App Performance, or lack of!

When your phone (the app is just a remote) cannot reach the system, it’s usually a network problem. 

Are you asking for help, or just venting your frustration with your network setup, @Drallen ?

A bit of both! I’ve noted my issue with the app is not unique. I’ve attempted to implement some of the suggested fixes on this platform…to little effect. Unless somebody has something new to suggest then take it as a rant!

Rant aside, the ‘discovery’ of the Sonos products by the Sonos controller App can sometimes be a slightly complex area to explore, but briefly… 

SSDP (the UPnP simple service discovery protocol) is used to initially discover the Sonos players and is done via multicasting via UDP to 239.255.255.250:1900 and, for good measure, broadcasting to 255.255.255.255:1900. 

Both the Sonos players and controllers must share the same network subnet. However if the Sonos devices are connecting to multiple access points, the recommendations (from myself) are that they be set to the same WiFi channel and channel-width. This is for optimum performance particularly in groups and for some reason with some (not all) mesh-based WiFi systems, it appears some will work okay with Sonos, but others may not, particularly if the satellites/AP’s are perhaps auto-selecting their own WiFi channels. I’ve seen some people report issues with Google ‘nest’ mesh WiFi, for example, although others will occasionally say it works for their ‘small’ Sonos setup.

What is certainly not supported though by Sonos, are wireless range extenders, as some can mangle device MAC addresses and EoP (powerline) adapters.. so if you are using those type of wireless access points, to extend the wireless network coverage, then that may cause such intermittent device discovery issues by the Sonos Controller App.

Reserving the IP addresses in the routers DHCP reservation table can often help with device discovery, so consider making your Sonos IP addresses static. The router user-manual will normally assist you to do that in most cases.

Just to add aswell, it can sometimes be Apps/software running on the mobile ‘controller’ device that interfere with ‘device discovery’ Examples to perhaps consider are…

• VPN Client 
• Firewall software
• Antivirus software
• WiFi Calling/Dial assist
• Private network address (MAC address spoofing)
• Mobile data enabled for the Sonos App  

So consider disabling these features, even temporarily, just to see if that may fix your device ‘discovery’ issue.

Thank you for taking the time to deliver this comprehensive response. However nothing you’ve detailed works. I’m done with Sonos. Fabulous speakers rendered utterly useless by a dreadful app. 

Shame for you, but I’m sure someone will benefit. What kit do you have and where are you selling it? I expect it’ll be priced quite low as it’s “utterly useless”? 

3 x Sonos Play 1, with stands. Appearing at a nearby charity shop soon.
 

It's not the app. It's your network.

I don’t accept the “it`s not the App, it`s your network” explanation… whilst I do accept that it`s important to set it up properly, there are still issues which are most certainly due to the App.

I have a network setup using UniFi kit and it has been solid for years. Sonos has also performed very well until recently.

Without any changes to my network configuration, my Sonos App on my iPhone mini 12 has become extremely unreliable and slow. But it’s perfectly fine, at least for now, on my wife`s App on her iPhone 12.

Sonos units all have their IP`s set to static and there are no conflicts.

All Sonos units are on same Wi-Fi SSID.

Wi-Fi channels are clear and show very little interference.

Sonos controller on Mac mini which is wired in, has no issues nor lag whatsoever.

The network configuration has remained unchanged for two years now… the only thing which has changed is updates to the Sonos S2 App on my phone, and it`s gone downhill from there.

Couldn’t agree more. I’ve been operating my Sonos system for years, and throughout the App’s performance has been adequate. However of late the it’s been a barrier to listening to music! Definitely not my network. And any exploration of this platform and Apple’s Sonos App Review history makes that abundantly clear!