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A brief guide to my setup. I've got an Ethernet cable going from my router (Asus RT-AC3200) down to my lounge. From there, it connects to a switch (Netgear GS108Tv2). The switch then hooks up TV, Amazon FireTV, Blu Ray player, Logitech Harmony hub, a CD player, and a computer. And - ideally - my Playbase. And then I have a pair of Play:1s which I want to use as surrounds.



I've had my Playbase since initial release (2017 Q1, I think) but even when I first set it up I struggled to get it to work from the switch. It turns out that I went with a wi-fi set-up back then, and all was more or less fine (one in a while I would need to reset my controller, but not frequently enough that it was a cause for concern). Yesterday, however, I had some problems - the surrounds dropped out, and I struggled to get them back. This happened twice in the space of about an hour - I submitted a diagnostic, and while the problem wasn't immediately apparent to Support, they pointed out that the 5GHz noise floor was shifting up and down. I've had further problems this morning, so started to do some more digging.

It was this morning that I realised that my Playbase is on a wireless connection - I imagined that a wired connection would make things better, except that I can't get the Playbase to connect to my router via the switch...



If I disconnect the switch and plug the Playbase directly into the cable from the router, then all is ok.

If I connect the switch back up (so that all the other gadgets work) my controllers (Windows) can't find the Playbase.



While connected to switch and after power on I get a flashing white light on Playbase. When connected via cable to the switch, if I reset controller and go through "Boost" setup, the Playbase is found and the setup wizard tells me it's been a success - but the controller still can't see the Playbase even after laptop and router reboot. Stranger still is that the router can't even see the Playbase in list of connected clients. It can see all other clients connected via that switch, but Playbase just isn't there (but Playbase is detected when going direct to router).



To simplify things for now, I'm just trying to get the Playbase working on that switch - the Play:1s are powered off at present.



My Playbase has been assigned a static IP (bound by MAC address), as have most/all other gadgets near/around the TV. I could try unbinding MAC and IP, but I don't think that would help as the MAC address isn't even detected on my router when I go via the switch.



The switch works for all other devices, so I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly?) that the switch is ok. I tried swapping the Ethernet cables over - I used one that I know works (for the TV), but no joy. I also tried a different port on the switch, but also no joy.



Does the Playbase not like going via a switch??



Any help would be gratefully received!



Thanks in advance 🙂
I don’t have this managed switch, but from a bit of research I think you need to enable BPDU flooding control on the switch and possibly set either STP or RSTP to 'Enabled' to make the PlayBase work. So try that.
In fact I’ve just found this old thread which says just to enable BPDU flooding ..



https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/upgraded-to-gs108tv2-from-v1-help-28382
You may also find this link useful, as it explains why it’s best to use BPDU packets with RSTP ...



http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/protocols-formats/difference-between-stp-and-rstp/



Personally, I just use a simple unmanaged switch GS108 proSAFE as that seems to do a good for my home network situation, it uses 60% less power than most switches and apparently comes with a lifetime guarantee.



Anyhow hope that helps ?
Thanks for the advice - I'm checking into it now. I have a few combinations/options to look at, but will work my way through and see if I can get the router to see the PlayBase. I'll also do some googling on BPDU and STP (the switch allows STP, RSTP and also MSTP - but I'm trying STP and RSTP per your suggestion); I've not encountered these before.



Thanks again, and I'll let you know if i can get it working!
I would try switching on BPDU and just go for enabling RSTP ... see if that fixes it.
THat switch is on the incompatible hardware list with no suggested work-around:



https://support.sonos.com/s/article/41?language=en_US



I'm happy with the unmanaged switches too, I don't need any of the managed features or want tha additional hassle of keeping a managed switch happy.



I have all of these happily working with Sonos.



NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet (GS308)

NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet (GS108)

TRENDnet 24-Port Unmanaged Gigabit TEG-S24DG
Note a working cabled Sonos device will switch ALL your speakers over to SonosNet. So when you have it all working, remember to goto Settings/Advanced Settings/Wireless Setup in the Sonos App and also remove your WiFi credentials, they are not required when running your devices on SonosNet.



Also set your SonosNet WiFi channel in Advanced Settings to a channel that is at least 5 channels away from your routers 2.4ghz WiFi channel to prevent 'overlap' and reduce potential interference from your own Routers WiFi.
Thanks both - that's extremely useful info. I tried - and failed - to make it work on my Netgear GS108v2, but I think I have an old "dumb" switch around somewhere. I'll dig it out, and see if I can sort it.



Truly awesome - thank you again for taking the time to come back to me, and spell out the problem!
Yep - that's nailed it. I've hooked up an ancient Netgear 5-port hub, and everything works fine... I've sacrificed a couple of devices for now - I'll get an 8-port hub ordered this week to get those ports (and devices) back. I totally didn't imagine that switches might be incompatible with my Sonos kit. It only goes to show how much I need to learn about networking :-)



And @Ken_Griffiths - thanks for the extra pointers about wireless settings: that's now next on my list 🙂
gutt3d,



That was a good catch by Stanley_4 that the switch was on the sonos incompatible hardware list. I totally missed that. I’m similar to Stanley_4 and use several unmanaged switches on my home network too and never had an issue with any of those devices.



Anyhow glad to hear that things are beginning to work for you.



All the best ?
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