Libby - “unable to browse music”

Hi folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the Sonos community and for letting us know about your concern. Let me help you out with this.

I'd like to ask some questions to isolate the issue so we can create a path towards resolution.

1. Can you confirm that the book has been checked out? Do you still have the book checked out from your Libby App library or Libby website?
2. Can you play the content through the Libby App?
3. How do you play the book? Is it through browse/search/favorites? Did you receive any errors?
4. From the Libby App, can you try to return the book and check it back out? What happened?
5. Have you tried force closing the Sonos app and reopen, then browse again to see if Libby and Sonos are synced properly?
6. Have you tried removing and re-adding Libby in the Sonos app? Any improvements?

Let us know how you get on with the advice above. We’ll wait for your reply.

If you have any questions about this. We and the community are always here to help.

Hello and thanks for volunteering to help.  Let me try to answer all your questions from my point of view…

1. Yes the book(s) have been checked out as I can play them with out issue directly from the libby app
2. Yes per above
3. From the Sonos App I play content via Browse/music Services
4. Yes, and this does not work.  when I open the libby by overdrive service I get a screen that says “unable to browse music”
5. yes I have force closed the app and launched it again.  both my wife and I have tried this independently on both of our phones, and are having the same experience.
6. Yes I have remove and re-added the service...no improvement.

Additionally on one of our speakers we discovered that a libby book was paused.  We were able to play, rewind and pause with out issue.  When we tried to swap it out for a different book via libby, we got the “unable to browse music” error in the app.  We replaced the book with music via Spotify and then tried to relaunch Libby to replay a book, and now we can not play anything via libby.  It truly seems like a sync issue between Sonos and Libby as Libby on its own is working just fine.  And Libby on Sonos was working fine 2 days ago.  Help, my kids are getting restless they have grown up with Sonos and are Libby power users!  :)

Sean

Hi @Sbridgeo, thank you for your response and for letting us know that it's only on the Sonos app that you're getting the error unable to browse music on Libby by OverDrive music service.

Sonos is like remote control of your Libby by OverDrive music service. Libby pushes what you have in your account to be displayed on the Sonos app. 

Thanks for your patience while working through this. We really appreciate the time and effort you've spent doing all the troubleshooting steps, and it would be best for you to continue working with us over the phone to expedite the process. 

To further assist you on this, I recommend contacting our Sonos Customer Care support to remotely access your device and perform some tests on Libby music service to isolate the issue. 

If you need help with any other information, please feel free to reach out. The Sonos community is always here to help.

It has been over a week since my first post, and have had two conversations with Sonos Support, with no updates and no real support.  I am VERY DISAPPOINTED in the service I am receiving.  You would think after spending over $2000 in equipment, an issue would/could be resolved in a week.  Or at least there would be a little follow up.  Please Help!

It’s most likely due to a server side issue at Libby, so the folks at Sonos have little to no control over the engineering resources at Libby. The best they are likely to be able to do is merely pass on your concerns to someone at Libby. 

You may be better served by directing your comments directly to Libby, rather than Sonos. And yes, I know they told you to contact Sonos. But Libby likely uses a different server to service the Sonos connection, and it would be less ‘exposed’ to a normal CS person. 

Sonos wrote the API, Libby added the API to their server software, and maintains the data. All Sonos does is play what they are handed by the Libby server. And if that data is incorrect, there isn’t much that Sonos can do. 

The last comment was not helpful, as I have reached out to Libby, filed a case and actually got a call back saying they looked into it and believe it to be a Sonos problem.  Sonos on the other hand, I have posted on this message board and have called customer support and was told I would hear back and have heard anything.  Apparently they are too busy enjoying the $2000 I have spent on equipment.  I plan on calling back again today to follow up, however I would expect better.  That said if someone has some advice on who to speak with at Sonos that might be helpful please pass it along, as I’m not getting what I need out of my equipment. 

This is very disappointing and at this point I would be very unlikely to recommend Sonos product to friends and family as the company is not demonstrating that they stand by their products.

I’m sorry you felt as though the comment was unhelpful. 

Let me reframe the issue. Sonos is, effectively, a TV set for the ears. Like your TV set, they aren’t (with minor exceptions) responsible for the content they play. Just like Samsung, LG, Vizio etc isn’t responsible for the content on HBO. 

Sonos functions by pointing their ‘channel’ at someone else’s server stream. They don’t do any processing of that stream, they just play what they are handed. All streams use the exact same ‘type’ of stream to play, as defined in the Sonos API, which is installed by the streaming company on their servers. 

So, if there are any issues, unless it is on every stream on the Sonos system, it is most likely an issue with the server at the other end, since Sonos isn’t involved in maintaining that data. 

I’m not a huge fan of CS departments as a reliable source of server status, in my work experience, they are often either the last to be told, or the first to be informing the development team, but have to toe the line and say there isn’t a problem, and point the finger elsewhere. Either way, the CS folks are put in a bad way, and it just isn’t their fault. 

Yes, I’d agree that Sonos CS has had some issues over the last several months, as they released several, at least, of the community team, and perhaps of the CS team as well. But that doesn’t alter the way the software works, it just is frustrating. My recommendation is to press both sides, as it’s possible that Sonos has some inside contact at Libby who is less willing to just point the finger, and willing to look at the issue without prejudice. And in the meantime, in order to ensure the issue isn’t one in your local network, I would refresh it, by unplugging all my Sonos devices, then rebooting the router. When the router comes back up, plug back in the Sonos devices. But that’s just precautionary, I’m not convinced at all that it will resolve the issue, as I continue to consider it an issue with the way Libby is ‘sending’ data from their server that they have for Sonos. 

I’m having the same problem and am also trying to work with Sonos tech support on it. I’ve found them fairly responsive but so far all we’ve done is unplug / reset and that hasn’t worked.

Is this truly unfixed for everyone over the last 6 months?

I can listen to Libby on my headphones and usually do but I was so excited when it seemed like Sonos was going to work with it. Now I’m sad. :( 

I just began receiving this error again 3 days ago for seemingly no reason. When I posted initially, the issue resolved itself when I removed one of my several library cards within the Libby app. I actually took it down to just one library card, and then one-by-one added them back. Going to try that again and will update, but…might be worth trying.

Hi @wm4shellfish, thank you for your response. We’d appreciate it if you will update us if your Sonos system will work after you re-add them back. If you’re still having the same issue, please submit a diagnostic report from your Sonos system for us to check. Kindly include the confirmation number in your response. If you have any questions about this. We and the community are always here to help.