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Why is there no password protection on Sono's Soundbar?


The kids can control our tv through their playstation, and sometimes do so by accident even.
We have 1 network and don't plan on getting an extra one just because of a super basic feature which should be a very fundamental thing...

I was planning on buying all the extra speakers, surround sound and subwoofer too, but no chance now.

It's 2020, and like many other people are saying also, even coffee machines have password protection on wifi's...

Interesting to see that this basic request has been an issue for hundreds of people using Sonos hardware I've seen on here alone, beyond 2006 ! Sono's make a lot of money.. please listen to your consumers in future. It really isn't much to ask.
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Best answer by melvimbe 7 October 2019, 17:58

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Just set up a Guest network and banish the kids' devices to that, then change the main wifi password so they can't get to your Sonos devices any more.

Adding device passwords would be a gigantic pita for Sonos and their support folks - people will forget them, so there will be a reset-password feature which duh smart kids will know how to use as well.

Secure your network instead - always good advice. You could also use a DNS service to block their network/devices from "undesirable" sites while you are at it.
Just...

no sorry gotta stop you there.

This is not my responsibility to add basic security to super expensive hardware which doesn't care about it's consumers. If it were wired and not network like the old days, they don't need to care about this, but being able to control from anyone who accesses your network is about as ridiculous as doing your banking on the airport time schedule screen.

Maybe it's not a problem for you, but for literally 1000s of other people, it is a serious issue, and one that many parents have needed to get rid of their sono's systems because of. A basic password would not cause problems for super Rich Sono's at all, and if people forget their passwords THAT is their fault, not Sono's.

This is almost as bad as that Alexa nonsense. We are going AWAY from privacy, and into this large open field of zero security. I would suggest something far more in depth than a basic password anyway, including only controllers assigned to the application are allowed to change the volume too.

Not acceptable.
Further to this, it's not about kids trying to hack on intentionally change volumes.

One of the kids on our house is on his playstation, which is on our network, and he puts on a song, and somehow he manages to play that song directly to the Sono's system, including turning up the volume. HOW ANNOYING!

Not only does this cancel the sound from whatever people are watching on the TV, but it also turns up the volume loud, whilst he's completely oblivious from doing so.

It's all good and well sound quality, but the security part of Sono's is non existent. I shouldn't have to worry about other people taking over my sound system. Only 1 person should ever need access to it, and that's the person using it.
The kids can control our tv through their playstation, and sometimes do so by accident even.
We have 1 network and don't plan on getting an extra one just because of a super basic feature which should be a very fundamental thing...


Are you wanting to prevent your kids from changing the volume? What are you kids doing that you want a password to prevent them from doing?

Wait, here you are...

Further to this, it's not about kids trying to hack on intentionally change volumes.

One of the kids on our house is on his playstation, which is on our network, and he puts on a song, and somehow he manages to play that song directly to the Sono's system, including turning up the volume. HOW ANNOYING!

Not only does this cancel the sound from whatever people are watching on the TV, but it also turns up the volume loud, whilst he's completely oblivious from doing so.


Can you clarify this? Is your kid using some sort of application on the playstation to play music directly on the playbar (assuming that's what you have)? Or is he playing the song, which is playing through the TV that the playbar is connected to. The latter seems more likely, but you mentioned people are watching the TV (same TV as the playbar is connected to?). If it's the former, why not remove the application from your playstation?
Userlevel 7
Hey dudechester

The Playbar is not a POS device (Point of Sale). It’s a speaker!

You have passwords to prevent others from accessing your network. I’d like to know what brand of wireless speaker is password protected once it’s connected to your network. It would be a PITA if every time you want to listen to audio one would have to enter a password. Are you kidding me 🤔

Also, what coffee machine requires you to enter a password to brew a cup of coffee? Even if you can control it via an app once logged in the app is always open to the owner.

Your comment "We have 1 network and don't plan on getting an extra one" suggests that you have very little understanding of your home network and how it operates. There is no cost associated with a Guest Network and once setup it’s just there…use it or not. Unless you log off your network every time you cease using a Wi-Fi enabled device you would never have to decide which network to connect to; as 99.9% of devices remember the last connection.

IMO you have three (3) choices:
  1. Familiarize yourself with network parental controls
  2. Create a guest network for the kids
  3. You be the Adult and not the Kids
After all…this is almost 2020!
There is no app for playstation.

When he's listening to music, he said there is 1 volume for sound on his playstation and another for family volume which controls the TV downstairs.

  1. Parental controls don't have any relevance to stopping people using volume control
  2. Shouldn't have to make special networks for other people to use.
  3. Irrelevant.
You're in a minority, as thousands upon thousands of forums across the internet are requesting basic password security. Not sure what you're talking about using a password to login every time.:S

In short, the speaker should only be controllable via people who use the application or remote controls which have been assigned to the speaker.
This is not the case however, because the playstation which doesn't have any app, can still control the volume of the System, and has nothing to do with it at all. It's nearly 2020 we should have simple password security to prevent this from happening.

It's also a very big household, many children living and many adults. We shouldn't be expected to make extra networks etc, when the only person who should be able to control the system is the one using it. APP/Controller
@dudechester This doesn't sound like a password/security issue to me. If I'm understanding you correctly, your playstation has the ability to control the volume of the TV it's connected to and the TV downstairs. The Beam (w/HDMI-ARC connection) is getting the command to raise the volume from the TV it's connected to, and has no way of knowing that the command ultimately came from some other source than your TV. If there was some sort of password on Sonos, it either wouldn't help in this situation, or would prevent you from using your TV remote to control the volume at all.

For this case, I would look into your Sony/Playstation setting and see if you can turn off this family volume setting. This doesn't sound like a feature you want to use. If it is desired, but you only want the adults to use it, then see if Sony has a password setting for that.

Another option would be to consider using an optical connection to your Beam instead of HDMI-ARC. In that setup, the Beam doesn't receive volume commands from the TV. Your TV remote will still work when the Beam is program to receive IR signals from the remote.

Edit: Out of curiosity, is your downstairs TV a Sony product? Or perhaps you have a second playstation connected?
Thanks for reasonable answer melvimbe, but the playstation doesnt't use a control beam which would effect the tv. It's in a completely different room at the opposite end of the house, so the volumes being controlled somehow through the console via the actual home network.

It's also happened when another kid has accidentally controlled the volume from his phone too in a completely different situation.

There's just no way of knowing whose controlling what, when or how.

Too many people sharing a nework renders this hardware useless.

Especially if you have a system setup in a student halls where everyones sharing 1 network, where you have no control over the administration of that network. You don't always have choices if you have someone else's network you share, and in the student union's cases where my son uses his one, his volume often changes too, and he's sure no one other than close friends even know he has a sound bar. Anyone all students use that network though.
Thanks for reasonable answer melvimbe, but the playstation doesnt't use a control beam which would effect the tv. It's in a completely different room at the opposite end of the house, so the volumes being controlled somehow through the console via the actual home network.

I don't know what you mean by 'control beam' in this context. I think it's important to understand what exactly is going on here rather than assume a password is going to fix the issue. From what you described, it does not sound as if the playstation controlled the Beam directly (I don't know how it could), but the playstation did control the TV that it's connected to...which wouldn't be effected by a Sonos password.



It's also happened when another kid has accidentally controlled the volume from his phone too in a completely different situation.


Yes, a different situation. Assuming the kid is yours and needs to be on the main network, not guest, does the phone have a Sonos app on it? Perhaps he/she was using airplay?

There's just no way of knowing whose controlling what, when or how.

Too many people sharing a nework renders this hardware useless.

Especially if you have a system setup in a student halls where everyones sharing 1 network, where you have no control over the administration of that network. You don't always have choices if you have someone else's network you share, and in the student union's cases where my son uses his one, his volume often changes too, and he's sure no one other than close friends even know he has a sound bar. Anyone all students use that network though.


It's actually extremely rare that a student network like your suggesting would allow Sonos speakers to connect, and certainly not the market Sonos is designed for. What's generally recommended around here is for people to use a travel router that will bridge the shared network to your own private network or to use a bluetooth speaker instead.

I'm not saying there can't be a case made for more password restrictions in Sonos, I'm just not sure these are the best cases. I know I certainly don't want to have to provide a password every time I change the volume via, TV remote, Sonos app or voice control.
I don't know why this is so complicated.

It should be a case of controllers in the room which change the volume of the tv, can change the volume of the tv/speaker.

NOTHING else should control the volume, apart from the phone application.

and for access to the phone application, you should require a password.
I don't know why this is so complicated.

It should be a case of controllers in the room which change the volume of the tv, can change the volume of the tv/speaker.


It's not complicated. I just don't think the volume change is occuring the way you think it is. As an experiment, disconnect your Beam from the TV, so that you're using your TV's speakers only. I would bet you would be able to control the volume of the TV speakers now, but not your Beam.

NOTHING else should control the volume, apart from the phone application.

and for access to the phone application, you should require a password.


What about applications like Spotify and Pandora that allow you to cast to Sonos speakers? What about airplay? I don't want to provide a password to use these features personally. I wouldn't care if password protection were optional.
I don't trust spotify and never heard of pandora. If Sono's allow anything other than the application to control volume, it's not right.
Ok, I give up.

Sonos reads all these posts so I'm sure they will take note of another request for more password protection. Unfortunately, I doubt it will resolve the issue whether they make a password related change or not, but you've made your point.
Great. This post was for Sono's to see anyway lol
I don't want lots of little "Just try..." or hacks.

but thanks for trying 😉
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I'm happy to pass along the request to the team for you @dudechester. The best suggestion for now, is a guest or separate wireless network for the kids (and or guests). That way you can set parental permissions such as website access and hours when it functions so there's no late night browsing.

That said, there are many ways to control the volume and other functions of Sonos speakers. Sonos speakers follow standard UPnP commands for many things, and we have an open API for developers to use to create smart home systems and design their own apps as well. Passwords can make it harder to use products that ultimately should be easy, however, we also believe in being able to use Sonos the way you want to, so a password isn't out of the question.

Just keep in mind that I can't comment on what's in development, or what might be done at some point in the future. As I said, I'll add your name to the request.
Thanks Ryan.

I'm clearly not alone, with thousands of other people asking the same things, so it's not an isolated incident for sure. I will hold off buying anything else Sono's until there are some better measures for controlling these things, but if/when this issue gets resolved, I'd look forwards to buying the other products too.

Thanks.
There is no app for playstation.

When he's listening to music, he said there is 1 volume for sound on his playstation and another for family volume which controls the TV downstairs.


Read the whole thread, but could've stopped there. This is not a Sonos problem and it will not be fixed by having a password to secure your system. The volume of your TV would change regardless of a Sonos being connected.

Looking at your replies, you have zero clue how any of this tech works, but have nonetheless decided that this password implementation will solve everything, flatout refusing even to diagnose your problem. You are also misrepresenting your case, I have seen the odd thread on this topic, but definitely not thousands of people screaming for it.

Anyway, it seems like you prefer to moan about a solution that may never come, instead of potentially having your issue fixed with very little effort. Good luck with your system.