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Etcetrician
Contributor I
May 16, 2018

Cannot play music stored on iphone

  • May 16, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1655 views
I am an a/v installer, and have set up a dozen or so Sonos systems for customers, and recently have encountered a problem. Typically the installations consist of Sonos connects or connect/amps wired to speakers throughout homes. For a long time I had no trouble playing music that is on my iPhone just by selecting tracks within the Sonos app. On the last job, that stopped working. Now when I try to play songs, I get an error message, something to the effect of “unable to play cannot connect to media server because the media server cannot be found.” I have no trouble using pandora or tune in or anything else so far as i can tell through the Sonos app, but get the same error no matter what I try to play from my phone. I’ve now checked it on 4 different systems, 2 of which had given me no trouble playing songs on device in the past. None work anymore. Any ideas? I submitted multiple diagnostics, Sonos customer service didn’t know what to make of it.
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    2 replies

    Keith N
    Keith N
    Sonos Staff
    May 17, 2018
    Hey there, Etcetrician. That error message points to a break in the connection between the iPhone and Sonos. Typically we troubleshoot this by monitoring the real-time connection between the iPhone and the local network while replicating the error.

    Our technicians sent you an email a couple days ago asking you to call back when you have a computer to troubleshoot over a remote session. I would recommend continuing to work with them. Setting up a recurring ping to the iPhone on the network and testing for latency will likely take much longer with someone over Community posts, plus it's usually best to keep all relevant troubleshooting in one place (and on file).

    Be sure to reference the case number given to you in the email when you give us a call. They can pull up the case (just as I did) and pick up right from where you left off. Thanks!
    Building community is like building a garden. You build the frame, till the ground, plant the seeds, feed the plants & sometimes you gotta pull the weeds.
    bbrody100
    Lyricist I
    October 29, 2018
    I’m having the exact same issue. Can someone please help me? When I play music that is living on my phone via the sonos app, sometimes it skips songs saying “unable to play this track”. When I play music from a streaming service via the sonos app, then it works fine. What’s hebissue here?
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