Airplay 2 issues


I have a playbar, sub, and two Sonos Ones. I updated all today as well as my ipad and iphone apps. In the settings page of the Sonos app it tells me I do not have any compatible Airplay speakers. What am I missing. The Sonos system is not showing up as available on any device.

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21 replies

Userlevel 3
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The playbar is the main component of that setup and is what would need to be compatible with airplay 2 (which it is not), it would only work if the One's were not part of a 5.1 system and you then grouped them with the playbar or if you have speakers elsewhere that you could group to bring in airplay support.
I am in the same boat. that is so misleading by Sonos. I invested over $2000 on a Playbar, 2 Sonos Ones and 1 Sub just a couple months ago, i was told that Airplay is coming, i waited patiently and now i can't use it. I regret leaving Bose. Good luck calling Sonos Customer support been on hold for 15 min, they never tell you how long your wait is. already hating the Sonos experience. it was sold to me as a best in class, obviously it is not.
Userlevel 3
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It's been stated very clearly by Sonos that non-compatible devices need to be grouped in order to bring airplay support. When in a HT setup the One's are bonded with the playbar and that is the driving force (of which airplay is not supported). Some have misunderstood what grouping refers to, which is where the confusion is coming from.
Userlevel 1
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I have a playbar, sub, and two Sonos Ones. I updated all today as well as my ipad and iphone apps. In the settings page of the Sonos app it tells me I do not have any compatible Airplay speakers. What am I missing. The Sonos system is not showing up as available on any device.

If you have a mac, you can run https://sonoair.mihosoft.eu. it allows all Sonos speakers to be used with Airplay 1.
I am just finding out this AirPlay 2 issue with my 2 Sonos Ones and Playbar! So effectively to have AirPlay 2 working does this mean I lose surround sound capabilities when watching movies??
Userlevel 1
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I am just finding out this AirPlay 2 issue with my 2 Sonos Ones and Playbar! So effectively to have AirPlay 2 working does this mean I lose surround sound capabilities when watching movies??

Yes. That's how the sonos sandwich lands butter side down on the floor. But if you use Sonoair, you should be able to make use of Airplay 1 and surround sound.
Well... after the VERY long wait and hype around AP2 coming to Sonos that’s majorly disappointing 😞
I find this bizarre as when playing Apple Music and Spotify directly through the Sonos app I have completely flawless balanced music on the surrounds and playbar using them on the ‘full’ setting, which proves it can be done; yet when playing/sending a song from my iPhone or iPad which controls my Apple TV 4K (which is plugged directly into my playbar) sound is completely messed!? Possibly I need to look at the audio output settings on Apple TV, to change to stereo when listening to music?
I’d even be happy if there were a setting that for the purposes of AP2 cut off the playbar and simply found the Sonos Ones when wanting to listen to music. The thought of having to unbond my surrounds, and retune them, set up via HomeKit and find the sonos ones in the sonos app is crazy! THEN have to reconfigure each time I want to watch a movie!!! :8 Come in Sonos/Apple get it sorted PLEASE! Despite paying over a £1,000 a few months ago on my Sonos set up, I am seriously considering buying a pair of home pods!!! Perhaps that was Apples plan all along!?
Airplay 2 is a free upgrade on Sonos, which they have implemented on the speakers and use cases that the hardware allows. Grouping makes some uses possible with older speakers. That is the simple story here. But there will always be those who prefer their conspiracy. theories. I leave you to them.
Not really a conspiracy theory John B! Ha! Just a frustrated customer who invests heavily in both companies who feels let down by all the hype surrounding AP2 to find its made no difference to my very expensive set up!
I could not agree more with those that are very frustrated by the lack of Apple AirPlay 2 not working with speakers bought within the past couple of years and they still sell them!!!! I was at Costco this past weekend with my parents and bought the Soundbar (and had previously bought two Play:1 speakers with them) but returned them (ALL) because it did not work with Apple AirPlay 2. Sonos is going to lose sales to other companies if they don't get this straightened out soon!!! I have the Playbar myself and am an advocate for Sonos but this is very troublesome! The Playbar is a better piece of equipment than the Beam and for it not to work with Apple AirPlay 2 is not good! Fortunately I've circumvented this by connecting my Playbar directly to my Apple TV.
Don't you think if they could "get this straightened out" they would have? The fact is, the older units lack the hardware needed for Airplay and there is no way to retrofit.
Userlevel 3
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This isn’t something Sonos has control over. The playbar was introduced long before airplay 2 and it simply doesn’t have the hardware required to support the protocol. The beam isn’t meant to compete with the playbar, while the playbase also supports airplay 2 just fine.
V e r y helpful to know. I too have been having airplay 2 issues with the beam and sonos ones when accessing music services for their recommended user playlists that are not accessible via the sonos controller. There has got to be a best practice to access this content.
(I would like to think there is a work around. Are you suggesting the problem of intermittent connections and dropping goes away if you remove surround sound?
Userlevel 3
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This thread was in regards to airplay on the Playbar specifically, which doesn’t support airplay.

If you are having issues with the connection that will be a betwork issue.
We have ruled out the network as the problem. The problem is Airplay 2. The question is how to fix it, if at all while Apple attempts to fix the problem themselves.
For the record, Sonos technical have been fantastic. Relying on during the holiday season by phone may be a challenge. I was able to get immediate assistance via twitter and later an appointment to resolve my installation. Try it. You won't be sorry you did.
Userlevel 3
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Have the exact setup and it’s working flawlessly with airplay. It would be something within your setup.
I have a Sonos One and an iPad Air running the current IOS. Airplay on my iPad won’t find the Sonos. Nor does my iPnone 8. So, is there compatibility or not? I think not.
Userlevel 3
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Issues with discovery come back to a network issue, which you will need to troubleshoot.
Userlevel 7
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So, is there compatibility or not? I think not.
The problem is something specific to your installation. Airplay 2 has worked 100% reliably for me, in two different households, with multiple Macs, iPhones and iPads connecting to PLAY:5s and Sonos Ones. So, yes, I'd say it's 'compatible'.