Depends on the products in use. There’s a benefit to ‘older’ products, less (but not none!) to newer products.

Any direct connection to your router should be ‘better’ than a WiFi connection. These days, that’s certainly less the case than when those marketing materials were written, and it continues to evolve. 

As far as I’m aware, the software seeks the lowest latency connection, no matter what available method, be it wired, a WiFi connection, or in some cases, a SonosNet (which is essentially WiFi too) connection.

What is your specific question?

Sonosnet, for the hidden 5 gHz links used for Sub and surrounds is still being used by all new products..

Your second paragraph is a bit off, that is normally a function of the Sonosnet 5gHz hidden networks.

Third paragrapn  despite what "they" say, wiring a Sub or  surrounds as the only connection is not good. Also you can't connect an external input to a Sub or surrounds device.

The rest of the post, if you have a wired product that supports Sonosnet it will create one and then ALL Sonosnet compatible Sonos in range will connect to it. You can disable the radio and block Sonosnet, but it blocks both versions so there is no hidden 5 gHz link to Sub or surrounds from that device.

Bottom line for almost everyone is to use a wifi connection and skip trying to get a wired setup working. Not saying you can't go wired, only it may not be a fun task.

I'll add this so we are all on the same set of definitions. I'm not real good at that. 

https://en.community.sonos.com/tutorials%2Dand%2Dhow%2Dto%2Ds%2D229149/sonos%2Dterminology%2D6905527

WM modes and other useful information 

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/check-if-sonos-is-in-a-wireless-or-wired-setup

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/recommended-settings-for-using-sonos-with-ethernet-networks

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/surround-sound-guidelines-and-limitations

I'm not finding the post describing both the 2.4 and 5 gHz Sonosnets.

​@No_Distortion4Me 

Just as a point of reference I have 31 Sonos units all on a mesh network (wireless). To be clear all of my Sonos is no older than a Port and/or Sonos Amp. I’m using Arc Ultra’s, Beam 2, Five’s, Roam2’s, Move2’s Era 300’s, Era 100’s, Sub4’s Sub3’s and Sub Mini’s. I stream Dolby Atmos and Lossless audio. I send audio over Airplay2. Nothing in my Sonos is wired. 

IMO wired connections are only necessary in extreme circumstances. Updating a product that has been moth-balled for a while mostly involving legacy products.

Needing a wired connection IMHO will go the way of the human appendix as Sonos and networking equipment continue to evolve. 

Not so much a question as checked ‘conversation’, but hoped for clarification on ambiguous SonosNet documents. Looking for common practices and if reducing wireless traffic is a good thing. The low-latency auto select seems correct.

I’ve read SonosNet is not happening with their newer line but see terms like ‘secret’ or ‘hidden’ like it does still establish a local private wireless network on a 5G link. On another page they list units that do not support SonosNet (which are what I own). The Mini Sub bugs me. It’s introduced to the system differently than other gear. A hidden 5G direct link to the soundbar may indeed be what’s happening. Have see to who’s in the party on the router tables of connected gizmos. 
 

They have LAN ports with USB C adaptors but claim the ERA’s don’t support SonosNet. Why not explain their new platform i.e. what’s up hidden or not? I wish they dated these docs pretty sure some are N/A.. 

Agreed, the docs are a tad off suggesting surrounds or subs as a primary connection point. 

Their docs do suggest it works with an interesting point (below) from the link you provided. But, they also indicate ERA gens do not. Thus, my messy post :). 

Wow, I got nothin’ :). Many posts were touting wired as preferred. When I read wired folks simply swap one LAN cable over to the new/replacement router and up pops the system. I thought that was cool. Not sure now considering I’ve had zero issues wireless and have only four gizmos where the sub may not even use an IP.  You however have a three day programming task on a swap. :)

Yeah, wireless it stays. Thanks all. 

Okay, thanks to replies and research outside of Sonos docs. I think I have it. 

In a simple theater setup - bar, surrounds, sub, it needs one path to the outside world for streaming music only. It talks via Mr. router at 2.4G for penetration and range where the bandwidth is fine for 2.0 digital music. 

Devices chat on the home network initially during setup from App commands to define bonding or stereo pairing. Once assigned in a theater setup, the soundbar does the heavy lifting decoding Dolby locally from the TV input and distributing it on its own 5G LAN to the rears and sub. Theoretically, it doesn’t need an outside connection and would work in stand-alone in TV mode.

This means hardwiring the Bar isn’t a bonus unless you had a terribly weak WiFi.  Lots of old information on this mucks up the matter but ‘Sonos Light’ docs are not exactly clear. Here’s some info I found useful…

Router: The Sub Mini needs to connect to your home Wi-Fi network to get its initial connection to the Sonos system. You can achieve this wirelessly or by plugging it directly into the router with an Ethernet cable for a more stable connection to set it up. 

Soundbar: Once both the soundbar and sub are on the network, they establish a direct, private 5GHz wireless connection to each other for fast, low-latency communication, ensuring the bass is perfectly synced with the video and other audio. 

How the setup works:

Initial setup: During the setup process with the Sonos app, all your Sonos products—the soundbar and the two Era 100s—first connect to your home Wi-Fi network to receive the necessary configuration and updates.

Bonding for surround sound: After the initial setup, you use the app to "add surrounds" and bond the Era 100s and/or Sub to your soundbar.

Dedicated 5 GHz connection: Once bonded, the soundbar creates a private 5 GHz wireless network. The Era 100s then switch from your home Wi-Fi to this direct, ad-hoc network to receive their audio signal from the soundbar. This removes reliance on your home router for the critical rear-channel communication.

^^ And there we have it.  A secret, hidden 5G network no longer called SonosNet. I call it Bob. 😁

Nope. Era-300 and Sub happily connected on 5 gHz. Also my Play 5 (gen 2) is on 5 gHz.

Sonos networking is confusing, official documentation is not much help and even being here for years is no insulation from surprises.

I think what ​@No_Distortion4Me is trying to correctly convey is that once surrounds and subs are bonded to a Sonos soundbar their communication (or data received) is governed by the hidden 5Ghz band generated by the soundbar. Correctly, it has nothing to do with SonosNet.

To further clarify...the latest Sonos products can connect to a home network either via 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. Products connecting on 5Ghz home Wi-Fi are not bonded to a Sonos soundbar or speaker (which includes a sub).

For example my Era 300’s (stereo pair) connect to my home WiFi over 5Ghz. However, the Sub bonded to them is communicating (receiving data/low frequencies) via the hidden 5Ghz band generated by the Era 300’s (no home WiFi involved). 

Using the same Era 300’s as an example...if I were to bond them as surrounds to a Sonos soundbar they would leave my home Wi-Fi 5Ghz band and become part of the hidden 5Ghz band generated by the Soundbar. That is the reason speakers bonded as surrounds cannot stream music independently via the app and line-in function as well as Bluetooth are negated.

Part of the confusion is the two different network types called Sonosnet, the 2.4 gHz one that we are all used to and the 5 gHz one that is usually referred to here as the "hidden" one, but sometimes also called Sonosnet inside Sonos.

Another part (as above) is speakers being able to connect to wifi on either 2.4 or 5 gHz, depending on the speaker, configuration and possibly wifi strength on the two bands.

I'm not expert enough to try to write a definitive FAQ on the networking situation but I'd sure appreciate Sonos doing one.

I’d think Sonos would tout their hidden network as far superior to Bluetooth connected devices. 

My interest in the gear was exactly this. They even indicate the packets are in Wave format. Wow, actually as good or better than long conductor runs. 

My guess is, most consumers are plug and players not interested in how they work, more how easy it is to make ‘em work. Going deep with private network hand-offs likely adds spooky tech concerns where ‘keep it simple’ (i.e. Apple) is applied with simplified documents. But a tech section with current architecture information would be a plus.

They need a simple term like ‘Theater Zone Network’ or ‘SonosNet II’ defined as stand-alone that’s not thrashing your router. 

Many years ago Sonos used to allow a (Edit: dedicated hardware, CR-100 or 200) Sonos controller to connect to the 2.4 gHz Sonosnet that went away and they seem unlikely to bring that back. To far back to recall any useful details.

I'd put Bluetooth as my last choice for a connection to deliver quality sound. Sonos does support products like the Victrola turntable that connect into the Sonos system over Wi-Fi. 

Hey Guy’s

I think the waters are getting even more murky with the suggested introduction of terms like “Theater Zone Network”. No offense intended...I’m just trying to keep things simple for the masses.

Sonos as well as users are already using two terms interchangeably that should not be which are Pairing and Bonding.

• Pairing is only applicable to creating a stereo pair using two identical speakers (soundbar not included).
• Bonding is only applicable to the setup of surrounds and sub to a soundbar or when combining a sub with a Sonos speaker.
• With Bonding communication between the host (soundbar or speaker) with surrounds and/or sub is accomplished over the Sonos proprietary 5Ghz band.

The latter point leads me to this…

SonosNet which is a hidden proprietary 2.4Ghz band and the hidden 5Ghz band used for surrounds and subs have nothing in common except that they are both radio frequencies.

• SonosNet created by wiring a speaker (not a sub) to a router initiates global coverage allowing any Sonos stand-alone speaker, stereo pair or soundbar capable of joining to participate. Theoretically creating a more stable Sonos system.
• The 5Ghz band transmitted by a soundbar (to surrounds/sub) or speaker (to a sub) are a closed loop to other speakers in a Sonos system. Meaning a speaker in a bedroom cannot utilize the 5Ghz band being transmitted by a soundbar or speaker in another room.

If I'm correct in my interpretation introducing the suggested term “Theater Zone Network” is in reference to the 5Ghz band. IMO introducing such a term would serve only to confuse the masses further. As in actuality there is no “Zone” involving the Sonos hidden proprietary 5Ghz band. It would also further complicate understanding when referring to Sonos Zones which is a product/solution that Sonos offers.

As I said… my intent is not to offend but rather bring clarity and understanding to Sonos terms.

Note: I believe the Sonos controller referred to by ​@Stanley_4 was the CR100 and/or CR200 which were physical boxes designed by Sonos. Not to be confused with the term “controller” when referring to the Sonos S1/S2 apps that reside on cell phones and tablets.

Thanks, I edited that bit to make it clearer.

Digging in I also found old topics on it here: (using a search engine, not the forum search tool)

https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/identifying-sonos-network-using-wifi-scanning-tools-6797651

https://en.community.sonos.com/speakers-229128/turn-off-sonos-axxxxxxxx-wi-fi-ssid-6880601

Good term overview and un-mudding the waters, I was suggesting some descriptive term for the hidden theater 5G connectivity. Something that suggests close proximity for theater use.  

As a newbie, I attempted digesting Sonos documents covering wired, wireless, Sonosnet, wideband, narrowband, boosters, and steam generators that include a host of terms from current and legacy gizmos. Basically a wealth of stuff but comprehension remained like a hog lookin’ at a clock.  

I assumed reading the SonosNet ‘no longer supported’ list that included every piece of gear I bought was saying NO SonosNet for you. So, I guessed it assigned IPs to everything and somehow rerouted 5.1 decoded channels with magic packets to the respective speakers. Why the guess? There are no clues about hidden 5G LAN goodness anywhere in their docs. Only the legacy S-Net.

One may allude - they killed S-Net on new products including the whole ‘local net’ enchilada. Cost/value thing to add Bluetooth input as a disservice to most but a demand from new gen listeners. Too many radios, too little time. Out went SonosNet described as ‘newer routers are more robust so it’s no longer needed’. Well, they coulda mentioned the now resident 5G bugger! 

I was tipped finding one assigned device in the wireless router table (with music playing). I was hunting for four IPs in the party. The hidden network had the traffic - who knew?  

Agreed, SonosNet II, or maybe Theater Comm as a name complicates what they have already carefully complicated. Still think they should have a blurb about it in the setup instructions. They don’t have to give it a name, just explain what these things are talking with. 

I call the hidden network Bob and I’m stickin’ to it. 😀

Just remember, every device, whether on a ‘hidden’ network or not, needs an IP address from your router’s DHCP table.
 

Just because it connects to another device via a ‘hidden’ network doesn’t mean there is no IP address being handed to it. Sonos doesn’t generate its own IP addresses. 

You should be able to identify Sonos products in the router data by looking at the MAC addresses. They are on the data-plate on each Sonos as part of the serial number.