Considering leaving Sonos entirely?!

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T
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@Ken_Griffiths  You could even perhaps consider splitting the Orbi SSID into 2.4Ghz/5Ghz bands 

The orbi device that sonos team recommended me do not support bands splitting.

T
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@ratty

Nonsense. I only have around 16 devices in my system at the moment. Just now 13 devices / 7 rooms are grouped and playing FLAC fine.  

 

It is likely that those with advanced networking knowledge like you and Ken_Griffiths can fix the Sonos problem by tweaking their networks, but for normal people and standard networks this does not work well. A good product sold to the public should work plug and play.

Still, it's nice of you to offer support, at the end of the day it's not your fault.

Ken_Griffiths

You could even perhaps consider splitting the Orbi SSID into 2.4Ghz/5Ghz bands (with different SSID’s) and run all things Sonos-related on the 2.4Ghz band only. 

Unfortunately not possible on Orbi. 

https://kb.netgear.com/000062547/Can-I-choose-if-my-Orbi-router-broadcasts-separate-WiFi-networks-for-2-4GHz-and-5GHz

Ah right okay, but just to quickly say there is this link too that suggests it can be done, but I guess that it might need some further research…

https://quicklockapp.com/separate-ssids-for-2-4-ghz-and-5-ghz-on-netgear-orbi/

ratty

 

It is likely that those with advanced networking knowledge like you and Ken_Griffiths can fix the Sonos problem by tweaking their networks, but for normal people and standard networks this does not work well.

Not a lot of tweaking necessary really. I run on a standard ASUS ZenWiFi mesh. 2 nodes. Bands split onto separate SSIDs.

The Sonos system knows about both SSIDs, but I make sure only the home theatre units (Beams) can connect to the 2.4GHz SSID, by using a whitelist. The latter is really the only bit that counts as ‘tweaking’.

ratty

Ah right okay, but just to quickly say there is this link too that suggests it can be done, but I guess that it might need some further research…

https://quicklockapp.com/separate-ssids-for-2-4-ghz-and-5-ghz-on-netgear-orbi/

A Telnet session into the box?! Now that really counts as tweaking. 

T
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@ratty

Not a lot of tweaking necessary really. I run on a standard ASUS ZenWiFi mesh. 2 nodes. Bands split onto separate SSIDs.

The Sonos system knows about both SSIDs, but I make sure only the home theatre units (Beams) can connect to the 2.4GHz SSID, by using a whitelist. The latter is really the only bit that counts as ‘tweaking’.

 

So if i believe what you say, you don't need to put your network in AP mode with all others things like Ken-Griffiths needs to do.

T
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@Ken_Griffiths

So if i understand well then my orbi satellite will be use for the new acess point?

There are something that i don't understand. My isp already sold me a technicolor that make modem&router in the same unit (all in one built in). So i'm already in bridge mode between my technicolor (as a modem) to my orbi. 

So now i need to set a second bridge mode acess point?

 

Ken_Griffiths

 

So if i believe what you say, you don't need to put your network in AP mode with all others things like Ken-Griffiths needs to do.

Just to say @Thewizard2000, I don’t personally need to run my setup with the mesh WiFi in ‘Bridged AP’ mode, the system here will run with the mesh WiFi in ‘Router mode’ too (with the router in ‘modem mode’), or I can run all on SonosNet instead. My reasons for recommending it to you, is because it was mentioned by Staff in the thread I linked to earlier, with the instructions on how to switch the Orbi hubs to ‘bridged AP’ mode and clearly you have not yet ever tried that in the past two years of troubleshooting - so I see it as worth trying, not least to see if it sorts the problems you’ve been facing.

I’m surprised that the SonosNet setup (with one device only linked to the Orbi primary hub) didn't solve your issue - so perhaps see if a bridged setup with a third party router will sort it. "Nothing ventured”… and all that.

I did suggest earlier, splitting the WiFi bands into two, as that can often resolve some problems aswell a little further down the line, by keeping devices assigned to the one band only, but as that is seen as being not so easy to do with Orbi, perhaps leave that at this stage and see how things go with the different router …and if practicable wire the Orbi hubs you have now back to that router, or to a nearby adjacent switch. 

Here’s hoping that you can sort how to switch your setup and that everything goes onto work for you. Remember to use the same network subnet and WiFi SSID and to disable all the WiFi adapters on the main router, so all the Sonos products run on your Orbi WiFi only. No need to initially wire any Sonos products at switchover. Just get the router setup and sorted to begin with. 👍

T
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My orbi is already in bridge mode with my technicolor. If i want an acess point i beleive that i need to buy another router

Ken_Griffiths

@Ken_Griffiths

So if i understand well then my orbi satellite will be use for the new acess point?

There are something that i don't understand. My isp already sold me a technicolor that make modem&router in the same unit. So i'm already in bridge mode between my technicolor (as a modem) to my orbi. 

So now i need to set a second bridge mode acess point?

Your technicolour modem/router all-in-one device will become the main router - operating on the same network subnet as currently in use by the Orbi router - you may have to change that subnet in your router settings so that it is the same subnet/gateway. You can initially leave its WiFi adapters setup and have them broadcasting the same SSID/Password as your Orbi WiFi and ensure the routers DHCP server is running. Set the Orbi hubs up next in ‘bridged AP’ mode (as outlined in the earlier document-link) - you need to wire one, or more, Orbi hubs to the router, or nearby switch… these hubs, in bridged AP mode, will be taking over from your routers WiFi adapters, so when they are bridged successfully the routers WiFi adapters can then be switched off. 

After a successful setup, the technicolour device will be in charge as the main router in the network and the wired Orbi Hubs will simply become its WiFi adapters, which you can move out and extend the Wifi signal around your home, but one hub needs to remain wired - it is better if you can wire all/both (however many hubs you have) back to the main router/switch.

So, as nothing will have changed (same subnet/gateway/SSID’s etc.)  - all your products will simply connect back to this setup, as it quite literally mirrors your previous Orbi setup.

Hope the above outline helps you to sort out what you need to do… and just see if that works for you. There are other steps you will need to take, but that should give you a basic setup to get you started.

Ken_Griffiths

My orbi is already in bridge mode with my technicolor. If i want an acess point i beleive that i need to buy another router

I don’t think that’s the case, as your Orbi was clearly acting as the router on your network - didn’t you reserve the Sonos IP addresses in the DHCP reservation table in the Orbi’s configuration pages earlier in the thread? I am assuming of course that you’re not running two routers on the network and have ‘Double NAT’ in place? I’m guessing you mean you have ‘bridged’ your Technicolor modem/router previously instead, perhaps🤔?

T
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@Ken_Griffiths Thanks for the answer. Yes you true. My technicolor is bridged. 

It's difficult for me to give back the privilege to my technicolor to become the main router again since this router is of poor quality, and since I use orbi as a router my others devices have no problem. Comcast are cheap products and they are not stable with multiple devices to manage. In fact the one that have is design for 12 devices maximum if i remember. This is the main reason why I was using technicolor only as a modem.

 

In this case i think that i need to buy a second router but this is costly.

Ken_Griffiths

@Thewizard2000, 

Okay. Yes, sadly, some ISP provided routers can be very poor in some cases. If yours is as poor as you say, then it’s best just left as a modem. I would perhaps just stick with SonosNet, with one product wired to your Orbi router and just live that for now. If Orbi allows you to fix its WiFi channels and channel-width, then just use a non-overlapping channel that is different to the SonosNet channel in the App to reduce any interference. 

Maybe at some future date you could look to change your WiFi mesh system instead to perhaps something like the one that @ratty uses, which is an Asus ZenWifi mesh setup as apparently that is very configurable and I understand that it works well with Sonos.

ratty

@ratty

Not a lot of tweaking necessary really. I run on a standard ASUS ZenWiFi mesh. 2 nodes. Bands split onto separate SSIDs.

The Sonos system knows about both SSIDs, but I make sure only the home theatre units (Beams) can connect to the 2.4GHz SSID, by using a whitelist. The latter is really the only bit that counts as ‘tweaking’.

 

So if i believe what you say, you don't need to put your network in AP mode with all others things like Ken-Griffiths needs to do.

My ASUS setup is in bridge/AP mode, as I already have a gateway router (and separate DHCP server) for that subnet.

As I remarked before, TBH this question of AP-vs-router modes looks like a red herring in your case. You evidently have wireless issues. The wireless segment is the same, whether a mesh is in AP or router mode.

T
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@ratty 

I understand what you are telling me, however to say that all my problems are wireless related is really vague. Unless you have a more specific solution, I will continue to follow Ken's recommendations.

ratty

@ratty

I understand what you are telling me, however to say that all my problems are wireless related is really vague. Unless you have a more specific solution, I will continue to follow Ken's recommendations.

Vague? You apparently have wireless bandwidth issues. Back in this post, @Airgetlam already referred you to the Sonos article on dealing with wireless interference.

Ken_Griffiths

Thewizard2000,

Just to say, without any doubt, @ratty knows more about networking and the issues with Sonos, than myself. The answers though (after two years of various unsuccessful troubleshooting) is to perhaps try some things that you have not explored before, rather than simply going around in circles and see if you can find a permanent solution to the issues you are encountering.

You may of course have to look at changing some networking hardware along the way too, such as the router, or even the WiFi mesh setup and ensure that you have sufficient bandwidth for your needs. 

I think though, it’s worth taking things one step at a time to try to find the answers. 

T
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@Ken_Griffiths Just use the exact same IP subnet on the chosen router. The wireless network will be the same SSID/password too, so your WiFi devices will connect as they do now .. The wired devices need to connect back to the router, or to an unmanaged ‘primary’ switch off that router.. All will just continue to use the same LAN subnet as you have presently with your Orbi router.

I understand the idea of ​​using the same SSID and password for the two routers to communicate with each other. However how do I decide on which router I want to install a possible new device since they have the same name and are combined together.

ratty

@Ken_Griffiths Just use the exact same IP subnet on the chosen router. The wireless network will be the same SSID/password too, so your WiFi devices will connect as they do now .. The wired devices need to connect back to the router, or to an unmanaged ‘primary’ switch off that router.. All will just continue to use the same LAN subnet as you have presently with your Orbi router.

I understand the idea of ​​using the same SSID and password for the two routers to communicate with each other. However how do I decide on which router I want to install a possible new device since they have the same name and are combined together.

I confess I don’t understand where this is going. Two routers? I thought you had an Orbi mesh system. Could you please refresh our memories of what you currently have in place network-wise? (I tried looking for details but the search facility on this board is simply dreadful.)

T
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1

I bought a sonos 100 era 3 weeks ago. I contacted the company  because after 2 weeks it stopped connecting to my phone and the company led me to hours of calls to India where they tried to get me to adjust and service my modem at my cost for the speaker, while not considering all of my other electronics in the house that may get affected by this, emails to sales department and chats to no avail. My time had no value to them, but a measly $249 product was, which I’m sure cost them a LOT LESS to make. In the end, they thought it would be best not to reimburse me and rather to have a dissatisfied costumer with the ability to use social media to tell his story to the world. NOT SMART. So keep in mind I bought their defective product in a store and not directly from them and so, I’m done, the money is gone. The worst costumer service with their nice meaningless words, bar none. They talk about how concerned they are, but do nothing.

jgatie

I bought a sonos 100 era 3 weeks ago. I contacted the company  because after 2 weeks it stopped connecting to my phone and the company led me to hours of calls to India where they tried to get me to adjust and service my modem at my cost for the speaker, while not considering all of my other electronics in the house that may get affected by this, emails to sales department and chats to no avail. My time had no value to them, but a measly $249 product was, which I’m sure cost them a LOT LESS to make. In the end, they thought it would be best not to reimburse me and rather to have a dissatisfied costumer with the ability to use social media to tell his story to the world. NOT SMART. So keep in mind I bought their defective product in a store and not directly from them and so, I’m done, the money is gone. The worst costumer service with their nice meaningless words, bar none. They talk about how concerned they are, but do nothing.

 

I’ve read this three times and I still have no idea what happened or even what your complaint is,

T
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@123456789abcd Instead of innovating in new products every year, era, soundbars and soon headphones, it would be better to improve those that already exist and make things easier for existing customers.

ratty

Thanks for that. This is probably going over old ground but…

Why is there a router ‘HOUSE2’ (in AP mode), assuming it’s in the same computer room as the Orbi primary node? What exactly is it? 

If all the Sonos devices are connected to ‘HOUSE2’ wirelessly do they show good signal strength in the Sonos app?

T
Userlevel 2
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@ratty The router called ‘’House2’’ serves to create a network entirely and exclusively dedicated to Sonos devices as Ken Grifftins explained to me.

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