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failing
Contributor I
Nov 18, 2022 7:14 PM UTC

Hidden Mic in Playbar?

Hi, due to some stalker issues, I’ve had to locate and disable all the microphones lurking in my home.  A recent sweep of the whole house lit up my old-fashioned Sonos Playbar as having a hidden microphone in the front right area.  The technician was adamant that his microphone-hunting device was keying on a mic hidden behind the fabric of the Playbar.  I did’t feel like destroying the front of the Playbar to uncover the mic, so we just unplugged it until I could get some feedback on this.  Any ideas?

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13 replies

GuitarSuperstar
Lead Maestro
Nov 18, 2022 7:17 PM UTC

The Playbar doesn’t have a microphone.

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"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    Nov 18, 2022 7:22 PM UTC

    I don’t see one…

     

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    Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
    Nov 18, 2022 7:24 PM UTC

    The PLAYBAR was designed and manufactured long before the concept of putting a microphone into a speaker was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. 

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    Bruce
    jgatie
    jgatie
    Nov 18, 2022 7:30 PM UTC

    I concur with @GuitarSuperstar.

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    buzz
    buzz
    Grand Maestro
    Nov 18, 2022 7:30 PM UTC

    Some of the PLAY:5’s have a microphone, but it has never been used.

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    buzz
    buzz
    Grand Maestro
    Nov 18, 2022 7:44 PM UTC

    Note that, if the microphone detector is measuring radio emissions, PLAYBAR uses both the 2.4 and 5GHz WiFi bands. You could turn OFF the PLAYBAR radios, but the speaker will no longer be a “wireless” speaker and, depending on your system configuration, may no longer support surrounds or SUB.

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      failingAuthor
      Contributor I
      Nov 20, 2022 3:02 PM UTC

      Thank all of you for replying.  My entire Sonos system is CAT 6 connected (wired).  I’m going to tinker around with the last note from Buzz about tweaking the Playbar radios.  Also, I took the diagram posted by Ken_Griffiths, and added a yellow area where the microphone signal is coming from.  If I figure out anything worthy of writing about, I will come back to this post and note it here.  Thanks again to you all.

      Yellow area is where “microphone” signature is being detected.

       

       

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      Ken_Griffiths
      Ken_Griffiths
      Nov 20, 2022 3:07 PM UTC

      You might also find some teardowns of the old speaker on YouTube, I’ve never seen a mic mentioned in relation to the PlayBar - so if there is one, it’s likely been added by a third-party. The only way to be sure would be to open it up and look.

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      John B
      Nov 20, 2022 4:54 PM UTC

      The wireless radios in the Playbar would still be active even if the device is Cat6 wired.

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        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        Nov 20, 2022 5:01 PM UTC

        Yes, as @John B mentions, the Playbar WiFi adapter needs to stay enabled, even when the Playbar is wired to the LAN, as an ad-hoc 5Ghz wireless connection is used with any surrounds/sub that maybe added to the setup.

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