poor wifi signal on playbar

First, just to mention that Sonos do not officially support WiFi range extenders. See this link which mentions that…

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-system-requirements

Some extenders may work however if you do decide to try it by blacklisting the Playbars MAC address on the router. Personally though, I would have started troubleshooting by changing the routers WiFi channel and channel-width. Sonos HT master products connect to the LAN using the 2.4Ghz WiFi band so set that band to a fixed non-overlapping channel 1, 6 or 11 and set the channel width to 20Mhz only. If none of those channels solve the issue, you could consider switching your system over to SonosNet mesh wireless connection by wiring a single Sonos product to your router. (Note do not wire a Sonos HT surround speaker or Sub to the LAN - that is also not recommended).

When wiring a Sonos product to the router, ensure the SonosNet channel is at least 5 channels away from your chosen router channel and set the wired device at least one metre away from your router/wireless access point too.

Note rather than use a range extender Sonos suggest using a WiFi mesh system instead for your Home WiFi network - so maybe consider that option too if the above suggestions do not resolve the issue.

Hope that something here assists you to resolve the issue. If not, then go onto submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App and either note/post it’s reference back here and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK  and see what the Staff can suggest to resolve the matter.

Thanks for your reply. As this setup had been working for several years I did not think changing channels would have any effect. I already use a mesh system, Orbi. I’m unable to wire the playbar to my router other than using PowerLine which sonos are also fussy about. I’ve no idea about Sonosnet as the documentation is so poor but if it requires hardwiring then I can’t do that. I’ll try blacklisting the playbar’s MAC on my router.

Again many thanks for your reply and suggestions.

If you already have Orbi, how does the ‘repeater’ fit into the equation? 

Having Orbi does not preclude repeaters.

Sorry, I meant to clarify what you’re trying to repeat, and why.

Is it repeating the Orbi signal or the router’s? Is there not an Orbi node within signal reach anyway (that’s what meshes are for!)?

And whilst on the subject of Orbi, is it in router mode or access point (bridge) mode? 

Not sure what you’re trying to get at here. The playbar reports a weak connection so I’m trying to get a stronger signal to it.

I understand that some WiFi range extenders can sometimes mangle device MAC addresses and cause issues with multicast device discovery. So if that happens I think you ‘might’ end up creating more problems than you solve, using a range extender - adding another Orbi Hub to the mesh setup would perhaps have been a better approach, that’s if you have a dead spot in the room - or maybe reposition the current hubs?

A couple of links you perhaps may find helpful…

Wifi Range Extender vs WiFi Mesh:

https://uk.pcmag.com/how-to/117310/wi-fi-range-extender-vs-mesh-network-whats-the-difference

Using Sonos on a WiFi Mesh setup:
https://en.community.sonos.com/speakers-229128/troubleshooting-sonos-on-wifi-6856334?postid=16520976#post16520976

I’m trying to get a picture of why your current Orbi mesh is failing to perform, how the ‘repeater’ is designed to fit in (and not conflict) with the current arrangements, and whether you have a network that’s split into two IP subnets.

I don’t think it is failing to perform. As I said earlier the playbar, tv, sky box and bluray player are all very close together and it’s only the playbar that has a weak connection AND this has only happened recently. I suspect the playbar’s wifi receiver is failing personally. All I’m trying to is get an even stronger signal to the playbar to prove it.

What is the current SNR WiFi reading you have in the Sonos App for the Playbar? 
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/understanding-the-network-details-section-in-the-sonos-app

What happens to the SNR reading if you power off other devices near to the Playbar? (Give it time for any changes to occur).