Adding Ethernet cable to the 'first-wired product'.

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.

Great tips and points.

True, the Sonos radio for its hidden wireless party doesn’t have DHCP so obviously remains on the same subnet. Not sure what I was seeing in the router under - wireless connected devices. No MAC numbers in that list, just your basic 192.168.0.X IP’s. 

The unfortunate thing here is the Internet.  I read Facebook Sonos groups, Readits, and Google search results all recommending (with gusto) to ‘wire at least one component’. Often followed with ‘now works awesomely, stable as a rock, dropouts cured etc. all from one wire seemingly legit as common practice. One claimed - wire the soundbar it if you can, thank me later’. These tales now have become folklore seeing ‘I wired my Arc and the system sounded better’. Why? Because too much mis-information. 

The Internet is not our friend. I found zip, nada, and nothin’ about this until posting here. That’s certainly good landing here, but you’d think in the AI world, a flicker of ‘intelligence’ could sort it out? That would be no. 

I’d recommend taking any AI answers you get when asking about Sonos and doing the opposite.  They are mostly useless, and often even detrimental.  Whatever is in charge of scraping the info, has neglected things like age of the info, source of the info, and whether the info actually worked to solve the problem.  Not to mention if the info is contradictory in nature.

Wait to experience the "joy" of the Internet as regurgitated by an iffy AI based web scraper. Very convincing output but often pure garbage where the cited numbers don't even add up. We see a few of them here and they usually get a following post warning of the source.

I really wish (but not bad enough to make the effort) that I fully understood many aspects of the Sonos ecosystem. Sometimes I wonder if anyone inside Sonos has the full picture.

Great information shared here to understand how the Sonos system works.

I’ve been using Arc+Sub through WiFi for months without problems. It’s true that the main source for music and video was the TV and it was wire connected to the router. 

After upgrade the setup with the 2 Era 300 for surround I started to use the streaming service through the Sonos app and “enjoy” the app 😅. The problems with Apple Music described in other thread, made me wire also the Arc. Then I discovered it was a common problem not related with the connection and changed to Amazon, but TV and Arc are both still connected by wire to the router. Reading your post, I assume that it’s not needed but also could improve the connection, so I’ll keep the things wired, right?
Again, thanks for the info!