Sonos Move - gets stuck in sleep mode


loving my Sonos One SL + Move system - except that when I pause the music and the Move goes to sleep, it doesn’t wake back up. The light comes on, and the buttons respond with little blip noises, but the app doesn’t see it as awake.  Tried all of the things the app suggests to do, it just never sees it awake and ready.  If I put it back on the charger, it will eventually wake up - but I make it wake up when I want to.  I see a similar discussion here on the Roam - anyone else seeing this with the Move?


This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

38 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +5

Does the Move respond to voice requests or if you press the play button, does the music that was playing before resume? Sounds like it could be having issues connecting back to the WiFi network, and a voice assistant should be able to tell you if that is the case

If the VC or play button do work, then try force close and re-open the app

just tried this.  App says it’s in Sleep mode.  Press power button. Small beep, White light comes on.  App still says sleep mode.  Pressing play button, makes a two-toned beep, then white light flashes red for 2 seconds.  I don’t do any voice control, so not sure about that.  

I put it back on the charger - charging light at the bottom comes on for only about 30 seconds, so the battery is very charged.  Still in sleep mode 15 minutes later.  Force quit phone app, restarts - still in sleep mode.  While on the charger, power it off, then back on - still in sleep mode.

Power it off and leave it off for 30 minutes.  Powered it up - still in sleep mode. 

Shut it down by holding the power button down for 5 seconds - makes a noise before turning off.  Leaving it off for 15 minutes, then restarting with a normal button press. now the white lights pulses, while rebooting, then it finall comes online.

so - have repeated this, with success.

1 - Move goes to sleep.
2 - wake it up by pressing power power button. (App will say is still in sleep mode)
3 - SHUT DOWN, by holding power button for 5 seconds or so, it chimes as it shuts down.
4 - restart with power button press - light will pulse while it’s booting up, then it will show up in the app.

Hope this helps others.  Still hope there’s a firmware fix sometime...

Same. Couldn’t seem to get the Move speaker out of Sleep Mode via the App. Tried your method @davejahns, but system prompted me to add the Move speaker anew. So, went through the setup process, again, as well as an update. Paired just fine. Now recognizable in system and no longer in sleep mode. Hmmm… Will see what happens next time the Move speaker is left idle for awhile and if it reverts to Sleep Mode, again, and what steps we have to take to “wake” it, again.

Cool - thanks @Music_Fans - Let me know if that fixes things.  I could reset to factory and add a new device if that helps. I did find one other thing that’s helpful.  There’s a setting for BATTERY SAVER - if that is ON, the Move will go to sleep, but since it doesn’t wake up, I don’t want it to go to sleep, since I have to wake it up and shut it down.  So - if you turn that Battery Saver to OFF - it will just shut down instead of going to sleep.  That’s great - once it powers back up, it’s ready to go - so it just takes 15 seconds or so to start back up.  But that’s better than what I’ve been doing.

Hi @davejahns. Battery Saver setting was already off (factory setting). So...Just checking and Move is sleeping, again….BUT, this time my System recognized it and once I clicked on the speaker, it “woke up” and allowed me to direct music to that speaker. (Guess it took that re-pairing maneuver??) All good for now 🎶

Bought the Sonos Move a few days ago and am experiencing just this. For 300$ speaker this is not good enough. Worked fine for two days and the last two days it’s just not showing in the app or as always asleep. Factory reset it a bunch of times and added as new to the network. Likely going to return it. 

I have found a solution that works, but it’s not ideal. 
 

the speaker won’t come out of sleep mode, but it will come back online after a reboot. When it’s asleep, hold the power button down for 5 sec or so - you should hear a chime as it shuts off. Wait a few seconds, then press the power button to turn on, and light white should pulse as it is booting up. After about 30 seconds, it will be online and available. Make sure to start playing music to it soon, as it will go back into sleep mode if you don’t. 

Found a solution just now.


Split your Wi-Fi router signal 2.4Ghz and 5G into two seperate Networks with separate descriptions/names. Then set up the Move while logged into 2.4Ghz.  
 

You can log back into the 5G Network on your phone or laptop, and all Sonos will be visible in the app - including the non a sleep Sonos Move.

that’s really odd - but I’ll give it a whirl...

I’m having the exact same issue and I’ve tried everything. I’ve even had two troubleshooting calls with Sonos Support. They even sent me a replacement since it’s still under warranty but that didn’t fix it. I’m wondering if the issue is related to my app. 

 

It’s a poor design if factory reset is required to re-pair the device after it’s asleep. 

I posted this on a Sonos Facebook Page hoping someone could offer help there: 

 

I'm having an issue with my Sonos Move (or maybe it's my app) and I was hoping this group could help. Whenever my Move goes to sleep, it struggles to reconnect with my iPhone S2 app. I also have a Beam soundbar and it works great (never had an issue with it). If I put the Move it to sleep manually by tapping the power button then it will pop up in my app as asleep but when I tap it again the app thinks its still asleep. Stranger yet, when I wake it from sleep I can play music by pressing the play button or holding down the play button to sync up with my other speakers, even though the app doesn't recognize it's awake. Whenever it happens (which is frequently because I'll often pause music and come back later) the only remedy is to factory reset the Move. I've also tried troubleshooting with Sonos Support but they can't seem to fix it either. I'm coming to this group as a last ditch effort hoping someone else has had the same issue and has a suggestion they could offer.

@terrybryan1 - have you tried the method I describe above a few days ago?  Power down completely, then power back up?  It’s inconvenient for sure, but less onerous than a factory reset.  I still haven’t tried the dual WiFi method mentioned by Clauss above.

@davejahns yes I have tried powering off and back on (holding power button). That still didn’t fix it. I don’t think it’s an app issue because I tied it on my wife’s phone and same result. I’m thinking I’ll try the separate Wi-Fi networks. Why kind of wireless router do you have. I have Spectrum’s standard router

 

I have a Century Link C3000Z that came with my fiber service. I set it up 4 years ago and I have no idea how to do that again. LOL...

So a few days ago I bought a cheap wireless router on Amazon and setup my Sonos devices to that wireless network. So far it seems to have fixed the issue. 

I followed your work around without it working.  I reset the Sonos app and the move appeared….for now😓.  Is there a software fix ?

So I have a variation on this issue with my Sonos Move, which started 3 days ago after we’d been on holiday for 4 days so none of the speakers (Beam, Move, Roam) had been used. House wifi remained on. 

The Move is fully charged, online, up and running and responding to Alexa commands as normal.

But in the app running on my Samsung A54 it shows in Sleep mode, even though it is playing music via Alexa. When I touch on the speaker in the app it helpfully tells me its asleep and I need to press the power button. More curiously in the iOS app on my iPad Mini the Move doesn’t show up at all. The other two speakers (Beam and Roam) are working fine through either app.

I’ve restarted the Move which made no difference. Works fine through Alexa so its obviously connected to the wifi but still shows in Sleep mode on Android and is missing on iPad.

Suggestions?

the work round of powering off and back on?  It’s always worked for me, and I’ve not heard of any software update.  I also haven’t tried the other suggestions about alternate wifi or whatever.  Sorry I’m no help!

I was getting some spotty wifi coverage out in the backyard, so I upgraded to a mesh router system, and for whatever reason, the Move is working perfectly now - wakes up after going to sleep. I don’ even need to touch it - just select it as the speaker I want and it wakes up within a sec or two.  Pretty awesome.  Sorry it doesn’t help those who are having issues with their Wifi!

I am having similar problems with my Move.  If I leave it alone for more than … an hour? … it disappears from Spotify Connect.  I have to go in to the Sonos app on my phone.  It will first complain “Unable to connect to Sonos”, but I ignore that message and just let it sit.  Within about 30 - 60 seconds, the Move will appear in the app.  I can then go back to Spotify and within 30 seconds, the Move will then appear there through Spotify Connect.  This works, but it is a pain in the ass.  I have had my Move for about 1 ½ years.  I have never had this problem until a few months ago.  I am suspecting a firmware problem.  Sonos … any comment?

Unlikely to be a firmware issue, or you’d see thousands upon thousands of posts on a similar vein. What did Sonos Support say when you contacted them?

I am having similar problems with my Move.  If I leave it alone for more than … an hour? … it disappears from Spotify Connect.  I have to go in to the Sonos app on my phone.  It will first complain “Unable to connect to Sonos”, but I ignore that message and just let it sit.  Within about 30 - 60 seconds, the Move will appear in the app.  I can then go back to Spotify and within 30 seconds, the Move will then appear there through Spotify Connect.  This works, but it is a pain in the ass.  I have had my Move for about 1 ½ years.  I have never had this problem until a few months ago.  I am suspecting a firmware problem.  Sonos … any comment?

What power saving options are you using with your speaker? See this link:

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/battery-settings-for-portable-sonos-products

Hi Ken.  Thank you for the reply.  I wish it was that easy.  The battery saver is OFF.

Hi Ken.  Thank you for the reply.  I wish it was that easy.  The battery saver is OFF.

FWIW, I’m not seeing the Spotify ‘direct connect’ issue here - but I mostly leave my speaker on its charger 24/7 when in the Home and if I do move it around the place then its mostly playing and awake. I have the battery saver enabled.

Hi Ken.  My Move is on its charger most of the time 99.99% of the time.  It doesnt make a difference one way or the other.