Skip to main content
switters
Avid Contributor I
April 14, 2016
Answered

Severe battery drain with Sonos app in iOS

  • April 14, 2016
  • 125 replies
  • 19523 views
I am seeing very significant battery drain on iOS when using Sonos app. This morning I just used the app for about an hour to play music, and the battery usage report shows that Sonos has consumed 47% of the battery usage in the last 24 hours. This is a trend I've noticed a lot recently. What can I do?

    This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.
    Best answer by Ryan S
    Thanks for the details guys. We've been looking into iOS battery usage and so far it's all seemed pretty normal. The biggest drain on the battery that Sonos uses comes in two pieces, first off, the app is still going to try and keep alive access to your players while you're on a wireless network, which, even in background mode, will use a bit of the battery. The second piece, is that when you're using the iOS Lock Screen controls on Sonos, the app is "playing" a silent track on the phone. This is the only way to have a non-media app take control over the lock screen in iOS.

    If you think your system is seeing an unusually high amount of battery usage, we're happy to take a look, and I'd encourage you to give us a call on our support line.

    125 replies

    Show previous replies
    BMF
    BMF
    Prodigy III
    January 12, 2017
    Am also seeing this, I have not been using the Sonos App today to play any music in the background and it is reporting as using 11% of battery with 3.3hours of background use.

    I did add a Sub today and re tuned my Playbar, but that would have been in the 18 mins screen time.

    I have turned off the lock screen controls early in the week when I started seeing horrific battery life recently and when investigating it I realised is was the Sonos app... which totally tied in with getting my fist Sonos speaker.

    Turning off the screen lock controls certainly improved things, but it is still hogging the battery.

    Interestingly I spoke to a friend who also has just moved to Sonos and he is seeing no such issue on his iPhone 7. I am running a 7+
    Vaidas
    Vaidas
    Avid Contributor I
    January 12, 2017
    Hey,

    I using Iphone 6 iOS 10.0.1 version.
    Haven't noticed any battery issue with Sonos app, all good so far
    Living room : Sonos Playbar + Sub + 2xPlay1 (gen2) + BOOST
    BMF
    BMF
    Prodigy III
    January 12, 2017
    Here is the diagnostic report as requested by Sonos

    6991572

    All music has been streamed from Apple Music
    kurtatx
    kurtatx
    Trending Lyricist I
    January 13, 2017
    iPhone 7 Plus on the latest iOS. Seeing major drain from Sonos app. Very sad 😞. I turned off the system's ability to use the microphone in hopes that helps with the issue. I would hate to have to uninstall this app as my iPhone is my primary connection to Sonos.

    Diagnostic: 6996706
    "Radio should not be warm milk; it should be moonshine" - Dave Grohl
    acrophile
    Lyricist II
    January 14, 2017
    Same issue here, this is pretty ridiculous. I'm pretty new to Sonos and for the most part I really love it but there are a few things about how the product works and the overall stances the company takes that really make me scratch my head and wonder.
    Qwertz
    Lyricist II
    January 17, 2017
    Had the same problem on iphone 6s (IOS 10.2) and Sonos app 7.0.1.
    In Settings -> Sonos I disabled "Lock Screen Controls" and "On this Device" (I don't need this option) and this seems resolved an issue.
      kurtatx
      kurtatx
      Trending Lyricist I
      January 24, 2017
      Did an uninstall-reinstall and the issue seems to have fixed itself.
      "Radio should not be warm milk; it should be moonshine" - Dave Grohl
      bmb823
      Lyricist III
      February 24, 2017
      I'm seeing this as well. I'm on the iOS 10.3 Seed 3 public beta.

      Here's what my screen shows (in attachments).

      Diagnostic 7135684.
      Ryan S
      Ryan SAnswer
      Retired Sonos Staff
      March 29, 2017
      Thanks for the details guys. We've been looking into iOS battery usage and so far it's all seemed pretty normal. The biggest drain on the battery that Sonos uses comes in two pieces, first off, the app is still going to try and keep alive access to your players while you're on a wireless network, which, even in background mode, will use a bit of the battery. The second piece, is that when you're using the iOS Lock Screen controls on Sonos, the app is "playing" a silent track on the phone. This is the only way to have a non-media app take control over the lock screen in iOS.

      If you think your system is seeing an unusually high amount of battery usage, we're happy to take a look, and I'd encourage you to give us a call on our support line.
      Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
      Simeonsays
      Lyricist I
      April 17, 2017
      @Ryan S, it appears that the Sonos underestimates the issue. I have been using the controller app on my IPad and IPhone 5 and no issues there. However on my IPhone 7 there is a massive energy drain. Please look into this, because this definitely ruins the sonos experience....
      Show more replies
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement