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Cannot group Sonos system with Google Home devices


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Sonos,

After all this waiting. And after multiple articles. And after multiple phone calls to your service reps (including today), I’m now being told that you cannot group your Sonos system devices with your Google Home devices (after being told for months and more than a year that the aid be able to group them). Even the rep I spoke with today tried to help me and didn’t find out it wasn’t possible until he spoke to a system engineer. You can do it with Amazon devices, but STILL not with Google devices

In all honesty, what is the point of adding Google assistant to Sonos if you can’t even use Sonos speakers with Google Speakers together in a group? It’s pretty useless for me to be in living room, have to get up and walk to my kitchen to say “hey google, play x in my Living Room” and then walk back.
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Best answer by Ryan S 15 May 2019, 00:50

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“The price is irrelevant” is a funny quote when you have a questionably useful $800 speaker. I’d advise the fanboys not defend Sonos here; they’re in a lawsuit with Google due to the danger this type of issues poses against their survival.


You need them to be able to demonstrate that customers like me exist because we’re a growing market segment. I refer to people who are building integrated ecosystems & will skip over non-integrated options. This necessitates regulation to prevent players like Google/Amazon from abusing their market positions & killing players like Sonos.

 

I’m still in the return period & evaluating the Arc, but without a statement from Sonos I will likely return this. The smart-tech capabilities are useless to me if they can’t fit into my existing systems.

My point is that no price guarantees any particular feature should be included.

If Sonos doesn't provide a feature that is important to you then you have to consider whether the features it does have are worth the price.  If not then it is logical to send it.back.

The only statement you will get from Sonos is 'we have no information on this to share at the present time'. So I wouldn't wait too long hoping for anything else. 

Btw. I am sure you aren't the only person looking not to be tied into a particular brand of speaker. That's a perfectly reasonable position to take. 

And I understand that people with several existing Google devices before they buy Sonos are frustrated that they cannot group them with Sonos. 

I am happy to be 'trapped' in tbe Sonos ecosystem. Of course not everyone will be. 

Makes sense. It’s a fine piece of hardware & I’m tempted to hold onto it... especially as no “TV soundbar company” is building one that seems to pair nicely into Google Groups (for now.)

Hopefully someone fully in the Sonos ecosystem will get it as I can see a lot of love and effort went into the engineering. It’s sad to see it sit mostly unused when the rest of my house plays music 🙃

Makes sense. It’s a fine piece of hardware & I’m tempted to hold onto it... especially as no “TV soundbar company” is building one that seems to pair nicely into Google Groups (for now.)

Hopefully someone fully in the Sonos ecosystem will get it as I can see a lot of love and effort went into the engineering. It’s sad to see it sit mostly unused when the rest of my house plays music 🙃

Yes it is. But the history is that Sonos invented wireless multiroom audio and the model is still 'all or nothing '. 

Whether that model continues to be viable remains to be seen.  I think it has lots of life in it yet,  but only time will tell. 

More then 150 comments?Can you finally make that feature available? Its sad my SONOS Beam is the ONLY device that cant be grouped in google home.

Honestly I don't even know why I bought an Arc being unable to group the speakers. They almost never get used for music because of this. 🤦‍♂️

 

Just implement the feature already.

Honestly I don't even know why I bought an Arc being unable to group the speakers. They almost never get used for music because of this. 🤦‍♂️

 

Just implement the feature already.

Just sell your Google speakers and  buy Sonos already . You either have a Sonos multiroom system or you don't. 

It can be done With a little untraditional work-around. I got a chromecast connected to my TV and a SONOS Beam connected to the TV with a HDMI cable to one of the TVs HDMI ARC ports. I got to one gen 2 speakers paired with my beam. In my bedroom, kitchen and bathroom I got Google home speakers. For this to work the TV must be turned on though… in the google home app you then create a group with your TV(chromecast) and your Google speakers. That’s it. You now have music playing through (in my case) a beam, 2 one gen 2 and all my google speakers at the same time. You can adjust sync between the speakers through the app, if need be. By default it is set at 76 ms. Cheers from Denmark. 

I just want to be able to tell Google Assistant to play music in my whole house. Is it that hard to let me do that? Just let me group the speakers already…

I paid a ton of money for high end products which even advertise the Google integration and I’m not able to use a basic function. Very disapointing.

 

Moderation note: removed expletive

Really sad that there isn't a backlog or something where we can see what's going on, or vote on things we really miss. I believe this is the greatest feature which will push Sonos forward above the others. A real integration with the Google equipment. For smaller rooms it's nice to have just a small 27 euro Nest Mini, and the bigger rooms can have the more expensive (and better sounding) Sonos equipment. But just grouping them all together would be such a great feature.

Really sad that there isn't a backlog or something where we can see what's going on, or vote on things we really miss.

 

 

Sonos reads these forums, so your thoughts are considered.  Don’t know if they hold an official tally.  I’m not all surprised that they don’t show numbers who on who else wants a particular feature, as that would only bring disappoint to customers who feel like customer votes should be the only factor in implementing feature...ignoring things like making a profit, contractual limitations, impact on other development plans, and technical feasibility.

 

I believe this is the greatest feature which will push Sonos forward above the others. A real integration with the Google equipment. For smaller rooms it's nice to have just a small 27 euro Nest Mini, and the bigger rooms can have the more expensive (and better sounding) Sonos equipment. But just grouping them all together would be such a great feature.

 

Personally, I’d rather see Sonos come out with their own $50 puck speaker. Scratch that, I’d love to see a non-portable version of the Roam for maybe around $120 or something.

I just bought a few thousand dollars of sonos speakers and subs. 2 full theater sets and an extra gen2 One to replace a bedroom assistant. I'm about to pack up the lot of them and return. Because I set up one in my bedroom and I can't integrate it with the existing speaker groups. So....., no sonos I'm not happy. I find it to be an underhanded attempt to sell more speakers and I don't want your speakers if I can't say "ok Google, play x on all speakers" or "play the latest news on all speakers". I also suspect I won't be able to run my morning routine on your speakers either. This is a really stupid place to dig in. Either allow full integration or go back to being "dumb" speaks, stop with the infuriating half measure. My opinion of sonos has always been "smart" bose. But if you don't get with the program your going to get left behind or at least you won't get any more of my money. 

Makes sense. It’s a fine piece of hardware & I’m tempted to hold onto it... especially as no “TV soundbar company” is building one that seems to pair nicely into Google Groups (for now.)

Hopefully someone fully in the Sonos ecosystem will get it as I can see a lot of love and effort went into the engineering. It’s sad to see it sit mostly unused when the rest of my house plays music 🙃

Yes it is. But the history is that Sonos invented wireless multiroom audio and the model is still 'all or nothing '. 

Whether that model continues to be viable remains to be seen.  I think it has lots of life in it yet,  but only time will tell. 

Yes we'll, people want wireless smart home more than wireless whole home audio. If I can't get full integration from sonos because they are to proud to do so then they won't have a place in my "smart" home for long. The Google assistant and cast button are too convenient. Having to use the clunky sonos app is an inconvenient and unnecessary step. I want to open YouTube or YouTube music and cast whatever I want. Not jump through sonoses nonsense outdated platform.i want to be able to integrate them into my existing platform, not be forced to buy a whole new one. The speakers are great and would probably be my go to every time I want a new one or want to upgrade audio in a room. But seeing that I'm unable to use them the way I want to, only the way sonos wants me to. Fine they will be returned. I payed for them, they are mine. Let me use them the way I want or you can have them back. If sonos fan boys want to keep using the sonos app, that's fine more power to them. I don't,  I guess the bottom line is I'll have to spend my money elsewhere.

I just bought a few thousand dollars of sonos speakers and subs. 2 full theater sets and an extra gen2 One to replace a bedroom assistant. I'm about to pack up the lot of them and return. Because I set up one in my bedroom and I can't integrate it with the existing speaker groups. So....., no sonos I'm not happy. I find it to be an underhanded attempt to sell more speakers and I don't want your speakers if I can't say "ok Google, play x on all speakers" or "play the latest news on all speakers". I also suspect I won't be able to run my morning routine on your speakers either. This is a really stupid place to dig in. Either allow full integration or go back to being "dumb" speaks, stop with the infuriating half measure. My opinion of sonos has always been "smart" bose. But if you don't get with the program your going to get left behind or at least you won't get any more of my money. 

 

You seem to be assuming that Google wanted Sonos speakers to be able to play along with their own, and Sonos refused.  Actually, Sonos approached Google in order to get Google to allow control of Sonos speakers via the Google Assistant.  Google did not want to do the integration at all, but Sonos convinced them to do it anyway.  Perhaps, Google then wanted to allow speakers to play in sync, but I highly doubt that.  I don’t think Sonos was ever interested in integrating with Google speakers, because there audio syncing tech has a lot more features than Google’s does.

Also, Sonos also has a lawsuit against Google for infringing on their IP with their wireless audio system.  

I get the frustration after making an assumption, spending thousands, and then being disappointed, but then assuming that Google wants to give you what you want and Sonos doesn’t...is just inaccurate.

 

 

 

Wow the post is 2 years old and it still can’t add to a Google music group… I bought today a Sonos Roam with the Google Assistant especially to do that. After I set my Sonos (now future ex Sonos), created an account, linked with my google account, I searched for how to add the speaker with my Google music group and I didn’t found it. After a search on the internet, I found this tread and found out this is not possible… I am truly disappointed. I will return it in the store tonight...

Anyone know a good brand of Bluetooth speaker with Google Assistant which is able to be add in a Google Music Group?

 

Thanks,

Wow the post is 2 years old and it still can’t add to a Google music group… I bought today a Sonos Roam with the Google Assistant especially to do that. After I set my Sonos (now future ex Sonos), created an account, linked with my google account, I searched for how to add the speaker with my Google music group and I didn’t found it. After a search on the internet, I found this tread and found out this is not possible… I am truly disappointed. I will return it in the store tonight...

Anyone know a good brand of Bluetooth speaker with Google Assistant which is able to be add in a Google Music Group?

 

Thanks,

I have the exact same disappointment. In all my research, this is the one thread that has eluded me. Dammit. I wish I had found this thread prior to purchasing. What a wasted purchase.

I bought a Sonos soundbar with the intention of adding it to Google speaker groups for music, and I was disappointed to find out that is impossible. However, for anybody else looking for a sound bar that can integrate with Google speaker groups, JBL does. I got a JBL 5.1 surround bar with built-in Chromecast, and it works with my speaker groups. It doesn't have built-in Assistant, but that's okay because I have another Google speaker in the same room. And the fact that it includes a subwoofer is perfect for music.

exactly! 

just bought SonosMove to group with others and got so frustrated after hours of attempts, then found in this forum that its not possible.

stupid, im selling it now.

Another disappointed new arc/sub owner checking in here.  Given that Google integration is advertised it is frustrating that the capabilities are limited.  For a premium product I would expect better.  I'll be reconsidering my purchase for a JBL system

Recently bought a Sonos Roam to dip my toe in the Sonos eco system. I have numerous Google speakers, chrome casts and a Lenovo clock that I can integrate into groups. 

 

I stupidly assumed that I would be able to integrate my speakers with the Roam. Was actually considering over the next few years swapping out some of my Google speakers and "upgrading" to Sonos.

 

All though I love. My roam I won't be doing this due to the lack of groups with different speakers. I don't know if it's a technical issue or some sort of dispute between Google and Sonos. I do know that it's hurting sales for Sonos as I can't justify replacing my whole system in one go.

 

I hope that there will be some sort of resolution but won't hold my breath.

 

 

lol this is still an issue? What a joke

I came here after finding the Sonos Move and being excited about using it on my deck, paired with my indoor Google Nest speakers for whole home + deck audio.

 

After finding out I can't join a Sonos speaker to my Google speaker group, I'm no longer interested in the product. Sorry Sonos, get with the times!

I'm a new Beam Gen 2 owner. I'm very satisfied with the sound but am frustrated (like many others here) that I cannot add my Sonos to my Google home speaker group. Even more disappointed that Sonos will not officially give us a definitive roadmap if this is coming. Had I known this I would never have purchased.

 

Also annoying is that while I can see my Sonos in my Google Home, I can't choose my Sonos to target it in YouTube Music. Annoying. I don't want to use the Sonos Music software.

Sonos Move and next Arc owner here.

 

Thinking of returning if this isn’t going to change. At home we have 5 Google Assistant speakers (one of them it’s a Smart Display from Lenovo) and we want to group all devices with the SONOS Move and Arc.

 

Not so happy with them, they aren’t cheap and I bought them because they announced Google Assistant’s compatibility.

 

Any news SONOS, can you tell us something? Any feedback? We’ll be glad to hear from you and know we’re heard.

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