Bluetooth on Roam

  • 21 April 2021
  • 54 replies
  • 19039 views

Cant connect, only getting a white colour appearing, Roam not showing up as a device in Android when next to it

Oh and the App is useless BTW bit will keep product if can Bluetooth it !


54 replies

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.

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).

It's quite hard to help with such  vague information. Surely the "repeater" has the make and model on it?

Do you know if the repeater is in bridge mode, also known as access point mode?

Which SSIDs have you entered into Sonos?

Thank you again  Bruce.   I called customer support today (finally at a place with stable Wi-Fi and cell service)…   the wait was short,  the agent was knowledgeable and walked me through the setup steps successfully and I’m listening to music over Bluetooth as I write this.    Relieved I won’t be carrying a brick for 2 months,   and happy to have exactly what I intended to have when I chose the Roam for this trip and later home use.    Without your support I might have tossed it into a river in frustration - I appreciate you.   

Norton

Bruce, 

 

Thank you for that.   To clarify, it's the Sonos app crashing.   I tried both your suggestions, but no luck.  Next I'll take your suggestion to call them.   

 

The behavior is:

 

Launch app

Add product, it finds Roam

It displays a window saying Setting up Roam, then crashes 

As far as I can tell, I can't use it as a Bluetooth speaker with other audio apps on my phone until I clear this step of adding it to a Sonos system.   

It would, assuming I turned off the Bluetooth on my phone, and then connect it to their Bluetooth, sure. But as long as I leave my Bluetooth signal active, it won’t connect to another one. 
 

Bluetooth, unlike WiFi, is a one to one connection, in most cases. Neither of the Sonos devices that have Bluetooth for music streams can connect to multiple Bluetooth sources at the same time. 

Ok but what I wanted is my Sonos app to work on the go with the roam. 

Now when I'm away with my roam I cannot access my Sonos app and play list, I can only play things from outside Sonos. 

I’m so sorry but if I don’t find an efective Sollution to these issues, I’ll be returning it soon. 
Great speaker, anyways 

The Roam, like other Sonos speakers, is stable and reliable.  If you are having problems when it is on your network, then the issue is a networking one - drops in sound are due to network issues 99.9% of the time.  This does not mean that there is anything faulty about your network. if may be that a setting needs changing somewhere, or that there is wireless interference. Or maybe just that you are too far from the router.

Tell us more about your router and network.  Is it a mesh? Any extenders or access points?  Dual band?

You have to resolve this.  There is nothing for Sonos to resolve.  My Roam, like Bruce’s, operates without a hitch.

 

I got my Meander before 2 day and I set it up and could play it on both Wifi and Bluetooth. I was all the while having the chance to grasps with it and I some way or another figured out how to lose the Bluetoth functionallity. I figured out how to reconnect to wifi yet from that point forward I can not set it up for Bluetooth. I'm squeezing the button on the back however the main light that seems is the white one which is either steady or glimmering. The orange light shows up at the base as well.

Any thoughts how I can figure this out please? PS When it works it sounds magnificent

your recommendation will highly appreciated. Thank you

 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4989?language=en_US

I got my Meander before 2 day and I set it up and could play it on both Wifi and Bluetooth. I was all the while having the chance to grasps with it and I some way or another figured out how to lose the Bluetoth functionallity. I figured out how to reconnect to wifi yet from that point forward I can not set it up for Bluetooth. I'm squeezing the button on the back however the main light that seems is the white one which is either steady or glimmering. The orange light shows up at the base as well.

Any thoughts how I can figure this out please? PS When it works it sounds magnificent

your recommendation will highly appreciated. Thank you

 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4989?language=en_US

Thank You 

 

SSID is the WiFi name. Channel 48 is in the 5GHz band. Channels 1, 6 and 11 are in the 2.4GHz band.

Please give model numbers for the router and the repeater.

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.

Most devices do have a make and model number (and other pieces of information) printed on a label on the bottom of the device. No need to find the documentation, just flip it over for a moment. 

I set up my Roam on my home system on WiFi and verified it worked as a WiFi speaker in a group,  and as a Bluetooth speaker.   

 

Then,  I broke my phone,  and had to get a new one,  just as I left town for 2 months.   I bought this Roam to be my Bluetooth speaker on this trip.   

 

My new phone didn’t connect to the bluetooth…   I went to a place with Wifi,  and started a new system in the Sonos App,   factory reset the Roam,  and tried to add it as a speaker in the app.    The app sees it,  and tries to add it,  but crashes every time.   

Any thoughts on what I need to do?   

 

Thanks!

That’s odd. Once it’s set up, the Roam should be able to be connected to by any compatible Bluetooth device. Not just the single device that set it up originally. 

What app crashes? When using Bluetooth, you shouldn’t be using the Sonos app, but any other music app. 

Although you say you’ve done so, I’d be tempted to try another factory reset. If any app is crashing, it seems as though the factory reset didn’t ‘take’. I’d also be tempted to delete the Sonos app, and download a fresh one from the Apple or Google stores, on the offhand chance that it has become corrupt.

Finally, I’d really be tempted to call Sonos Support directly to discuss it.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

Delighted the issue was able to be resolved!

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? 

 

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?

 

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?

Yes, once the Roam has been registered and setup on a Sonos account, it can be switched to Bluetooth mode and BT-paired with your friends mobile. They will then be able to play their music from that device to the speaker without the need to install the Sonos App.

Agreed, it won’t function as a Bluetooth device until it’s been set up as a Sonos device. I’ll be interested to hear what CS has to say. 

As a guess, I’d be saying a VPN or other port blocking software, but it’s hard to tell remotely. 

Userlevel 3
Badge +5

Well… I love my Roam, but at the same time,  I don’t like it at all as an Airplay and being sometimes a buggy   speaker. I’ve had  great experiences with this wonderful little waterproof portable speaker, but at the same time I’ve been unhappy when the software behaves unstable and the music cuts off. Being the good speaker it is, I went to the beach on vacations to Mazatlán Sinaloa Mexico, I tested near the beach listening to my favorite music, it sounds amazing and it’s Bluetooth connection works fine sometimes, and during the trip it worked absolutely fine, the music never cutt out, It immediately paired with my phone without struggling, it sounds great outdoors of course being fine, but when the audio cuts out, it becomes into an expensive  paperweight or either a buggy computer, so I rather the Sonos Roam being good, stable and errors free, that’s why I bought it   

I’ve never had an issue with my Roam on Bluetooth. 

Userlevel 3
Badge +5

I’m so sorry but if I don’t find an efective Sollution to these issues, I’ll be returning it soon. 
Great speaker, anyways 

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.

Reply