Restrict access to certain zones

I think it's time Sonos got moving on this one! Surely some of the things we've suggested aren't that difficult to implement, and won't effect usability all that much.

I think it's time Sonos got moving on this one! Surely some of the things we've suggested aren't that difficult to implement, and won't effect usability all that much.

The use case is that my kid has a controller, tries to increase the volume in his own room but does not realize that he is increasing the volume in dad's workshop. It would be cool if I could say : This is a kid controller, please restrict this controller so it only plays this subset of tracks (exclude dad's 1970's punk bands) and controls only the music/volume in this room

In my own self interest, restricting to a subset of music would be nice but I'll be honest that if restricting controller access to specific zones was the initial new feature introduced for the sake of this feature request getting here sooner than later I am all for it. Subset of library access as phase 2 feature would be fine by me.

Am I missing something? Anyone on the network can download an app and control the zones? This seems odd. What would it take for some visiting kids to come in with their smartphones, download a sonos app, if they don't have it already, and connect to my Sonos? Currently, it looks like all I have to do is install app, press button on any Sonos device, and now I am connected. With access to everything. Some sort of security feature would be very useful. It certainly does not need to be default, but locking down a zone or whole setup should be an option.

Thinking about it a little more... if I'm in a dorm situation with shared network access. I have my own room, with my own setup. It seems all someone has to do is press the button when they are in my room, and they can now control my zone from anywhere. Don't get me wrong... I love the easy setup. But once it's setup, it would be nice to lock it down. Unless I've missed something?

From looking at the forums, various versions of this 'parental/owner control' request have been around since 2005, which doesn't bode well for Sonos' development priorities. Anyway... My particular 'use cases' are child-related. I'm am swelling Sonos' coffers with a house-wide system including Play:3's in my kids' rooms and there are a couple of software improvements I'd like to see based on my day-to-day use; 1. ability to lock out zones based on time of day, so I can't accidently switch on music to my 8mth old at 2am (though a pin override is needed for when I *do* need to calm my baby with Bach at 2am). 2. Limit volume in zones, so my older children (or occasional house-sitters) can't bother my neighbours when I'm not around. Perhaps the Google Nexus Q 2 will have these features...Google usually get there in the end...

This thread addresses exactly what I am missing with the Sonos system. We are using 8 Sonos devices in a business house / private appartment environment. We also have a guest house that uses the same Wifi environment. The easy to use concept of the Sonos system is just perfect for this (complicated?) environment. All the scenarios mentioned before are valid for us: 3 boys fighting for the currently playing song, alarms that go off Sunday morning at 5, AC/DC sound in the office during a customer meeting and a guest who is using the Sonos device in the guest appartment and (by error) turns on our Sonos in our private appartment. Why is Sonos Corp. not responding to these requests? Some basic security functions are absolutely needed for this product set as there are customers who are willing to place Sonos devices in all places. I would explect to get a product vision from Sonos. Otherwise customers like us would walk away from this beautiful product. As the underlying system seems to be a linux type of OS why couldn't be added a user / group concept and a simple restriction concept on the different Sonos objects (like players). I do not think that this would be too complicated. By default all these security mechanisms could be turned off to achieve the best customer experience in the consumer market. I would be happy to get a solution of that so that we could keep on buying Sonos controllers. Frank Ihrringer, Switzerland (frank.ihringer@serwise.com)

Hi all, first of all: A Happy New Year to all of you and especially the Sonos team! I wouldn't trash my Sonos system having not the "restriction" function, but like the other fans requesting this feature I have the need for it. I'm a Daddy of four, and currently Sonos is in place in living room, as a mobile Play 3, and in one of my kids room. But I avoided to give an RC option to my boy to keep myself save... As I'd like to extend the system to other kids rooms and the guest room as well the feature becomes more and more important to me. I really do understand if Sonos likes to implement a complete new security system. That would not be done by just letting a zone disappear in the Sonos app as it still would be accessible by direct talk to the IP address. But that needs a lot more knowledge and action and I love this opportunity. But if you're not a nerd or technically interested, it's enough to just be able to hide different zones in the app. Best regards to you all, Ralph.

Just wanted to voice my strong agreement with all the sensible suggestions in this topic. I set up my brand new Sonos system last week. While I am generally very happy so far, I am frankly shocked that it seems that anyone with brief physical access to any of the components can immediately gain complete and unrestricted access to the entire system through their own phone or tablet just by pressing the connect button on that component. And even for people you want to have access, there seems to be no way to make that access restricted (or subsequently withdraw the access entirely). In addition to the many excellent proposals by other posters (e.g., party mode, limited access for certain controllers (one room only) etc.), I would add that there should be an option to require a password each time an additional controller is added to the system, and it should be possible to delete/restrict the access of previously added controllers using the "My Account - Products" menu when signed in on the Sonos website. These should all be easy software updates for Sonos to make.