Sonos and Mac OS 10.15 Catalina

Recent posts in this thread suggest “the problem is fixed”, but I’m not sure which problem people are referring to. Need some help here pls.

I am running the current version of Sonos and macOS software. I never had a problem, however, with getting Sonos to recognize my iTunes (now Music) library on my Mac. This was true even before the latest Catalina and Sonos bug-fix updates.

The problem I was seeing, and still am seeing, is that Sonos is unable to find, display and play my Imported Playlists from iTunes. Even with the latest bug-fix updates, my Imported Playlists still do not appear in the Sonos app. And yes, I have run the software updates, removed and re-added my music library within Sonos, turned all devices off and back on, etc.

So, from my perspective, the problem is not fixed. But again, I’m not sure that I am experiencing the same problem as others on this thread. Can anyone confirm whether they now are able to see iTunes Imported Playlists in the Sonos app?

Thank you, Sonus confirmed that the iTunes playlists problem was solved with 10.6: See below,

Hi Richard,

Yes, this does include iTunes playlists.


With best regards,

Marc M.
Sonos | Customer Care | Contact Us
Ask questions, find answers, and share your thoughts on the Sonos Community.

Yes, it should be resolved now. Generally a fix doesn’t get included in release notes if it doesn’t have broad enough attention, or  in some cases, when the software team decides to include it a little last minute. I suspect it was the second one this time around as they wanted to get it out to people before the holidays. 

This is the issue that should be fixed. When you create a music share using the Mac Sonos app, it’ll create the XML file needed so that imported playlists get indexed by Sonos. That XML file is also updated by the controller when it does a manual re-index from the Manage menu. You said you’ve already removed and re-added your share, which is all you should need to do. If you’re still having trouble, I’d suggest that maybe it’s a permissions issue, so check that the Sonos app is allowed at mentioned earlier in this thread. Other than that, it’d probably be best to give us a call and work with a technician to investigate further.

A note to pomm4tous:

if you manage to sort the iTunes playlists problem in Catalina with the advice given by Ryan S above, please post your success with the solution.

To Ryan S: I will try to contain my frustration. I called Sonos support twice today, spending nearly 2 hours on the phone with Sonos support staff. Both individuals seemed to be Level 1 support. They each used TeamViewer to probe my Mac, and to try to resolve the “missing imported playlists” problem.

Neither individual had heard of the problem. Neither knew how to fix it. Neither, IMHO, really understood the difference between a Sonos playlist and an imported playlist. Neither was willing to escalate my call to someone with more expertise on the topic. One said I need to subscribe to Apple Music to solve the problem. Both suggested I call Apple for further assistance.

So how do I get help resolving this? How do I reach a person within Sonos with knowledge on this topic? My case number is 0136 8722. Thank you.

That sounds frustration to be sure, let me check in on that case for you and see what I can do. I’ll PM you to follow up.

This is exactly the same level of support that I have had. Frustration all the way. If Ryan S takes it up maybe some resolution can be achieved.

my reference is 

Re: Sonos - Here to Help    [ ref:_00D1N2JMtd._5002KheHRK:ref ]

So according to this thread the problem has been fixed.

but the fix is not documented in the release notes (users are told to ignore this cause there are excuses)

But the sonos help staff have no knowledge of the problem and no knowledge of the supposed fix

but nobody here is saying that their Sonos, including playlists, podcasts, index updates, music library access etc etc works again with catalina

shame, used to be a good product. Now it’s junk. 

probably time for Sonos to just delete this thread and move on like nothing happened

I know Christmas has come and gone but has anything been resolved since the post of Ryan S seven days ago. I would like to think so!!

There’s currently a fix in Sonos version 10.6. The fix has the Sonos app create the music library.xml file for playlists that is needed for the Sonos app to read and import your playlists. 

If you wanted to try to do this manually, this video shows how to make the XML manually, however the Sonos app for Mac will now do this automatically when you create a music share, and when you update your music index. Your Sonos app would need permissions to write on the computer, so you may need to adjust permissions as well.

I’ll check on your ticket with the team to make sure it’s in the right hands, but as I mentioned above, this should be fixed now.