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mureren
Trending Lyricist I
October 22, 2013

Password to avoid guests changing music

  • October 22, 2013
  • 186 replies
  • 70913 views
Hi
Let's say i'm having a party, and my Sonos is playing the music.
Many of my guests are friends that earlier has gotten access to my WiFi. During the party, these guests could download Sonos Controller/app, connect to Sonos, and start controlling the music.
There is no way in Sonos controllers to set a password, to avoid this behaviour.
Other workarounds would be setting up a guest WiFi network that doesn't have access to Sonos, but this would require a new router (in som cases), or change my original password in my entire existing network, which would be annoying ;)

Are there any plans to add this feature?
Maybe even a possibility to require a password for each Sonos device (tick box in controller preferences for each device?)

Am i missing something, other than keeping my guests sober and not annoying 😃
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      186 replies

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      Ryan S
      Ryan S
      Retired Sonos Staff
      February 5, 2016
      Sonos controllers used to insist that buttons be pressed on a hardware unit in order to associate with the system. For ease of use Sonos changed things such that, if there's only one system ('household') on the network, a new controller will automatically detect it and associate. However if there's more than one household the controller will still request a button push to identify the correct one.

      Get another Sonos device -- a BRIDGE would suffice, which can be had for very little money off eBay -- and set it up as a 'new system'. This will create another household ID. Anyone on the same subnet wanting to illicitly associate a controller would then need physical access to your property to press buttons on a Sonos device.

      Ratty beat me by 3 minutes 😞
      Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
      The_Bastard_Son
      The_Bastard_Son
      February 5, 2016


      When you pair a Sonos controller with a reset Sonos component they create what we call a household ID, a unique key to that Sonos pairing.

      Ryan, related question for you.

      I sometimes let guests on my main wireless network that includes Sonos in order to access resources not available on my guest network. I almost always change the wifi password after, and generally change it monthly anyway. Guests are usually friends and family, but sometimes might also be clients, friends of friends etc.

      If they associate an app with my Sonos household and connect to my Sonos net via Android phone for example how do I stop them from connecting in the future, or stop them from connecting to Sonos net in the first place? I change my wifi password but what do I do about Sonos net? Is there any way to prevent guests from connecting to Sonosnet (I don't want to turn it off as I use it).
      ratty
      ratty
      February 5, 2016
      If they associate an app with my Sonos household and connect to my Sonos net via Android phone for example how do I stop them from connecting in the future?.
      Advanced Settings -> Reset SonosNet Key
      Ryan S
      Ryan S
      Retired Sonos Staff
      February 5, 2016
      If they associate an app with my Sonos household and connect to my Sonos net via Android phone for example how do I stop them from connecting in the future?.
      Advanced Settings -> Reset SonosNet Key

      What he said. You can use the app to reset the key which will kick off all Android devices and you'll have to re-authorize them all to SonosNet again through the main wifi network.
      Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
      The_Bastard_Son
      The_Bastard_Son
      February 5, 2016
      Ah hadn't noticed this down at the bottom of the list. Thanks to the both of you.
      2k15Ducati
      Lyricist III
      February 15, 2016
      Hello. I'm new to this forum and wanted to add my .02 cents.
      Early on, I believe most people missed the point of password protecting a zone or group of zones.
      I have similar concerns and would really love a password or LOCK OUT feature and here's why....
      I work from home 90% of the time. When my doors are closed and I'm on a conference call speaking, I can't have someone begin to blast music throughout the house, even if by accident. So, to be able to lock out a zone until it's unlocked (by a master user) would be huge!
      Same thing if my wife and I are asleep and the kids decide to play music in our zone. That's a no no.

      So, I don't believe this has truly be solved yet (besides guest networks and those kinds of silly alternatives). A lock out / password feature by zone would be great. We really need the control to say who can play their music where and when.

      Thanks!
      upstatemike
      February 15, 2016
      Unplug the power on the players in your office while you are on a call. If messing with the power cord is not convenient there are many inexpensive options for remote control modules or power strips so you can easily turn the system on and off from your desk.
      Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
      2k15Ducati
      Lyricist III
      February 15, 2016
      Thanks for the quick reply Mike.
      While many people have come up with options for ways to address this, wouldn't all of this be much easier if you could lock / unlock zones or password protect zones all from within Sonos? It's a small feature that could save time and money so that all these other "work arounds" weren't needed.

      This is something so simple, I can't believe Sonos hasn't included this in a software release. I really hope they do. This is a paint point....
      The_Bastard_Son
      The_Bastard_Son
      February 15, 2016
      We really need the control to say who can play their music where and when.

      This request is over 10 years old going back to the old forums. Probably will never happen.

      Probably best just to accept that this is one of the places that Sonos falls down.

      Personally I run another system in combination with Sonos (not because of this specific issue) because it doesn't meet my needs in all areas. Look around maybe you will be happier with a different speaker in your office.
      2k15Ducati
      Lyricist III
      February 15, 2016
      Yeah.....you're probably right. Just something we have to live with....
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