Yep, as Bruce mentions the Wife and I have two Roams working perfectly here, and my Son and Daughter also have one each at their Homes. Each of our setups work fine on both the LAN and/or Bluetooth connections.
There’s ‘perhaps’ little doubt in its worldwide production/roll-out that some small percentage of Roam units may encounter a fault, but that can happen with every/any similar product and in that case a product exchange will clearly work and resolve the issue, but if the LAN environment is the problem and the stated system requirements are not met, then a product exchange is just not the answer.
We all want things to work straight out the box, but sometimes that may not always be the case, especially as some features on a LAN maybe switched off ‘by default’ on some routers, or a user has altered a setting themselves on their network, or mobile device.
However my own personal experience is these Roam portable speakers work just fine and I think some folk forget that these are multi-room wireless/bluetooth computerised networked speakers with lithium-ion powered batteries - they do far more than normal Bluetooth speakers and have the following outlined features (not an exhaustive list):
- Waterproof
- Auto-Trueplay
- Apple Airplay
- Wireless Audio
- Sound Swap
- Bluetooth (with line-in/pass-through to WiFi audio)
- Stereo pairing & grouping.
- 10+ hour playback battery life
- Built-in mic with voice assistant (Alexa/Google)
- Available in Black/White colours
- Wireless Qi/USB-C charging
These portable speakers will work for the ‘majority’ of folk straight out the box, but like any network devices you may have to switch on/off things that have been switched off/on, either by default. or by the user themselves… such as ‘multicasting’, as mentioned in the example in my previous post.
Sonos claims it will work independently as a Bluetooth device or with your other Sonos speakers as part of your system. This product does neither properly. That is a product issue, not a setup issue. My iPhone could not even connect with it as a simple Bluetooth speaker. Lemons happen, this is one. The Product Manager responsible for the Roam didn’t do his/her job, simple as that.
Like you I returned my Roam because it didn’t meet my expectations.
But come on man one can’t take your personal experience and say they whole product is bad, this simply isn’t true and IMO not really helpful to discussion here.
That said I encourage you to keep posting your experience with the Roam as it is as valid as the other few posters who rave about it.
My Roam got splashed by the pool and now it is not functioning. I have four other Sonos products. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with this product.
My Roam got splashed by the pool and now it is not functioning. I have four other Sonos products. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with this product.
It’s IP67 rated, so I ‘suspect’ any splashing by the pool is perhaps unlikely to be the issue here.
My Roam got splashed by the pool and now it is not functioning. I have four other Sonos products. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with this product.
It’s IP67 rated, so I ‘suspect’ any splashing by the pool is perhaps unlikely to be the issue here.
I would have to agree, it should not have damaged the speaker. The top is now separated, clearly water entered through the top of the speaker. Possibly defective? It’s less than a month old.
My Roam got splashed by the pool and now it is not functioning. I have four other Sonos products. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with this product.
It’s IP67 rated, so I ‘suspect’ any splashing by the pool is perhaps unlikely to be the issue here.
I would have to agree, it should not have damaged the speaker. The top is now separated, clearly water entered through the top of the speaker. Possibly defective? It’s less than a month old.
I guess if you have a faulty device that had an ingress of water, you should contact Sonos Support, but this is what should actually happen with the device:
My Suggestion though would be to perhaps use the Qi charger method after it gets this wet, until it has dried out.
My Roam got splashed by the pool and now it is not functioning. I have four other Sonos products. I am thoroughly dissatisfied with this product.
It’s IP67 rated, so I ‘suspect’ any splashing by the pool is perhaps unlikely to be the issue here.
I would have to agree, it should not have damaged the speaker. The top is now separated, clearly water entered through the top of the speaker. Possibly defective? It’s less than a month old.
I guess if you have a faulty device that had an ingress of water, you should contact Sonos Support, but this is what should actually happen with the device:
My Suggestion though would be to perhaps use the Qi charger method after it gets this wet, until it has dried out.
Agreed. I don’t use the cord.The video is definitely the reason I felt comfortable having a $250 speaker next to my pool.
@Thokramer
Maybe post an image of the mentioned water damage to your Roam device here for the Support Staff to see when you contact them.
We received our Roam last week and have had endless problems with it, which haven’t been solved by Sonos Customer Services.
Initially, it wouldn’t connect to our existing Sonos system at all. Then when it did, the speaker didn’t work properly - it was really tinny with no bass, and when we tried to change the volume there was an awful scratching noise.
We eventually managed to play music normally - but the it cuts out every 3-5 minutes!! On the Sonos app it still says music is playing, and the buttons on the Roam don’t work.
This happens whether it’s on Bluetooth or wifi. Other problems include not being able to turn it off, and the buttons sporadically not working at all.
We spent 45 minutes on hold to CS, and then 2.5 hours chatting with a very nice but ultimately unhelpful technician who remote-accessed our router settings and tried everything he could to get it working. This resulted in us having no internet…. because he changed our router to modem mode, which meant nothing else connected to the router worked! He then told us to call our ISP - even though it’s clearly a problem with the Roam and not our wifi network.
We’ve had no problems with our other Sonos speakers. But although I am loathe to call CS again but I’m going to have to to return this obviously faulty item. Sort it out Sonos!
Are these common problems or is it just us? How do you get Sonos to acknowledge that something is faulty?
I had exactly the same problem with my Roam. I found no solution and read that a Sonos support guy recommended us to to return it, which I did. What a crappy product, I’m so disappointed!
“I can assure you that the issues you mentioned are not common”(??)
I have to say I chuckled when reading this from support. I’m over 3 hours in on support for my Roam, and still not fixed. Connectivity problems, airplay issues, bluetooth issues, delay (25 sec) in playing after pushing play and 5 sec delay when pushing pause. Very poor and confusing UI (one button and one LED), rapid battery drain when unit powered off, and more. Can’t believe the Move was designed by the same co., as it’s as near perfect as one can get these days (sound, UI and connectivity).
I’ve settled for use with my phone only on the road so i can continue listening to SONOS programming while traveling. Won’t use it for anything else despite use with my laptop was main reason for buying it. Bitter taste in mouth on this one, adding to the love/hate relationship with SONOS.
New Sonia Roam - have called and spoke to 4 customer service reps - nice people - but I have wasted more than 4 hours trying to get my one sonos roam speaker connected to my WiFi - impossible!!
very unhappy first time Sonia customer!!! Still not working!!!!
I experienced the same thing when I got mine, fixed the problem in a few minutes. The Roam doesn’t seem to like if you have more than one network available to it. I connected if first through Spotify on Bluetooth to make sure it worked out of network, and then I removed the 2nd network i had available for it, haven’t had any problems since. Plays all the time, doesn’t log itself out, works fine.
How were you able to get Sonos to exchange your Roam? I spent a half hour on the phone with CS and got to a point where they wanted me to reconfigure my wifi system. I have several other Sonos speakers and they work fine. When I first got the Roam a few weeks ago, it worked on my system I was out of town for a couple of weeks and when I returned, I have been unable to connect my Roam to my Wifi and also unable to use the bluetooth function. I have followed every step to reset it and it doesn’t work. All I wanted was to have my Roam exchanged and I am being told they won’t because they think my wifi system isn’t configured correctly. Everything else connected to it works other than my Roam. Appreciate the help.
If the Staff believe a ‘product-exchange’ will just result in the same outcome until you perhaps reconfigure your setup to meet the system requirements, perhaps that’s their reasoning
, but you haven’t explained the actual network issue in your post?
Is it a QOS, Airtime Fairness, Multicasting, DHCP server, or some other issue? The fact other devices work, maybe irrelevant, particularly if they are running on SonosNet (which Roam doesn’t use), or are setup on S1 HH, or your router is having difficulties leasing IP addresses, for example etc. etc.
No point CS sending you a replacement device if you just then face the exact same issues you have now? What was the actual issue with reconfiguring your setup to accommodate the product?
What were you being asked to change to get the device onto your system?
More information is needed to really comment further about the matter.
I’m a network engineer with every Sonos product in my house, my newly added roam keeps pausing randomly It seems to be 100% roam related. Where can I find the Sonos recommended Network settings ? I have a commercial grade WiFi setup in my house :)
MistaP,
Not likely to be part of your ROAM drama, but here are some details that you might enjoy.
Are your other SONOS units using SonosNet or WiFi?
Give us more detail about your network setup.
Seeing all the different posts and stories about the ROAM being defective, I have a hard time reconciling myself to some stupid comment posted about this obviously not being a product problem and scores of users have no problems so it must be a “you” problem.
Mine is dead. Normal use for about a month. Was glitchy while it still functioned. But I lived with it. Now I begin my journey trying to get a refund… (and yes it’s past the 45 day period) I started with the “email our CEO direct” link. Very interested to see how that works out.
Seeing all the different posts and stories about the ROAM being defective, I have a hard time reconciling myself to some stupid comment posted about this obviously not being a product problem and scores of users have no problems so it must be a “you” problem.
Mine is dead. Normal use for about a month. Was glitchy while it still functioned. But I lived with it. Now I begin my journey trying to get a refund… (and yes it’s past the 45 day period) I started with the “email our CEO direct” link. Very interested to see how that works out.
This topic is barely 2 pages long. Want to know what a real problem looks like?
A few years back there was an actual “widespread” problem with a single Sonos device, the Playbar, a rather expensive, relatively low sales item, and the problem only manifested itself with a certain brand of TV. Even so, the main thread for that problem made it past 200 posts, and ended up being almost 10 pages, even though a fix was almost immediate.
Another time the Playbar was found to be affected with all TV’s. That thread hit 75 pages and over 1800 posts. There was also a couple dozen or so other threads about the same problem.
So no, a few dozen or so posts does not mean a widespread problem.
jgatie - this is one specific topic titled “So many problems with the Roam!”
Look for anything involving Roam Battery, Roam Dead, Roam Charging, and many more key words. There are pages of different issues and all go back to a lot of people buying the Roam and it’s defective.
Your other examples of crappy Sonos products makes me seriously consider my future plans for home entertainment electronics though. Appreciate that info.
jgatie - this is one specific topic titled “So many problems with the Roam!”
Look for anything involving Roam Battery, Roam Dead, Roam Charging, and many more key words. There are pages of different issues and all go back to a lot of people buying the Roam and it’s defective.
Your other examples of crappy Sonos products makes me seriously consider my future plans for home entertainment electronics though. Appreciate that info.
Add up every post on the Roam and you still won’t get 75 pages and 1800 posts (not to mention the dozens of other threads about that Playbar problem). And I guarantee you there are far more Roam owners than Playbar owners out there. Fact is, the vast majority of Roam owners, including me, have no problems. Otherwise, you’d see what you saw for the Playbar and then some.
And one problem (the other was a Samsung fault) with one product that was fixed within a few days does not a "crappy" product make.
Perhaps if you’re invested in the Sonos ecosystem the value proposition is different, but as a first-time Sonos buyer it had the opposite of what I assumed was the intended effect of bringing in a new customer, and instead alienated one for life.
I’m sure Sonos is a decent brand all in all, it does obviously have it’s fierce promoters/defenders as evidenced every time one dares to question the QA. But this is a thread about the very real shortcomings of a specific product, not a general philosophical debate about the brand.
My own experience very much mirrored the posts here. Just a huge time-suck of trying to get it configured, to connect, and then after it finally did - work consistently. It never did, so I returned it. Maybe other folks have endless time to devote to making gadgets work in their advertised, intended way but I simply don’t. Got my money back, but the time is lost forever.
One faulty product does not a crappy brand make, but based on my own experience with the Roam as a first Sonos product, I’ll never touch anything made by it. Pretty bad “halo effect” for the cheapest product in the lineup.
It didn’t help that the actual sound quality was mediocre at best. It was embarrassing putting it side by side with my buddy’s Bose 3 yr old Soundlink. (And I’m no Bose fanboi either!)
To be charitable, maybe a Roam II will be better but I definitely steer anyone in the market for a portable speaker away from this iteration.
I'm sure Sonos, the billion dollar a year company approaching 2 decades of existence, will survive the dozen or so posts in this thread.
hahaha
You’re right, no tech companies ever fail once they’ve been around long enough. That’s totally how it works.
Arrogance, complacency, and hubris: the hallmarks of any great company with a long future ahead. lol
Thanks for making my day! :-)
hahaha
You’re right, no tech companies ever fail once they’ve been around long enough. That’s totally how it works.
Arrogance, complacency, and hubris: the hallmarks of any great company with a long future ahead. lol
Thanks for making my day! :-)
If I had a nickel for every time someone has said Sonos is going to fail due to some perceived humanistic traits that by definition cannot apply to a nameless, faceless corporation, I could afford a new Sonos Five. We’ve been laughing at posts like that for over a decade. So no, thanks to you for making my day!
I would like to echo this thread because I am having so much trouble with my SONOS ROAM as well, every morning I need to, always, always FIX the connection between ROAM and my mobile. Every freaking day I am asked to push 2 buttons to reset this speaker and set it up again and again. I am beginning to hate it, then I would always try to remember that I really wanted this and I thought of it hard to get me one. Because you see I am happy with my JBL collection but then this looks so nice and more expensive. So I thought I'd be happier, now I'm almost regretting it. HEY SONOS! Why can't you guys fix this thing???
Over the last two years I have purchased many Sonos products for myself Family and friends. I love all the speakers and have had the odd glitch from time to time. But two months ago I bought a Roam. For the first 4 weeks it worked fine, but after that I had nothing but problems with it. The unit would not power up it just died even though it was charged. The app couldnt find it Every time I wanted to use it I had to phone customer care and they would do something their end and it would spring to life. But the next time I tried to use it it was dead and no matter what I tried nothing would work. I could not reset it myself as it would not switch on. My wifi system works perfectly for everything else but this Roam seems to have a mind of its own. If anyone in the UK has ever had to return a product to Sonos you will know what a faff it is. Posting an item to Poland and then getting a replacement from Holland. I have now decided to give up on the Roam it simply is not up to scratch which is a shame as my other Sonos products are great
Over the last two years I have purchased many Sonos products for myself Family and friends. I love all the speakers and have had the odd glitch from time to time. But two months ago I bought a Roam. For the first 4 weeks it worked fine, but after that I had nothing but problems with it. The unit would not power up it just died even though it was charged. The app couldnt find it Every time I wanted to use it I had to phone customer care and they would do something their end and it would spring to life. But the next time I tried to use it it was dead and no matter what I tried nothing would work. I could not reset it myself as it would not switch on. My wifi system works perfectly for everything else but this Roam seems to have a mind of its own. If anyone in the UK has ever had to return a product to Sonos you will know what a faff it is. Posting an item to Poland and then getting a replacement from Holland. I have now decided to give up on the Roam it simply is not up to scratch which is a shame as my other Sonos products are great
You haven’t mentioned which charger you were using - I am in the U.K. and got my Roams from Poland too. I use two different chargers - the Sonos supplied Qi charger (used for overnight charging mostly) and also a 5v/3A (15w) power output USB-C charger for quick charging during the day and when away from the Home and the Roams are both working fine here.
I’m just wondering if it’s perhaps an issue with your charger, rather than the speaker. I only mention it to assist, because you might otherwise end up replacing the Roam and still having the same problem.
