Arc is not connecting (anymore) to AMP

Couple of things I’d want to check. First, is the source you’re testing with Dolby Digital or higher? Many news programs broadcast in stereo only (and other devices have audio settings, if you’re using them to feed your TV’s signal). 

I’m assuming we are ignoring system 1, it has no significant bearing on this situation, not sure why it’s even mentioned.

What we are dealing with is an Arc Ultra, with a bonded Amp that has a pair of third party speakers associated, correct? 

Have you checked for updates in the Sonos controller? If the Arc Ultra and Amp are on different firmware versions, it’s feasible that they wouldn’t talk to. Not overly likely, but feasible. I’d also make sure that despite the fact you have them both wired with Ethernet cables, the radios on both are still turned on. The initial design (IMHO) is to connect via WiFi, the cabling is a fallback connection method. Frankly, I’d be mildly concerned about some update of port blocking (on the router for wired connection, either by the router update process, or some sort of virus protection app) interrupting the communication through Ethernet to each device.

I’d also likely submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it. Don’t post the resulting diagnostic number here, they get sensitive about GDPR.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the Support staff, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.

Hi Airgetlam,

thank you for your quick response.

To answer all your questions:

• System is up to date and all have the same updated version
• I am actually playing music over the system, still no sound on surrounds, but also 5.1 does not work
• What we are dealing with is an Arc Ultra, with a bonded Amp that has a pair of third party speakers associated, correct? Not correct, it is ARC ULTRA with SONOS AMP with SONOS Ceiling Speakers
• I’m assuming we are ignoring system 1, it has no significant bearing on this situation, not sure why it’s even mentioned. YES, System 1 is mentioned to show that there is no issue in network and that one is still working perfectly fine. Maybe for your analysis it is not logic to mention but I think every detail might help though. You never know.
• WIFI both enabled
• Your worry about firewall does not make sense to me, why would it hold on AMP suddenly and let the rest still work? That would be weird I guess.

I will try the diagnostics for sure, let's see what that brings.

For the troublesome surround Amp, how far away is it from the Arc?

I just came off the phone with sonos and after 45 minutes they did say the ARC and AMP may be out of reach. I ended the call, moved the ARC almost on top of the AMP and still nothing. I have several more amps for ceiling speakers, none of them works as surround but they do as stand alone. I am out of ideas… I almost get the idea something is wrong with the ARC? 

I will leave it unplugged for the nigth, another day tomorrow I guess. Still weird since it did work for a while. so confused. 

Did you wire the Ultra too Ethernet and disable wifi? (DON'T DO THAT)

That mislabeled option turns off the inter al radio needed to connect Ultra and Amp.

Can you unbond the Amp and stream music to confirm it is working for that?

It is wired to Ethernet but with wifi enabled

Yes, I can unbond and the speakers sounds perfect, I also treid to bond with another amp, same issue, no sounds when connected to the ARC. However, I can stop and start playing using the buttons on the AMP or ARC. so everything works as it should be just no sound...

That and your previous posts cover everything I can think of. Might be time to try support again.

Shortcut their "out of range" response by moving the Amp closer, but not less than 3 feet from the edit Arc not Ultra. Which BTW is a very odd diagnosis for them both being wired to Ethernet. 

Then play something simple to avoid support getting sidetracked, maybe just stream stereo music in Full Mode, submit a diagnostic and call back into Sonos Support, don't let them off the hook, ask for escalation or to return the edit Arc not Ultra for a replacement.

Good information to have, thanks.

To your third bullet point, Sonos doesn’t make in ceiling speakers, but they do sell co-branded speakers made by Sonance (not the same company), but that shouldn’t make a difference. I’m sensitive to those differences, and tend to be a bit didactic. What we’re really worried about is the Arc Ultra properly communicating with the Amp, essentially it makes no difference what speakers are connected, especially as you’ve tested them when they’re Amp is not bonded as a surround device.

Moving them ‘shouldn't’ make a huge difference, but I certainly would suggest, for testing purposes, at least three feet between the Amp and the Arc Ultra. So there’s no opportunity for WiFi interference when they’re too close. 

The reason o brought up a firewall/VPN or virus protection application is any of those can update themselves in the background, unknown to you, and block communication between devices in your local network (although it is suspect if system 1 is working, and system 2 is not). As you suggest, covering all the bases makes sense, especially as users, we don’t have access to the same ‘hard data’ that Sonos employees can look at by looking at both your account data and diagnostics you’ve submitted. We, as a group, can only work from what you’ve told us in your posts, and our knowledge of the way Sonos is supposed to work.

You’ve still not told us what you’re testing with. Or, when streaming music, you’ve set the surrounds up as ’full’ rather than ‘ambient’, which would be a great indication whether data is getting to the Amp from the Arc Ultra or not. Unfortunately, the data path is different when the Amp is not bonded. In that case, it gets data from your router, in a ‘bonded’ situation, the data comes from your Arc Ultra. Most frequently, when the radio is turned on, via a ‘hidden’ direct connection between the two, but if you have them both wired with Ethernet, they could be trying to pass data through your router. Basically from the Arc Ultra, to the router, then from the router to the Amp. Assuming, of course, there’s data in the surround channel to be sent. Until we know what you’re testing with, we’re not sure. 

Hi Bruce,

I really appreciate all the feedback and indeed, happy that owners can help each other.

So for testing I used music, youtube and netflix. Also I have put TV and MUSIC mode on 15 to see if there is any difference. Also Ambient and Full mode has been set. I even did this with sonos helpdesk on the phone. 

they are both Ethernet wired and WIFI is enabled. Weird thing is that the ARC is not working with any of the speakers (which are indeed Sonace, but since SONOS sells them I called them Sonos, sorry for that).

I will try some more settings tomorrow but decided to call it a night and just unplug the ARC for now. Maybe that will do miracles :-)

YouTube tends to be stereo only, unless you pay for it with a subscription. If you’re just streaming data from their normal public stream, it won’t be in a 5.1 format (even if it claims to be) as they down rez to stereo for bandwidth when the file is uploaded.

Netflix is more concerning, IMHO, but what show/movie? Where is the app that you’re testing with? Have you checked that the audio settings for that app are set to pass a 5.1 signal to the TV? Or, for that matter, the TV is passing the appropriate signal on to the Arc Ultra? 

There was once when Vizio updated my TV with a new firmware, which ‘accidentally’ switched off Dolby Digital output on the digital side of things, and it was apparently missed by Vizio QA ( this was quite a few years ago, all I remember is I was in Texas at the time). Took me several weeks to figure it out, I’m not sure Vizio ever recognized it publicly. It is certainly worth checking from the source all the way to the speaker for the type of signal allowed. For ARC, it’s not supposed to be required, but I’m cautious, and it is better safe than sorry. 

The issue is with the Arc and Amp, not the Arc Ultra (recent posts above incorrectly referencing Arc Ultra)

You say you have several Amps. Are they all in a rack together and are all of them wired?

I’d actually try disabling Wi-Fi on both the Arc and the Amp as they are both wired. From the support suggestion, the Arc is still trying to communicate using it’s radio. If that doesn’t work, then re-enable Wi-Fi on the Arc and disconnect Ethernet from Amp whilst Arc and Amp are in close proximity of one another.