Wirecutter no longer recommends Sonos as top

47 replies
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Dunno maybe Wirecutter should fix their network, reboot, get a new mesh system.
I’m having no issues with the app, must be them. 🤣

But in all (not) seriousness this is very brave of them 🤣

Will be interesting to see what they recommend when they finish redoing the article.

Quote, emphasis mine:

We are completely re-envisioning this guide and will no longer recommend the Sonos multiroom audio platform as the best overall choice. Please see our note at the top of the guide for more details.

After careful consideration, we no longer recommend the Sonos multiroom audio platform as the best overall choice. Sonos recently rolled out a major update to its control app that had a ton of problems, leaving its customers with a much less intuitive experience than they had before. While the company is slowly addressing some of the major issues with the new app, this is not the first time Sonos has hurt customer trust through poorly executed changes.

That said, Sonos still makes great speakers that work well within other wireless control platforms like AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and (in some cases) Bluetooth. So we are not discounting Sonos products entirely. We just no longer hold up the company’s own ecosystem as the best way to interact with the system.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/sonos-player/

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H

hilander911

Lyricist III

Update: I just finished a 3-hour call with support, but unfortunately, they couldn’t resolve the issues with my surround system. It feels like they’re using customers as beta testers for their app.

I have the Arc, surrounds and Sub (gen3) and it’s working fine here - is the issue the TV, as the HT receives the signal from the TV over HDMI/Optical wired link and the communication to the surrounds & sub is over an ad-hoc wireless connection, rather than the local WiFi network? - assuming you’re not using wired connections.

You shouldn't even need the Sonos App once the configuration is in place.

If the devices are not getting their IP addresses (proxied via the Arc) then try SonosNet mode and if that doesn’t work, I’d consider changing the local router anyway… if that’s perhaps where your issues lie.

My system worked fine for several years, with no changes to the TV (Sony) or Router (Asus). Since the new app, the various Sonos components can no longer form a surround system. As mentioned, even Sonos support could not figure it out yet.

Ken_Griffiths

My system worked fine for several years, with no changes to the TV (Sony) or Router (Asus). Since the new app, the various Sonos components can no longer form a surround system. As mentioned, even Sonos support could not figure it out yet.

So was it an IP address proxy issue? - did you (or the Sonos Staff) check to see if SonosNet mode worked for you and perhaps resolved the issue?

Ken_Griffiths

@hilander911
Here’s a ‘common’ fix for some Asus router too - see if perhaps applies in your case:

Log into the ASUS router.
Under Advanced Settings, click LAN.
Select the IPTV tab.
Enable Multicast Routing (IGMP Proxy) and Efficient Multicast Forwarding (IGMP Snooping.)
Go back to Advanced Settings, and click Wireless.
Select the Professional tab.
Enable IGMP Snooping.

B

bnilesh

Avid Contributor I

duplicate post removed …

B

bnilesh

Avid Contributor I

Loosing credibility of reliable app

I am using SONOS from around 7-8 years. I was impressed by the reliability of the app and the sound of speakers. I have recommended the system to many of my friends. However from two months after major upgrade (?) Sonos didn't left any chance to shatter my confidence on its app.

There are various issues in current version like trueplay and spatial audio disabling automatically, unable to access music library many times, no way to add dongs to playlist, sonos playlist missing many times, sluggish while accessing local albums, no search option by category like artist/song/ etc. its a genuine downgrade. Keeps refreshing when open app, Releasing app without completely testing was a big blunder !!!

I

Ian_S

Prodigy III

My system worked fine for several years, with no changes to the TV (Sony) or Router (Asus). Since the new app, the various Sonos components can no longer form a surround system. As mentioned, even Sonos support could not figure it out yet.

And this is the exact scenario where Sonos have messed up the most. Sony as a manufacturer are better than many at adhering to standards and addressing issues with firmware. While I know people will try all manner of stuff to get their system ‘back’, why on earth should they have to jump through hoops just to undo what Sonos have inflicted on them or buy a new router when the only thing that no longer works is thing that changed most, Sonos…

If the new app/firmware requires specific stuff to be done on many home networks then why don’t Sonos know and tell people. If the new app/firmware breaks stuff, but with a set of easy to follow instructions you can fix it, why not publish it?

The only reasonable conclusion is that Sonos need to fix their ecosystem, and if they can’t do that in a reasonable timeframe, allow users to go back to the pre-new app controller/firmware so they can get back to using what they paid for. It’s not rocket science, it’s consumer electronics.

Ken_Griffiths

My system worked fine for several years, with no changes to the TV (Sony) or Router (Asus). Since the new app, the various Sonos components can no longer form a surround system. As mentioned, even Sonos support could not figure it out yet.

And this is the exact scenario where Sonos have messed up the most. Sony as a manufacturer are better than many at adhering to standards and addressing issues with firmware. While I know people will try all manner of stuff to get their system ‘back’, why on earth should they have to jump through hoops just to undo what Sonos have inflicted on them or buy a new router when the only thing that no longer works is thing that changed most, Sonos…

If the new app/firmware requires specific stuff to be done on many home networks then why don’t Sonos know and tell people. If the new app/firmware breaks stuff, but with a set of easy to follow instructions you can fix it, why not publish it?

The only reasonable conclusion is that Sonos need to fix their ecosystem, and if they can’t do that in a reasonable timeframe, allow users to go back to the pre-new app controller/firmware so they can get back to using what they paid for. It’s not rocket science, it’s consumer electronics.

The thing with some Asus routers is they (unlike the majority) have things around multicasting disabled, the ‘common’ fix is to see if the below is required for the router, as ‘widely’ mentioned in the community here - below is copied/pasted from another thread. So if it’s wrong, please don’t shoot me…

Log into the ASUS router.
Under Advanced Settings, click LAN.
Select the IPTV tab.
Enable Multicast Routing (IGMP Proxy) and Efficient Multicast Forwarding (IGMP Snooping.)
Go back to Advanced Settings, and click Wireless.
Select the Professional tab.
Enable IGMP Snooping.

Ken_Griffiths

Another router that springs to mind is Unifi and in their case the manufacturer themselves have added some instructions on their website to help prevent network loops. See link below:

https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/18930473041047-Best-Practices-for-Sonos-Devices

Not sure how Sonos can force these manufacturers to change things to have them support multicast discovery or prevent network issues and there’s other network hardware too, such as switches. that may need a settings change. Fortunately these things are by-far in the minority, but I would not rule out a network issue in some cases, as not everything may work straight out the box and it’s good to keep an eye on the Sonos System Requirements and Controller Requirements aswell, as things can and do change from time to time, as is often the case with 3rd-party hardware on the local network too.

My WiFi mesh hubs have received at least two automatic updates so far this year, just as an example.

K

Kumar

It’s not rocket science, it’s consumer electronics.

It gets to be rocket science when one tries to repurpose what is essentially an audio system remote control into a wizarding wand.

And why Sonos cannot roll back the firmware on all its speakers to a 30th April version and bring back S2 from that time remains a mystery.

Ken_Griffiths

It’s not rocket science, it’s consumer electronics.

It gets to be rocket science when one tried to repurpose what is essentially an audio system remote control into a wizarding wand.

And why Sonos cannot roll back the firmware on all its speakers to a 30th April version and bring back S2 from that time remains a mystery.

Maybe Sonos didn’t want to ‘split’ the system into S2 & Sonos App, because people strongly complained about such a split last time around, just as a thought🤔?

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