Seems unlikely it has anything to do with paying/non paying status, unless Pandora has changed policies without notification. 

The Sonos status page is, I believe, not instantaneous, but chronic job driven, so there may be a delay in it showing any issue, if there is one. 

It’s much more likely this is a local issue. I’d start by a simple reboot of your router, followed by a reboot of the Sonos speakers, which should then pick up any DNS changes that there might have been between you and the Pandora servers. I’d also suggest removing your account from Sonos completely, then force closing the app, and then adding it agai, which would force a new handshake between the Sonos app, and the Pandora authorization servers for your account, be it free or paying.

But if none of that works, I would recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it, or post the diagnostic number here for a Community Moderator to pick up.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, there are more options available beyond just the diagnostic analysis.

I have found by simply reauthorizing Pandora through the Sonos app resolves the problem. 

I’ve tried reauthorizing and Pandora says it doesn’t recognize my account. However I can login to Pandora directly from the app or website no problems and it works. 

I have a similar issue with the Mac App

I am having this issue on my pixel 4xl. Getting denied from playing Pandora.

Having “access denied” problem with Sonos app on desktop PC. I AM a paid Pandora subscriber and can log in using my browser. 

When your Pandora subscription expires you may need to re-login to Pandora to access all the Pandora features on Sonos. 

@klheyer Try removing Pandora from your music services in the Sonos app and re-adding it.

@GuitarSuperstar - thanks for your reply. That worked - for a short while. The next time I tried to access Pandora (later the same day) I had to repeat the remove/re-add process.

I’m hoping there’s a better, long-term solution.