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marcrolph
Contributor I
June 2, 2024
Answered

Frustrated with Sonos – Seeking Reliable Alternatives

  • June 2, 2024
  • 47 replies
  • 18042 views

 

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out to this community because I'm at my wit's end with my Sonos system. When it works, it's absolutely amazing – the sound quality is top-notch, and I've invested in quite a few of their products over the years. However, the reliability issues have become unbearable.

For the past few months, even before the recent app update, I've been experiencing constant problems. Music often won't stream at all, it stops mid-play, some speakers refuse to connect, and sometimes I can't connect at all. These issues are making the system practically unusable, which is incredibly frustrating given the amount of money and effort I've put into it.

I'm now considering alternatives to Sonos. Can anyone recommend a different setup that offers similar sound quality but with better reliability? I'm open to all suggestions, whether it's another multi-room system or even a different approach to home audio.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

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    Best answer by Airgetlam

    Using the Sonos company sponsored forum seems like an odd choice for this. I’d recommend looking at other forums, such as the AVS forum, or the Home Theater forum. 

    47 replies

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    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    August 3, 2024

    Volume control, pause control, individual room control,  unreliable, unresponsive, are top of the many complaints that I and many others have with the new Sonos app. 
    I did speak to Sonos Support - they are in denial as to the extent of the problem and simply said that updates will be released in stages over time. Unacceptable when many customers have spent a fortune on a system which is basically unusable. 

    Not seen any issues with volume control. Have you looked into the issue to see if it’s LAN/WAN connection issue - it might just be a low SNR level on one of your players or something interfering with the connections. I’m surprised that Sonos Support were not able to identify the issue with you?

    Maybe speak to level 2 Sonos Support. My volume control (as attached) has always worked well here, even across large groups over the LAN.

    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    August 3, 2024

    Another quick example of the group volume control seen here, this time from my iPad Sonos App (attached)…

    Thomas_129
    Enthusiast I
    August 3, 2024

    Thank you for the advice. I’ve had my Sonos system (quite an extensive Sonos system throughout a very large house) for over 8 years. Never had a problem before, this has nothing to do with my system / connection.
    Since the Sonos app update. It’s been a disaster -  if you look through the feedback on here and other sites including the many thousands of 1 star App Store reviews, people are commenting on the volume control issues (amongst many other things.). 

      Ken_Griffiths
      Ken_Griffiths
      August 3, 2024

      When I tried SonoPad, I didn’t personally find it any quicker, especially when trying to playback from an onboard MSP, like Amazon Music. In fact, I’m not so sure it wasn't slower in some areas - see attached from that App…

      Thomas_129
      Enthusiast I
      August 3, 2024

      It’s great that your system is working with no problem. But you are in the minority.
      I don’t want to start taking screen shots of all the comment's about the volume control issue since the app update. I suggest you look at the reviews on the App Store for confirmation that the app is flawed. As I said it’s great that your system is working fine, for many thousands it’s not. 

        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        August 3, 2024

        This is my iPad controller Sonos App playing the exact same playlist from Amazon Music as the one seen in the SonoPad App - I think the Sonos App is quicker, but see what you think when you perhaps compare the two.

        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        August 3, 2024

        It’s great that your system is working with no problem. But you are in the minority.
        I don’t want to start taking screen shots of all the comment's about the volume control issue since the app update. I suggest you look at the reviews on the App Store for confirmation that the app is flawed. As I said it’s great that your system is working fine, for many thousands it’s not. 

        My family and friends are using Sonos and the new Sonos App in their Homes too and their systems seem to be working same/similar to my own setup, so not sure we’re all in a minority - it’s the case that people only report things when they encounter issues, I guess - very rarely do people post (like me) when things are working okay, but we’ve not seen the issues you mention. We would have just spoken to Sonos Support had that been the case.

        Thomas_129
        Enthusiast I
        August 3, 2024

        I’ll stick with the sonophone app on my iPhone. It works and for me that’s what’s important.  Try it 👍

         

         

          Thomas_129
          Enthusiast I
          August 3, 2024

          If you are questioning that the new Sonos app is flawed and whether very many customer are experiencing problems, may I direct you to the letter posted here on 25th July by Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO.

          “We know that too many of you have experienced significant problems with our new app which rolled out on May 7, and I want to begin by personally apologizing for disappointing you”.

          “We deeply appreciate your patience as we address these issues. We know we have work to do to earn back your trust”

          I’ll just leave this here. 

            Ken_Griffiths
            Ken_Griffiths
            August 3, 2024

            @Thomas_129 
            I have a different viewpoint to yours and just think it s better approach that if anyone here is having issues with their Sonos App, to first check with Sonos Support, as they have tools that could perhaps resolve their issue, instead of simply ignoring them and switching to 3rd party Apps. Even if there are people having issues it does not mean that’s a majority of users, so you should not assume that’s the case because you encountered a problem yourself.

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