Question

Was I just about to waste $12k?


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I was about to pull the trigger on about $12k to wire whole home audio, with Amps powering a bunch of in-wall/ceiling speakers + ARC/Sub combo in the family room. The idea was to have multiple zones in the house, but also create groups for multi-room audio controlled by Google Assistant. We’re an android house with Google Assistant powering our smart home ecosystem. Is there a way for me to get Google Assistant to play audio across multiple zones using voice control?

 

If not possible with Sonos, any idea on how to achieve this?


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23 replies

Userlevel 5
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Hi, @theNEOone! Thank you for your interest in the Sonos products and welcome to the community. All Sonos products work with Google Assistant but using a Sonos Amp would require you another Sonos speaker with the microphone to talk to the assistant through Sonos or you can use a Google Assistant-enabled device, like a Google Home or Google Home Mini, to control Sonos. You can also group Sonos devices in the Sonos app so when you talk to Google you’ll only say one room or the group name, the same goes with the Google app as far as I know. Here’s more information about Setting up a Google Assistant device to control Sonos and Control Sonos with the Google Assistant. Let us know if this helps. Thanks! 

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Thank you, I will look into it. I’m just a bit skeptical because of what I’ve been hearing on these forums regarding the lack of compatibility with the Google Home ecosystem. 

Userlevel 5
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The great thing is that it’s up to the individual. Voice control has always been additive to the Sonos experience and we have always believed in offering customers maximum choice.  Many people love using Alexa on Sonos and we are excited that customers can choose Google as well. You can always ask our users and check the articles above for more information and if you need anything just let us know. 

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Hey Krishma - it seems as if my initial concerns were valid and confirmed what other folks are identifying as deficiencies. You cannot control Sonos speaker groups with Google Assistant.

 

I purchased an Arc (+Klipsch in-walls) and two Sonos 1s to test them out. I set them up individually and created groups within the Sonos app. You can control individual speakers, but you cannot control groups with Google Assistant. If I happened to be playing music from a group of speakers during my last session, the music will default to that same group. However, if I tell Google to play music in my “Downstairs” group after previously having played music from only a single speaker or different group, I get an error response from the Assistant.

 

It’s a shame, because these speakers do sound great. But the convenience I get from Google Homes and Minis throughout the house can’t be beat. For me, smart home convenience and integration is paramount. Regrettably, I will be returning these items and cancelling my Sonos project. :(

Userlevel 5
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Hi, @theNEOone! Try to submit a diagnostic of your system and reply to us with the confirmation number to check the current setting because you should be able to play it in a group by using the Sonos devices group coordinator/leader’s room name when talking to the assistant. 

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Thanks. I have just submitted, confirmation #2945466. Can I track the status through you or somewhere else?

Userlevel 5
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Hi, @theNEOone! I got it. Try to say “play music to Office” and check if all Sonos devices part of the group will play. If not, you may need to check in the Google app if there’s a way to group Sonos devices or follow this link to add Google Assistant in Sonos app as I’m not seeing it added in Sonos. 

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No, that doesn't work. It'll play music on just one speaker (office speaker) but not any groups. Using the actual group names doesn't work either.

 

May I ask why you think it's supposed to work? I don't see any mention of groups working with Google Assistant on any Sonos support pages and I'm pretty sure I've seen posts on this forum talking about the issue. Basically, it doesn't seem to be isolated to just me. It's a product shortcoming.

 

 

Userlevel 7
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@theNEOone @Krishma M I do not think anything has changed since this answer from a Sonos employee: https://en.community.sonos.com/smart-home-integrations-229108/cannot-group-sonos-system-with-google-home-devices-6825492

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@106rallye I'm not trying to group Sonos and non-Sonos devices in a group (I want that, but I definitely know that's not possible). What I'm trying to do iscis a Sonos-only group (which I've done) and control that group through Google Assistant. This should be a straightforward ask, but appears to not be working.

 

 

Userlevel 6
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@106rallye I'm not trying to group Sonos and non-Sonos devices in a group (I want that, but I definitely know that's not possible). What I'm trying to do iscis a Sonos-only group (which I've done) and control that group through Google Assistant. This should be a straightforward ask, but appears to not be working.

 

 

Sonos and Google assistant integration is half baked. 

Both companies are suing each other for patent infringement so all bets are off whether it gets better or worse over time. 

 

 

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Sonos and Google assistant integration is half baked. 

Both companies are suing each other for patent infringement so all bets are off whether it gets better or worse over time. 

 

Hopefully they resolve their issues, because I would imagine customers would benefit from better integration between the two. But personally, the broader Google ecosystem is more important to me than any single component, so the decision here is pretty clear to me. Sorry Sonos, I tried.

Userlevel 5
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No, that doesn't work. It'll play music on just one speaker (office speaker) but not any groups. Using the actual group names doesn't work either.

Hi @theNEOone, have you added the Google Assistant in Sonos app? Once done, try to use the microphone of Sonos speaker and it should work. 

Userlevel 6
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Sonos and Google assistant integration is half baked. 

Both companies are suing each other for patent infringement so all bets are off whether it gets better or worse over time. 

 

Hopefully they resolve their issues, because I would imagine customers would benefit from better integration between the two. But personally, the broader Google ecosystem is more important to me than any single component, so the decision here is pretty clear to me. Sorry Sonos, I tried.

Sonos filed in January, Google recently filed their own infringement claims. It's going to be a while. 

If you have a home automation hub that supports Sonos and Google home, you might have ok results 

using that as a go between Sonos and Google home. 

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No, that doesn't work. It'll play music on just one speaker (office speaker) but not any groups. Using the actual group names doesn't work either.

Hi @theNEOone, have you added the Google Assistant in Sonos app? Once done, try to use the microphone of Sonos speaker and it should work. 

 

Hi, I haven’t added the Google Assistant to the Sonos 1, but I did add the Sonos “skill” to Google Home. I can’t depend on the Sonos 1 being my portal to the Google Assistant because I will have many rooms with just speakers in the wall/ceiling connected to an Amp in the media room, with only a Google Home Mini or other small/simple microphone endpoint to take commands. 

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Sonos filed in January, Google recently filed their own infringement claims. It's going to be a while. 

If you have a home automation hub that supports Sonos and Google home, you might have ok results 

using that as a go between Sonos and Google home. 

 

Can you elaborate on the options for an automation hub? I don’t want to go down the route of  Control4 integration or similar, because I want to keep things simple-stupid for self-service. I’m also not convinced that something like Contol4 would work either, because a friend of mine has issues with getting group audio working throughout his home using Alexa/Control4/Sonos. 

 

I’m going down the rabbit hole here, but I found this: Harman Kardon Amp+Adapt. It basically looks like a chromecast-enabled version of the Amp. I purchased one yesterday to test before plunking down on more of them, but it looks really promising. It should arrive later this week. It’s not nearly as nice looking as the Sonos Amp, but it’s going in a rack with a bunch of other equipment, so I’m sure I’ll get over it.

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

Sonos filed in January, Google recently filed their own infringement claims. It's going to be a while. 

If you have a home automation hub that supports Sonos and Google home, you might have ok results 

using that as a go between Sonos and Google home. 

 

Can you elaborate on the options for an automation hub? I don’t want to go down the route of  Control4 integration or similar, because I want to keep things simple-stupid for self-service. I’m also not convinced that something like Contol4 would work either, because a friend of mine has issues with getting group audio working throughout his home using Alexa/Control4/Sonos. 

 

I’m going down the rabbit hole here, but I found this: Harman Kardon Amp+Adapt. It basically looks like a chromecast-enabled version of the Amp. I purchased one yesterday to test before plunking down on more of them, but it looks really promising. It should arrive later this week. It’s not nearly as nice looking as the Sonos Amp, but it’s going in a rack with a bunch of other equipment, so I’m sure I’ll get over it.

Home Assistant (diy)

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/sonos/

Smartthings ($$)

Probably a bunch of others 

 

Personally think Sonos with limited speech gh support will be much better for music and reliable than most other products out there. 

 

 

 

Userlevel 5
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No, that doesn't work. It'll play music on just one speaker (office speaker) but not any groups. Using the actual group names doesn't work either.

Hi @theNEOone, have you added the Google Assistant in Sonos app? Once done, try to use the microphone of Sonos speaker and it should work. 

 

Hi, I haven’t added the Google Assistant to the Sonos 1, but I did add the Sonos “skill” to Google Home. I can’t depend on the Sonos 1 being my portal to the Google Assistant because I will have many rooms with just speakers in the wall/ceiling connected to an Amp in the media room, with only a Google Home Mini or other small/simple microphone endpoint to take commands. 

You may need to try adding the Google Assistant in Sonos app as well to test if groupings will work when you use Sonos One’s microphone. 

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Hi Krishma - that doesn’t work either. I have tried that but even using the microphone/Google Assistant via the Sonos 1 does not allow me to play music in a group using voice commands.

I appreciate your help and effort, thank you.

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Still not sure about what you are trying to achieve:

  1. do you group (GA-enabled) speakers in the Sonos app and then ask the main speaker to play music: or
  2. do you ask google to group speakers and then ask one of them to play music?

1 might work, 2 does not as I understand it.

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Still not sure about what you are trying to achieve:

  1. do you group (GA-enabled) speakers in the Sonos app and then ask the main speaker to play music: or
  2. do you ask google to group speakers and then ask one of them to play music?

1 might work, 2 does not as I understand it.

I’m trying to do #1. More specifically, I’ve grouped two Sonos 1s and a Sonos Amp into a few groups for testing. I’ve only turned on GA on one of the Sonos 1s.

 

I can use the GA-enabled Sonos 1 or any of my other GA devices (I have a bunch of Hubs, Homes, and Minis) to play music on any of the Sonos speakers individually. Works great. I can even control what’s playing from a Google Home Hub screen to change the volume, change songs, etc. (It’s not as rich of a control UI as what’s available with Chromecast-enabled devices, but it’ll do.) What I’m unable to do is use a GA device (of any flavor, including the GA-enabled Sonos 1) to play music on the Sonos groups I created. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi folks. @106rallye is right, that grouped Sonos speakers should work when you ask the assistant to play music. Just to make it clear that only Sonos devices will play at the same time when you ask the Sonos that has a microphone or the Google devices since as we all know Sonos can’t be grouped with third-party devices. If you’re still having trouble, might be better to Call 800-680-2345 for further troubleshooting. We’re open from Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 9 pm EST. We’re always here to help. 

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Thanks Krishma. I agree, it should work. But it doesn’t, unfortunately. I’m not the only one to experience this issue, it seems.

I’ve already returned the Amp and will be returning the Sonos 1s shortly, so I won’t be able to test this any more.

Thanks for your help so far, much appreciated.