Sonos steals my music when I'm on the road

  • 18 June 2023
  • 66 replies
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  • Acuff
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I play Spotify from my iPhone 14 on my Sonos 5 and ERA 100 at home.  Then I leave and play Spotify through a bluetooth headset (Sena 30K0 on my motorcycle.  I’m happily riding along and the tunes stop.  When I can check the phone, I find that Spotify has switched to Sonos.  I switch back, but a few minutes later it happens again.

 

I’ve made sure I have the latest update of the Sonos and Spotify apps, closed the apps, and powered off the phone, but it still happens.  Any idea what is going on and how I can stop it?

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66 replies

buzz

Is it possible that someone at home is using Spotify?

A
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Is it possible that someone at home is using Spotify?

No, nobody is home.

buzz

As a test, make sure that something other than Spotify is selected on your home players as you leave the house.

Overall this will be difficult to diagnose because you are away from your system. If this happens regularly, I suggest that you submit a diagnostic as you leave home and log the confirmation number. If there is an event while you are out, submit again when you return home. Then contact SONOS phone support. Maybe something will show in the diagnostics.

Possible fringe case: If you allow guests to play Spotify on your system using their phone/pad, their Spotify client will remain attached to your system unless you select another source on your system. Users have reported departed guests remotely starting Spotify play on a system. I don’t recall any reports similar to yours, but I wouldn’t be shocked if your Spotify client and their Spotify client remain “entangled”.

A
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As a test, make sure that something other than Spotify is selected on your home players as you leave the house.

Overall this will be difficult to diagnose because you are away from your system. If this happens regularly, I suggest that you submit a diagnostic as you leave home and log the confirmation number. If there is an event while you are out, submit again when you return home. Then contact SONOS phone support. Maybe something will show in the diagnostics.

Possible fringe case: If you allow guests to play Spotify on your system using their phone/pad, their Spotify client will remain attached to your system unless you select another source on your system. Users have reported departed guests remotely starting Spotify play on a system. I don’t recall any reports similar to yours, but I wouldn’t be shocked if your Spotify client and their Spotify client remain “entangled”.

Only I am using the Sonos speakers from the one iPhone, so I don’t think there is entanglement.

Aren’t these speakers too expensive to have to remember to change them to something other than Spotify every time I leave the house???

 

 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
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Does this also happen when you change to another source (not Spotify) before leaving home?

A
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Does this also happen when you change to another source (not Spotify) before leaving home?

I don’t often use other sources, so I don’t know.  I’ll check.

buzz

Aren’t these speakers too expensive to have to remember to change them to something other than Spotify every time I leave the house???

If this is the case, it is a Spotify “feature”.

Another fringe possibility is an alarm triggering.

A
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Aren’t these speakers too expensive to have to remember to change them to something other than Spotify every time I leave the house???

If this is the case, it is a Spotify “feature”.

Why would Spotify randomly change speakers when it’s in the middle of playing?  I have used Spotify with other speakers and never known it to change.  Still, it is possible something about the interface with Sonos that triggers it.

 

Another fringe possibility is an alarm triggering.

I don’t see how that would be the case, but regardless, there aren’t alarms for the times it happens.

J

I play Spotify from my iPhone 14 on my Sonos 5 and ERA 100 at home.  Then I leave and play Spotify through a bluetooth headset (Sena 30K0 on my motorcycle.  I’m happily riding along and the tunes stop.  When I can check the phone, I find that Spotify has switched to Sonos.  I switch back, but a few minutes later it happens again.

 

I’ve made sure I have the latest update of the Sonos and Spotify apps, closed the apps, and powered off the phone, but it still happens.  Any idea what is going on and how I can stop it?

Having the same issue. Have done some troubleshooting but it still happens consistently.

106rallye
Userlevel 7
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Did you try changing the source in Sonos before leaving home?

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Yesterday I tested it, but with 2 changes.  I changed the source for all my Sonos speakers to not be Spotify.  But I also found a setting in Spotify under Settings → Devices → Show local devices only which I turned on.  It says “Only show devices on your local WiFi or ethernet in the devices menu”.  My music wasn’t stolen on my ride after doing these.  Next time I will try leaving a speaker on Spotify.

J

At home, are you playing Spotify from the Spotify app or the Sonos app?  Spotify Connect (i.e. using the Spotify app) has a well documented “feature” by which it makes a cloud connection between the Spotify app and a speaker on WiFi that persists after the controller leaves the network.  This is entirely a Spotify issue and would happen with any networked speaker that is Spotify Connect enabled, not just Sonos.

This Spotify “feature” can cause no end of problems, such as guests who have left a friend’s house accidentally blasting music into their friend’s house when trying to play music on their phone.

This id entirely a Spotify issue and so please can we stop this absolute nonsense about “Sonos steals my music”.

A
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At home, are you playing Spotify from the Spotify app or the Sonos app?  Spotify Connect (i.e. using the Spotify app) has a well documented “feature” by which it makes a cloud connection between the Spotify app and a speaker on WiFi that persists after the controller leaves the network.  This is entirely a Spotify issue and would happen with any networked speaker that is Spotify Connect enabled, not just Sonos.

I’m using the Spotify app.  I’m just trying to use the Sonos as a speaker, not a sound ecosystem.  I’m not so sure that “well documented” is correct as I did a lot of searching for Spotify speaker issues and didn’t find any such documentation.

 

This Spotify “feature” can cause no end of problems, such as guests who have left a friend’s house accidentally blasting music into their friend’s house when trying to play music on their phone.

Sure, if they accidentally leave it connected.  But in my case, I had told Spotify to play through my bluetooth, and then it would change to Sonos spontaneously.

 

This id entirely a Spotify issue and so please can we stop this absolute nonsense about “Sonos steals my music”.

 

From my perspective, Spotify worked fine until I introduced the Sonos speakers, so it is appropriate to suspect the speakers first.  However, it seems that the unusual connection between Spotify and Sonos is the problem.  I would hope that both companies would work together to solve the problem rather than just wanting to point the finger at the other company.

 

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Well, if Sonos and/or Spotify is “Stealing” your music..all I can say is…

Lock ‘em up, Lock ‘em up, Lock ‘em up 😂

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
J

@Acuff .  Here is a CNET article referring to this feature:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/spotify-connect-what-is-and-how-it-works/

Note the comment:

Keep in mind that all compatible devices on the network, plus ones you have previously logged into around the world, will appear in the list. This means if you really want to mess with your pets when you're away from home, you can.

The Sonos speakers are networked speakers and the cloud connection between Spotify app and speaker can only be created when the two devices are on the same network.  Without the connection, no switch back to home speakers, whether deliberate or accidental, could take place.

A
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@Acuff .  Here is a CNET article referring to this feature:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/spotify-connect-what-is-and-how-it-works/

Note the comment:

Keep in mind that all compatible devices on the network, plus ones you have previously logged into around the world, will appear in the list. This means if you really want to mess with your pets when you're away from home, you can.

The Sonos speakers are networked speakers and the cloud connection between Spotify app and speaker can only be created when the two devices are on the same network.  Without the connection, no switch back to home speakers, whether deliberate or accidental, could take place.

Note that this does not explain my problem, which is the sound spontaneously (ie., with no input from me) changing to the Sonos speakers when I was away from home.  That’s a bug.  Being able to access the speakers remotely could be useful, but it is not appropriate to just switch the music to them away from the chosen connection.  Sonos and Spotify should work to correct this.  They probably won’t.

Jamie A
Userlevel 7
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Hi @Acuff and all.

As @buzz and @John B have explained in this thread, this is a Spotify feature. When you use Spotify Connect, it will allow playback to network devices directly from the Spotify app. This connection between Spotify and Sonos will remain in place until the session has ended and this behavior is largely the same on Sonos as it is with other third-party speakers.

Why the speaker swaps back to Sonos is due to Spotify remembering this connection and trying to re-establish said connection.

To prevent this, the following are ways to break this connection and stop the source of your Spotify playback from changing:

  • Start playback from another music service or source, such as Local Library, Toslink, Apple Music, Sonos Radio, etc.
  • Group a player registered with Spotify Connect with another speaker.
  • Trigger an alarm on the player registered with Spotify Connect.
  • Select END SESSION from the Sonos Controller in that player's Queue.

The session will also be ended if the player registered with Spotify Connect loses cloud connection or is rebooted, but I wouldn’t recommend these over the points above. 

I hope this information helps!

A
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Hi @Acuff and all.

As @buzz and @John B have explained in this thread, this is a Spotify feature. When you use Spotify Connect, it will allow playback to network devices directly from the Spotify app. This connection between Spotify and Sonos will remain in place until the session has ended and this behavior is largely the same on Sonos as it is with other third-party speakers.

Why the speaker swaps back to Sonos is due to Spotify remembering this connection and trying to re-establish said connection.

To prevent this, the following are ways to break this connection and stop the source of your Spotify playback from changing:

  • Start playback from another music service or source, such as Local Library, Toslink, Apple Music, Sonos Radio, etc.
  • Group a player registered with Spotify Connect with another speaker.
  • Trigger an alarm on the player registered with Spotify Connect.
  • Select END SESSION from the Sonos Controller in that player's Queue.

The session will also be ended if the player registered with Spotify Connect loses cloud connection or is rebooted, but I wouldn’t recommend these over the points above. 

I hope this information helps!

Jaime,

Thanks, but this does not explain the problem I have.  I have told Spotify to play to my bluetooth, which clearly means I don’t want to play to Sonos any longer.  Something about the interaction between Sonos and Spotify makes the connection change back to Sonos when that is clearly not the right thing to do.  This is an error and should be fixed.  It isn’t clear if the problem is with Sonos or Spotify, but they should work together to fix it.  Telling me how to work around the error is kind of you, but it should be fixed.  However, note that the setting I found in Spotify (described in my comment above) is a better work around.

Ken_Griffiths

Jaime,

Thanks, but this does not explain the problem I have.  I have told Spotify to play to my bluetooth, which clearly means I don’t want to play to Sonos any longer.  Something about the interaction between Sonos and Spotify makes the connection change back to Sonos when that is clearly not the right thing to do.  This is an error and should be fixed.  It isn’t clear if the problem is with Sonos or Spotify, but they should work together to fix it.  Telling me how to work around the error is kind of you, but it should be fixed.  However, note that the setting I found in Spotify (described in my comment above) is a better work around.

There’s nothing to fix here…your mobile device is what switches it’s output from the phones internal speaker connection, to output the playing audio to the paired Bluetooth speaker (the Sena 30K0 headset), but you are ‘still’ leaving your Spotify App defaulting to its last connected Sonos speaker (API connection).

So you need to disconnect the Spotify App output, so it plays back to your mobile speakers …and in-turn, the mobile will auto-divert that audio to the ’paired/connected’ Bluetooth device.

I think you are just misunderstanding how the mobile BT pairing works, which really is not Spotify related, as any App on the mobile will use the BT pairing to output audio…  The BT audio-out is independent to the Spotify ‘Connect’ API connection.

You just need to break the ‘Connect’ API connection. The options are mentioned above. So there’s nothing that needs fixing here - it’s more about understanding how the different connections work.

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Ken_Griffiths

@Acuff,

If you take a look at the screenshot attached to my last post, you will (hopefully) see the two types of device connection, as can be seen/viewed in the Spotify App.

You need to ‘break’ the API connection by reverting its playback to your sending device (the iPad in the example shown in that screenshot).

Once that’s done, the Spotify App will then play the Spotify audio-out to the mobile/iPad instead and that in-turn redirects/outputs the playing audio to the Bluetooth connected device (the Sena 30K0 headset in your case).

The Sena headset is actually BT paired to your mobile device and not to the Spotify App… hence you will (always) need to disconnect your Sonos speaker. So it seems to me there isn’t anything to fix here, but it’s perhaps more about understanding how each of the connections work to the different playing devices.

I hope that explanation helps.

A
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Jaime,

Thanks, but this does not explain the problem I have.  I have told Spotify to play to my bluetooth, which clearly means I don’t want to play to Sonos any longer.  Something about the interaction between Sonos and Spotify makes the connection change back to Sonos when that is clearly not the right thing to do.  This is an error and should be fixed.  It isn’t clear if the problem is with Sonos or Spotify, but they should work together to fix it.  Telling me how to work around the error is kind of you, but it should be fixed.  However, note that the setting I found in Spotify (described in my comment above) is a better work around.

There’s nothing to fix here…your mobile device is what switches it’s output from the phones internal speaker connection, to output the playing audio to the paired Bluetooth speaker (the Sena 30K0 headset), but you are ‘still’ leaving your Spotify App defaulting to its last connected Sonos speaker (API connection).

So you need to disconnect the Spotify App output, so it plays back to your mobile speakers …and in-turn, the mobile will auto-divert that audio to the ’paired/connected’ Bluetooth device.

I think you are just misunderstanding how the mobile BT pairing works, which really is not Spotify related, as any App on the mobile will use the BT pairing to output audio…  The BT audio-out is independent to the Spotify ‘Connect’ API connection.

You just need to break the ‘Connect’ API connection. The options are mentioned above. So there’s nothing that needs fixing here - it’s more about understanding how the different connections work.

Ken,

I guess I’m just not explaining it well since several of you seem to be missing the point.  It isn’t about how the speaker is connected, it is about the fact that my selection of speaker is changed without direction from me.  There is never a situation where I want a speaker that I happened to have used in the past to just grab my audio from the device I had selected and start playing it.  That is not a feature, it is a bug, no matter how that speaker is connected.

buzz

I believe that you are the only person to report this issue to the Community. In order to research the issue, SONOS will need some data from your SONOS system and this data must be taken from your SONOS system within 10 minutes of an “event”. Unfortunately, logging this data will be inconvenient.

Position yourself outside of your WiFi coverage area, and play Spotify on your phone, but position yourself such that you can return to your WiFi coverage area within the 10 minute window. After the “event”,  return home, submit a diagnostic, log the confirmation number, and contact SONOS phone support. If this drama involves a SONOS player, there will be tracks in the diagnostic. Submit the diagnostic from the same phone that you were using to play Spotify and don’t close any Apps on the phone until after you submit the diagnostic.

 

A
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I believe that you are the only person to report this issue to the Community. In order to research the issue, SONOS will need some data from your SONOS system and this data must be taken from your SONOS system within 10 minutes of an “event”. Unfortunately, logging this data will be inconvenient.

Position yourself outside of your WiFi coverage area, and play Spotify on your phone, but position yourself such that you can return to your WiFi coverage area within the 10 minute window. After the “event”,  return home, submit a diagnostic, log the confirmation number, and contact SONOS phone support. If this drama involves a SONOS player, there will be tracks in the diagnostic. Submit the diagnostic from the same phone that you were using to play Spotify and don’t close any Apps on the phone until after you submit the diagnostic.

 

Buzz,

Sorry, I’ve got to work to make enough money to pay for these very expensive speakers, so I don’t have extra time to also volunteer for Sonos by spending hours collecting data for a report that will most likely be ignored.

buzz

Maybe someone else will experience the issue and be able to follow through.

A
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Maybe someone else will experience the issue and be able to follow through.

Or maybe someone could look at the problem with the information at hand instead of expecting a paying customer to do all the work for them.  But I won’t hold my breath...

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