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James L.
James L.
Retired Community Staff
April 13, 2022

Important Update to BBC Live Radio Access

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Important Update to BBC Live Radio Access

Hi everyone,

 

The BBC has made some changes to the way you can access BBC live radio in the United Kingdom.

BBC live radio will not be available through Sonos Radio, or TuneIn in the United Kingdom from Today, 13th April 2022.

Find all your favourite BBC radio stations, podcasts and music mixes on BBC Sounds, available on Sonos in the United Kingdom.


To keep listening, you can add BBC Sounds to your Sonos system:

 

iOS or Android:

  1. Open the Sonos app.
  2. From the Settings tab, tap Services & Voice.
  3. Under Music & Content, tap Add a Service.
  4. Tap on BBC Sounds
  5. Tap Add to Sonos.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to add the music service account.

Mac or PC:

  1. Open the Sonos app.
  2. Under the Select a Music Source section, click on Add Music Services.
  3. Click on BBC Sounds
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to add the music service account.

Users outside of the United Kingdom will still be able to listen to BBC live radio through Sonos Radio.

 

Cheers,

James L.

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    119 replies

    Show previous replies
    Stuart_W
    Stuart_W
    World-Class Superstar
    April 17, 2022

    The instructions for putting in BBC Sounds does not work for our old S1 Sonos. 
    First, adding the BBC Sounds is from a completely different part of the menu structure described.
    Second, once found and installed, all we get is "Unable to browse music".

    But then, if we "Search" under the stations tab, the stations appear.
    Select one and we get "Unable to Play the Selected Item"
    Have deleted the old BBC favourites, and have added Radio 4.
    But it still says "Unable to Play the Selected Item"

    Any ideas how to make progress ?

    John B has made a few comments but let’s take a step back. These are the things you need to do.

     

    1. Make sure you have a BBC account created via the BBC. If so confirm you can log in and then go to BBC Sounds - either on a browser or download the excellent app and log in. Obviously if you don’t have a BBC account you’ll need to create one.
       
    2. Then ensure you add the BBC Sounds service. Desktop app - Manage - Service Settings and click + under list of current services - You will be prompted to log in to Sonos. Then select and follow instructions. I can’t remember exactly how but you’ll be prompted to enter your BBC account details and so on.
       
    3. Then you should be able to see the BBC Sounds service under the sources (Desktop app) or Browse on mobile app.
       
    4. Once you select that on the desktop app select the Listen Live (Top option) and scroll to the station you want. On mobile you see Listen Live but you don’t need to click it as you can see the stations.
    5. John isn’t quite right re search. I think I did what you did. Once you’ve added BBC Sounds and search under stations you’ll get results - Just make sure you expand the results under BBC Sounds and not TuneIn or RadioPlayer like what I did!
    Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2
    John B
    April 17, 2022

    @Stuart_W you are right that I was wrong about the search - thanks.

    @windbag  - two possibities:

    1. You have followed the instructions correctly but your not having the latest S1 Firmware is preventing it working.

    2. You have not set it up correctly.

    I'm inclined to think 1 is more likely.  If so, you could try manually adding streaming URLs for the BBC stations you use. I can provide info on this (I think) if that might be useful.

     

    Scooter2
    Lyricist I
    April 17, 2022

    Hi, 

    BBC sounds isn’t in my list of services. This morning, I corrected my location to United Kingdom, though that hasn’t made it appear. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app. I have accepted usage monitoring. 

    Nothing is helping - any suggestions? 

    Thanks.

      Emmotive
      Lyricist I
      April 17, 2022

      Great news. Like BBC Sounds. All added and favourites replaced. 😀

        dmparnell
        Contributor I
        April 17, 2022

        On the S1 system, I cannot add any BBC stations on Sounds to my Sonos favourites:

        From the Sounds app, the option to add to Sonos favourites is greyed out.

        From the Now Playing menu the option is not greyed out, but is un-click able. 

        John B
        April 17, 2022

        In a Sonos mobile app, play the station from the BBC Sounds source so that it appears in Recently Played. Long press in Recently played to add to My Sonos.

          dmparnell
          Contributor I
          April 18, 2022

          In a Sonos mobile app, play the station from the BBC Sounds source so that it appears in Recently Played. Long press in Recently played to add to My Sonos.

          Long pressing the button does bring up the add menu, but both the add options are greyed out. 

          John B
          April 18, 2022

          In a Sonos mobile app, play the station from the BBC Sounds source so that it appears in Recently Played. Long press in Recently played to add to My Sonos.

          Long pressing the button does bring up the add menu, but both the add options are greyed out. 

          On my (S2) system the option 'Add station to My Sonos' is active and executes without a problem. I don't know if that would also hold in S1.

          dmparnell
          Contributor I
          April 18, 2022

          In a Sonos mobile app, play the station from the BBC Sounds source so that it appears in Recently Played. Long press in Recently played to add to My Sonos.

          Long pressing the button does bring up the add menu, but both the add options are greyed out. 

          On my (S2) system the option 'Add station to My Sonos' is active and executes without a problem. I don't know if that would also hold in S1.

          Thanks for responding John. Looks like a bug in S1. I will try to work out how to report it (to the BBC or Sonos). 

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