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New Windows 11 refuses Sonos access to Music Library

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
November 27, 2022
33 replies
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I have a new HP Windows 11 PC that replaced my old Windows 10 PC. The new PC “refuses” Sonos 1 Controller access to my Music Library. The old PC, when put back on network, still allows access. I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support, also with HP support, Norton antivirus support and Microsoft support, all without success. We have uninstalled and reinstalled the Sonos app on my PC more than once, have changed Norton traffic rules, blocked firewalls, uninstalled Norton, made sure Sonos has all permissions, checked SMB, used the InPlace file to essentially reinstall Windows 11, etc. Sonos has assured me that the Sonos 1 Controller is compatible with Windows 11, but all other tech support point to Sonos being the problem. Am I the only the one experiencing this problem? If not, what solution have others found other than the unsuccessful manipulations mentioned above.

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Best answer by Kirk D

Problem resolved today with very helpful and competent Level 3 Sonos tech support.

The problem was not my Sonos using the 5 GHz router band since I have a Sonos Connect and that essentially creates its own WiFi channel for access to the system or something like that.

The problem was not related to broken Windows file sharing, so no registry changes were necessary.

I have Norton 360 as my anti-virus app. That was not the total issue as uninstalling it as I had done previously did not solve the problem, so it had been already been reinstalled. But it was a contributing factor.

Sonos was not getting a good IP address when trying to resolve the computer name so as a workaround the tech added my Music Library using the IP address. The name of the shared folder was Music so the path we added was \\192.168.1.19\Music. To make sure this doesn't break at the next DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) lease renewal [I own, not lease, my router] we reserved the IP address of the computer in my Arris router.
The second thing we did was open port 3445 for local traffic in the Norton firewall. Sonos sometimes uses this port for file sharing.

The Level 3 tech, Mike, was kind enough to send me the steps he took, as above in bold, but he emphasized that not everyone with the same problem necessarily has the same solution. He also indicated that replacing to router with a new could cause the same or similar problem. So for those with this problem, you might try the above steps or mention them at your Level 1 tech support call to maybe shortcut the repeated, ineffective and time-consuming steps that wasted a lot of my time. Or press Level 1 to elevate the support to a higher level sooner than I was able to do. The Level 1 steps taken above were well above my computer competency (and maybe above Level 3 tech support), so the above solution is not something I can elaborate on further.

I appreciate the Sonos Community members’ suggestions in response to my initial post.

So far I am enjoying Windows 11 and see no need to revert to Windows 10. Converting to a new computer with a new Windows OS has always been traumatic for me because of the hassle resolving issues and conflicts with the apps I regularly use. But when everything eventually settles into place, I figure I am good for another 8-10 years.

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ORH69

Lyricist I

I can connect to a folder I made on my laptop, connected to the network. I transferred some music . flac files - and they are found by sonos.

What I find strange is that it has worked for years, also on win11. I ran it since it first arrived. The sudden loss of connection - without any changes beeing made - makes me think one of 3 things - win11 update - sonos software update or NAS firmware update. I don’t know.

Can see on this website, that there are others with problems connecting to NAS-drives so perhaps a sonos controller issue...

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Kirk DAuthor

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I updated to Win11 22H2 as soon as I got the PC, so I did not have chance to check access to the Music Folder before the update. That could be the problem, but Microsoft tech support did not have any insight into that possibility, putting it back on Sonos to fix the problem.

Ken_Griffiths

Maybe see if the things mentioned in this link will assist to fix the share…

Windows 11 File Sharing Broken?

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Kirk DAuthor

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Thanks for that, Ken. Interesting. That was not done by the Microsoft tech support, although they did create a restore point in case something went wrong after installing the In-Place file, which was supposed to correct any corrupt files or settings. I am hesitant to make registry changes myself, but I will check with Microsoft support directly to see what they think about those changes. One of add music library screen in Sonos asked for username and password if required, but it was not clear when it would be required.

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks for that, Ken. Interesting. That was not done by the Microsoft tech support, although they did create a restore point in case something went wrong after installing the In-Place file, which was supposed to correct any corrupt files or settings. I am hesitant to make registry changes myself, but I will check with Microsoft support directly to see what they think about those changes. One of add music library screen in Sonos asked for username and password if required, but it was not clear when it would be required.

I just came across it online, but I still use Windows 10 here, so can’t help to test if the fix works, but maybe someone will try it and post back.👍

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KRMart

Contributor I

Added my Sono’s system (Sono’s S1) to a new Dell computer which was already running Windows 11. No problem connecting to existing Sonos system (five rooms). Does not recognize Dell computer for connecting to music library. No problem running services such as Sirius XM.

Had no problem connecting Sonos S1 to an HP computer music library running Windows 10.

Ken_Griffiths

Added my Sono’s system (Sono’s S1) to a new Dell computer which was already running Windows 11. No problem connecting to existing Sonos system (five rooms). Does not recognize Dell computer for connecting to music library. No problem running services such as Sirius XM.

Had no problem connecting Sonos S1 to an HP computer music library running Windows 10.

If you’re referring to a new library held on the Dell PC then you will need to enable SMB-1 protocol on that PC and share the folder. There’s information about enabling SMB-1 if you search for it via Google.

You will also need to ensure the PC’s netbios name (if using) is no longer than 15 characters with no special characters included.

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Kirk DAuthor

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My problem is the same as KRMart except that my PC is an HP. The setup did not allow naming the NetBios longer than 15 letters and no special characters were allowed either. SMB-1 is enabled. Network is set to Private. All permissions for Sonos access have been granted. Norton 360 has been ruled out as the cause because the problem persisted even when Norton was uninstalled. And as already mentioned, Microsoft also did not have an answer. Somewhat reassuring that I am not the only one with this problem, but frustrating that Sonos does not have a ready solution since the problem is obviously not unique to me. I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support with remote access, which was then elevated to their level 2 tech and I am awaiting level 3 tech assistance, scheduled soon.

Ken_Griffiths

My problem is the same as KRMart except that my PC is an HP. The setup did not allow naming the NetBios longer than 15 letters and no special characters were allowed either. SMB-1 is enabled. Network is set to Private. All permissions for Sonos access have been granted. Norton 360 has been ruled out as the cause because the problem persisted even when Norton was uninstalled. And as already mentioned, Microsoft also did not have an answer. Somewhat reassuring that I am not the only one with this problem, but frustrating that Sonos does not have a ready solution since the problem is obviously not unique to me. I have spent many hours with Sonos tech support with remote access, which was then elevated to their level 2 tech and I am awaiting level 3 tech assistance, scheduled soon.

Is it perhaps a case you need to have a secure client for Microsoft Networks and therefore have a username and password to logon to the PC …and then use those credentials for the share, perhaps🤔? Maybe worth trying that and see if it works for you.

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Kirk DAuthor

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Ken, I am not exactly sure how to do that, but that will be on my list of questions for the level 3 tech that I am supposed to talk to soon. Not sure if it is related, but I have no problem accessing other Sonos functions/services on my Connect and Play 5 speakers, just unable to access my music folder on my Win11 PC.

I wondered if it could be that Sonos is trying to connect via the 5 GHz setting on my router, something that Sonos did not notice until I pointed that out to the level 2 tech. It is possible, maybe likely, that the Sonos 1 Controller may not work with 5 GHz. So I went into my router settings. Band steering had been disabled for the 2.4 GHz band, so I enabled it and tried the current channel 11, then 6 and 1, but with no success. I tried all three channels with band steering disabled and with the same result. In some cases Sonos could not find my PC, in most cases the PC refused Sonos access. There might be more along these lines that could be done with the router settings to make sure that Sonos only connects to 2.4. We’ll see what Sonos level 3 support thinks about that.

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