Update on the Sonos App from Patrick Spence

Just curious… how many people here with major issues have a mix of Sonos units on WiFi and plugged in? 

You’re referring to SonosNet I assume? - I do not use that myself, as I found SonosNet slow compared to running things entirely on a modern WiFi mesh instead. SonosNet is 2.4Ghz only, whereas a good many Sonos products now use the much faster 5Ghz band - In my own case, except for Home Theatre main products, I have always aimed to put all my Sonos products on the 5Ghz WiFi band and have their SNR level that shows in the new Sonos App, set at 45dB, or higher (see below link). By doing those things my own system around the Home has worked well with the new Sonos App. 

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/understanding-the-network-details-section-in-the-sonos-app

I do, and the reason I ask is that some time ago I thought I’d re-configured the system to use WiFi… I used to have a Sonos Boost, but decided that once I moved to a Mesh WiFi, there was no point having yet another WiFi network in the mix adding to interference etc. 

However, through probably natural changes, I’d plugged in devices since that and it seems that the device just assumes that being plugged in means create SonosNet… Then, depending on what other devices you have, you can end up with a mix of stuff on SonosNet and on just WiFi. So my Move for example, doesn’t use SonosNet. I was getting laggy volume control and general player control with dropouts too when in group mode…

When I looked at the http status of players I noticed SonosNet in use which I didn’t expect. So I re-did the setup on WiFi, and so far it’s behaving much better. STP and SonosNet are no longer in use. I haven’t had players disappearing, but new app startup is much improved and what function there is works better. 

At least an answer from the CEO, thx

Words are nice, action is key. The app is still close to crap. Slow and missing features. You know it. 
 

I wonder how long it will take to fix that. What concerns me most is that fixing the problems obviously takes much more time than usual even if this issue has CEO attention - but Sonos has time and programming power to integrate adds into the app. Please stop that immediately. 
 

While complaining: to be able to write this post I needed to register - ok. But I wonder whether there is any user acceptance testing with Sonos. In the registration process Sonos asks a unique user name and several marketing questions. The latter is annoying but I obviously used an already used user name. So I had to choose an other one - ok. But why on earth did I needed to enter the marketing stuff again as it was deleted - grrr. 
 

Sonos produces great loud speakers but is not a frontrunner with software development (and registration forms). Please improve. 
 

Kind regards from a loyal but rather frustrated customer. 

Jürg
 

Yes a modern WiFi setup, or Mesh setup, is much better with Sonos these days. I personally would not go back to using SonosNet.

Modern products like these:

• Move/Move 2
• Roam//Roam SL/Roam 2
• Era 100
• Era 300

…no longer use SonosNet anyway.

The Sonos products listed below also are now capable of using the much faster 5Ghz WiFi band - so if it’s practical to use that band with a WiFi mesh and have all SNR levels of 45dB or higher (as mentioned previously), then that’s become my own preference with a Sonos system, even if I have to blacklist/steer the Sonos product(s) onto that faster band…

• Play:1
• Play:3
• Play:5 (Gen 2)
• Sub (Gen 1)
• Sub (Gen 2)
• Era 100
• Era 300
• Move 2
• Roam
• Roam 2
• Roam SL
• Five
• Move
• One (Gen 1)
• One (Gen 2)
• One SL
• Port
• Sub (Gen 3)
• Sub Mini
• SYMFONISK Bookshelf (Gen 2)
• SYMFONISK Floor lamp
• SYMFONISK Picture frame
• SYMFONISK Table lamp (Gen 2)
• SYMFONISK Bookshelf (Gen 1)

Today’s app update details below, if it helps quell fury for those with any of the issues ‘fixed’: 

Current software version

80.06.04 (Android)
80.06.03 (iOS)

Release date: 8/6/2024

“We developed the new app to create a better experience, with the ability to drive more innovation in the future, and with the knowledge that it would get better over time.”

This is the problem in a nutshell: thinking “the App” is the experience. It’s not. THE MUSIC is the experience and if the app is in the way or I even think about the app, then it has become distracting and takes away from the experience.  When the APP becomes the focus to the point it justifies breaking the MUSIC, that is when SONOS has lost the plot.

If I have to go to the app for any other reason beyond selecting different music or setting up a component, then the app has failed.

@Ian_S 

How do I set my system up to NOT use SONOSNet?  About half of my devices are wired and several more use some sort of WIFI which I assumed was from my network.  My understanding is that any wired device like a Port will create or become part of a SONOSNet to allow non-wired devices (other than newer devices like a ROAM which can’t use SONOSNet) to connect to.
 

I’m not certain SONOSNet is in use. All my devices show as having obtained an IP address from the Router and I can Ping them, but oddly ALL but the Roam are shown as wired connections in my Router management.  So, I wonder if they show as wired because they are going through SONOSNet and a wired device like one of the Ports?  How do I get a Play:1, for example, off of SONOSNet?

Thanks.

Point a web browser at one of your Sonos speakers using:

http://192.168.xx.xx:1400/support/review

And you should get a simple list of speakers in your Sonos system. Then click one of them followed by 

/proc/ath_rincon/status

And you’ll get a list of network configuration. IF any speakers are on Sonosnet, you’ll see sonosnet on the Mode line… if they all say INFRA (station) then they are all on your WiFi… 

I expect all the wired devices will say Sonosnet. In the app (if you can) go into each speaker settings for the wired ones and turn off the Wifi… Then power them all down. Power up the ethernet connected ones first and do the above check again to make sure they’re not on Sonosnet, if they aren’t the section will be mostly empty. 

To be honest, I’ve learned just to not use the app.  My Apple and my Sirius apps seem to play to the various speakers without issue.  Kind of a pain, but it works.  Also, it seems (if I got the stick ticker correct), their sticks have gone nothing but down since Mar-May timeframe.  
 

Perhaps it is no longer a company that cares what their customers think.