Hi @planetrich, welcome to the Sonos Community!

I’m sorry to hear you’re running into issues updating your system. I’d be happy to help if you can provide me with some more information.

When attempting to update, are you receiving any error messages? If so, what is the error code?

Most update errors can be resolved by a reboot of the system, so I’d recommend the following steps:

1. Reboot your network.
2. Reboot your Sonos system.
3. Close and re-open theSonos app.
4. Retry the update.

If the above doesn’t resolve the issue, then I’d recommend temporarily wiring a speaker to your router via an Ethernet cable and trying again. If you’re still having issues updating, then please reach out to our support team for further assistance as they have the tools available to troubleshoot this issue with you.

I hope this helps!

See this thread for a user who felt the same, but found the solution had nothing to do with Sonos:

I’ve had various SONOS products for years, across different Mac computers, different homes, different ISPs, different router / networks, etc. The MacOS app fails to update consistently.

Sonos update failed

An unexpected error occurred. Please try again.

The desktop and mobile app interface are just terrible. You get speakers that usually work, with great sound. But I’ve just given up expecting Sonos software to work well.

Did you read the thread linked above, or are you just here to rant?

Why don’t Sonos say there is an update available rather than preventing access to you Hifi system without any warning. This has screwed up several of our evening dinner parties when I want background music ib two rooms, turn on Sonos only to be told an update is required which then fails and told to redownload the app - this is just not acceptable.

Switch off the device firmware update in the App (Settings/System/System Updates’ (disable Update Automatically)… and set the Sonos App itself to update manually in your mobile device settings, then simply install the updates when you’re ready to do that… er… the day after your dinner party, perhaps?

Turn on Sonos? Do you use a switch to cut the power to your Sonos system? Because then it will start looking for an update as soon as the system is powered on.

Thanks Ken that was very helpful.

also Rallye 

Thank goodness I dont have to update my tv every time I turn it on!!

On any modern TV there’s no “turning it off” in the old fashioned sense. The TV will remain on stand by - and so will receive updates, mostly during the night, so you will probably not notice any update. I have my Sonos system set up to do the same.

Any internet connected appliance will look for an update after being connected power first.

I certainly have not seen the whole universe of TV’s, but I have always been able to disable automatic updates after digging and digging through options.

A favorite automatic update is the presenter’s laptop deciding that it is time to update — just as the presentation starts— “DON’T TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER”.

There is in our house, at the wall at night, ever since a TV spontaneously combusted in an unoccupied room. Mind you, it was an old CRT...

That must have been exciting. I don’t recall ever having a TV fail catastrophically on me….so far ;)

‘Exciting’, as in the ‘interesting times’ curse? Had it not been for the flames’ visibility through a fanlight over the closed door things could have been even more ‘exciting’…

But enough OT banter.

it is really crazy that updates Sonos app STILL cannot perform it’s own updates.  the app:

• tells you an update is available,
• asks you to press a button to download it
• asks for permission to install,
• then fails every time with the most uninformative message

then if you go to Sonos and the forums, the only solution Sonos has offered to this day is to download the software from the website and overwrite your existing software manually.  this issue is not that this is difficult.  the issue is that’s it’s completely insane that Sonos STILL cannot perform it’s own updates!  unreal that it hasn’t been fixed by now.

I’ll assume you’re talking about the Mac update process.

I’d still follow the instructions at https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/error-when-updating-sonos-app-for-macos, which should also install the ‘fix’ for this issue where Apple changed the method by which they process ‘updates’ without notification. 

To be on the safe side, I’d reboot my Mac before re-installing, but can confirm that it fixed the issue. There are quite a few threads that do a similar process by authoring ‘Sonos installer’ or some such application name, the ‘old method’ had authorized just Sonos.exe. 

iMac. 14.2.1. Uninstalling and then downloading and re-installing the app worked for me. Rebooting, etc. as proposed above (“answer”) did NOT have any effect, however. 

Terrible product… always fails to update, losing connections with wifi speakers that have been workding for years… this product needs a serious upgrade. 

@Sonos — please just update the app to ask for the correct entitlements for recent versions of macOS so that the updater works. It’s not a huge lift. This is embarrassing and if you search the web you’ll find lots of threads where people are getting fed up with Sonos and selling their systems over this silly issue because they think you aren’t going to keep supporting macOS. Just fix it already.

Agreed with most users here.  SONOS needs some major upgrades to make it functional.  Looking for another system that actually works without the undue pain.

Updates now are painful at best, non existant at worse, so far since over 10 years my system has pretty much done a software update the first time, if not the second time, and been 100% rock solid. All of a sudden I have 2 Sonos One products that plain refuse to update no matter what I do to a point I am convinced by matter of elimination Sonos has introduced something in the previous update to cause this. None of my tech has been changed, moved, repaired, reconfigured or anything else and all of a sudden this happens. I am fed up of FAQ advice saying ridiculous suggestions like: reset your router, wifi etc/power off/move your sonos closer to wifi, connect via cable/look at the solutions on the website yadda yadda blah blah when none of it works and it is merely a fob off and diversion to what is actually causing it. Clearly they have done something to make life difficult so we legacy users buy new, well that’s fine I will, I give in but it won’t be Sonos.

A year after this thread started, the Sonos Mac update finds ever more creative ways to generate frustration.

I typically get around the update by downloading the app and again and replacing my old one. Today, though, I tried the update and was told I needed to register my devices (the newest of which I’ve had for months). Hitting the register button let me to a message saying my Sonos system was up-to-date and giving another option to register the products which told me my  system was up-to-date and so on. There was no option just to continue.

Eventually a system window showed up briefly. But, by the time I saw it, the register screen again took its place.

I’m playing music on my Sonos One right now. But, I cannot select anything new from my Mac Laptop. So, I’m listening to the same thing on that device that has been playing for a month now.

I repeat, nothing on my setup has been changed, I know this is a Sonos issue, to add further the 2 devices that will not take the update are version 11.14, build 572150280 HW Version 1.20.1.6-2.2 and the Sonos one which updates is 11.14 build 572151190 HW Version 1.8.3.7-2.2. Strange coincidence both devices are the exact same that refuse the update - I know for sure this is the cause of the issue clearly with Sonos

Wait a couple of days and the app wil be replaced by a web environment. You could also use a phone to command Sonos.

I've been a Sonos advocate for years and today have had 3 different frustrating, dumb yet intractable issues:
1. app doing the exact same as above (just keep getting the “update” button...”up to date”...and can even get the details of the system, but no way to use the controller).
2. Stereo pair not working. Nothing wrong with the speakers or connection as they work fine on their own. No error message. Just no sound from one of the pair. Reinstalled and working fine...now….
3. Play 1 speaker not updating (so now completely unusable).

Definitely starting to think about moving away from this increasing sh1t show.