The following troubleshooting is for any Mac running OS X. This includes the iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
To share with other computers, simply turn on the service you want to use in Sharing preference (in System Preferences), then use the matching client software to connect to your Mac from the other computer. In the case of Sonos, we would want to use Windows File Sharing or SMB. To share your music library with Sonos, we will first need to enable file sharing and Windows File Sharing (SMB). You can do so by following the steps below:
- Select Apple logo -> System Preferences -> Sharing.
- Make sure to put a check mark for File Sharing so that it is enabled.
- Click on File Sharing so it is highlighted and click on Options on the right.
- Make sure to enable Share Files and Folders using SMB (Windows) in the window that opens up..
- Open up the Sonos Desktop Controller on your Mac and select Manage -> Music Library Settings.
- Click the + (plus) button at the bottom of the window and follow the on-screen instructions.
By far the most common problem with sharing from a Mac using SMB is the Mac’s computer name. SMB requires that the computer name is no more than 15 characters, with no special characters or spaces. Windows does not allow you to create a computer name that is over 15 characters and does not allow any special characters in the name.
A typical error when the computer name is too long:
You can find your computer name by selecting Apple logo -> System Preferences -> Sharing. The name will be listed at the top of the window.
When the Mac’s computer name is longer than 15 characters, the Mac assigns itself a different name which can be found under System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> WINS tab.
The computer’s name, found under Sharing, should match the NetBIOS name. If the NetBIOS name of your computer is similar to what is pictured above, the Mac’s computer name is most likely too long and would need to be re-named to have no more than 15 characters. Anytime the computer name is changed, the computer must be to be restarted for the change to take effect.
Once you re-name the computer under the Sharing window found under System Preferences, and the computer is restarted, the NetBIOS name should match the computer name. Keep in mind that you just need to overwrite the name where it says Computer Name. You do not need to click on the Edit button.
System Preferences -> Sharing:
System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> WINS tab:
Restart your Mac. Once it boots back up, attempt adding the music share to Sonos again.
If you are still having issues sharing from your Mac, please try the steps on the Ask page linked below:
https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/manually_sharing_your_music_on_your_mac