exact problem mentioned, apologies if I just missed it.

I have an issue where only some of my music library files will not play on Sonos. If one of the “bad” files is in the queue, it will play the first few seconds, then switch to the next file. Often these occur in clumps, where several files in a row won’t play (but the rest of the files from the same album will). As far as I have been able to tell, once the problem is occurring, it’s always the same files that won’t play, but the problem is intermittent (for example, a set of files that I couldn’t play yesterday are working fine today). The same files always play fine using other apps such as VLC or Rythmbox (Linux). I have seen both OGG and MP3 files exhibit the issue.

 

To control my system I use the Sonos S2 controller running on a Windows 10 system, or the Android app running on various devices.

 

In each case the music files are being accessed from a Samba server (SMB) running on a Raspberry Pi 4, from an external USB hard drive. It’s possible of course that it could be a problem with Samba, but it is odd that it only occurs when Sonos is accessing the files. What I am really looking for is some hints on how to debug this so I can at least figure out where the problem actually is. I haven’t seen anything really helpful in the Samba logs and I haven’t yet found a way to get more information out of Sonos.

 

Thanks,

--Greg

 

icon

Best answer by buzz 23 March 2023, 03:42

View original
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

13 replies

Airgetlam

More likely that there is some sort of wifi interference getting in the way of the connection between you Sonos devices and the NAS. Or, potentially a duplicate IP address issue, both would manifest in the symptoms you describe, and would be much stronger possibilities than any issue with SMB. 

It’s hard to ‘see’ Sonos data, and their diagnostics are completely opaque to us users, requiring a call in to Sonos. 

I’d certainly read the linked FAQ and apply and potential solutions you see there. I’d also, as a test, refresh your network, by unplugging all Sonos devices from power, then rebooting your router. Give the router a couple of minutes to come back up before plugging back in the Sonos devices. Note, though, if that fixes the issue, I’d heartily recommend setting up reserved IP addresses in your router’s DHCP table. 

Bruce
G

I have a hard time seeing how this issue could be due to wireless interference. Wouldn’t that cause issues playing every file, or at least random failures, rather than always the SAME files that won’t play? (I did make one error in my original message; I double-checked, and yes, it’s the same files that wouldn’t play yesterday that won’t play today, while the other files from the same album are working fine; very strange).

I should add that there is never any issue playing Spotify or Amazon Music files from Sonos, nor (as I previously mentioned) is there any issue playing the files that won’t play on Sonos using other apps (including from a laptop via WiFi). Only the combination of Sonos and Samba shows the issue. If the problem were due to WiFi interference, I would expect it to show up sometimes when trying to play Spotify files, but it doesn’t.

I did try changing the Sonos WiFi channel from 6 to 11, then to 1, and this had no effect.

I did some log checking; the Sonos error log says the file that wouldn’t play could not be found. The SMB log only shows opening and closing the file (successfully in both cases).

I may at some point try some of the other suggestions in the WiFi Interference FAQ, but most of those are very disruptive since naturally we do have many devices that connect via the same router that Sonos devices would be using, so this is going to be a last resort.

--Greg

 

Airgetlam

Well, if those particular files are “denser” or “heavier” in bandwidth, that could potentially cause, depending on the level of wifi interference being experienced, a dropout so that the speaker then sends a “next file” please note to the system. It wouldn’t necessarily be every file, though. Wifi interference isn’t a binary :) 

And the files from Spotify and Amazon music are already at a “normal” bit rate, whereas your local files are not necessarily so. 

But I’m at the edge of my knowledge on this, and certainly not capable of diagnosing an issue in the Samba code at all. 

I hope you’re able to resolve this. 

As a test, I’d be awfully tempted to wire all the speakers directly to the router, just to see if the wifi interference thing is a possibility. If those files are still dropping out, then you’ve got pretty good evidence that interference (lower bandwidth) isn’t the cause, and can continue to look at other avenues.

For what it’s worth, I have a wired (SonosNet) system, connected to my NAS, and I don’t experience this issue at all. It’s S2, and the NAS is running SMB3. 90% of what I listen to is streamed music from my NAS. 

Bruce
G

Thanks for all the ideas; at this point I don’t know what to think. It’s at the edge of my knowledge as well. File “density” is an interesting hypothesis, but since almost all the files in my music library were ripped from CD’s using the same software with the same settings, and some files from the same CD work while others don’t…

To add to my confusion, I tried creating a group that had only speakers that are wired in it (I don’t have enough available ports to wire in every one of my speakers). When I did that, all the files in my test folder worked. But then I added back in all the other WiFi-connected speakers, and things are still working. Could be it is some kind of WiFi interference; just odd that none of my other devices have had any symptoms of it, including video streaming devices which have to be using more bandwidth than music playing.

So I’m back to really not knowing what to think. I certainly have no proof that this is really a Sonos issue at all. I think for now I’ll just have to live with it, and I can do that as long as it doesn’t get any worse. I expect that if I do have a WiFi interference problem, I’m eventually going to start seeing other symptoms of it.

--Greg

 

buzz

SONOS devices need to be able to chat with each other -- and they are very chatty. Web browsing, email, and even streaming services don’t need this level of support from the local network.

WiFi interference can be transient. I once had an issue playing music some evenings, Sundays were a mess. I slipped a copy of my log under my neighbor’s door, along with a polite note. A couple days later the log returned -- with annotations. She traveled on business on some days and Sunday afternoon she called her mom. She used a wireless phone system that has a history of polluting WiFi. I had my wired SONOS player on the opposite side of the party wall from her favorite phone location. I reconfigured my SONOS system, avoiding a wireless link with that player and my issue was resolved.

Only SONOS staff has access to the diagnostic data. You can submit a diagnostic within 10 minutes of an event, log the confirmation number, and contact SONOS phone support. Network issues leave tracks in the diagnostics.

B
Badge

I just saw this thread, and seem to have the same issue as gswoods. I have specific files (well, at least specific albums) that cause playback problems. I similarly ripped my CDs using the same software (XLD), have no other files that cause the problem, and am able to play the files using other software. I’ve tried relocating the album files to other locations on the NAS directory, to no avail. The odd thing is that the 3 albums I have problems with are all by the same artist (Moody Blues), specifically A Question of Balance, In Search of the Lost Chord, and Every Good Boy Desrves Favour. My other Moody Blues albums play great over Sonos. 

G

I still have the issue. I am quite sure that my home network is far better than most consumers have. I even have two separate wired access points to ensure that there is a strong signal everywhere (the access points were installed because a color laser printer that I don’t have room for in the office is down in the basement and would occasionally drop off the network. That problem has gone away).  I don’t really believe that “WiFi interference” is an acceptable explanation for this issue, but I have nothing else to offer at this point. Now that it’s Stanley Cup Playoffs season, I just haven’t found the time to try and recreate the issue, produce a diagnostic, and submit it to Sonos support, but I do hope to try and do this soon.

In the meantime my home music library is pretty much useless and I’m just playing stuff from Spotify (which never has an issue).

--Greg

 

B
Badge

gswoods...I just opened a case re: this problem with Sonos. I’ll let you know if they find anything.

B
Badge

gswoods.. So, just got off of an hour+ call with Sonos. There was no real resolution of the problem. They speculated that there was something about the ‘bit density’ of these particular albums that was causing an issue. I explained that I have thousands of albums that were extracted from CDs using the same app (XLD) that play OK using the same network and Sonos setup, but somehow it was not a Sonos problem. The only thing I can think to do is maybe try extracting thoise albums to a compressed format (i.e., _not_ FLAC) to see if it corrects the problem. I offered to send them the problem FLACs for them to test with, but there didn’t seem to be any interest.

Eug
Badge +1

I have the exact same problem.

I have some songs that always refuse the play - the same songs.  Rest of the album will play.   MP3 format 192kbps.  Doesn’t matter if my Music Library is located on the computer or the synology.  Very frustrating.

Eug
G

Interesting development. I just added some new music to my library, so I did an “Update Music Library”. The new files play fine, and as a lark I did a test and the files I was having problems with before are now also playing correctly.  Anyone else that is seeing this issue, try re-indexing your music library (it’s under “Manage” in the Windows app, and Settings → System in the Android app.

 

--Greg

 

G

I have also noted that sometimes I have to update the music library multiple times. It is said that it is insane to repeat the same thing multiple times and expect a different result, but that is what happens here. I suspect there us a bug in the update process such that whatever indexing data is being used to find and identify songs is not getting written correctly for some reason.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

If you get a bad music library update send Sonos a diagnostic and contact them to look at it. If they are made aware of the issue they can send it to the software developers to be fixed, or if it is known the priority raised a bit.

I had issues long ago when I ripped my CD collection to my NAS, made temp copies of the problem albums and tried various tweaks until I found something that worked. Some were really frustrating, ended up stripping the meta data and renaming them 1, 2, 3 which finally worked. Renaming them by typing --not copying-- the titles and meta data back still worked so I’m guessing there was some character embedded in there that was the problem.

If you suspect WiFi issues, or they are even a possibility you can switch to a wired connection and see if that helps, as was suggested above. I’d pick my Sonos with the most memory and wire it, while unplugging all the rest to make sure it is the one doing the update. Yes Sonos has mentioned some smarts added to the update process to pick an optimum Sonos to run the update but I’m a fan of simple.

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings