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Marco.B
Retired Sonos Staff
May 4, 2023

‘On this Device’ for Android controller no longer supported

Related content:Software
‘On this Device’ for Android controller no longer supported

Starting May 23rd, 2023, the Sonos S1 and S2 controller for Android will no longer support the ‘On this Device’ feature for streaming locally saved audio files directly to Sonos devices.

As newer versions of mobile operating systems are released, it can sometimes change the way information is shared between devices, and this feature will no longer be compatible with newer versions of the Android operating system. 

While this feature will no longer be available in the app, we know local audio files are important to our listeners and we’ll continue to offer other options to enjoy downloaded tracks on Sonos, including:

  • Streaming the catalog from a music service. There are more than 100 music services available on Sonos, many with several millions of songs. 

See our article on 'Adding music services' to get started.

Some music services allow you to upload your own music files to a cloud storage service like YouTube Music for example, which allows for an upload of up to 100,000 files with a free account. Services that allow you to upload files to a cloud storage:

 

Streaming through music services or cloud storage allows you to access your music without your phone. 

You can play music files from your Android device to a supported Sonos product using Bluetooth.

See more about 'Using Bluetooth on Sonos' here.

  • Setting up a Music Library share on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive. You’d need to have the drive available in your network when you want to play music, but your library would be easy to transfer to these devices, if it isn’t already on them.

See our article on 'Using a NAS drive with Sonos' to get started.

  • If you have a Sonos Play:5, Connect, Connect:Amp, Amp, Era 100 or Era 300 (with the Line-In dongle), you have a Sonos player with a Line-In connection. Using that Line-In, you can play music directly from any device connected to it, to any player around the house.

See more about 'Using the Line-In on Sonos' here.

We'll continue to support everyone through this change, and will help you through the necessary steps to keep listening to your favorite tracks on Sonos.

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.

297 replies

SleepyRobot
Trending Lyricist III
May 4, 2023

Im not happy with this news. Many of the music i have on my phone can't be found on music services or are scattered around. Just having it on your phone and being able to play it is very convenient, without having to pay fir some kind of service or (expensive) NAS.

And as i understand you cannot search on a NAS anymore with the new search?? 

    SleepyRobot
    Trending Lyricist III
    May 4, 2023

    Question :

    Is it possible to play music on a Roam (which is on your device) via Bluetooth and then group them with the Arc /One?  This without using the S2 controller but straight from another music player on your phone?

     

    This could be sort of a workaround then. 

    106rallye
    106rallye
    May 4, 2023

    If you own an S2 system the Roam would be a possibility. See https://support.sonos.com/en/article/share-roam-s-bluetooth-audio-with-your-sonos-system

    You’d need to set it up, but then it would work. The new search can still be changed to the old search.

    SleepyRobot
    Trending Lyricist III
    May 4, 2023

    Thanks for the reply. 

    If i understand the information correctly it can only be done with other devices in bluetooth mode or am i reading it wrong? You can't have Roam in Bluetooth mode and then group it with an One SL or Arc and hear the music trough those speakers too? 

    melvimbe
    melvimbe
    May 4, 2023

    Question :

    Is it possible to play music on a Roam (which is on your device) via Bluetooth and then group them with the Arc /One?  This without using the S2 controller but straight from another music player on your phone?

     

    This could be sort of a workaround then. 

     

    Roam, Era 100 and Era 300 all have this capability with bluetooth.  Note that you would need to use group with the room you want to play on by voice or long press of speaker button if you don’t want to use the controller app and you aren’t already grouped.  Also, bluetooth disabled on speakers setup as surround.

    As far as NAS goes, it does not need to be expensive.  The audio tracks can be on a PC or Mac or even a thumb drive connect to your router in some cases.

    I use Plex personally.

    Danny
    melvimbe
    melvimbe
    May 4, 2023

    Thanks for the reply. 

    If i understand the information correctly it can only be done with other devices in bluetooth mode or am i reading it wrong? You can't have Roam in Bluetooth mode and then group it with an One SL or Arc and hear the music trough those speakers too? 

     You can play Roam and Era speakers then group with One SL or Arc.  Move is the only Sonos bluetooth speaker that can’t do this.

    Danny
      106rallye
      106rallye
      May 4, 2023

      @SleepyRobot This can be doen with the Roam non-bluetooth Sonos devices. The Roam will make the “translation” from bluetooth to wifi….

        106rallye
        106rallye
        May 4, 2023

        doen=done

          SleepyRobot
          Trending Lyricist III
          May 5, 2023

          Thanks for your answers guys. 

          Question :

          Is it possible to play music on a Roam (which is on your device) via Bluetooth and then group them with the Arc /One?  This without using the S2 controller but straight from another music player on your phone?

           

          This could be sort of a workaround then. 

           

          Roam, Era 100 and Era 300 all have this capability with bluetooth.  Note that you would need to use group with the room you want to play on by voice or long press of speaker button if you don’t want to use the controller app and you aren’t already grouped.  Also, bluetooth disabled on speakers setup as surround.

          As far as NAS goes, it does not need to be expensive.  The audio tracks can be on a PC or Mac or even a thumb drive connect to your router in some cases.

          I use Plex personally/

          Thanks for your replies.  

          I have a PC with all my music on it and when use it i sometimes play music from it .

           So your saying i can make it into a NAS so that i can play the music without it being on/me working behind it?  Hmm..could be a solution indeed for me  🤔

          106rallye
          106rallye
          May 5, 2023

          Technically you would not be turning it into a NAS, but you will grant the Sonos system acces to the files on your computer. See https://support.sonos.com/article/add-your-music-library-to-sonos

          Remember the computer needs to be on and awake for this to work. You could also install Plex on the computer and to Sonos if you would pass the 65k limit (have more than 65.000 music files in your library). I do not expect this is the cas however, since the files are currently on your phone.

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