Problems with Sonos Connecting to iTunes via Synology NAS

Which version of the Sonos software are you using? That will determine which versions of SMB you can use.

S1 still requires SMB v1 and NTML v1.

S2 can accept SMB v2 and SMB V3.

There are dozens of threads on this already. Most include potential solutions for S1, outside of Sonos’ software. 

I’m using the S2 software--sorry, should have specified.  That’s why I thought I could use SMB2/3.

As you mention, there have been a lot of threads on this, but it was hard for me to identify what the most recent information was. 

But, my initial read after doing my research was that I SHOULD be okay since I was using S2. If that’s correct, is something else causing the error? Any ideas? Here’s a full version of the error message…

9/8/22, 5:45 PM
Unable to play '06 Back In Black.m4a' - the file //ds718/music/Volumes/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/AC_DC/Back In Black/06 Back In Black.m4a cannot be found.

Thanks, knowing you’re using S2 helps, and yes, you should be fine using SMB 2 or SMB3.

There’s a couple of potential things that I, not an expert, would be looking at. First, I’d make sure that the folder where the data is was set with appropriate permissions. i.e. it’s the speaker that’s trying to access that data, not your computer. It’s entirely possible that an update of some sort changed the permissions on that folder, and the Sonos system is unable to “reach” that location via SMB. Folder permissions can be challenging, especially because many people don’t understand that it’s not the Sonos application on their controller device, but the Sonos software on the speaker that’s reaching out via SMB. And, of course, sometimes background updates can actually change sharing permissions. 

But second, if that doesn’t work, I’d try to play a song to generate that error, then I’d submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

Thanks again. Freed from the concern about SMB1/2/3, I have started looking at the permissions issues. But I still haven’t been able to solve the problem.

I thought I had all permissions set up correctly -- I have a unique user on my NAS titled “Sonos” that has read only access to the NAS music folder. When I point Sonos to use the folder as its music library, it requires the user and password before indexing (and I know I’m logging in because, once during the troubleshooting process, I typed the password wrong and it was rejected).

But, just to be sure, I’ve taken the following steps. First, I deleted the Sonos user from the NAS and recreated it. Next, I set up the music library from my iPhone instead of my Mac. Finally, I set up the music library by logging in--instead of as Sonos--as my admin login that has full permissions for every folder. 

Sadly, nothing has changed. Same error every time.

Anyone have ideas on what to try next? I'm at a loss. Is this a Sonos problem? A Synology problem? An Apple problem? User error because I messed something up while updating software or changing my iTunes settings?

Two Sonos related thoughts though. First, I’m glad they solved the SMB issues. Reading some of the old posts, I cringed when reading about how long it took for Sonos to move on from SMB1. Second, I did provide Sonos customer support with a system diagnostic--both techs were convinced that I need to revert my system to SMB1. But maybe they didn’t look deep enough...I might try them again next time I have the time at home to give them a call... 

Hi @Subarctic Crawdaddy 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Please try adding write access for the Sonos user on your NAS drive to your music folder (and apply to all sub-folders and contained files). Although this shouldn’t be needed, I have seen it help in the past when all else fails. The errors reported in your diagnostics are “Access Denied”, though as indexing works it’s clearly not just the password that’s the issue. Even with write access enabled, Sonos will not alter your files or folders in any way.

I hope this helps.

Corry P - thank your reply. I actually had tried that once before, and I just tried it again. No success. It’s interesting that it’s an “Access Denied” problem. One of the troubleshooting steps I took was to log into the NAS, not as “Sonos” (my custom user), but with my administrator login. Since my administrator login has complete access to all files on the NAS, I’m not sure why it would have been denied access.

I have had a busy week, and haven’t been able to try much else. But my next step is going to be to move my iTunes files off the server to an external hard drive, erase the entire iTunes folder and delete the Sonos login, and then build the folder from scratch and re-create the login. I hope to be able to try this sometime this week.

If there’s a simpler step to try before that, I’m open to suggestions. 

Hi @Subarctic Crawdaddy 

I would recommend instead just copying a single album folder to a new folder on the NAS and pointing Sonos to that new folder - the test would be the same as what you described, but much quicker and simpler to achieve.

Failing that, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to perhaps trawl your NAS settings for something none of us have thought of yet.

I hope this helps.

Okay…this just gets weirder and weirder. 

I do plan to try the “single album/single folder” idea--just haven’t had the time. But today, I decided to delete and re-add the library one more time. I didn't do that after adding read/write access, and thought it might make a difference.

This time, when I tried to add the library, I was able to enter my login credentials, and then the library started to index, as it always has. But then I got an error that I have never seen before:

So...this time, I didn’t even get as far as I got before, when the library indexed but then I got error codes while trying to play from it.

I know the library exists and that it’s still in the same place--I can see it on my NAS and it’s still working fine when playing from my iMac (so at least I can still rock out on my iMac’s speakers. Sigh.)

No idea what changed. The only thing I can think of is that I ran a scrub on my NAS for periodic maintenance today and that my computer is currently backing up to my Time Machine on the NAS. But can’t see how either of those could make a difference, given that I can still play the library on the iMac. I also downloaded music today from the library to my iPhone--Sonos is the only point of failure.

I will hopefully have time this weekend to create a new, single album folder and give that a shot.

I have also been in touch with Sonos tech support, after my earlier interaction where I wasn't called back, I received a check-in email. I wrote back, explaining what’s going on, but have not gotten a response yet. 

Check to see if your NAS changed your SMB settings.

Your desktop being able to see the files makes no difference, since the Sonos is reaching out from the speakers, not from your desktop. If you’re running S1 on your Sonos, then your NAS must be running SMB v1 and NTML 1. 

It has been known in the past for firmware updates to the NAS to alter these settings. 

I don’t think that they’ve changed...I’m running S2, so SMB1 isn’t required. My max is set at SMB3 and the min is set at SMB2. Nothing else looks different to me. Is there anything else I should check?