Question

Play5 pair dropping out of group

  • 5 August 2017
  • 7 replies
  • 427 views

Hello
I have several sonos speakers (2 play1s set up as a pair, 2 Play5 gen 1 also set up as a pair and a connect amp). They are all directly connected to my network via ethernet cable (had a lot of problems with wi-fi dropping out). Since connecting ethernet cable directly, I had very few problems (for more then 1 year) but recently, I find that the play5 pair drops out of the group. Sometimes the controller even stops recognizing it, and the controller app prompts me to reconnect it.

Do you think a 'factory reset' will help? I have seen the warnings that data could be lost, but I do not have any data loaded on the speaker, and only use the system to playback spotify from the controller app.

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7 replies

First, and foremost, no, I don't particularly think a factory reset is what you should do. I'd start, at the very least, with just a simple power cycle. Unplug it for 5 minutes, then plug it back in. Then, next time (if) it drops off of the network, submit a system diagnostic, and post the number here, for the folks at Sonos to look at. There will likely be information in the log files that get submitted that would help them pin down what's going on.

And on further thought, I'm wondering if there's a possibility that they've picked up duplicate IP addresses during a software update or a power outage/surge. Try unplugging all of your speakers, then power cycle the router that they're connected to, and then plug the speakers back into the power one at a time, to give them time to get booted up fully. If you know how, it might be a perfect time to actually reserve address space for them on your router, depending on how familiar you are with your router. Worth the half an hour's effort (max, including finding the manual for the router), in my opinion.

Secondly, yes, there's data being stored on your speaker. Pretty much everything that you're currently thinking is stored on the Controller is actually on the speaker. Now, granted, if you were do factory reset (erase the memory on the speaker), in your case it would be able to repopulate all of the data from your other speakers, including playlists, room names, etc, but there's definitely data on it. But many people who read these boards don't have multiples of speakers, and consequently end up losing a lot of stuff, since it's not stored on the controller.

It wouldn't be the end of the world if you were to factory reset, in your particular situation, I just don't happen to think it's the solution to the issue.
Thanks Airgetlam for your quick and helpful response. I've tried your suggestion to power down the speakers/router and load them one by one, but the problem persists. I've just reserved the IP addresses on the router for all the sonos products. I'm hopeful, but not totally confident that this will solve the issue (fingers crossed).

Just in case, I've run a diagnostic: 7693277
One note. I have a sonos boost on the network also. Everything is connected via eithernet cable to the router, so I'm not sure the boost has any real function (if I understand right, it only creates a dedicated sonos wi-fi network)
Hmm, it will be interesting to see if reserving the IP addresses will help. I would think it would.

In the case of every speaker being wired to the router, I'd agree with you that the boost isn't serving any significant function at all, other than adding potential wifi interference to your normal router wifi. I'd think you could disconnect it without any issue.

Hope it all continues to work for you!
The problem persists after reserving the IP addresses.
Then we will need to wait for a Sonos rep to take a look at that diagnostic you submitted.
Hi Terraplana, thanks for reaching out. Looks like you already contacted us last most for the issue. Airgetlam, we appreciate your quick reply to Terraplana as well.