Sonos just doesn't work


I'm in the UK and have recently upgraded to BT Fibre Optic Broadband.

I have bought a Sonos Bridge (to go mear the router/modem) and a Sonos 5 for my bedroom.

It just doesn't work!

Neither the Bridge nor the Sonos 5 will connect.

When I try to pair them with the Connector (either on my Mac or on my iPhone), the 2 minutes expires without success.

I have rebooted the router and modem, and the Bridge and Sonos 5 and it makes no difference.

It feels like £350 wasted.

Can anybody please help?

Thank you

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22 replies

Is the bridge connected to router via the supplied Ethernet cable? If you tried that, have you tried connecting the Play5 to the router? Maybe it's a faulty Bridge.

You need to do initial set up through the computer. It should step you through it.

We may need more info from you to trouble shoot the problem.
Yes, Bridge is connected to router with supplied cable.

I did manage to connect it at first but since then it's dropped off every time I connected and now it just doesn't work at all.

The wifi router is working for other devices so I presume it's not that.

I shall try and connect the player directly and see if that works as a test.

If you have a bridge and player, am I right in presuming the bridge needs to be connected first?
I've just rebooted the modem and router again and it's working again.

Hopefully it won't keep cutting out when I reconnect.
Walt Jabsco,

Rebooting only the modem and/or router is setting you up for another round of trouble. I suggest that you shut down EVERYTHING on your network, then restart in the following order:

Modem
Router
Wired SONOS units (in your case the BRIDGE)
Wireless SONOS units
NAS if you use one
Everything else

Allow each step to complete before moving to the next step.

Now, we are starting with a clean slate and this is usually all that is required.

If you continue to have trouble, please give us more details about your network setup. List EVERYTHING on your network. (computers, printers, TV's, Blu-ray, SONOS, etc.) What is wired? What is wireless? Which model router are you using? Which model modem (probably supplied by BT)?
Yes, I did that - I turned off everything connected to the router/modem
Userlevel 2
I Have the exact same problem.
I bought a SONO 5 . tryed to initialize it .

it s connected to the MODEM/ Routers has a IP addresse. even when connected in wired mode behind the sonos bridge; i can t connect with SONOS CONTROLLER.

is there some cases where SONOS 5 are faulty and can not be first initialized ?
I Have the exact same problem.
I bought a SONO 5 . tryed to initialize it .

it s connected to the MODEM/ Routers has a IP addresse. even when connected in wired mode behind the sonos bridge; i can t connect with SONOS CONTROLLER.

is there some cases where SONOS 5 are faulty and can not be first initialized ?


See this FAQ:

PLAY:3 / PLAY:5 not connecting
See this FAQ:

PLAY:3 / PLAY:5 not connecting

robertd,

If that doesn't work and the Sonos controller is using WiFi then tell us the make/model of your router.
I found that changing the channel on my wifi hub solved the problem (fingers crossed).

It's frustrating and time consuming, as you have to keep rebooting and, ultimately, it's trial and error.
Walt Jabsco,

Make sure that you are using only channel 1, 6, or 11 and avoid using "Wide" or "40MHz" channels on your router. Usually, the best plan is to use different channels for SONOS and WiFi, but in some very cluttered areas using the same channel might be the best compromise.
Userlevel 2
i am connected on the back of the sonos 5 using a wire and the sonos is connected with a wire to the router ( freebox gen 1).
the sonos is detected as a device with an IP addresse is my network windows as a network neighbor.

the problem is that when i lunch the controller it detects a device but not able to connect. I disactivated my PC Firewall and did the Reset trick mentionned in one response post. it still doesn't connect.
apart from changing of freebox or adding a switch between ; i don't have a lot of choices.
i must admin i think of returning the sonos.
Userlevel 2
I finally succeeded to register and connect to the SONOS from a Phone Samsung android and now from my NAS i can send music to the SONOS. sound is really amazing.
However, the Control for PC does not work on my 3 PCs . Curious.
How do you explain to an older person why this equipment is less reliable than the $5 transistor radio he bought in the 60's? What is your professional reaction when your customers' in-use equipment self-disables? My cardiologist tells me to avoid pointless stress, so this Play:5 will have to go to the attic. All the best to your team in solving the connection problems that were formerly under control.
How do you explain to an older person why this equipment is less reliable than the $5 transistor radio he bought in the 60's? What is your professional reaction when your customers' in-use equipment self-disables? My cardiologist tells me to avoid pointless stress, so this Play:5 will have to go to the attic. All the best to your team in solving the connection problems that were formerly under control.
To compare a 60s transistor radio with Sonos is a bit like comparing the most primitive early electronic calculators with a modern WiFi-based computer or tablet. Have you never had one of the latter give trouble? If not you must be in a tiny minority.

Every Sonos unit is a computer, albeit a specialised one. And wireless connections must, like it or not, obey the laws of physics. Sometimes this means the wireless connection can falter, perhaps because of signal loss or interference.

Even a fully wired setup can experience problems with Internet sources from time to time, for all kinds of external reasons.

Unlike some technology however (including the transistor radio), Sonos systems are able to 'phone home' to Sonos Technical Support and upload a detailed picture of their health and any troubles they've experienced. Have you actually submitted a system diagnostic and asked for assistance from Sonos?

[To be clear, these are user-to-user forums so any 'professional reaction' you seek would need to come from Sonos staff. You can always seek assistance by posting over at ask.sonos.com instead.]
How do you explain to an older person why this equipment is less reliable than the $5 transistor radio he bought in the 60's? What is your professional reaction when your customers' in-use equipment self-disables? My cardiologist tells me to avoid pointless stress, so this Play:5 will have to go to the attic. All the best to your team in solving the connection problems that were formerly under control.

The fact that you are replying to a thread that is over two years old and barely over a page long should tell you just how rare your opinion of Sonos products is.
How do you explain to an older person why this equipment is less reliable than the $5 transistor radio he bought in the 60's?

I know what you mean. The little baking soda and vinegar powered rockets took off and flew high every time when I was a kid. The USA built 5 space shuttles and 2 of them blew up. I mean, c'mon, amirite?
Badge +8
How do you explain to an older person why this equipment is less reliable than the $5 transistor radio he bought in the 60's? What is your professional reaction when your customers' in-use equipment self-disables? My cardiologist tells me to avoid pointless stress, so this Play:5 will have to go to the attic. All the best to your team in solving the connection problems that were formerly under control.

Is there a point to your post? All one of them?

"What is your professional reaction when your customers' in-use equipment self-disables?"

Have you tried calling Sonos and having them help you? Yes, No?

What do you do when the new car you bought doesn't operate the way your 1960 chevy does.. Walk??
Userlevel 7
Badge +11
Give the guy a break he only made one post and has "a bit" of a fair point. ;)

I hate the way there is a delay when I change TV channel on digital TV, back in the day (2 years ago!) we got instant channel changing on analogue TV, albeit on only 5 channels!

It seems in order to get the extra / new benefits we loss some of the old ease of use. The thing is the output (playing a radio station on Sonos or watching a TV channel) is not much different but the way the electronics do it has changed out of all recognition and so it has become a bit harder/less reliable to "use".

Just my 2ds' worth! 😃
Those early 1960's transistor radios were rather crude devices, however, I prefer their modern counterpart, even though the modern units are not as easy to repair. With a few hand tools, paper clips and a unit to scavenge parts from, you could get one of them going fairly easily, but it is still a crude (working -- for a while) device.

I had a used 1960's Chevy for a while (got me through school and beyond -- I drove it through 35 states) and it was also relatively easy to fix. I kept a tool set in the trunk and a supply of paperclips. I had some amazing (and too frequent) encounters with that toolbox. Even on good days I had to let the thing warm up before I could (sort of) be confident that it would not stall as I pulled out of an intersection. To this day I am leery of pulling out of an intersection in close situations. The current car has a computer, I could not be very effective with simple tools and paper clips, I don't pack the tools, and I don't need them.

"Progress" is a double edged sword. If one is able and willing to change with the times, new levels of functionality are available, and new challenges need to be surmounted.

In those 60's radios all sorts of tricks were tried in an effort to increase antenna efficiency. Even then, one could receive only a few local stations. And, the station list was (and still is -- the physics have not changed) different after dark and during highly active sun spot cycles. Now, we fuss with WiFi antennas, device placement, and router configuration. It's different, but the same. The real difference is social media. Now, we can express our frustration to a wider audience, warring sides quickly develop, and lots of nasty stones are tossed across the divide.
Userlevel 1
Badge +3
The reason there is a delay when you change channel on digital tv is because the tv is waiting for you to press, in theory, three buttons on your remote. If, for example, you are watching BBC 2 and you want to switch to BBC 1 using the numbered keypad, as opposed to "channel down", the tv has to wait a certain amount of time because you may be pressing three numbers, not one and it is giving you time to do so. If you want the tv to do it quicker you have to press 1 and then the OK button. Back in the old days before digital tv there was only five channels anyway, unless you lived in Cornwall when you were lucky to have one, so this was not an issue back then.


Give the guy a break he only made one post and has "a bit" of a fair point. ;)

I hate the way there is a delay when I change TV channel on digital TV, back in the day (2 years ago!) we got instant channel changing on analogue TV, albeit on only 5 channels!

It seems in order to get the extra / new benefits we loss some of the old ease of use. The thing is the output (playing a radio station on Sonos or watching a TV channel) is not much different but the way the electronics do it has changed out of all recognition and so it has become a bit harder/less reliable to "use".

Just my 2ds' worth! :D
I have tons of speakers and nothing works -- cant find my music library
Well, that's certainly one way of getting help.