Password to avoid guests changing music

Bummer. I'd say Sonos must not like making money but with the price of these systems for home users they obviously do.

Bummer. I'd say Sonos must not like making money but with the price of these systems for home users they obviously do.

I figure the number of home users with Enterprise networks is initially a low percentage of the market, and those that would allow guests unfettered access to their local LAN instead of an internet only guest network even more minuscule. Enterprise networks are usually associated with more strict levels of access security.

Bummer. I'd say Sonos must not like making money but with the price of these systems for home users they obviously do.
Those companies that focus on selected markets - by definition that means ignoring all others - almost always make more money in the long term than those that do not do so.

I'm not sure who sonos put in charge of this forum, but the attitude is awful. Just got a sonos for Christmas and this was one of the first things I thought about. Getting into the router each time I want to allow or disallow access to my sonos network doesn't work for me.

So, I'm having a party and I want to control the music. No one gets my private network password. Someone has another playlist and wants to take control of the music? I have to give them access to my network. No longer a guest network and I have to go change my router to secure it again.

This is a shortfall of the system. Admit it. There should be an easy way to secure, or share, the system within the sonos app. Hey, how about sonos setup a guest and private feature. Much easier than changing the router each time.

Hi All,
Bought my first unit for my son's Christmas present. With the intention of expanding into a whole house system when we move into new house. The house is being fitted with in ceiling speakers pretty much throughout the place and I have run the cables to a central point where a bank of Connect:amps are planned to bring music to our ears.
I've come from a now pretty much end of life Squeezebox system.
This was a flawless and customisable system- admittedly perhaps too complicated for the masses and hence it's long term failure.
Sonos seemed the logical easy step.

For all those not understanding the need to restrict controllers to certain players I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't be able to do this!
I don't want my Son (accidentally or otherwise) putting on music in other zones. Or changing the volume etc
Music servers should also be set up to allow restrictions to controllers.

This is a big short coming as far as I can tell.

13 years in the asking on this forum so I don't think it will get sorted unfortunately...

Nic 🙂

For something that has been on request for 14 year you would figure that this wouldn't be a problem. So what I'm being told by people that think they understand the world is that the number of people who this feature would benefit is so small that it would be negligible to implement. That statement right there is flawed immediately for the small fact that this is a request this is ranging over a DECADE. On top of which I can't very well create a separate LAN network when I'm in college and had no power on the system. I am writing this about 10 minutes after having my speaker just randomly cycle through 5 different songs that were not of my doing. This is the result of someone in my building thinking they are listening to their music but just connected to my speaker. What I'm being told is that in a building that has the same network ranging nearly a mile, a password system would be completely useless when people with the same speaker or app can just access my speaker, that I paid $200+ for, and be a okay? Can someone with an actual brain explain to me the sound logic behind that? And yes I understand that in the grand scheme of things $200 is pocket change, but for people who have spent upwards of 10k on an extensive system (which isn't hard) would be happy to know a simple feature like this is included in their rather hefty investment.

As a software developer, this seems like a pretty simple thing to fix. I will admit that most of the people on my home network are trustworthy and I don't have an issue with them having access to control my shared devices. But there are a few relevant points in this thread where users share their WIFI with a roommate accidentally playing music in the bedrooms at all hours of the night, etc. Rather than forcing users to create separate networks or maintain a password, the app just needs to allow an administrator (the first user to set up the system) to grant access to other devices on the network trying to connect. By default, it can work the way it currently does in allowing everyone access. But, if a user wishes to limit who can access the system, they could choose to only allow approved devices to control the network. This would filter by the device MAC address and a user could grant any level of access to any one or more of the devices on the network.

A little thought would need to go into this, but I think it is a feature that could be implemented without much time and/or effort. It would allow the devices to function like they do now for so many of the users that prefer that, yet give a better level of control for users who would like that.

The same 5 people that keep repeating "this isn't an issue" or "change your wifi settings" are infuriating. This lack of being able to password is the one reason I haven't yet purchased the Sonos, and am looking for alternatives.

I'm not sure who sonos put in charge of this forum, but the attitude is awful. Just got a sonos for Christmas and this was one of the first things I thought about. Getting into the router each time I want to allow or disallow access to my sonos network doesn't work for me.

So, I'm having a party and I want to control the music. No one gets my private network password. Someone has another playlist and wants to take control of the music? I have to give them access to my network. No longer a guest network and I have to go change my router to secure it again.

This is a shortfall of the system. Admit it. There should be an easy way to secure, or share, the system within the sonos app. Hey, how about sonos setup a guest and private feature. Much easier than changing the router each time.

Absolutely, but the guys here think they know best.

Aren't there two different issues here? The thread is headed 'password to avoid guests changing music', but what @bradjhooley is asking for (supported by @DrAmyColesh) is to be able to allow someone to play their own playlists without his having to reveal his network password, just a Sonos password.

There are many on this thread who complain 'my friends know my network password and now they keep messing with my Sonos'. I have very little sympathy with someone who is happy to let everyone he/she knows loose on their network and worries most about control of Sonos.

But @bradjhooley's request (if I understand correctly) is different and a perfectly reasonable thing to ask and wish for. I think there may be a technical issue though. Sonos is fundamentally a networked system. Put a controller even on a different subnet from the players and it won't see them. I think you just have to have your friend's phone on your network for the technology to work, and how is that to be achieved without full access?

One (imperfect but workable) solution for those with a Sonos component with a line-in is to get a Bluetooth receiver and allow friends to bypass the network.