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dmylrea
Enthusiast I
May 7, 2018

How to keep Now Playing screen UP?

  • May 7, 2018
  • 16 replies
  • 964 views
Fire tablet as controller running latest (like I have a choice!) version Sonos app. Ever since the EVIL update months back that took our beloved software away, I have had problems with the Now Playing screen staying UP and FRONT. Once I stop music, at some random point (who knows because I don't sit there and stare at it), the (nice and BLACK) Now Playing screen drops DOWN and reveals a lousy white "home" screen (not sure if that is what it is called). To start playback again, I have to arrow up to bring back the Now Playing screen. The Now Playing screen used to stay UP all the time unless I changed it. Now, it's always down when I need it.

Is this by design or is there a setting to keep Now Playing UP?
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    16 replies

    Chris
    Chris
    Lead Maestro
    May 8, 2018
    Maybe it has something to do with the new feature that asks you the zone you want to play to after period of inactivity. I know that can be turned off in settings..advanced. confirm location (turn off)
    Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    dmylreaAuthor
    Enthusiast I
    May 8, 2018
    Maybe it has something to do with the new feature that asks you the zone you want to play to after period of inactivity. I know that can be turned off in settings..advanced. confirm location (turn off)

    Looks like that setting is already unchecked (disable). Thanks, though.
    ratty
    ratty
    May 8, 2018
    The WiFi connection to your Fire tablet is flaky. This will cause the Sonos controller to do a soft restart when the connection is re-established, resulting in the Now Playing being minimised.
    John B
    May 8, 2018
    The WiFi connection to your Fire tablet is flaky. This will cause the Sonos controller to do a soft restart when the connection is re-established, resulting in the Now Playing being minimised.Agreed. I do not have the problem described in the original post with my Amazon Fire and so it cannot be a generic issue with the app.
    To the OP.... is your Fire connecting to your WiFi or to SonosNet?
    ratty
    ratty
    May 8, 2018
    I spent a while scratching my head as to why I'd return to the Fire and find Now Playing collapsed. This could even occur sporadically when using a SonosNet connection. It didn't seem to correlate with any state in the controller itself or specific events in the Sonos household.

    It was after some WiFi configuration changes that I noticed Now Playing had gone, and thus linked it with the connection very occasionally bouncing. It was then trivial to reproduce. I've now set up an additional AP for that Fire (and an iPort xPRESS) and fingers crossed all now seems well.

    IMO the state of the Now Playing pane should be preserved across a reconnection and/or app restart.
    dmylreaAuthor
    Enthusiast I
    May 8, 2018
    The WiFi connection to your Fire tablet is flaky. This will cause the Sonos controller to do a soft restart when the connection is re-established, resulting in the Now Playing being minimised.Agreed. I do not have the problem described in the original post with my Amazon Fire and so it cannot be a generic issue with the app.
    To the OP.... is your Fire connecting to your WiFi or to SonosNet?

    It's connecting to my WiFi. I'm unfamiliar with how to connect it to SonosNet or if that is something I would want to do. Would I still have internet?

    Oddly (coincidentally), this behavior started with the last major software change. It had always worked perfectly before. Nothing in my WiFi changed then. I have since changed our single WiFi AP with two Ubiquiti AP's. The Fire tablet in question is right in between the two, so I'm surprised it would be "flaky WiFi". I'll stream for hours and it seems rock solid.

    It is reassuring that you and others do not have the problem, so it's not the software. Thanks everyone for your input.
    dmylreaAuthor
    Enthusiast I
    May 8, 2018
    I spent a while scratching my head as to why I'd return to the Fire and find Now Playing collapsed. This could even occur sporadically when using a SonosNet connection. It didn't seem to correlate with any state in the controller itself or specific events in the Sonos household.

    It was after some WiFi configuration changes that I noticed Now Playing had gone, and thus linked it with the connection very occasionally bouncing. It was then trivial to reproduce. I've now set up an additional AP for that Fire (and an iPort xPRESS) and fingers crossed all now seems well.

    IMO the state of the Now Playing pane should be preserved across a reconnection and/or app restart.

    You're saying you had the same issue? Is it a WiFi connection issue or an internet (ISP) issue or either? What I'm asking is if it's due to a loss of a WiFi connection for an instant, or loss of connectivity to the internet? Obviously the former will cause the latter, but you can have the latter without the former.

    I'm a little confused where to look because like I said, it was rock solid before the latest major software update. My WiFi didn't change, the software did. And I have made changes to my household WiFi to increase coverage and the problem persists. Is there a way to monitor the connection on the Fire tablet (an app) that would run continuously?
    Chris
    Chris
    Lead Maestro
    May 8, 2018
    I must have good WiFi connection as I brought up Sonos on my iphonex yesterday evernig when saw post. When I picked up phine this morning I clicked on Sonos and it came right back to now playing screen I left it at.
    Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    ratty
    ratty
    May 8, 2018
    It's connecting to my WiFi. I'm unfamiliar with how to connect it to SonosNet or if that is something I would want to do. Would I still have internet?
    Go to Advanced Settings in the controller and enable the SonosNet connection. A new SSID will appear in the Fire's WiFi settings. Worth a try. The system must be in SonosNet/BOOST mode of course.

    I have since changed our single WiFi AP with two Ubiquiti AP's. The Fire tablet in question is right in between the two, so I'm surprised it would be "flaky WiFi".

    The Fire could potentially be flipping between the two APs. In any case it would only take a momentary connection drop to trigger the observed symptoms. I have a Netgear router which is 'rock solid' but still manifested this problem on the Fire.

    Is it a WiFi connection issue or an internet (ISP) issue or either? What I'm asking is if it's due to a loss of a WiFi connection for an instant, or loss of connectivity to the internet?

    WiFi. When the Sonos app goes into 'reconnecting' it re-opens with Now Playing minimised.

    Is there a way to monitor the connection on the Fire tablet (an app) that would run continuously?

    No idea.
    ratty
    ratty
    May 8, 2018
    I must have good WiFi connection as I brought up Sonos on my iphonex yesterday evernig when saw post. When I picked up phine this morning I clicked on Sonos and it came right back to now playing screen I left it at.
    The controller had been in the background presumably. It's when the controller is in the foreground and reconnects that the Now Playing minimises.
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