Sonos Roam and Traveling with Wi-Fi

  • 12 July 2023
  • 52 replies
  • 1825 views
T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Hoping to get some clarity from the community on how painful this is supposed to be…

  • I am travelling with a couple of Sonos Roam between my home and various office locations.  I’m one of few very oddball people that like STEREO, you see. And I understand that the roam is intended as a Bluetooth MONO system when roaming, but since I am a difficult customer I tend to hook them up using the Wi-Fi network to get STEREO. Like we have had since the 1930s.  
  • So far, this has required a factory reset of the speakers EVERY TIME to connect to a new Wi-Fi network. 
  • Today I contacted support and asked how to do this without factory reset, and was told that this was not possible, I needed to factory reset. Pain.
  • The experience at every location so so far has been, step by step:
  1. Start Sonos app, it finds the system missing and select the change network option. 
  2. Attempting to find the system fails with “Sonos not found”. Surprising, since it's already connected via bluetooth, but apparently it's incapable of finding what it is already connected to. (Unlike my camera, my car and everything else that seamlessly configures network over Bluetooth and switch to WiFi transfer mode as required...)
  3. Disable bluetooth on my phone in the hope that it will connect over WiFi. 
  4. Being told by the Sonos app to turn on Bluetooth, in which case it again connects to the Sonos Roam over Bluetooth, and still “Sonos not found”.       
  5. Give up, and perform factory reset of both Sonos Roam.
  6. Detect both Sonos roam, this is hit and miss and sometimes a royal pain.
  7. When they are found, the funny thing is that I am already logged into the app, but now I need to re-enter my user name and password to log in again. More needless pain.  
  8. Attempting to add the speakers back to my main system will not work, since I am not on my main wifi network. Therefore have to set up a new system.
  9. Hooray. Now finally able to use my roam speakers. In STEREO. But all my settings, favourites, playlists and music services are wiped out. So I don't have anything to listen to anymore. 
  10. I can now start the process of reconfiguring the system from scratch.
  11. Tomorrow I am going to another location with another WiFi network, so I look forward to having to set up all settings and music services from scratch again. 

Did I get this right? Is that how the Sonos ownership experience is supposed to work? What is the point of having a Sonos account? Did I miss something?

I have been a Sonos customer since 2006, and have two houses full of Sonos gear, but it's becoming increasingly harder to justify the huge investment in effort to keep these systems running.

 

52 replies

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Consider using a travel router. One side of the travel router will be configured for the local userid/password and the other side will always be your ROAM’s WIFi userid/password.


Yes, that's what I was afraid of. I need to bring dedicated network infrastructure with me to use my Sonos Roam for travel. Really? 2023?

melvimbe

If I’m looking at Ken’s screenshoots correctly, he was able to add a WiFi network to the Roam setup without actually connecting to the network. Since in the case, all the typical locations are known, not vacation destinations that can’t be known till you arrive, perhaps pre-emptively entering the network locations while at home is the right answer.

I think (not 100% sure) that if the Roam can’t connect to it’s current WiFi network, it will attempt to connect to other networks in it’s list.  I don’t really think the pre-emptive network settings is required.  I do believe the Roam can connect via BLE or full bluetooth to your phone to get WiFI credentials when it is not currently connected to a WiFi network.

And as far as Support goes, they simply have to be incorrect or misunderstanding of what you’re trying to accomplish. Besides being an idiotic solution for a mobile product, if a factory reset is required whenever changing WiFi networks on the Roam, there would be no need for the Roam to store multiple WiFi network credentials.

Danny
ratty

Guest networks aren’t supported. They usually block communication between local devices.

buzz

Consider using a travel router. One side of the travel router will be configured for the local userid/password and the other side will always be your ROAM’s WIFi userid/password.

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

If you have control over all of the networks and want maximum convenience, use the same SSID/Password everywhere.

I should change the password in our office to the same password I use at home?
Thank you for your advice.  

Ken_Griffiths

@Thorium Prime,
The wife and I carry several devices when we go away on holiday including two tablets and two mobile phones. Each mobile phone WiFi hotspot has been added to the Roams and so when we arrive at the holiday destination - we can either use the Roams, on either hotspot, or transfer them to a local WiFi network via the ‘Update Networks’ option in the Sonos App network settings.

I understand that up-to 16 WiFi networks can be added - currently we have 5 stored as shown in the below attached image. We have added and deleted many WiFi networks over the past year, or two, and because the Sonos Household is always carried with us, we have never had occasion to factory reset either speaker - in fact we would never do that, as it means we would lose all our playlists/services whilst we were away from home. We’ve personally had no issue adding/removing WiFi networks to the speakers/S2 controller App.

If you want to invent/name ‘any’ WiFi network SSID - I will happily add it to my Roam/S2 App and post back here with that wireless network shown in the WiFi network list… proving there is no need (ever) to reset the Roam when adding a new WiFi network to it.

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T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

A single device is that big of an issue? Mine is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. It makes things much easier, as my phone, my tablet, and my Roam all connect to it, along with its added security. I would be much more worried about connecting a Sonos device to a public network, exposing it to any random command initiated on that network. 

I understand you might have a strong case to bring additional network infrastructure with you on your travels, but I have access to, and control, private Wifi network at every location that are either my offices or homes. Introducing an additional device of unknown firmware does not improve my security, it reduces it.

However, I was hoping I wouldn't have to bring an additional devices with me to travel with the Roams. 

buzz

If you have control over all of the networks and want maximum convenience, use the same SSID/Password everywhere.

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Though I do not own a Roam I just cannot believe the Roam can olnly be set to a new network only when it is reset. According to https://support.sonos.com/article/connect-sonos-to-a-new-router-or-wi-fi-network you should get to see this: 

and work on from there.

Thanks, that is usually where I start. And unfortunately can't move on from there, I get the “Sonos not found”. When chatting with support they confirmed that factory reset was the only way possible. I can't make sense of that information, as I don't think it should be this difficult to own the Sonos product line.

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

So it’s always made sense to me to operate the Roam in this way. I’ve never factory reset it - that is the last thing I would ever do.

 

It's strange that the official position of Sonos is that I need to factory reset to change the WiFi network.

I guess I need to get used to the idea that I have to always have the thing connected to a mobile hotspot. I have done this in the past, but had no idea it would resolve the current issues. (To be frank I had no idea that their software was this poor, when I am surrounded by other devices that can configure their WiFi network when bootstrapped from a Bluetooth connection.)

Well, now all my configuration, services, Sonos playlists etc are all gone. Thanks Sonos.  

Ken_Griffiths

@Thorium Prime 

In fact I’ve just tried it without involving a mobile hotspot and was able to add the Roam to a new WiFi network by first connecting the controller device to the new WiFi network and opening the Sonos App and choosing ‘let’s fix it’ and the controller scans and finds my system. It then allowed me to select the Roam and invites me to press the play and volume-up button. It plays a chime and it connects to the new WiFi network. So it is possible to do it without the hotspot method, it seems.

Ken_Griffiths

If you think that is the case,  then just add a mobile hotspot to the list of networks in the Sonos App and enable it whilst you add the new WiFi network at your hold-all destination - that should hopefully sort it for you. I don’t personally think it matters, but at least in this way it should work for you either way.

Yes, back to the point that the Sonos Roam always need to have an existing known network available, or it needs a factory reset. 

Has anyone been able to connect to a NEW network without having the Roam already connected to the internet or factory reseting it?

If a user were to own two Era-100 & 300 speakers, a Roam and a Sonos Move and they were to change their Internet Service Provider and receive a new modem/router with different SSID/Password - how do they then manage to setup a new wireless network when their old router has been returned?

If what you say were true, the user would not (easily) be able to setup their existing system on the new WiFi SSID, without purchasing a Sonos network adapter for their Era-100 or 300 speakers🤔? So what you’re inferring here doesn’t make sense to me.

Anyhow I think I have done enough here to assist you with things so I will just leave it with you, at the very least you now have a way to make things work for you when you arrive at your holiday destination.

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

If a user were to own two Era-100 & 300 speakers, a Roam and a Sonos Move and they were to change their Internet Service Provider and receive a new modem/router with different SSID/Password - how do they then manage to setup a new wireless network when their old router has been returned?

That's the question I am trying to get an answer to, and this requires some understanding of the initial handshake protocol that I do not have. 

Anyhow I think I have done enough here to assist you with things so I will just leave it with you, at the very least you now have a way to make things work for you when you arrive at your holiday destination.

Thank you for your help Ken, 
Yes always bringing the same SSID/network with me would of course work since that means the network never changes. And adding new network to an already connected device we know works.

Nevertheless, 
Has anyone been able to connect a Roam to a NEW network without having the Roam already connected to the internet or factory resetting it? 

I

Absolutely agree that the Sonos experience outside own network is awful. Fancy having a Wi-Fi network available when travelling and Roam speakers with you but being blocked from simple control of the speakers using the Sonos app.

Airgetlam

But that’s what I do? I carry my own travel router, which connects to the host WiFi (usually a hotel), and both my Roam and my phone connect to the travel router, so that I can use the Sonos controller. I also get the added benefit of an additional firewall, to protect against others accessing my Sonos device. I also have set up my travel router with the same SSID and password as my home, just for convenience. Both the Roam and my phone think they’re at home, I don’t need to set up a new ‘connection’. 

Bruce
I

 

Airgetlam thanks for the info. I’ll persist knowing that. Only just realised that there were 50 replies as they didn’t appear until I took default content blocking off my browser, and that sheds new light on things. Thanks for all replies. 

Airgetlam

I have a love/hate relationship with content blockers….I feel your pain. 

Bruce
M

@Thorium Prime I’m having a very similar problem to yours. Out of interest, what do you see in the Settings section of the Sonos app on your iPhone?

 

I noticed that Ken’s suggestions involve going in to Settings/System and checking the list of networks. However, what I am seeing in Settings is that ‘Account’, ‘System’ and ‘Services & Voice’ are all greyed out (and this persists if I delete the app and reinstall).

B

I finally just got around to trying it now that I’m home. When on my network I can see the the previous networks just like Ken suggested. When I tried to forget my home network, turn on my guest network and then try the system was greyed out.  Eventually I did receive a prompt to add a trusted network, but I couldn’t get my roam to connect.  There’s clearly an issue that Sonos needs to resolve with a firmware update otherwise this is just a Bluetooth speaker when traveling. 

Airgetlam

A single device is that big of an issue? Mine is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. It makes things much easier, as my phone, my tablet, and my Roam all connect to it, along with its added security. I would be much more worried about connecting a Sonos device to a public network, exposing it to any random command initiated on that network. 

Bruce
106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Though I do not own a Roam I just cannot believe the Roam can only be set to a new network when it is reset. According to https://support.sonos.com/article/connect-sonos-to-a-new-router-or-wi-fi-network you should get to see this: 

and work on from there.

T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

The wife and I carry several devices when we go away on holiday including two tablets and two mobile phones. Each mobile phone WiFi hotspot has been added to the Roams and so when we arrive at the holiday destination - we can either use the Roams, on either hotspot, or transfer them to a local WiFi network via the ‘Update Networks’ option in the Sonos App network settings.

That's great, and this is what I was looking for. However, support tells me I have to factory reset the roams to get on a new Wi-Fi network, and the app (S2) fails to connect. So your experience is that you don't need to do this? 

we have never had occasion to factory reset either speaker - in fact we would never do that, as it means we would lose all our playlists/services whilst we were away from home.

Exactly, this is a bit of a disaster every time. 

If you want to invent/name ‘any’ WiFi network SSID - I will happily add it to my Roam/S2 App and post back here with that wireless network shown in the WiFi network list… proving there is no need (ever) to reset the Roam when adding a new WiFi network to it.

I don't think the name of the SSID is what matters. I think the issue is how the Sonos Roam deal with "Roaming” in the literal sense of the world. It seems to be unable (in my case) to follow my phone/app on to a new Wi-Fi network without factory reset.

Ken_Griffiths

I honestly have no issues adding a WiFi network to my Roam/other speakers - I can goto any holiday destination and get the Roam setup on the local wifi network there …and not have to reset the Roam. It’s about taking the Sonos Household with you and you do that by adding a mobile network hotspot to the System or a MiFi wireless network, or  a travel router - they’re all a similar thing. It’s then simple to transfer the Roam to the destinations nearby WiFi network… and then run the Roam on that local network.

Imagine I just arrived at my AirBnB destination which has a WiFi network called ‘ThoriumP’ - it’s easy to add that network to the list for the Roam to use - see attached screenshots as I’ve just added such a network to my Roam (called MotorRoam)…and I have not reset the Roam and still have all the playlists and music services.

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T
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I honestly have no issues adding a WiFi network to my Roam/other speakers - I can goto any holiday destination and get the Roam setup on the local wifi network there …and not have to reset the Roam. It’s about taking the Sonos Household with you and you do that by adding a mobile network hotspot to the System or a MiFi wireless network, or  a travel router - they’re all a similar thing. It’s then simple to transfer the Roam to the destinations nearby WiFi network… and then run the Roam on that local network.

So it is not possible for the Roam to roam onto a new Wifi network unless you have your existing network with you? You need to bring a mobile router or hotspot with you in order for this to be possible, this is what you are saying?

 

Ken_Griffiths

I honestly have no issues adding a WiFi network to my Roam/other speakers - I can goto any holiday destination and get the Roam setup on the local wifi network there …and not have to reset the Roam. It’s about taking the Sonos Household with you and you do that by adding a mobile network hotspot to the System or a MiFi wireless network, or  a travel router - they’re all a similar thing. It’s then simple to transfer the Roam to the destinations nearby WiFi network… and then run the Roam on that local network.

So it is not possible for the Roam to roam onto a new Wifi network unless you have your existing network with you? You need to bring a mobile router or hotspot with you in order for this to be possible, this is what you are saying?

Dunno🤷‍♂️ - I’ve just always chose to go that route described, because it means I have a backup network anyway (a mobile hotspot) no matter where I go - sometimes a destinations wireless network may require payment and a ‘login screen’, so obviously those type of networks cannot be added to Sonos under any circumstances .. so I then revert to using my own hotspot instead. Plus it means I always have my Sonos Household wherever I go - So it’s always made sense to me to operate the Roam in this way. I’ve never factory reset it - that is the last thing I would ever do.

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