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poor wifi signal on playbar

  • 16 September 2023
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Hi, I have a sonos home theatre system using a playbar, sub ans two play:1’s. It has been working fine for several years until last week when the playbar suddenly reports a weak connection to wifi causing the system to drop out.

I know the the wifi signal in my lounge is great everywhere and especially where the playar is as the tv, blueray and sky boxes have strong wifi connections. I’m suspicious that the playbar wifi receiver is failing so I have obtained a wifi repeater to make sure the platbar is getting a very strong signal. The playbar seems to prefer to connect to my router’s wifi rather than the repeater’s though. I find the sonos app really poor for configuration as it decides for itself what to connect to not giving the user any control. Any suggestion?

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths 16 September 2023, 15:37

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22 replies

Ken_Griffiths

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.

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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.

ratty

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

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Having Orbi does not preclude repeaters.

ratty

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? 

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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.

Ken_Griffiths

Having Orbi does not preclude repeaters.

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

ratty

Not sure what you’re trying to get at here. 

 

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.

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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.

Ken_Griffiths

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).

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10db at the moment and the connection is weak.

I’ll report back when I can turn off the sky and bluray boxes.

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Just dropped to 8db with no change to anything.

Ken_Griffiths

10db at the moment and the connection is weak.

I’ll report back when I can turn off the sky and bluray boxes.

Maybe reboot the Orbi Hub it’s connected to aswell, particularly if it’s not the nearest AP.

Ken_Griffiths

Just dropped to 8db with no change to anything.

It may fluctuate due to wireless interference - ideally you’re looking for a reading of 45dB, or above. As a rough example the Sonos Arc here is one metre away from a Mesh WiFi AP and gives a reading of 87dB but most things around it are wired or set on the 5Ghz band to avoid any interference.

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Ken_Griffiths

Note that any zigbee and/or bluetooth devices nearby, may also interfere, so perhaps keep those in mind too.

 

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No zigbee or bluetooth nearby. Right now there is no connection at all.

Ken_Griffiths

@dwhite4245 

As I said earlier, once you test these things, if you do still encounter issues, then go onto submit a diagnostic report and contact Sonos Support who may be able to say if there is an issue with the Playbar WiFi adapter. (Edit: The Playbar will need to be showing in the App when submitting the diagnostic - even cable it, if necessary).

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Ok, with everything else off it’s showin 13db so I’ll raise a problem with sonos suppoert. Thanks for all the help and advice.

I may have to replace the playbar with an arc!

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OK, I spent an hour and three quarters on the phone with Sonos Support after sending in a diagnostic report. To cut a long story short it seems that my playbar’s wifi card is working fine but with the latest updates it is now unable to be the master device of my home theater system. It is 8 years old and the support guy, Gabriel, tried everything to get it working on wifi but no go. It works connected by ethernet but I can’t do that when it’s attached to my TV. The work-around is that I now have Play:1 that we don’t use connected by ethernet to my router and this seems to allow the playbar to connect over sonosnet and the rear speakers and sub.

Don’t ask me how or why.but I now have a working setup again.

Ken_Griffiths

OK, I spent an hour and three quarters on the phone with Sonos Support after sending in a diagnostic report. To cut a long story short it seems that my playbar’s wifi card is working fine but with the latest updates it is now unable to be the master device of my home theater system. It is 8 years old and the support guy, Gabriel, tried everything to get it working on wifi but no go. It works connected by ethernet but I can’t do that when it’s attached to my TV. The work-around is that I now have Play:1 that we don’t use connected by ethernet to my router and this seems to allow the playbar to connect over sonosnet and the rear speakers and sub.

Don’t ask me how or why.but I now have a working setup again.

These three links below may help explain why it’s now working, as the setup is likely now operating on the internal SonosNet signal, often referred to by Sonos as ‘wired mode’:

Hope the above assists and thanks kindly for popping back to let us know the outcome.👍

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Thanks Ken. Looking at About My System all six of my Sonos speakers (Play:1 ethernet connected to my router, Play:1 in the kitchen, Playbar + Sub + 2 Play:1 rears) show up as WM:0 (wired) even though only one device is actually wired to the router.

I’ll probably replace the Playbar soon as Sonos has an upgrade scheme offering 15% discount.

Thanks for all the help and I’ve learnt something new every day since this saga began.

Cheers, Dave.

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks Ken. Looking at About My System all six of my Sonos speakers (Play:1 ethernet connected to my router, Play:1 in the kitchen, Playbar + Sub + 2 Play:1 rears) show up as WM:0 (wired) even though only one device is actually wired to the router.

I’ll probably replace the Playbar soon as Sonos has an upgrade scheme offering 15% discount.

Thanks for all the help and I’ve learnt something new every day since this saga began.

Cheers, Dave.

Yes, it only needs one Sonos product to be wired to (often) run ALL on SonosNet, what you’re seeing is correct and perfectly fine - it actually takes some of the load off your WiFi network - many users use/prefer this type of Sonos setup.👍

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