Bluetooth on Roam

I’ve connected the roam at home, works fine.

So can I now take the roam to work and use it via Bluetooth? 

its showing I’m connected at work but I can’t select any music from my library!!

In the setting menu, my email is clouded so I can’t open it.

Have you set up the Roam on your Wi-Fi using the Sonos S2 app first?

Answered in your other thread 

If the light is white that means the Roam is in WiFi mode. Take a look at this article that describes how to switch your Roam to Bluetooth mode.

Yes, you can take the Roam anywhere and use it as a Bluetooth speaker. You can’t play music from the Sonos app when you are not connected to the Wi-Fi network your Sonos system is connected to. Try to play music or audio from another app.

Sorted!! 👍

I got my Roam on Tuesday. I set it up and could play it on both Wifi and Bluetooth. I was still getting to grips with it and I somehow managed to lose the Bluetoth functionallity. I managed to reconnect to wifi but since then I can not set it up for Bluetooth. I am pressing the button on the back but the only light that appears is the white one which is either constant or flashing. The orange light appears at the bottom too.

Any ideas how I can sort this out please? PS When it works it sounds superb. 

Yes I have..plays radio only...get a wierd number coming up in available devices that says needs app...but not sure if Sonos and also I have the app anyway !!

Also does this mean that everyone needs a Sonos account and App to use it ?

Think I might just send it back...too complicated, just want a simple Blootooth speaker for the garage !

Yes, you need a Sonos account and app to use this.  Out of curiosity, what’s your aversion to that?  It has bluetooth capabilities, but can do much more than that.

Aversion is I can't even connect it to Bluetooth for starters.…

Not interested in Alexa 

I asked what your aversion to a Sonos account and the Sonos app was.  As has been explained, you can’t use bluetooth till you go through the Sonos app, so I’m trying to figure out why a Sonos account and app are too much to ask for you.

Getting a Sonos account (you already have one since you’re posting here) and app will not enable Alexa or Google Assistant on the Roam, you would have to do a few other setup steps for that to happen.  It will allow you to stream audio directly to the Roam, enable auto trueplay, firmware updates, and many other features if you decide to eventually build out a Sonos system of speakers.

@GaryBix After you set up the Roam on your Wi-Fi in the Sonos app, did you perform the steps in this article to connect your device to the Roam using Bluetooth?https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4989?language=en_US

I have the App on my phone, it is paired with the Roam and I still can't get Blootooth a why I originally posted...also I have a Sonos sound bar and speakers relating to my TV, I know how Sonos works

I did yes and no blue light....

Yes, look like I made the mistake of not reading deep enough into the thread and made some bad assumptions.  My apologies.   Guitarsuperstar is pointing you in the right direction.  All I could add is that when I test bluetooth on the Roam, I ran into two quirks.  One, I took the product tour and assumed it was interactive, assisting in setting up the bluetooth connection.  That’s not the case, it’s just ‘dumb’ screens.  The other is that after the Roam was ready for bluetooth (blue light), I did not see it immediately on my phones available bluetooth devices.  It took a few seconds for it to show.

@GaryBix Check out this thread and see if the solution at the end of the thread will work for you: 

Tried it...doesn't work, useless bit of kit, it's going back...

@GaryBix Go to System > System Updates and make sure your system is up to date. 

I’m trying to set this up away from home. The Sonos app doesn’t like the wifi so the system and account settings are greyed out. I just want to setup this one roam I brought for vacation. It’s crazy frustrating that I can’t use Bluetooth until it’s setup via the app that won’t let me use the system 

I agree that requiring device to be setup with app first before being able to use blue tooth is dumb. This device is advertised as being a portable first and foremost. Humans like simplicity. Sonos app is clunky. People not familiar with sonos software, buying the roam because it is supposed to be ‘portable', are going to want the device to work similarly to other portable speakers that require no app for blue tooth.

Other speakers have already set this expectation (blue tooth straight out of the box, no app), so when your device doesn't meet this already established expectation  customers are disappointed and frustrated. Designing for humans also means designing for their expectations.

Also, the app is clunky. Requiring app setup before Bluetooth frontloads the learning curve. Allow basic blue tooth functionality before setup, then as people become settled they will look into the other features that are account locked.

Also if you lend somebody your speaker, your not going to want to give them your account info or them to make their own account (maybe they are a prankster and don't want them to take control of speaker randomly later). If they can get simple blue tooth functionality then that makes things simpler.

This is very frustrating. I just bought the Sonos Roam on a store to go on vacation and now I don’t have wifi and can’t set up the device to connect it  to my phone to play music. This is stupid. I’m in an island and can’t get wifi. Is there any other options? Thank you 

I have to say that the Sonos Roam is one of the most disappointing products I have purchased. I wanted a portable blue tooth speaker to travel with, and this is far from the ideal product.  Many issues with just trying to connect it to phone or laptop while using hotel wifi.  if it is a bluetooth speaker, what is the point in the requirement of connecting to a wifi network to connect it to a device.  Beyond usless now.  And before anyone asks, I have a lounge room full of Sonos products which work fine, it is just this useless ‘Roam’ speaker.  Calling it roam is almost false advertising.

Whereas mine works perfectly as a Bluetooth device. I set it up initially at home as required, and after that, I’ve had zero issues connecting to it using either Bluetooth sending device I have, no matter where I am. 
 

Have you tried contacting Sonos directly to see if they can help figure out what issue you’re running in to? 

Yes, my experience is very similar to that mentioned by Bruce, the Wife and I take the Roam when we go camping/glamping/walking and it’s Bluetooth connectivity works absolutely fine (without WiFi) - with both our mobiles (iPhone SE and XR). Not ever had any issues connecting, as the attached screen-capture images perhaps show (Roam here is called MotorRoam).

Does it work if a friend wants to play his music on his phone? 

I have a vacation home and I want a speaker where guests can play their music. If I set it up with wifi and then put it in bluetooth mode, will guests have to download the sonos app or can they just connect to it with bluetooth and play their phone music on the sonos speaker?