sonos roam bluetooth cuts out

Hi Bruce, thanks for your reply & question in the other thread re: contacting support / running diagnostics. Unfortunately the support team only appear to be available monday to friday. I’m away from home on Monday but will try on Tuesday.

I didn’t know about the diagnostics option. I just found it (I think) in the sonos desktop app, so have submitted diagnostics and got the following confirmation number: 342522540. 

Thanks for your suggestions and help.

Ben

There’s a known issue with iPhone 11 and intermittent Bluetooth playback - see this link:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250659131?page=1

The above is one example of many i came across in a Google search. I would maybe suggest trying playback to the Roam from a different Bluetooth device and just see what happens. I’m thinking this might just be an Apple issue.

Thanks Ken. Certainly the fault isn’t occurring on two other iOS devices so maybe it’s an iPhone 11 thing, but I’m sure the Bluetooth worked ok on this device when I first set the speaker up so I’m wondering if it’s another conflict somewhere. Plus the descriptions in the thread you shared sound different. My problem is just a periodic gap in playback. 
 

I’ll phone Sonos in the week and try to get to the bottom of it. Will share outcome here. 

@buddhahat,

I have seen a couple of reports here in the community in recent weeks where an iPhone 11 as the BT ‘sending’ device was causing issues with the Roam and a change of mobile to something else, immediately fixed the issue, so I’m not sure if it’s a recent update of iOS, or the Roam, that’s causing the problem, but there have also been a few reports I came across via a Google search, which seemed to suggest the iPhone 11 was having some difficulty with its Bluetooth playback in general, involving other brands of speakers/headphones.

Hopefully this matter be highlighted to Sonos Staff here anyway and maybe an update, from either Apple or Sonos will fix it. I suspect it’s possibly an Apple issue, as things seem to point mostly towards the direction of the iPhone 11 on various online sites and the fact other devices immediately work okay is a good indicator too I guess, but let’s see what the Sonos Staff may say when you call in.

Thanks Ken. It may well be this specific phone that’s problematic and maybe, as you suggest, an update may resolve.

this morning I was reminded why I started connecting via Bluetooth in the first place - unfortunately there’s also an issue with airplay. When I first connect to the speaker, the playback drops out really frequently. Usually I’d have switched to Bluetooth but obvs that’s now also problematic.

Switching the roam off, then connecting via the Sonos app has seemed to resolve for now. Again, perhaps an issue with my specific phone but very frustrating that there seems to be no clear cut way that I can consistently ensure faultless playback with this speaker! Fingers crossed Sonos support have some ideas.

In the meantime, is it worth me factory resetting the roam?

I would probably reboot your router first of all, rather than factory reset you Roam .. in fact here are the suggested Airplay fixes from the Apple Site (note that Bluetooth has a role to play in these fixes too):

• Restart all devices and try to AirPlay again
• Toggle off Bluetooth, or if already off, try turning it on
• Turn off Cellular Data
• Disconnect from any other Bluetooth devices (like speakers)
• Connect to the same WiFi network access point
• Reset your network settings on your iDevice in Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings
• Update iOS, and speaker firmware/software
• Move your devices away from other electronics and closer to the main router
• Renew your devices DHCP lease via the router configuration pages or reboot the router
• Switch off any Security/VPN software installed on the sending (mobile) device

Thanks for that ken!

I spoke to Sonos support yesterday and today but unfortunately the gappy playback / Bluetooth problem is still not resolved.

Yesterday I was advised to split the 2.4 ghz / 5ghz bands in my router settings which I tried but to no avail. 

It seems I can only play music flawlessly  between my iPhone 11 & Roam (via Bluetooth) when I drive far away from the house! However in the garden (which is one of the reasons I purchased the Roam) when I play via Bluetooth, the gaps in playback problem is present. So it seems that the house wifi signal is interfering with the Roam’s Bluetooth reception in the garden. However the Roam cannot pick up a strong enough wifi signal in the garden to play through the Sonos app - Catch 22!

But other IOS devices do not experience the problem at all. So weird.

But I don’t want to have to switch iOS devices if I want to use the Roam. This might sound fussy, but I bought this for the convenience of playing music anywhere via my primary phone. 

I’ve sent another email to Sonos support hoping they have more suggestions but feels like I’ve hit a brick wall. 

Am hoping the adjustments to the Wi-Fi settings may have also sorted the stuttering issue with Airplay too 🤞