Terrible Experience with CS - Tech Trouble Shoot - M1 Mac to Sonos Via Airplay

Won’t happen here.. need to send email with your issue here. 

Thanks, @Dogdad. Is this a verified, has been used with success email. Or, just a good guess? Thanks!

It seems others are having Airplay issues with M1 MAC casting to various Airplay devices in general:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252212015

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253373544

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252796382

That’s a few examples of many, if you Google the issue.

So it maybe worth contacting Apple Support too, perhaps🤔 ?

Thanks, @Ken_Griffiths! I recognize you from the 5-6 threads on this topic I found in the Sonos board; you provided very detailed and thorough input. Said threads were all a year old, however. 

I took this up with Apple a few weeks ago, and got no where. I don’t have issues casting from my M1 mini, via Airplay 2, to any other devices; only Sonos; I ended up hanging up on the gentleman from Sonos after 50 minutes of nonsense. Best I can tell, my router which combines my 2.4 and 5g bands into one SSID might be the culprit. After repeatedly asking, I simply couldn’t get the Sonos rep. to put me on with an individual knowledgeable with networking; so I hung up. 

Let’s see...$3,500 investment in two Sonos systems and completely inferior technical support experience for such a premium brand - don’t understand the Executive thinking and resource allocation on this - given how complex a tech eco-system Sonos lives in. Not sure what to do. Love my Sonos systems, otherwise!

Any additional, specifics, you might know of circa’ 2022 are most welcome, Ken.

Thanks!

Notwithstanding there appears to be some Airplay issues with MAC M1 product, there is an App in the iOS App Store called Discovery. perhaps try downloading that and on launch, goto the RAOP (Remote Audio Output Protocol) entry in the list and see if the Sonos speaker has a ‘unique’ ID showing as being discovered/available as an Airplay beacon - if it isn’t showing, then there is something blocking it being seen on your network. It could be a security or network issue (just as examples) - Anyhow there are then these suggestions to try to make your MAC ‘discover’ the device, which I’ve quickly put together by reading a few things online…

Here are some suggestions from Apple sources to fix problems with Airplay connections:

• Restart all devices and try to AirPlay again
• Toggle off Bluetooth on the controlling device, or if already off, try turning it on
• Turn off Cellular Data (if relevant)
• Disconnect from any other Bluetooth devices (like speakers)
• Connect to the same WiFi network access point or Hub
• Reset the network settings on the Apple device
• Disable ‘Private Address’ MAC Spoofing in the Network connection 
• Check for any software updates for the OS, and speaker firmware/software
• Move the devices away from other electronics and closer to the main router
• Renew your devices DHCP lease via the router configuration pages or better still, reboot the router and reserve device IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table. 
• Switch off any Security/VPN software installed on the sending device

There are more suggestions than the above, but these were the core things to maybe try, that’s according to some Apple online forum users and websites I came across.

Hope the above assists.

I’ll try the app and the troubleshoot, @Ken_Griffiths and report back the outcome(s); thank you!

Indeed your below, which I’ve seen in last year’s posts, and which have all been tried. The issue with the below(s) are, while several of them solve the issue momentarily, the issue always comes back. I’m certainly not going to go through the below troubleshoot on a regular basis. Nor, should Sonos expect same - fair?

Thanks again for your time and attention, Ken!
 

Here are some suggestions from Apple sources to fix problems with Airplay connections:

• Restart all devices and try to AirPlay again
• Toggle off Bluetooth on the controlling device, or if already off, try turning it on
• Turn off Cellular Data (if relevant)
• Disconnect from any other Bluetooth devices (like speakers)
• Connect to the same WiFi network access point or Hub
• Reset the network settings on the Apple device
• Disable ‘Private Address’ MAC Spoofing in the Network connection 
• Check for any software updates for the OS, and speaker firmware/software
• Move the devices away from other electronics and closer to the main router
• Renew your devices DHCP lease via the router configuration pages or better still, reboot the router and reserve device IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table. 
• Switch off any Security/VPN software installed on the sending device

@jnelly,

I don’t have a MAC device, I just mostly use an iPad Pro 12.9” (Gen 3), or sometimes an Android tablet and I have quite a few Sonos Airplay devices (as per attached) running on the wireless LAN and I can’t recall the last time a device went missing from the Airplay list.. if one does disappear, it’s usually a Move that’s either been put to sleep, or switched over to Bluetooth mode, or sometimes its a sleeping Sonos Roam.

That said, in the past I’ve seen a bug, where two Sonos products (2 x Move in my case) were getting the same RAOP identifier causing one device to disappear for Airplay purposes, but this issue was fixed a while ago with one of the Sonos updates.

So if this was just a Sonos ‘software’ issue, I would likely be seeing the same disappearing issue here too - so maybe it is the MAC, or the device not being ‘discovered’ across the local network, particularly if the MAC is connected to a different WiFi Access point compared to the one in use by the Sonos speaker. So maybe check that both are connected to the same AP, even if that’s for the purposes of eliminating the network as possibly being a part of the non-discovery issue.

Nope..directly on the Sonos support page ..where it says email our CEO.

Cheers, @Dogdad. Did you use it successfully?

@Ken_Griffiths  ...I can’t recall the last time a device went missing from the Airplay list..

My devices always show up in the Airplay list (see snip with red underline for Sonos targets) like you attached last, two different Sonos rooms the “Desk” and “Main Audio...” are the issues.

1. Desk = Sub Mini and Pair One SLs
2. Home Theater = Apple TV 4K
3. Main Audio System = Arc, Sub3, Pair One SLs

...and the Sonos S2 shows the track info and audio is playing via Airplay with audio playing icon - 3 vertical bars moving up and down; the problem there is no audio forthcoming. I think that may take the RAOP item and the rest of your last post out of the list of possible issues?

Forgive me in not being uber clear on the specific issue. This is what is so weird, the airplay output targets are there to target in the Mac mini sound preferences - they are always there, but once targeted only play sometimes, or after I restart the Mac mini.

Turning bluetooth on the Mac just worked, YouTube video audio played. However, I went to edit the above post for 2 minutes, came back to my bluetooth video, and now no output of audio per my above described. @Ken_Griffiths 

EDIT: Click to the External headphones Airplay list target, seen in the above snip, then clicking back to “Desk”, got the audio to play as expected. This does often work. @Ken_Griffiths 

@Ken_Griffiths  My betting is all your Sonos devices may Airplay fine with an iPhone/iPad (perhaps?)

Your above is 100% correct. iPhone 11 Airplay 2 to Sonos is flawless!
 

@Ken_Griffiths ...and that may go someway to show its likely a MAC issue, to then maybe chase up with Apple Support.

Sound conclusion. I had not thought about it, this way. I got into it with Apple a few weeks ago, but got nowhere. Not sure what to do differently, with them? I’ve noticed Apple’s support is largely untrained folks reading out of a KB now, too. Scale is the mother of all evil, lol.🤣

@Ken_Griffiths -- it might just be a network/security setting on the MAC than needs changing, perhaps 🤔?
--or in my router. M expectation would be for Sonos to be trained in parsing this out. Is that un-reasonable on my part?

@Dogdad - ok I took a shot, lol.
 

@Dogdad @Ken_Griffiths 

“Emailing the CEO” simply elicited the front line people offering “email support”, lol. I did touch a CX executive on LinkedIn. She responded right away and while consumer CX is not really her area, she is now involved in providing a solution. Very impressed! I’ve snipped our LI message below in the spirit of fairness to Sonos.

Moderator Note: *** Removed image ***. Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

If this is a MAC M1 issue, as the evidence mentioned above suggests and is perhaps somewhat confirmed by the posts elsewhere online, I’m guessing that Sonos hands in customer services are somewhat tied, they are not going to hang-out a ‘partners’ dirty washing in public, but hopefully the information does get passed back to Apple. 

Just reading all the things online Apple must surely know about this problem by now.

If the faulty hardware, or software, however is a little old and has since been superseded, I’m guessing it will unlikely be on Apples priority list to fix such things (sadly), as there is not much profit in looking backwards. My thoughts here are to speak with Apple in a similar way and if no favourable response, maybe sell on the MAC M1 and maybe find something better, that will work and do the job properly.

These things must be just as frustrating for Sonos too.

@Ken_Griffiths - my only remaining product issue is the M1 Casting item. It’s been a known issue for a year plus, hence I’m not letting it go, regardless of whether the onus is on Apple or Sonos. Sonos states they support AP 2. I’m holding them to it. 🤣

The larger issue is simply Sonos tech support...

Lol, interesting that Sonos takes action, a person actually did something, in removing my LinkedIn message copy/paste (fair enough if that’s the policy) than in actually responding or getting my issue to someone who can help. Every action Sonos support takes in this saga, continues to communicate how inept and ill-focused their process in taking care of customers is, lol.