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Forstal
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021
Answered

Why doesn't the MacOS S2 controller see my Arc?

  • January 13, 2021
  • 19 replies
  • 268 views

I have a full Arc SL home theater up and working just fine (except for that little part about Atmos...), and the S2 app is running on my iOS devices just as fine. I installed the MacOS version of S2, and it doesn’t see the Arc. I get the following message:

Not connected

Your Sonos product was not found. If your product is a long way from your router, you may need to try moving it closer.

Please select “Try again.”

For information about firewall configuration and other potential network problems, go to…” etc.

 

None of that applies to this install. The Arc is working well, and its farther away from the router than my desktop iMac, which is about 20 feet away from the Arc. This same desktop had no trouble working with a prior Playbar, using the classic (pre “S1”) Sonos controller app.

 

I’ve searched and read all the articles that might apply to this situation, and there’s no advice for this specific dialog box.

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Best answer by Forstal

Further progress:

 

I found that the dialog window I was looking for was actually opening the whole time, but over half of it is immediately obscured by the Sonos window upon launch. There is a Deny button but no Allow button - instead it I have a “Open Security & Privacy” button. Doing that merely takes me to the Accessibility pane, with no further instructions. I added the thing to the whitelist in that pane and made sure the box was checked. I went to the Firewall and found no duplicate Sonos icon in the whitelist there. The apps launches like usual and still behaves the same way - it can’t see my Arc.

 

A final thought occurred to me: my older computer is actually running Catalina, whereas the main system is running Big Sur. What OS do you have installed on each of your three working Macs? Perhaps Big Sur is the issue here.

19 replies

Airgetlam
Airgetlam
January 13, 2021

Any chance you’re running a network extender, or a mesh network? It’s entirely possible the two devices are on separate subsets. 

Bruce
ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

No, this is strictly a single router, no extenders. But you make a good point, that will probably help someone else.

Airgetlam
Airgetlam
January 13, 2021

Hmmm. Can I say ‘wrong answer, please try again’? ;)

That does make it more complex, to be sure. Does the Arc show up...oh, you said it did on an iOS device. Even odder.

First thing would of course to update to the software released this morning, and see if that makes a difference, but my confidence in that solving it is low. 

I’d recommend that you submit a diagnostic from both devices, and then call Sonos and have them compare the two. I would hope that they would reveal what the difference between the two ‘connections’ is. 

 

Bruce
ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

I’ll have to download a complete new version of the program then, because this one goes directly to “new system or existing?” when I open it, and all the menu items are greyed out.

ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

And I wish they’d get the S2 program certified by Apple so I didn’t have to deal with all the security warnings. Then again, maybe Apple won’t certify it, which concerns me.

Airgetlam
Airgetlam
January 13, 2021

Absolutely nothing wrong with downloading a new version and installing it. There is essentially no data stored on the controller, it is all stored on the computer in the speaker(s).

Bruce
ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

I didn’t mean to sound like I had a problem with the download. Its just the process reminds me that Sonos is working outside the walled garden for some reason. I just looked on the app store and all the official Sonos apps seem to be gone now, where S1 was still there just last week.

Airgetlam
Airgetlam
January 13, 2021

Honestly don’t know, since they work within the garden for the iOS controller. My guess would be it’s more effort, for something that Sonos is reducing emphasis on, but who knows. 

Bruce
ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

I thought I might have had a solution when I found out the Sonos was plugged into a switched outlet on my power center, but I moved it to an always-on socket and the issue persists. This is odd.

ForstalAuthor
Collaborator II
January 13, 2021

This is frustrating: I spent quite a bit of time on a chat with Sonos. There appears to be no reason at all why the S2 app will not work. My system report for the iOS app shows no flaws, and I have my firewall set properly on the iMac. Of course the S2 app is stalled at “Not connected” so there’s no way to do a diagnostic there. I guess S2 isn’t really ready for prime time.

 

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