Sonos 802.15.4 Protocol Support for Matter (previously Connected Home over IP - CHIP)?

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Do any existing Sonos products support the 802.15.4 protocol also used by Zigbee compatible products?

If that were true then Sonos through a firmware update could make those products compatible with the Matter project leveraging Thread.

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Sotiris C.Answer

Sonos Staff

Hello @LakeOfTheWoods , Sonos products do not support 802.15.4 standard. You can find more details on what is supported on Sonos system requirements.

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Sotiris C.Answer

Sonos Staff

Hello @LakeOfTheWoods , Sonos products do not support 802.15.4 standard. You can find more details on what is supported on Sonos system requirements.

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controlav

Lead Maestro

Please explain the benefits that we would get if Sonos were to do this?

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.

melvimbe

The post is a bit confusing. Matter does not use zigbee, although it has roots with the zigbee alliance. Matter uses WiFi or Thread networks and is IP based. Since Sonos uses WiFi, I believe it could theoretically use Matter standards.

https://buildwithmatter.com/

However, as stated already, what would be the point? I have not see any details on what exactly Matter means for smart speakers. My guess would be that Matter could be used for control purposes, if at all, but highly unlikely that Matter would involve some sort of protocol for playing speakers in sync. Besides appearing to be well beyond the scope of what Matter is meant for, I don’t know that the corporations involved with that are interested in such a standard network. Amazon, Google, Apple, Sonos, and several others have invested in their own proprietary protocols for multiroom audio. While some of these companies have shared part of their setup with other companies, surely for a hefty license fee, it’s unlikely they would just give this up. Sonos has been fighting over it’s patents in court. Apple doesn’t let an airplay stream start from anything but an Apple device, etc.

Although I don’t see Amazon being interested in having their speakers controlled by a Google mini, or vice versa, I can see where it would be useful to have a speaker control protocol for use with automation. If that’s the focus, than perhaps Sonos may see the need to get on board. For right now, I bet they are taking a wait and see attitude to see how everything develops.

Danny

L

LakeOfTheWoodsAuthor

Contributor I

This article seems to suggest that an older device with native support for 802.15.4 can be updated to support Thread.

“The good news with Thread is that it's a technology that can be enabled in some older devices using firmware; as long as devices support the 802.15.4 protocol then they can be upgraded to support Thread.”

https://www.the-ambient.com/guides/what-is-thread-smart-home-2410

L

LakeOfTheWoodsAuthor

Contributor I

Please explain the benefits that we would get if Sonos were to do this?

For ease of integration and interoperability with other smart home products that support the new standard.

IFTTT for example which has a ton of workflows for Sonos would no longer be required.
https://ifttt.com/sonos

Rather than companies like Sonos building support for Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit or in some cases only one or two of them they now they simply design their products to ensure they support Thread.

ratty

This article seems to suggest that an older device with native support for 802.15.4 can be updated to support Thread.

I’m not sure why you bring that up again. As @Sotiris C. stated earlier, Sonos devices don’t support 802.15.4. It has quite different PHY/MAC layers from WiFi.

controlav

Lead Maestro

Please explain the benefits that we would get if Sonos were to do this?

For ease of integration and interoperability with other smart home products that support the new standard.

IFTTT for example which has a ton of workflows for Sonos would no longer be required.
https://ifttt.com/sonos

Rather than companies like Sonos building support for Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit or in some cases only one or two of them they now they simply design their products to ensure they support Thread.

Ah, so this then: https://xkcd.com/927/

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.