Google Wifi and iOS Controller

  • 10 December 2016
  • 13 replies
  • 3287 views

Hello.

Today I swapped out my netgear router for a new Google Wifi system. I kept the network name the same. Every other network device in the house worked correctly with no changes. The Sonos controller on my mac works fine, as does my old touchscreen sonos controller, and so does the Sonos App on my android phone. However, none of my Ios devices (ipad or iphoe) work. It can not find the system and when I hit the buttons for it to connect it doesn't do anything. The android device found the system immediately with no issues. It feels like this is an Ios issue and not a sonos network issue, but looking for help. Thanks.

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13 replies

I had a similar issue, just switched over to google fiber from a different ISP. new modem/router. I had to go to my iOS device > settings > "forget This network." Then hard wired a SONOS speaker to the LAN Switch on your Primary router (maybe a secondary wifi point could work too). Connect the iOS device back to the wifi network and walk through any steps in the SONOS app. Seemed to work fine after that and I could remove the LAN connection.

On a similar note. Does anyone see any advantage in connecting a Sonos speaker via ethernet cord to a Google WiFi point (used to extend the wifi mesh). Could my Play5 connected to a secondary wifi point create the boost network for sonos and also act as a hard wire connection for my Google Wifi Point to extend the mesh network? Maybe I'm over thinking my setup. In theory I have my Play5 sitting next to the Google Wifi point and both have open LAN ports that are unused.
Does anyone see any advantage in connecting a Sonos speaker via ethernet cord to a Google WiFi point (used to extend the wifi mesh). Could my Play5 connected to a secondary wifi point create the boost network for sonos and also act as a hard wire connection for my Google Wifi Point to extend the mesh network? Maybe I'm over thinking my setup. In theory I have my Play5 sitting next to the Google Wifi point and both have open LAN ports that are unused.
It depends what other Sonos units you have and where they're located. Wiring a Sonos device will switch the system into SonosNet mode. Since the PLAY:5 is probably already talking to the local WiFi point it'll make little difference for it to be wired, nor for any other Sonos components which can get a good WiFi signal. Only if there are some Sonos devices a long way away -- or your WiFi is in heavy demand -- are you likely to get the best out of the SonosNet mesh.
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Richard I had the same issue. My system has always been hooked up directly to the internet through a Sonos Bridge that was plugged into a Netgear Pro Switch, that was plugged into a Uverse Pace Gateway. Then the internet went out to the other devices via "SonosNet" (I have a Play 5 and two Connect:Amps). Then all of my devices, PCs, cell hones, tablets all connected to the same Netgear Switch via an Engenious wifi router. Set up this way all of my PCs , smartphones, and tablets could see Sonos and control Sonos.

Last week I replaces one component, the Engenous Router, with a Google Wifi mesh system (3 units). That was the only change. Suddenly no dice on detecting the Sonos system on any of my pcs, tablets, etc that was now connected to the Netgear Switch through the Google wifi. So I then completely disconnected and reconnected all of my sonos devices multiples of times. I could get the system set up but never through the Google Wifi. Any deice that connected via the Google Wifi could not see the Sonos system. I spent an hour on the phone with Google to no avail. I tried plugging the ethernet directly into the Unverse Gateway, directly into the Netgear Switch, and even directly into the Google Wifi but never could any device connected to the internet through the Google Wifi ever "see" the Sonos system so I could never activate the Sonos App.
Last week I replaces one component, the Engenous Router, with a Google Wifi mesh system (3 units). That was the only change. Suddenly no dice on detecting the Sonos system on any of my pcs, tablets, etc that was now connected to the Netgear Switch through the Google wifi. So I then completely disconnected and reconnected all of my sonos devices multiples of times. I could get the system set up but never through the Google Wifi. Any deice that connected via the Google Wifi could not see the Sonos system. I spent an hour on the phone with Google to no avail. I tried plugging the ethernet directly into the Unverse Gateway, directly into the Netgear Switch, and even directly into the Google Wifi but never could any device connected to the internet through the Google Wifi ever "see" the Sonos system so I could never activate the Sonos App.
At a guess the EnGenius 'router' was an access point. By default the Google WiFi is a router, so your Sonos and WiFi clients would have been on different IP subnets. This would prevent Sonos controllers from seeing the players.

I see no mention of the Google tech support suggesting putting the Google WiFi into bridge mode. It imposes certain restrictions on the Google WiFi mesh. If bridge mode is not viable for you, move the Netgear Pro Switch to a LAN port of the Google setup. In other words put all your network devices on the private side of the Google WiFi in-built router.
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Actually we did discuss putting it into bridge mode but he seemed extremely hesistant to have me do that as, according to him, that disables all of the mesh features in Google Wifi. Dispite that I asked that we give it a try. Before we started we reset the system to factory original with no devices connected at his suggestion (so as if they had never been hooked at up all). Then we hooked up the initial device and told the system we had no other Google deivces to hook up, again at the Google support guys suggestion. Then we changed it to bridge mode...and it changed itself back to the Automatic (preferred Google DNS). It did this three times and at that point I was late for an appointment and had to hang up. I am going to try it again when I am not so busy. The three options I have when all three units are hooked up are Automatic, ISP's DNS and Custom (which requires me to specify the Primary Server and Secondary Server).
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Oh and I stopped reading too soon...thanks for the idea of the Netgear change. Thats easy to try...I'll give it a shto and let you know. So at that point Google Wifi will go directly into the UVerse Router, then the Netgear Pro Switch will go into the Google Wifi, and then everything else would come off of the switch. I'll let you know.
Since bridge mode apparently disables the mesh features, just move all your network devices downstream of the Google WiFi as already suggested. Unless you can put your main router into modem/bridge mode everything will be in Double-NAT, but that needn't matter.

Oh and I stopped reading too soon
Crossed posts!
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It was an initial fail. Then I restarted all Sonos devices via reboot. Fail. Then I rebooted all Google Wifi devices and finally it may be working. I will check back in after a day or two of testing. Thanks guys. Simple fix that neither I nor the goof balls at Google Wifi support could come up with. I have to rewire a few things unfortunately now because my first Google wifi is no where near my switch so I have a 30 foot ethernet cord draped through my hallway. 🙂 Christmas music is playing however!
In fact you should have rebooted everything that was originally attached to the switch and main router, otherwise their IPs would have been incorrect for the Google WiFi subnet. Just as one has to do for any router change in fact.
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Yeah that makes sense. I'll take care of that. So far so good on Sonos related devices connecting appropriately so all thats left to do now is either buy another Google Wifi so the original unit can move back to the area where the router and switch is, or run a reverse ethernet back to the router and switch area from the first Google Wifi. One costs $129 and the other costs me time and annoyance. 🙂

The only thing I will point out to anyone reading this later is that I did plug the Sonos Bridge directly into the Google Wifi at one point and I could get no internet connection through it. Now I am essentially doing the same thing but going through the switch first. Maybe I didn't reboot it properly afterwards, but its working now so whatever! 🙂 Thanks again.
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I’m in a similar boat. I have the ancient Zone Bridge and Zone Player S5.

Previous setup:
- Cable Modem
- Netgear WNDR3700 router directly connected to cable modem
- Zone Bridge directly connected to router
- S5 wirelessly connected to home network

New setup:
- Cable modem
- TP-Link 8-port gigabit switch directly connected to cable modem
- Google WiFi mesh system, base unit directly connected to switch
- Zone Bridge directly connected to switch
- S5 cannot connect to new network

Any ideas? Will these old components still work with Google WiFi?

Gosh - it would be such a shame to just HAVE to upgrade. :D

Thanks!
Patrick
I don't think age of components is relevant. Try wiring the Google base to the modem, switch to the base unit, Bridge to the switch? At the moment the Bridge is on the WAN side of your network so I don't see how that could work
I'm having issue with this too, tried using the controller on WIndows 10 PC as well as my iPhone. I have a CONNECT wired to my router (Mikrotik), and Google mesh wifi with 3 APs, one of which is wired to the same router as the CONNECT. I managed to get the CONNECT working via ethernet. Do I need to also wire my PLAY3 to ethernet to set it up?

So far trying to set it up over Wifi fails form the PC or iPhone controller, and I want it to stream via Wifi… The controllers never see the PLAY3 when I hit the button to trigger discovery... The problem may be the PLAY3 is trying to use an old wifi network I had prior to the Google APs.