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BiggsyBoy
Contributor III
August 14, 2017
Question

Sonos "Friendly name" - can it be changed

  • August 14, 2017
  • 9 replies
  • 1348 views
Hi,
I have two PLAY:1 speakers that I control from the (pretty appalling) iOS app playing from my uPnP music server on the network.

However, I also have a large collection on a portable device that can stream directly to the speakers. The problem is that the Sonos announces themselves with their IP addresses so the portable device sees names such as "123.456.1.250 - Sonos PLAY:1" and "234.567.1.245- Sonos PLAY:1".
Since i don't carry my network address table around in my head its a bit hit and miss which one I connect to (the pair are also DHCP so there's a chance the address could change).

The friendly names are held, I believe, in an XML config file on each Sonos device. I can read the contents but can't change them.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
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    9 replies

    John B
    August 14, 2017
    Sorry can't help on that. I quite like the app, where my speakers announce themselves as 'Living Room', 'Kitchen' etc
    BiggsyBoyAuthor
    Contributor III
    August 14, 2017
    Hi,

    Thanks for the reply - yes I know what you mean with the names in the app and I've done the same on my Windows PC for other devices all of which, with the sole exception of the Sonos, allow you to give them a network-friendly name through a setup option on the device.

    Accordingly I have nice friendly names for my TVs, my audio streamers in the lounge and the kitchen, the XboxOne, main uPnP server etc etc. For the Sonos I'm stuck with "123.456.1.201 - Sonos PLAY:1". Seems a bit rubbish that this can't be changed to allow the speakers to be accessed easily from non-Sonos apps
    controlav
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    August 15, 2017
    I don't think enough people are interested in accessing the Sonos hardware direct from other UPnP clients, for obvious reasons, but most especially Groups. Unless you know which is the Coordinator, there isn't much point. The players do have friendly names, just grok the device xml file for it.
    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    BiggsyBoyAuthor
    Contributor III
    August 15, 2017
    I'm surprised there isn't more interest given the fairly useless app when music isn't stored locally.

    I've found the xml config file on the speaker, I just don't seem to be able to change it
    controlav
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    August 18, 2017
    I don't think many people share your opinion of the "fairly useless app". What exactly offends you so about it? I think that might be an easier problem to solve than trying to use a random UPnP client.
    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    BiggsyBoyAuthor
    Contributor III
    August 18, 2017
    It's simple - I have all my music on a Windows server. The app doesn't play nicely with that and on top of which it's visually very unappealing, and doesn't even remember playback position between uses. Tried rewinding?

    And "Random uPnP client"? - Astell & Kern are not some crappy vendor so £200 per unit buys proprietary use only? Can't AirPlay to it??

    I didn't want this to descend to a slanging match but I know what makes a usable app and what doesn't. I know how I want to listen to my music and for a £200 product the app and associated software just isn't anywhere near good enough.
    Smilja
    Smilja
    August 18, 2017
    A Double-click on the 'My Computer" icon on the desktop will open the File Explorer and you will see something like this:




    Right-click the icon of a Sonos player to rename the unit.
    »And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
    BiggsyBoyAuthor
    Contributor III
    August 20, 2017
    Hi,
    Renaming the Sonos in Windows doesn't affect how the Sonos presents itself to non-Windows devices. I think the config XML on the device needs to be updated so it can present it's 'Friendly Name' to any client using the speaker
    passopp
    passopp
    August 20, 2017
    Though the zone player's operating system is based on Linux it is not open source, so you won't be able to change the player's network identification ID without root access (meaning admin rights are required). Try to re-name the device in your router, it might be sufficient for certain use cases.
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