Sonos beam gen 2 issues

I had the jackhammer/machinegun noise issue happen to me on the first day I got the beam 2. When it got delivered I set it up right away and updated it. Linked my Youtube music account to the Sonos app and tested it out. The first half hour was pretty good, then the volume went from 3 to 10 and it started making the noise. My wife and dog were in the room with the beam 2 at the time. My dog panicked and my wife didn’t know how to turn it off, she was about to smash the thing. I thought it was just a glitch or error, so I did a factory reset.  

During the weekend we were watching Youtube on the TV with the beam 2 and it did something similar. Volume went from 4 to 10 but this time a very loud static noise was coming from the beam. By this time I got the rest of the system ( 2 ones and sub) come in and set up. The rest of the speakers didn’t have this issue, it was just the beam 2. I did another factory reset just to make sure everything was setup properly. It didn’t work. I had about 7 to 8 reoccurrences with the jackhammer/machinegun noise and the static noise.  

First day I contacted support their system was down so not much they could do. Second day, the first person I talked to told me that my system was working perfectly. I summitted a diagnostic. He told me I had excellent wifi connection but with a bit of interference. None of the diagnostics will tell them anything since the jackhammer/machinegun or the static issue won’t let you submit a diagnostic and keep giving you a try again error. I assume the beam 2 freezes up during this time and restarts itself. They told me to change my wifi channel to remedy some of the interference and see if the problem comes up again. I changed the channel and restarted my wifi. I played Youtube Music at 2, then 20 to 30 minutes later machine guns blaring out in my living room. I took a video of it this time. Called customer service again, and told me to run another diagnostic. Basically all the same information as the first person. Told me to reset the wifi and if it happens again to take a video of it. If it did happen again they would send out a replacement. Told them I had a video but it wouldn’t count since they have to go through a troubleshooting procedure. Its understandable so I agreed. I reset the wifi and 4 hours later I finally got the video. I managed to recreate it a couple of times, but my camera app wouldn’t open and the beam 2 restarted itself before I could record another video. Called customer service again and sent them the video. They were about to tell me to do another factory reset then recreate the problem again but I got a little bit upset with them. Told them I already did that twice and cant keep putting my wife and dog through this. Its basically torture trying to recreate this issue. They agreed to send me the replacement. Don’t get me wrong all the people I talked to were very kind and helpful but this issue isnt something like having interference, latency, stutters, or setup problems. Having the speaker go from 1 to 10 guns blazing is traumatizing not only for me and my wife but especially for my poor dog, not to mention it can potentially damage your your hearing. One video after everything is checked out, connection, updates, and factory resets should be indicative of a defect or even just one reoccurrence. 

Long story short, for those that are experiencing this issue and to save you time. Change your wifi channel to either 1,6, or 11. Restart the wifi and modem. Perform a factory reset on the beam 2 and anything connected to it. Make sure router and beam 2 are updated. Then have your phone on hand to video the beam 2. Run diagnostic when problem does arise. Keep trying until submit one, then print screen then contact customer support. 

Recreating the problem may be different for people. I linked my Youtube music account to the Sonos app and played it from there. I have only played music using this method, not sure if other services will recreate this issue. Leave the music running at a low volume. Results may vary but my beam 2 will have guns blazing between 20-45 minutes of playing. 

For the loud static noise, I don’t have a reliable testing method. It just occurred when using the Youtube app on our TV, Netflix, and Disney. Volume would shoot from 4 to 10 and play nothing but static randomly for like a minute. We just got the LG C1 brand new so I doubt that the source would be the problem considering the machine gun noise doesn’t come from a source. 

Now just hoping the replacement doesn’t have any problems.  

@Nytro Hi there, we just had the same experience for the second time. We got our Sonos beam 2 on Sunday the 26th of December 2021, so about 3 days ago. On Monday, after 30 mins of use, we suddenly got a machine gun sound at full blast! My girlfriend, my Dog dog, and I were completely scared stiff and traumatized by this! 

The second time was just 20 minutes ago. It’s midnight here, so we must have woken up all of our neighbors. As you @Nytro my poor little dog is just traumatized and we are just too afraid to leave our dog at home while the sonos is still plugged in. 

Another guy just posted in the troubleshoot section saying that a woman support chat said that they never encountered such problems before in the company :s I find that really hard to believe seeing this post! 

Also how can we film or leave it on during this moment when the damn thing is not just waking up my neighbors but the entire neighborhood!!!!! 

I hope there will be an update or that sonos will fix this issue and admit and own up to the fact that there is a problem!

Challenge is, at least in my perception, is, what if it isn’t actually a problem with Sonos, and instead the TV sending a signal that the Sonos is playing appropriately?

Hard for Sonos to fix an issue upstream. This is probably why @Nytro suggested the diagnostic along with several other potential fixes. Best case, Sonos can take a look at the hard data recorded in the 10 minute log file, and perhaps see where the issue is originating. If it’s with the the Sonos itself, or with the signal coming in would likely be trackable in that file, and certainly help you, and if it’s in the Sonos software, everyone else. 

That's an interesting thought; however, how would the TV be able to bypass the volume limit I set for the Beam?

I sent a diagnostic to the Sonos support. I actually had the support lady on the phone while the terror was going off for a second time. They didn't know of the issue and told me to reset to factory settings and basically hope for it to not happen again...

I think the answer here is to continue to closely monitor the issue and if it happens again, to try to capture a diagnostic ‘dump’ by holding the ‘join’ (infinity) button on the device for 10 seconds or so (the status LED should begin to flash different colours). Then go onto power ‘off’ the device and power it ‘on’ again and when the device reappears in the Sonos App, immediately submit a Sonos diagnostic report and post the reference back here with details of the device(s) involved and what steps led to the issue. Any captured information should then (hopefully) get sent with the diagnostic report.

Presumably the Sonos engineers are aware of this issue .. and my thoughts are the more data that can be gathered, the sooner it can hopefully be fixed for the few folk that are experiencing this issue.

I just hope it gets fixed soon for everyone here.

Just an update for my replacement Beam 2.  

I replicated my settings and played music via Youtube music linked to the Sonos app. It ran 3 hours straight without a jackhammer/machinegun incident.

We watched movies/shows/Youtube during the weekend. I also left the TV playing from different apps for an hour each, Netflix, Disney, and Youtube. No static noise incident. 

So far so good. There has been no incident as of yet. Hopefully it was just a defective unit and the problem doesn’t come back. For those experiencing this issue, definitely reach out to support and try to get it replaced. 

Just some things I might’ve missed with my experience.

-Jackhammer/machinegun or static noise does not occur when not playing anything (Standby/low power mode)

-None of the 3 reps I’ve talked with heard of this issue

-All of the diagnostics I’ve submitted came back clean and problem could not have been identified. 

Hope this helps.

This is unbelievable, same issue ,sore ears ,scared the poo out of the cat . This is totally unacceptable. I would sue these bastards. This device can cause permanent ear damage . Yes it sounds ok for a D class bunch of amps stuffed into a little oblong with minuscule speakers. It doesn't do surround very well ,the stereo separation is crap but the 120 Db white noise i can definitely  do without . Will never buy any of their products again. 

Hi,

I got Beam 2 as a gift from my wife an hour ago. I was all excited, set it up, was listening to music and adjusting the levels and out of nowhere my living room reverberated with machine gun shots. I was baffled, muted my TV, but the sound wouldn't stop. Finally, I pulled the plug.  Thought it may to do with some setup error. Plugged it back in, played music from my Spotify and it started again within 10 minutes. That's it! Am done. Have packed it, ready to be returned tomorrow. Am glad I came across this forum to know it's not just me. Also surprised that why hasn't this product got recalled by the company. This was my first Sonos product and the first experience wasn't a pleasant one.

Is anyone aware of a solution to the beam gen2 machine gun noise?

thanks!

Just picked up my beam gen 2 this evening from Argos.  Got it home, and got it set up, usability was great and incredibly easy.  Started to watch a film, sound was good, then all of a sudden full volume gunshot noises start firing out of the speaker, no more than 45 mins post set up. Tried to to stop it but only pulling the plug did it in the end.  Right ear drum throbbing and burning due to having to reach around the back of the beam to unplug the power cord.

Extremely disappointed with the product, was super excited to own the speaker, looks great, sounds great, easy to use, and links up to everything nicely.

but, it’s impossible to me to ever relax again whether it’s watching a film or listening to music, even if the product it replaced, genuinely a traumatic experience and not one I’d like to experience again, I’d also have to unplug it after I leave for work daily due to the anxiety of it doing it mid day, the sound it truly deafening.

I truly hope Sonos acknowledge this as a legitimate problem with this product, it’s taken the brand from quality to crap in 45 minutes for me now.  I’m not sure I’d ever be able to own one of their products again unless I knew the problem had been fully addressed and sorted.

Will unfortunately have to move on to a different brand now, real shame.  I’d appreciate some feedback on this from anyone who’s has any further dealings with Sonos on the matter. Thanks :)

i feel your pain!! Mine went from being unboxed and setup to back in the box within the hour, truly a vile experience!

I also experienced this with my brand new beam.  On the support contact page (https://support.sonos.com/s/contact?language=en_US)  there is a way to email the CEO directly.  

I sent the following a few weeks ago. I doubt these actually go to him, I hope they are at least get reviewed by a someone...but I have yet to hear back.  I will post back if I do.

Hi Patrick, 

I am writing to you about the bad, borderline traumatic, experience I had with my first Sonos product (Beam Gen 2).  For some background; I have had mixed luck with soundbars in the past.  The LG one I purchased with my OLED TV was extremely large\unsightly and wasn't the best sound quality.  I then attempted a Vizio, which was compact and clean, but failed after a few months.  This led me to the Beam.  It was a bit more than I wanted to spend (when you add up the additional One's for surround, and eventually the sub), but given the issues I had in the past, I decided to splurge, making this my first entry into the Sonos ecosystem.

Setting up was a breeze.  My wife approved of the (compact) look, and loved the warmth of the sound it produced in our bedroom.  This was until around 11:30pm on the eve of the purchase.  Randomly the Beam went to full volume, playing a static or jackhammering sound.  We both jumped out of bed, disoriented, holding our ears. I tried yanking the HDMI cable first, but ultimately had to pull the power for it to stop.  It was so loud it woke up my entire house (3 kids, a dog, and a set of in-laws).  Your support was very good in trying to help.  The first agent had never heard of the problem, but walked me thru some steps to reset the sound bar.  However, a few days later, and after convincing my wife to allow me to plug it back in, it happened again.  

This time the agent had heard of this issue.  They asked me to plug it back in to play some music and send some diagnostics.  I did, and it just so happened to occur again (I caught it on video).  They confirmed that it was defective and offered to send a new one.  I declined since I was not sure I would trust a replacement and could return it to Costco, where I just purchased it.

While my initial experience with the sound quality of Sonos (and your support team) was very good.  My wife and I are extremely uneasy about purchasing another Sonos product because of this issue.  I don't know if this issue is hardware, software, or a mix of both.  I'm sure your engineers will figure that out.  But the fact that it could happen, and there are no built in safeguards to prevent potential hearing damaging sound from randomly coming out of a device in my bedroom gives me second thoughts.

I wouldn't normally take the time to write something like this, but it was honestly a scary experience for us in the room (my wife and I), so much we were shaking after it happened. I'm only glad my children were not in the room at the time.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read, hopefully this email helps you to identify the issue and prevent it in the future.

Hi all,

I have had the same random machine gun like everyone else here.

Short version: Google assistant seems to be the culprit as I have removed the voice assistant and the issue seems to have stopped. 

Long version:

Bought the Sonos beam 2 two days ago. Installation went smoothly and was working fine at first. Then suddenly the machine gun noise came up while listening to Spotify. Had to pull the plug to stop it.

I then began my research to try and fix the issue. Went through the settings of my projector (plugged by earc) to see if it was sending an unexpected signal. Plugged the beam by ethernet to elimated the possibility of a wifi interference issue. Changed the wifi channel of my router. Tried all kind of different settings. But in vain the issue would keep appearing randomly. 

After a factory reset, the issue seemed fixed until it started randomly again. 

I was about to give up and send it back when I tried activating my roborock by Google assistant and it crashed immediately while before it had alway been at random times after playing music or a movie for a while. I then realized that the issue had always appeared after I had installed the Google assistant back on the beam. 

I then deactivated the voice assistant and haven't had the issue since. 

Fingers crossed that its some kind of interference with certain devices and Google assistant.

Unfortunately the issue started again so the theory about Google assistant was wrong. 

The store where I bought has offered to send me a new one.

Hopefully it was just a faulty beam... 

Hi all,

I’m having this issue sporadically on my Beam Gen 2 despite multiple factory resets, using the hmdi cable, and having ethernet plugged in. 

Why hasn’t Sonos addressed this issue? It’s complete ***** that I now have a $500 paperweight in my apt because it randomly plays the loudest sound you’ve ever heard in your life. What can I do????

*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*

I’d certainly recommend getting directly in touch with Sonos Support, so they can help determine what the issue is, and help you deal with it. Not sure cursing at the community here will do much good. 

Unfortunately I also have this issue. I bought my Sonos gen 2 last week and a few days later it happened. The next day it happened again and I unplugged it after that. I reached out to Sonos support live chat but they couldn’t help me because I unplugged it and they don’t have diagnostics to work with then. 
I sent a few links to this and similar other topics, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to wait until it happened again so I can send the diagnostics.

Today I tried to reproduce it, and after a while it happened again. I immediately sent diagnostics and contacted live support again.

This also wasn’t enough. They now want me to let it happen again so I can record a video so I can prove it actually is happening to me… I can’t believe they are forcing me to hear this extremely loud sound again. I’m quite shocked to be honest.

It seems this issue already started since it got released and they still haven’t found a solution for it. In my opinion they shouldn’t be allowed to sell this product anymore until it is fixed.

Hi all, 

I spoke with Sonos phone support 2x today regarding this issue - some interesting tidbits; 

1. they referred to it as a “known issue” but would not give me any detailed information
2.  they seemed to have a lot of trouble with the diagnostic reports. I submit ANOTHER report while the issue was going on and captured it on video. Phone support seemed to want me to have the issue occuring while i was on the phone with them and i said that wasnt possible given how deafeningly loud the beam2 is while the issue is going on. It’s literally so loud you can hear it from outside my apt. 
3. They took down my model # and said that they’d be sending out a replacement in the next 1-2 business days but also that a new product team-member would be contacting me to troubleshoot the issue…..that doesn't really make sense to me but at least it’s different than going through the diagnostic report song & dance. 

I have video of the issue occurring on 2/1/22 but Phone Support did not give me a way to send it or upload to them. 

Also, I strongly advise against doing a factory reset because this seems to delete all previous diagnostic information. Chat support had isntructed me to do this (which I did at the time not knowing better). 

Update here: 

I was escalated to the “Sonos Escalation team” via phone support who emailed me directly. I sent them the video that I took of the issue and they informed me that no further diagnostics would be needed that the device would have to be replaced so they’re sending me a new Beam G2. 

My best advice is take video evidence and send it to the escalation team. 

Hope this helps someone in the future. 

Hello all,

A quick update here after having tested my replacement unit for over 24 hours.

I have not reproduced the problem so my advice would be to get in touch with Sonos support or the place where you bought the beam to check if it’s a faulty unit (these things happen).

Cheers

Unfortunately, I am having the same terrifying issue. I contacted support and they recommended full reset of everything from router to Sonos Bean 2. I did, but the gunshots rang out at full blast again.