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Lee Heller
Contributor I
March 27, 2018
Answered

Help with skipping during playback of content on iPhone

  • March 27, 2018
  • 12 replies
  • 1049 views
I have an iPhone 7 and a Sonos system with a Play 1, Play 3, and a Connect. Streaming services (I mostly use TuneIn radio) work fine, but when I play content on my phone (from my iTunes library or podcasts), playback will skip from one track to the next before the first track has finished playing. Sometimes I seem able to address the problem if I turn my phone off and back on. I have been in contact with multiple tech support people from Sonos, who keep having me tweak my router to a different channel as if that will fix the problem (unlikely, since I live in a rural area with no other wifi routers around to conflict with), but it doesn't; and if I leave a message on their callback service, no one calls me back. I live in NZ, which has pretty much zero Sonos support. When I call the US number now, the wait times are so long that they will eat up all my international minutes. Has anyone in this community had a similar issue? I have more faith in the community than in getting a solution from tech support at this point.
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    Best answer by John B
    Bottom line is that playing from a phone is the least stable source you can use. I would suggest getting a cheap NAS drive, putting your music on there and playing it via the Sonos music library.

    12 replies

    Keith N
    Keith N
    Sonos Staff
    March 27, 2018
    Hey there, Lee Heller. Thanks for posting and welcome to the Community. If the problem only arises when you stream content from your phone, it is likely a problem between the phone itself and the connection to the network. This is why the only advice Sonos can give is to change your router channel. Wireless interference doesn't only come from other WiFi networks. Check out this FAQ for more information on reducing wireless interference.

    If you happen to have any extenders or access points, the phone may be moving from one extender to another network device. In that case, it could certainly halt playback and force a skip until it reconnects.
    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.
    Lee HellerAuthor
    Contributor I
    March 31, 2018
    Yeah, I've tried all of that. Have changed the router channel several times, with different customer service staff taking me through the same steps. Have turned off the 2.4Ghz cordless phone. None of that worked. I don't have any other wireless devices (TV and AppleTV are both hardwired and are off most of the time anyway, and I mean OFF -- not connected to power source). I live on 10 rural acres, so no neighbor interference. The only device that is on that is connected to wifi is the iPhone, and I kinda need it to run the Sonos controller.
    This issue ONLY occurs when I am streaming content "On this iPhone." It doesn't occur when I am streaming content from streaming services like TuneIn radio. I don't have Pandora here (not licensed in NZ) so I can't test that. But I would think if there were wifi interference, that I'd have playback issues with streaming services, not just content on the iPhone itself.
    Lee HellerAuthor
    Contributor I
    March 31, 2018
    How do I get up to Tier 2 support? Everyone I have talked to or dealt with has been very nice, but they keep taking me through the same steps and not fixing the problem. Joe has me just having one of the speakers connected to the router via ethernet cable, but that defeats the entire purpose of having a WIFI system, doesn't it?
    Keith N
    Keith N
    Sonos Staff
    April 2, 2018
    Hi Lee. I see you are working with Louis on this currently over email. I'd suggest continuing working with him so to keep all the troubleshooting in one location. This will also help the case should you need to be escalated to Tier 2 support. Additionally, if you'd like more real-time support feel free to give us a call to troubleshoot in real time. 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.
    John BAnswer
    April 2, 2018
    Bottom line is that playing from a phone is the least stable source you can use. I would suggest getting a cheap NAS drive, putting your music on there and playing it via the Sonos music library.
      Lee HellerAuthor
      Contributor I
      April 8, 2018
      John B nailed it. Finally got a customer support agent who told me to close all the background apps on the phone and then try. Worked like a charm. Only took 4 or 5 customer service people to get me there. Thanks, John B, for seeing it!
        leonvissie
        Lyricist II
        June 1, 2018
        I'm glad I found this post as I have the exact same issue and after following all the recommendations for fixing this, the issue persists. I finally removed and reinstalled the app and that has fixed the problem for me.

        I've read through this (and others) and for Sonos to tell you: buy a NAS (spend more money); or to only use streaming service (spend more money); or to only use our app and close all other apps isn't acceptable when you pay £200 for their cheapest product (and I have more than one Sonos product).

        Anyway, hope this helps some of the other frustrated users out there.
        John B
        June 1, 2018
        I suggested a NAS and i do not work for Sonos. I am glad reinstalling the app worked for you (for now) but playing from the phone requires an extra hop over your wifi compared with streaming or a NAS and therefore is inherently less robust. That is nothing to do with Sonos or what you have paid for their products

        From experience on here re-installing the app helps for some problems but does not usually solve this issue.
        leonvissie
        Lyricist II
        June 5, 2018
        Thanks John and apologies for my incorrect assumption. You were right about it being a temporary fix also.

        Based on further testing I have found that this issue only affects my iPhone 6S (iOS11.2). On my iPad Mini2 (iOS9.3) and iPhone 5S (iOS10.3) playback from the device library works absolutely fine, so it could be iOS functionality which need to be addressed by Sonos.
        Airgetlam
        Airgetlam
        June 5, 2018
        They wouldn't be able to release anything new to address an issue in an older iOS. Like most companies, their major focus would be the current OS. And if Apple doesn't support the old OS, then basically Sonos wouldn't, either, as the tech documentation would no longer be accessible to Sonos.
        Bruce
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