To my knowledge, there is no requirement to install Sonos on a laptop being used as a source of a library. Just follow the directions Sonos provides here. This will require your laptop to be on while playing music. 
 

Note: technically, your laptop is not an NAS. 

Yeah, I tried it.

Unfortunately, it appears anonymous read only access is either not possible on Win11 or tricky to set up (I have seen a few different hairy sets of steps, hairy enough I am not going to bother).

So, until some actionable steps show up, using the laptop for music library is a non starter.

That is debatable.

A NAS is a hard drive that can be accessed via a share.

My laptop can do that.

I believe that means my laptop is included in the set of things that can be called NAS.

I don’t care what you call it. From my chair it is as NAS like as any NAS I have had. (I have had many.)

Hi @SamJones6 

When you install the Sonos app on a Windows or macOS computer, a background service is also installed which assists speakers attempting to connect to the computer. You may well find things go more smoothly if you install the Sonos app. It can be downloaded from here.

@Airgetlam is not wrong, however - if the share is correctly configured, you should not need to install the Sonos app on the computer. 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.

@Corry P Thanks!  I installed the Sonos software on a prior laptop, and it was such a mess of firewall configuration and pieces, that I decided I would not be using it on any PC again. I accept that such an approach would offer a number of benefits. I am simply not interested in complex, messy software (I do not install iTunes for similar reasons).

@Airgetlam and you are right about setting up the share. It appears that there is no practical way to create an anonymous SMB 1 or 2 share on Win11, so that has turned out to be a non starter (unfortunately).  (I have spent an hour+ on it -- it seems the relevant threads on superuser.com are out of date due to changes in the security subsystem on Windows.)

After “Android as a media source,” was removed from the Sonos Android app, I now use the “Hi Fi Cast” app to play to Sonos. It is OK (not perfect).

Given the removal of my “reason to purchase” feature (Android support as a media source), I expect to set up a Roon. Initially to play to my Sonos speakers, and ultimately to sell off my Sonos gear and move on. It has been an OK ride, but the tech has been a bit messy (also, the “customer is wrong” effect of Sonos product management decisions is not what I am looking for).

Hi @SamJones6 

You still have numerous options to play your own music to Sonos: for example, you can upload up to 100,000 tracks to a free YouTube Music account and add YTM as a music service to Sonos, or you could install a Plex server on your laptop and add the Plex music service to your Sonos system. Both of these solutions would also allow you to play your music when not at home.

A NAS drive would be another option, but it seems you’re no stranger to them.

I hope this helps.

Yes, you can use your laptop as a makeshift NAS by sharing your music library folder on your Windows laptop and then accessing it from the Sonos app on your Android phone. Here's how you can set it up:

1. Share the music folder: On your Windows laptop, right-click on your music library folder (\music) and select "Properties." In the "Sharing" tab, click on "Advanced Sharing" and enable sharing for the folder. Assign a share name to the folder (e.g., "MusicShare").

2. Configure folder permissions: In the "Advanced Sharing" settings, make sure the "Permissions" allow access to the desired user accounts or everyone who needs to access the music files.

3. Connect Sonos to the shared music library: On your Android phone, open the Sonos app. In the Sonos app, go to "Settings" > "Music Library" > "Add Music Library." Choose "Windows (CIFS)" as the source and enter the network path to your laptop's shared music folder (e.g., \laptop-IP-address\MusicShare).

4. Authenticate and finalize: The Sonos app will prompt you to enter the username and password for the shared folder on your laptop (if required). Once authenticated, the Sonos app will scan and index your music library.

5. Control Sonos from your Android phone: After adding the shared music library, you can now use the Sonos app on your Android phone to browse, select, and play music from your laptop's music library.

It's worth noting that while this setup allows you to use your laptop as a temporary NAS, there might be limitations compared to a dedicated NAS device.

For example:

if your laptop is turned off or goes to sleep, the music library may become inaccessible until the laptop is awake and connected to the network again.

Also, keep in mind that if you move or rename files within your music library, you may need to rescan the library within the Sonos app to update the changes.

Overall, this solution should allow you to control your Sonos system and access your music library from your Android phone without the need for cloud services or running the Sonos app on your laptop directly.

@BamsiByrek   Thanks!
I am aware of those steps, however will not be using them.

If I could make an anonymous READ share on Win11, I would.

However, this appears not possible, or not feasible for me (for example, many sets of documentation include copious interactive messing with GPEDIT. I only work from command line commands that I can research, understand, and undo...).

There are also some concerns about enabling older SMB versions on newer versions of Windows.

Anyway, I am not disputing your information. I believe it should work (although SMB versioning is an open question, afaik).

That is not the path I want. I want to create an anonymous share (so that I never have to remember or track credentials). As that appears not possible, I currently do not plan to take the NAS route (not with my laptop, nor with any other NAS hardware).

Thank you for the engagement!

Personally, I prefer the external NAS drive approach because I’m a speed freak and I don’t want my computer involved in playing music either directly with an App or indirectly as a network share. That said, I prefer using the desktop controller for routine music play, but I’ll use any controller that is nearby, rather than traveling to the computer. The SONOS controllers are simply controllers and can be shut down or uninstalled after music play is started. If my hands are full or no device is nearby, I’ll use Alexa. Alexa does not require any computer resources.

If you install the Sonos app on this PC, SMB is not used at all. The SonosLibraryService is a Windows service that runs a simple http server that hands out your music files to Sonos speakers for playback. No SMB is used in this scenario.

Just install the app, its not rocket science, and whatever troubles you had in the past have likely been fixed by now, and you can play your music.

NAS configuration has always been moderately difficult, which is one of the reasons Sonos switched to http for PC sharing.

I just got a Raspberry Pi and a USB SSD, loaded my music on it, and shared it via SMB. It’s always on and uses little power. When I get new music, I sync it to the RPi. Takes a little Unix know how, but it’s been better for me than going the NAS route.