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Contributor I
June 13, 2026
Answered

cant use era 100 as surround

I have had a Sonos Beam Gen 1 in my living room for quite some time. It is connected to my Samsung TV via HDMI ARC and connected to my network through Wi‑Fi. I am using a 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi network. The Beam works fine on its own.


Recently, I purchased two Sonos Era 100 speakers with the goal of using them as surround speakers with the Beam.


When installing the Era 100 speakers through the Sonos app, I initially receive a message stating that the Era 100 has been added but may not be visible in the system. The app then advises me to unplug the speaker and reconnect it. This is indeed the case: after the first installation, the Era 100 does not appear in my list of devices.


When I set up the Era 100 again, I am asked to confirm that the speaker is working by pressing two touch controls. After that, the Era 100 speakers do become visible and function normally either as standalone speakers or as a stereo pair.


The problem occurs as soon as I add the two Era 100 speakers as surround speakers to the Sonos Beam. After adding them as surrounds, the Era 100 speakers suddenly stop working. In the Sonos app, I can see that there is an issue with the Beam. When I click on it, it indicates that the Era 100 speakers are no longer connected. At that point, they also cannot be played individually anymore.


I have already tried several steps to resolve this issue. I have fully reset the Era 100 speakers multiple times using a hard reset: unplugging the power cable, holding the button on the back while reconnecting power, waiting for the LED to flash, and then releasing the button before setting them up again. I also connected the Beam via an Ethernet cable and then attempted the surround setup again.

This did not solve the problem. In addition, the Beam itself has been reset multiple times, but that also did not help.


In summary:
    ●    Beam Gen 1 works correctly via HDMI ARC with a Samsung TV.
    ●    The system runs on a 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi network.
    ●    Era 100 speakers work properly as standalone speakers or as a stereo pair.
    ●    During installation, I initially receive a message that the speaker may not be visible.
    ●    After setting them up again, the Era 100 speakers function normally.
    ●    As soon as I add them as surrounds to the Beam, they lose connection.
    ●    After that, they cannot be used either as surrounds or as standalone speakers.
    ●    The Era 100 speakers have been hard reset multiple times.
    ●    The Beam has been reset multiple times.
    ●    The Beam has also been tested with an Ethernet connection, but this did not resolve the issue.

 


My question is why the Era 100 speakers lose their connection after being paired as surrounds, while they work correctly on their own or as a stereo pair. I would like to know which network or Sonos settings could cause this behavior and what additional troubleshooting steps I can try to get the Era 100 speakers working reliably as surround speakers with the Beam Gen 1.

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Stanley_4
Stanley_4Answer
Grand Maestro
June 14, 2026

27 replies

MoPac
Headliner III
June 13, 2026

Look at the model number to see which region the ERA 100 is from.  I believe the number will end with US1 or EU1.  Bonding may not be possible if the 100s are from a different region.

you may have to call Sonos if that is the case.

Maahes89Author
Contributor I
June 13, 2026

Both the beam and era’s are from the eu.

MoPac
Headliner III
June 13, 2026

Should work then.  Are the 100s stereo paired?  If so unpair them then add them as surrounds.  If that doesn’t work send a diagnostic and call Sonos service.  They are much faster than they used to be.

Maahes89Author
Contributor I
June 14, 2026

They are unpaired yes, because making them stereo makes them unable to configure them as surround.

MoPac
Headliner III
June 14, 2026

How is the Beam connected to the network?  If it is Ethernet wired make sure its WiFi radio is ON.  Are the Beam & 100s on the same account?  Is the Beam & 100s firmware up to date.

 

AjTrek1
June 14, 2026

First ...dont’t Factory Reset the speakers as doing so erases data that Sonos might use to determine the issue and hopefully suggest a solution.

I suggest you run a diagnostic within 10 minutes of your next attempt to set the Era 100’s as surrounds. Make note of the reference ID; but do not post it in the community. Call Sonos Tech Support to discuss the data.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
Stanley_4
Grand Maestro
June 14, 2026

Might be an arp issue, the forum serach AI has good suggestions

https://en.community.sonos.com/search?q=arp

 

Airgetlam
June 14, 2026

Is arp related to ARP?

Bruce
106rallye
June 14, 2026

So your router maya have difficulty with Sonos surrounds being connected to the network through the Beam. What is your WiFi set up? What router etc.?

Maahes89Author
Contributor I
June 14, 2026

How is the Beam connected to the network?  If it is Ethernet wired make sure its WiFi radio is ON.  Are the Beam & 100s on the same account?  Is the Beam & 100s firmware up to date.


 

so yes they are wifi connected. I tried connecting it via ethernet, but i couldnt choose the disable wifi function as that requires a ethernet cable connection. After a few tries (connecting to the bridge router) it didnt show the wifi on/off function and therefore i presumed the wifi was off and it was connected with ethernet cable. I did this because somebody on reddit said he had the same issue and this solved it

 

 

Thank you all for the quick replies! 
 

regarding the diagnostics, how do i run a diagnostics?