Password to avoid guests changing music

I've gone through a lot of these threads. I've had Sonos for a long time. It used to be a niche product and so didn't have a lot of knowledge on how to access the system. Now I have friends come over and mess with it just for fun. It's quite annoying.

The "parent your friends" folks in this thread really need to wake up and smell the coffee. People here are asking for something apparently simple -- if Sonos wants to come on here and say it's dramatically complex for some reason to add a PIN, then we're all ears. But until then, let's assume adding a PIN to the process is easy. Many of the devices we use -- wifi, computer, phone, car, house, iPad, etc -- require authentication with a key or PIN. Our house key doesn't work on our car because we intentionally DO NOT want to couple those together, so that if you give someone your car key you have also given that person access to the house. Is it really unreasonable to ask for something so that giving someone wifi access doesn't give someone access to sonos? In every group of people there will be an immature person who will think it's funny to mess with the sonos. Or even a literally immature person, like a 5 year old who gets a hold of an unlocked iPad and wants to blast music at 6am. "Why not just lock the iPAD?? Huh? Huhhhh????" Well, why can you lock "in-app purchases" on an iphone? Because there are many instance where you allow access to the phone, but not EVERYTHING on it. Sonos included.

Sonos is such that they don't even need YOUR device to break in. They can use their own phone to buzz in, as long as they have your wifi password. "Just set up a guest network!!!" OK, maybe I will, but it seems like a nuisance to have to do that because Sonos simply won't use a PIN. It boggles the mind that they haven't added this feature.

If you want people to have access to your WIFI, that is your responsibility... Not Sonos'. A guess network will resolve the issue. It is quick, and easy, and built into most WIFI routers today. My cheap $35 one has it.

I've gone through a lot of these threads. I've had Sonos for a long time. It used to be a niche product and so didn't have a lot of knowledge on how to access the system. Now I have friends come over and mess with it just for fun. It's quite annoying.

The "parent your friends" folks in this thread really need to wake up and smell the coffee. People here are asking for something apparently simple -- if Sonos wants to come on here and say it's dramatically complex for some reason to add a PIN, then we're all ears. But until then, let's assume adding a PIN to the process is easy. Many of the devices we use -- wifi, computer, phone, car, house, iPad, etc -- require authentication with a key or PIN. Our house key doesn't work on our car because we intentionally DO NOT want to couple those together, so that if you give someone your car key you have also given that person access to the house. Is it really unreasonable to ask for something so that giving someone wifi access doesn't give someone access to sonos? In every group of people there will be an immature person who will think it's funny to mess with the sonos. Or even a literally immature person, like a 5 year old who gets a hold of an unlocked iPad and wants to blast music at 6am. "Why not just lock the iPAD?? Huh? Huhhhh????" Well, why can you lock "in-app purchases" on an iphone? Because there are many instance where you allow access to the phone, but not EVERYTHING on it. Sonos included.

Sonos is such that they don't even need YOUR device to break in. They can use their own phone to buzz in, as long as they have your wifi password. "Just set up a guest network!!!" OK, maybe I will, but it seems like a nuisance to have to do that because Sonos simply won't use a PIN. It boggles the mind that they haven't added this feature.

Sorry, I'm simply not having it. Just listen to yourself. You say "I might set-up a guest network". Why not just set one up? Why should every body else have to deal with the hassle of extra passwords or PINs just because people can't be bothered to use the functionality already available on their routers or have childish friends or can't control their children.

Sorry but this is the nanny state and abrogation of responsibility writ large.

@Stuart_W assuming using a password is optional, are you still against it?

No one is against anything if it's optional. What I'm against is the attitude that Sonos is responsible for the behavior of the kin of owners and needs to fix it. Especially when the fix is already present in their own homes to control their pesky ilk. I've had Sonos almost ten years now and not once did I have a problem with my kids or my guests messing with the system.

By your logic, if the Sonos owner gives someone a wifi password, then the *Sonos owner* is the idiot if the guest can access and delete your files on any computer on the local network by merely installing the Windows File Sharing app on their phone. But they in fact can't just browse your computer from their phone, because things like File and Printer sharing can be set up to have passwords. I have wifi printers, but no one can print to them unless I give them the password. Why is a wifi printer more secure than Sonos? The "it's your responsibility" thing is a very tired complaint. No one applies it to anything else. This sonos community requires a username and password to participate. Authentication of devices is standard. Again, your devices are almost always decoupled from your wifi password in terms of access, but not sonos. Is anyone with a wifi password allowed to change my house temperature to their liking via the Nest? As more and more house items become wifi-enabled, guests can just jump to tinker with them, just because they have the wifi password?

I get it, a guest network can be used as the solution. I've never set one up for a bunch of devices and am not sure if it would all work seamlessly. I DO know that adding a PIN to the Sonos app for authentication would NOT interfere with my home network. Requiring the user to do more work and tinker with their network setup is not really a modern approach to solving a problem that can be easily solved on the software side. Call it "user laziness" or whatever, but complicating a network often has unintended consequences and I'd rather not do it if I didn't have to.

And who said anything about "Sonos being responsible" for misbehavior? Users are noticing a recurring issue with the product, and have given feedback to Sonos that we would appreciate a relatively simple add-on. Who is the grand poobah that decides what feature requests are morally acceptable and which ones are not? If enough people make them complaint, it's a legit issue for Sonos to look into, in my opinion. It's great you haven't had an issue, but many of us have.

I can use my phone to change channels on my TV. But I need to authenticate first with my ATT password. If the app didn't have authentication and users complained that guests could change channels, that would be complaints about "ATT being responsible for misbehavior"?

And I assure you that there are PLENTY of people out there who wouldn't even like the IDEA that it's possible for a guest to wrest control of the devices -- for those people they have NO IDEA that they need a guest network. However, if the option to "Set up your PIN!" had come up on installation they of course would have done that.

@The _Bastard_Son. I wouldn't complain if it were introduced as an option as I wouldn't enable it.

@juanb - It is NOT possible for a "guest" or anybody for that matter to "wrest" control of your Sonos system unless YOU give them your wi-fi password. And if they are the sort of people who would childishly mess about with your Sonos then that might be the least of your worries.

@juanb - I'm with you buddy. I wrote on this thread a long while ago, and received similar feedback about guest networks and controlling my children / friends.

I have rooms in my house that I don't want ANYONE to be able to play music in but me or my wife. But because there is no PIN or Password, I don't have the ability to lock that down. Forget the guest network thing....I don't want my own family playing or changing the music in these rooms. Someone else told me to control my children. I guess my parenting is now in question too.

Meanwhile, the few lines of code it would take to enable this option is WAY TOO COMPLICATED....so I guess I'll enroll in some parenting classes......

Guess you'll have to if you tell your kids not to do something and they do it anyway.