Avid Contributor III

Answered

Roam randomly offline, then reappears online many hours later (sometimes)

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I’ve been using my Roam for may weeks now but every so often I find it offline, and then I can’t access it at all. If I leave it for several / many hours it might suddenly appear online.

The problem seems to happen most after I put it to sleep, or power it off or leave it off the charger long enough for it to put itself to sleep. Then next time I want to use it, push the power button, LEDs come on … but it stays offline !

If I leave it on the charger and as a member of a group (i.e. it never let it go to sleep) it will work for many days without hassle, but occasionally I still find it offline (but much less often).

It’s very odd that the only solution to get it back online (after powering on and LEDs on) is to leave it for several / many hours … and then it will suddenly, unpredictably appear online.

I would appreciate some pointers, it’s starting to annoy me !

TIA

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Corry PAnswer

Sonos Staff

Hi @ninja2

When your Roam has white lights but is missing from the App, can it play from voice command, the Spotify app or via AirPlay?

If so, then the issue isn’t that the Roam is offline, but that the network isn’t allowing the app to communicate with the speaker. As @Ken_Griffiths mentioned, the Roam does not make use of the Boost, so it’s connecting in a different way from the rest of your Sonos speakers and therefore is alone in this issue.

This first thing I would do in this case is switch the router off for at least 30 seconds.

Is your mesh also by Fritz!? If not, you may need to make sure it is in Bridge or AP mode. This might be worth checking even if it is Fritz! too. If you turn this unit off, does that help the Roam? If so, then there are probably some configuration changes needing done.

If that doesn’t help, it would be best to submit a diagnostic while the Roam is online and record the number given, then get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

Ken_Griffiths

The following is based on my own experience of using the device… The Roam should sleep after 30 mins. of inactivity. It can wake for a variety of reasons, see below:

It’s connected to a charger.
IP address is renewed by the local router.
The Sonos App is opened (whilst connected to the same LAN) or the App is moved from being a background task and bought to the foreground.*
To let you know it needs recharging or to receive an update.
The power button is pressed.

*NB: When the App is brought into focus the Roam will fall back into sleep mode after 3 minutes if music is not played to the room.

I hope that list assists.

I am finding that playback should last around 10-12 hours at 50% volume. Standby battery lasts much more than 24 hours and it should stay charged for around 10 days when completely powered off (5+ Sec. press on rear power button until you hear the shutdown tone).

It seems to take 2hrs 15mins to charge from empty to 100% when using an adapter with 5v/3A power output. A Qi (Chi) charger can take much longer between 4-1/2hrs to 7hrs depending on how good the charger is - best used for overnight charging, or trickle-charging throughout the day.

G

GuitarSuperstar

Lead Maestro

@ninja2 It sounds to me like you are having some network connection issues with the Roam. Are you able to directly connect any of your other speakers to the router with an ethernet cable?

FYI… if you power down the Roam completely by holding down the button on the back for 5 seconds until you hear a chime, the Roam will stay offline until you power it on again.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

lewisc

Headliner I

What router do you have?

Authorised Sonos Installer

ninja2Author

Avid Contributor III

@GuitarSuperstarthat’s my suspiciaon, but I can’t prove it yet. I can connect by ethernet if need be … I’m interested to know the test/purpose ? (all my other speakers are working fine wirelessly)

I should mention I use Sonos boost. As I understand that means my speakers connect by Sonos protocol through the boost, not WiFi. My Roam is registered on my WiFi, but I’m not sure which protocol it uses (WiFi or Boost). Biut I’m no expert, this could all be wrong :)

@lewisc my router is a Fritz!Box7490

ninja2Author

Avid Contributor III

Hoping to get Sonos staff help on this topic … please :)

Ken_Griffiths

Hoping to get Sonos staff help on this topic … please :)

Isn’t the Roam just going to sleep, as it is designed to do? Have you tried waking it up using the various methods mentioned, such as a press on its rear power button, or simply opening the S2 App on the same network. Unless it’s a case that it’s battery is flat and you just need to recharge it.

ninja2Author

Avid Contributor III

sure it’s going to sleep, but if I push the power button and the white LED comes on (two actually, because the mic is enabled) it simply shows in app as “offline” for hours at a time and I can’t use it, whether by itself or adding it to an active group. Then, suddenly, randomly, it will appear online in the app and I can use it normally.

Same thing happens whether I put it to sleep or power it off by pushing the power button. Also happens if I pause and leave it long enough to go to sleep, and it’s not on the charger.

And it’s not a charging issue, the battery is working just fine. But keeping it on the charger stops it going to sleep from the active state.

Ken_Griffiths

sure it’s going to sleep, but if I push the power button and the white LED comes on (two actually, because the mic is enabled) it simply shows in app as “offline” for hours at a time and I can’t use it, whether by itself or adding it to an active group. Then, suddenly, randomly, it will appear online in the app and I can use it normally.

Same thing happens whether I put it to sleep or power it off by pushing the power button. Also happens if I pause and leave it long enough to go to sleep, and it’s not on the charger.

And it’s not a charging issue, the battery is working just fine. But keeping it on the charger stops it going to sleep from the active state.

It very much sounds like the Roam might be connecting to a different WiFi access point, do you have multiple access points in your own network setup perhaps?

ninja2Author

Avid Contributor III

Well I only have one router but maybe my boost is an AP too?

I’m assuming multiple router bands (2.4GHz/5GHz) and my mesh repeater don’t count as APs

If the Roam is seeing two APs, why would it pseudo-randomly jump between them ? curiouser and curiouser … :-|

Ken_Griffiths

The Roam doesn’t use the Boost’s SonosNet connection and as you only have the one access point with dual bands, perhaps try this…

When your controller App loses site of the speaker perhaps just see if switching between your 2.4Ghz band and 5Ghz band (or vice versa) on your mobile causes the device to reappear in the App as that might give an indication to where the problem lies. HTH

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