Answered

Google Assistant Commands/Problem w/ Spotify


Userlevel 1

Hey guys,

 

I’ve noticed kind of a weird problem that happens with my Sonos speakers and using google voice commands to play music via Spotify. I was curious whether anyone else noticed the same problems.

 

Normally, when asking Google assistant to play music (again through Spotify,) everything works as expected. However, I’ve noticed that, if I use the Sonos app to select/play something w/ my phone, and then later try using a google voice command to play music, Google assistant will acknowledge that the song will be played, but nothing happens. If I repeat myself and ask a second time, it will play properly, but I’ve notice that every time I try doing a voice command to play music after having used the sonos app to play music earlier, I always have to say the command twice before it’ll play properly. 

 

Does this happen to anyone else using Spotify w/ Google assistant?

 

Thanks. 

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Best answer by Rowena B. 29 September 2020, 01:33

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28 replies

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @jlwachter83, thank you for reaching out.

I would like to take a look at the Sonos system with a diagnostic. Setting > Help & Tips > Submit Diagnostic and reply with the confirmation.

This could be wireless interference; I would need to double-check the system.

Did you use the Google Assistant account on another automation system besides your home system?

The explanation is that voice services only allow one household per account. If it’s used somewhere else Google Assistant will have system conflicts.

If that’s the case, creating another Google Assistant account for each is recommended.

If not, the diagnostic will show us the errors.

If you have other concerns, feel free to reach out.

Please follow up on this post if the issue is resolved. There are numerous posts about the need to ask Google twice before playing the content, exactly as described by OP.

I have the exact same problem . Drives me mad ! 

On both my Sonos one and Sonos beam.

Please if there's a fix. I'm desperate for it.

 

/P

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @Patrikteodor, thank you for reaching out and welcome to the community.

Sorry for the late response, I would like to take a look at your Sonos system.

Please take a diagnostic from the Sonos app. Setting > Help & Tips > Submit Diagnostic and post the confirmation.

This to make sure the issue doesn’t involve something else and have it isolated to just Google Assistant and Sonos.

Also, try asking the command first before taking a diagnostic were Google Assistant doesn’t do the command.

Update us with your findings.

Hi I did as you asked and the number is 1811071446

It responded with I can't play on spotify yet. But in swedish. If I ask one more time it will work. Sometimes it says it will play it but doesn't. And one more command is required. 

Best regards

Patrik

Userlevel 4
Badge +12

Hi @Patrikteodor, thank you for the update.

I checked the diagnostic, the logs indicate Alexa skill; did you register the Sonos speakers to Alexa?

If so, disable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app and test Google Assistant after or completely remove Sonos from the Alexa under devices.

If you haven’t register them to Alexa, I recommend calling our Phone support to get it looked at.

It’s strange that you’re using Google Assistant with Alexa skill control logs.

1 800 680 2345 Monday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm ET.

Update us with your findings.

This is driving us mental. Any room in the house whether playing on a designated Sonos (Play 5) from a Nest Hub or using the Google Assistant directly on a pair of One's, Google will say "okay, playing X from Spotify" but the music doesn't start... Try again with the exact same voice command and it will work perfectly. 

The Google Assistant seems to think it's worked perfectly... On the Nest Hub with the display, it even brings up the play controls. 

 

By the way, it's definitely a Spotify thing - asking for a radio station from TuneIn it works first time no problem. It's just Spotify requires the second ask. 

Diagnostic is 1796453835 if it helps. 

Hi @Patrikteodor, thank you for the update.

I checked the diagnostic, the logs indicate Alexa skill; did you register the Sonos speakers to Alexa?

If so, disable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app and test Google Assistant after or completely remove Sonos from the Alexa under devices.

If you haven’t register them to Alexa, I recommend calling our Phone support to get it looked at.

It’s strange that you’re using Google Assistant with Alexa skill control logs.

1 800 680 2345 Monday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm ET.

Update us with your findings.

Hi

I’ve never used alexa. tried turning it on now. and deactivating it. But didnt make any difference. 
I think ill try to factory reset it and se what happens. 

It always works the second time i ask it to play on spotify (repeating myself that is). I have a feeling that the second time spotify have somehow already granted sonos/google assistant acces to play. 

 

Best Regards

Patrik

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi folks, thank you for your response and for performing the steps provided. I'm sorry to hear that you're still experiencing the same.

I really appreciate the time and effort you've spent doing all the troubleshooting steps, and it would be best for you to continue working with us over the phone to expedite the process. 

To further assist you with this, I recommend contacting our Sonos Customer Care support with your full network setup including the make and model for each device to check what's going on and to provide the best option for you.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

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Yes, it takes two commands to start Spotify if Sonos is not already playing a Spotify session.  The first attempt opens a guest session that fails, but the second request opens my paid account.

 

Is Spotify able to open in Sonos as a queue of songs, rather than a session?

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @Stuart_29, thank you for reaching back to the community and letting us know about your concern. Let me help you with this.

Yes, you can add Spotify to the Sonos app. You can also add a track, album, or playlist to the queue from almost anywhere you see it listed in the Sonos app. Once added, you can shuffle, set to repeat, or crossfade between songs. You can edit the queue, modifying the order of the tracks, or removing them. Your queue can also be saved as a Sonos playlist if you’d like to play it again later.

Let me know if you have any questions about this. The Sonos Community is always here to help.

 

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Thanks Rowena, however, it would be nice if Google Assistant commands could start a Spotify queue (not session) and begin playing on the first attempt.

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @Stuart_29, thank you for the quick response. 

It would be great if Google Assistant can add music to the queue using voice command. We don't have the information yet to share with you about this. What I can do is send in a feature request to make this available in the Sonos app. We don't have the timeline on this but you can check our announcements when this feature becomes available. 

If you need help with any other information, please be sure to let us know.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Ive might have solved it for me. I noticed that my wifes google home didn't have the spotify linked in her app for our "home" which the beam google assistant is in.  Now that I've coupled it. The two repeated commands aren't needed. 

 

Hope this works for someone else as well.

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @Patrikteodor, thanks for the update and for sharing it with us. This will help Sonos users here in the community. Continue sharing your experiences with us. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to assist you.

The Sonos community is always here to help.
 

Userlevel 4
Badge +7

Not sure if it is the same issue but I think it is. Whenever asking Google to play music, Google will correctly state that it is starting the music I asked for but nothing will start playing. If I then say: “Hey Google, resume Spotify” the requested music will start playing. 
 

So it’s like it starts the music but also pauses it immediately. 

 

I have Alexa set up on another Sonos speaker in the same room and there is never any issue with her. 
 

Also, I actually prefer using Alexa as it is much faster and always gets the commands right. But Amazon is almost invisible here (in Denmark). For instance, a lot of other products only support Google Assistant, only Google speaks Danish and most of the Alexa products aren’t even officially supported in Denmark. So I am trying to force myself on Google despite not being too happpy about it. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @Tejs Dyrvig Ernst, thank you for reaching out to the Sonos community. 

We really appreciate your time and effort in bringing this concern to us. In this specific scenario, we don't have any information to share with you as to when Alexa's availability in your location but you can check our announcements here in the community or on our website. You may also check Alexa availability on Sonos for updates. 

I'd like to ask some questions to isolate the issue so we can create a path towards resolution.

1. Do you have other Sonos devices with Google Assistance installed? If so, how does Google Assistant work on those devices?
2. Have you tried rebooting your network and Sonos devices? How did Google Assistant work after?
3. Have you tried connecting your Sonos speaker to your router via ethernet cable?

To see if this clears up the issue, please remove Google Assistant from your Sonos devices, and then re-add it back. Does the issue still continue, or does it seem to improve? You can also run through our Google Assistant troubleshooting guide.

Please submit a diagnostic from your Sonos system and reply back with the confirmation number. This will allow us to see how your system is functioning, and help provide a resolution.

If you need help with any other information, feel free to reach out. We’ll wait for your reply.

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I have exactly the same problem using google home.  You have to give the command 2 times before Sonos plays a Spotify track.  There is clearly a problem here.

Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @jules_wake, thanks for reaching out to the Sonos community and for letting us know about your concern. Have you performed the steps recommended in this thread? If the issue is not resolved, it would be best to contact our technical support team for more in-depth troubleshooting steps. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have further questions or concerns. We are always happy to help out.
 

So my error came back. So after a long time of troubleshooting and getting help by the sonos support one level up so to say, i conclude that the error must be the compatability with my router ( a netgear nighthawk ) that is in ap-mode. I've switched broadband provider (new apartment) for which the router is new. And then connect to the wifi of my nighthawk which is the same. 

 

Next step is to remove the netgear nighthawk and try without it. But to be honest I've just stopped using the assistant. Sonos and Google are not playing well and seems to be sensitive to the network setup or incompatible with the netgear nighthawk.im kind of regretting buying in to sonos. 

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

I’ve not noticed the connection working from the app/not working from GA the first time, but my set up does this too sometimes - connected to a Boost.

Hello.

I am experiencing the same issues at the OP. Please let me know if I should submit the diagnostic too.

Thanks 

D

 

 

 

 

@jlwachter83 Hi!

 

Did you manage to solve this problem? I have the exact same issue and it’s driving me completely mad lol!

 

Thanks in advance for the response!