Retired Sonos Staff

‘On this Device’ for Android controller no longer supported

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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.

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3

3z13

Lyricist I

Are we over half a dozen people who relied on their phone for using Sonos. Hopefully people don't rely on their phone for backup and you know have options to setup a media library.

Oh the entire music collection is saved on two separate 2T devices, the 1T on the phone is just the essentials.

3

3z13

Lyricist I

Yet you could upload your own music to a free YouTube music account, free up that memory card, not lose any functionality, and gain functionality in Sonos like the ability to make alarms and playlists using your music.

Just one of the many ways to solve the problem.

I am not the owner of the demos that have been provided to me over the last three decades so I don't think uploading their music without consent is proper and I would rather not rely on any streaming service as I have all I want now on this phone....so why would I take all that extra time and effort for something I have now?

D

Deedee02

Lyricist II

I don't want to use paid streaming services to enable me to hear the music I have on my phone.

You don't have to. Add myTuner Radio to your Sonos and you're good to go.

How is that the same?

They are free streaming services.

With the streaming services you have to use the paid version of the services to have full functionality via the Sonos app and to upload music etc... its not really an alternative solution, but I will keep looking.

106rallye

@3z13 Since this feature is not coming back, you need to look elsewhere. If you're worried about copyright or ownership issues read the fine print of the service (YTM or iBroadcast).

@Deedee02 As I understand it Youtube Music is free to listen to and to upload. I'm trying iBroacast now, that is certainly free, but limited in quality on the free version, taht you may or may not hear. Why not try it?

jgatie

With the streaming services you have to use the paid version of the services to have full functionality via the Sonos app and to upload music etc... its not really an alternative solution, but I will keep looking.

Incorrect. As stated, YouTube allows up to 100k files of your own music for free.

jgatie

I am not the owner of the demos that have been provided to me over the last three decades so I don't think uploading their music without consent is proper and I would rather not rely on any streaming service as I have all I want now on this phone....so why would I take all that extra time and effort for something I have now?

You wouldn’t, I guess. But are you that perturbed by me suggesting something which may help alleviate the problem? Even if you personally won’t be helped, it could help someone else. This is a public forum, after all.

D

Deedee02

Lyricist II

@3z13

@Deedee02 As I understand it Youtube Music is free to listen to and to upload. I'm trying iBroacast now, that is certainly free, but limited in quality on the free version, taht you may or may not hear. Why not try it?

Thanks for the tips, I downloaded it and as I thought, to upload your own music you need to pay for the premium service 😔

jgatie

Oh the entire music collection is saved on two separate 2T devices, the 1T on the phone is just the essentials.

So you do have an actual storage device which houses all your tracks? Is it sharable? If so:

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/add-your-music-library-to-sonos

melvimbe

On another thread, a user said:

“the songs from my phone that are in my queue still play fine, so no, this is nothing with Android file access or anything of that nature. It is quite clear the songs are still there and can still be accessed.”

Per the original post…

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.

So I’m not sure why anyone would think that the current version of android would not allow file access. Clearly Sonos is taking pre-emptive action when removing the feature. When this issue came up with iOS, Sonos did not remove the feature, and it simply stopped working when people upgraded their iOS. It resulted in a lot of confusion, and Sonos attempted to get it to work through some alternative means, likely really bad coding principles as well. In other words, it just made the situation worse.

Danny

3

3z13

Lyricist I

I am not the owner of the demos that have been provided to me over the last three decades so I don't think uploading their music without consent is proper and I would rather not rely on any streaming service as I have all I want now on this phone....so why would I take all that extra time and effort for something I have now?

You wouldn’t, I guess. But are you that perturbed by me suggesting something which may help alleviate the problem? Even if you personally won’t be helped, it could help someone else. This is a public forum, after all.

Apologies, it's not you. It's spending thousands and now trying to decide what to do with that equipment which will not function for what I purchased it for. I don't have funds to start from scratch so readily and take the loss.

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