Try rebooting the Play:3s to see if that improves performance.

Jdust rebooted them and sub. Played for thirty seconds in sonos app and stopped. Also I can't see them in Spotify 

Hi ​@contaygious 

Thanks for your post!

I am sorry to hear of this issue you are having with playing Spotify on your Play:3 speakers.

Encoding errors seen when streaming generally mean that there are transmission errors from the router to the speaker.

I recommend you read our Reduce wireless interference article, keeping in mind that the interference could be near the speaker or near the router, or the issue could be that the signal is just too weak.

If you cannot see an obvious solution, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.

I hope this helps.

So I only fixed it by unpairing my stereo and sub together and then resetting them up as a stero pair again fyi it had nothing to do with wireless interference at all. My speed is 1.5gigs per second on the phone and PC literally next to the speakers 

Sadly, most speed errors are between the Sonos speakers and the router, not between the router and the outside world, or the controller device and your router. 

I’m certainly glad your system is working now!

You may want to rethink your conclusion as not being inference. The connection between a stereo pair is wireless. Therefore interference can interrupt that connection. Breaking and setting up the stereo pair (short of a factory reset which is a last resort) although frustrating can resolve an inference issue. Glad it didn’t require rebooting your network.

If the issue returns I suggest you run a diagnostics within 10 minutes and make note of the reference ID. Then call Sonos tech support. Do not post the reference ID in the community due to privacy concerns. Enjoy your Sonos!

Hi ​@contaygious 

Glad you found a solution - thanks for updating the thread!

Hi it's back Again I heard there is a update coming to fix this handshake between Spotify and Sonos? I only have the issue on play threes not all my other system around the house 

Description of the issue

In some systems (especially older Sonos hardware like the Sonos Play:3 when paired and/or used with a Sub), users report that a Spotify playback session through Sonos (either via the Sonos app or via Spotify Connect) stops mid-song, or shows “Couldn’t play …” even though the speaker remains connected.

The sequence often goes like this: a song starts fine, but after a few seconds (commonly 3-10 seconds) it stops or goes silent, while the app still appears to be playing. In other cases, the speaker disappears from the Spotify Connect device list.

The core of the problem appears to be related to how the Spotify Connect session (the token or handshake between Spotify’s cloud and the Sonos speaker) is maintained and renewed during playback. On the affected hardware, this renewal or token-validation fails under certain circumstances, causing the playback drop or device invisibility.

Because this happens only on certain hardware configurations (e.g., older paired Play:3s + Sub → and especially in complex network setups like mesh Wi-Fi or node switching), it’s not always obvious to users why their otherwise working system breaks.

Users report that starting playback from the Sonos app (via the built-in Spotify integration) works more reliably than using Spotify → Connect to a Sonos room — because that route bypasses (or handles differently) the token/handshake path that seems to be failing.

Sonos’s release notes (for example version 84.1, 85.0 etc) include vague lines like “Improvements to Spotify playback and Spotify Connect” or “Improved responsiveness during playback for Play:1 and Play:3.” However, as of now many users still report the issue, suggesting that the fix either hasn’t hit all hardware or all combinations of network setup.

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🧾 What the “fix” being rolled out is intended to address

More robust handling of the Spotify Connect session token for legacy hardware (Play:3, Play:5 gen1/2, etc), especially when paired or bonded with a Sub.

Better stability when Sonos devices are on mesh networks, ensuring the device remains discoverable by Spotify even across node switches or when devices roam.

Ensuring that SONOS-initiated streams (via Sonos app → Spotify) and Spotify Connect streams both maintain the same high reliability, especially on older hardware.

Improvements in the release notes mention “Improved responsiveness during playback for Play:1 and Play:3” (version 85.0-66270) and “Improvements to Spotify playback and Spotify Connect” (version 84.1-63110)