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Can you connect more than one Sonos Roam via Bluetooth

Aka daisy chain. Many cheap bluetooth speakers can do this so it would be disappointing if the Roam can't. I do know that two Roams will not do stereo in bluetooth but I can't seem to find anywhere if it even supports two Roams or more in mono.

Thanks

63 replies

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks guys, this sounds pretty easy and this tip should allow us to listen to good music in stereo in the beach without lugging my much larger JBL Extreme Bluetooth speakers.

Sonos really needs to address this shortcoming, just no excuse for such a limitation with a higher end product like the Roam when much cheaper options have no issues streaming stereo over Bluetooth. Anyone willing to pay Sonos prices does so because they have a deep appreciation for SQ, and most anyone in that portion of the market will typically be less than satisfied with mono. It’s really inexplicable that they still haven’t addressed this at this point. 
 

Many thanks for the workaround.

Another ‘similar’ option is to connect the mobile device to a rechargeable dual Bluetooth transmitter that can connect/stream to two (Roam) devices simultaneously. It means stereo audio plays on both speakers, but I find that works fine for outdoor use. Here’s an example (selected at random) from Amazon, but there are many others to choose from…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONRU-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Adapter-Black/dp/B0BD89GRW1

R
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Man this is frustrating. So I’m at the beach and don’t have the second cell phone on me so can’t do the hotspot workaround. All I’m trying to do is to get both Roams to play a mono signal. Holding the Play button on the second Roam does nothing.

I’m assuming I need to trudge back up to the rental house, find wifi again, separate the previously established stereo pair between these two speakers (which you can’t do when not connected to wifi), and then the Group function will work?

Since I’m on a different wifi (rental house) I don’t even know if that will work.

They should have called these Roam speakers NoRoams…
 

 

Ken_Griffiths

Man this is frustrating. So I’m at the beach and don’t have the second cell phone on me so can’t do the hotspot workaround. All I’m trying to do is to get both Roams to play a mono signal. Holding the Play button on the second Roam does nothing.

I’m assuming I need to trudge back up to the rental house, find wifi again, separate the previously established stereo pair between these two speakers (which you can’t do when not connected to wifi), and then the Group function will work?

Since I’m on a different wifi (rental house) I don’t even know if that will work.

They should have called these Roam speakers NoRoams…

If you don’t have the right kit with you, then there’s little anyone can do to assist. It’s been mentioned here in the community ‘many’ times, to either use a dual Bluetooth transmitting device (some android mobile phones support this), or a mobile hotspot, or MiFi device. If you don’t have any of those with you, then you can only play the Bluetooth stream to one Roam only. Anyone of the things mentioned will allow you to play to two Roams (or a good many more speakers in some instance).

R
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.

Ken_Griffiths

No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.

I’ve looked back over the thread and the Staff put it forward as a feature request and the rest of the thread is mostly about pairing/grouping and playing back the Bluetooth audio to all when on WiFi or mobile WiFi .. that’s how I read things, at least. I don’t think I’m missing the point here.

melvimbe

No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.

 

‘grouping’ only occurs over a WiFi connection.

Danny
R
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

Apologies, might have been another thread or I might have missed the wifi references.

M

As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, the Sonos Roam does not support daisy chaining or connecting multiple Roam speakers in mono or stereo via Bluetooth.

It's designed primarily for individual portable use, and while it can connect with other Sonos speakers using Wi-Fi for a multi-room audio experience, this feature is limited when using Bluetooth.

However, Sonos may have released firmware updates or new products with additional features since then.

To get the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding the capabilities of the Sonos Roam, I recommend visiting the official Sonos website or checking the user manual for the latest details or any software updates that might have been introduced since my last update.

F

All these answers are 2 years old.  You’d think SONOS would have fixed this by now!!

Ken_Griffiths

All these answers are 2 years old.  You’d think SONOS would have fixed this by now!!

I guess they do not see it as being broken - a user can play a Bluetooth audio source to a Roam and over WiFi, that Roam can be grouped to 31 other Sonos products, so that could be 32 Roams (just as an example) all playing the same audio source. 

I think these days that some Bluetooth TX devices and Android phones support dual BT connection and playback too, even without WiFi. So there’s not much worth fixing, in some respects.

I have two Roams, but if I go out and about I probably would only take one. If I go ‘glamping’, then I take the two but use a MiFi device - I think some use a mobile hotspot, which I can confirm works equally aswell, too.

F

I shall try to be more specific.  Here’s what I’d like to be able to do with my Roam speakers.  I have a ‘32 Ford Hot Rod with no radio.  I want to mount a pair of Roams behind the seat and stream Bluetooth audio from my Apple phone as I drive.  I can already do this with one speaker (it works great) but due to the excessive wind and road noise I really need two speakers for some extra sound boost.  Not to mention that stereo would be really nice.  Maybe someday…

J

I am dying to have Stereo over bluetooth for Roams.  I was hoping that would be an improvement in the Roam 2 line, but sadly, no.   I think they are halfway there with the bluetooth switch on the Roam 2.  I travel a lot, so having a pair of Roams in Stereo over bluetooth would be awesome.  

Here’s how I’ve tried to solve the problem so far:  

  1. portable wifi router that matches my home network configuration.  This works sometimes, but when you plug into a hotel network, it can get wonky if it requires a password and you’re using the Sonos App to select the music. (The App requires an Internet connection back to the Sonos mothership for its configuration information, so if you can’t get beyond the hotel’s router, you’re cooked.) It’s hit or miss, and 30% of the time it works. 
  2. portable hotspot from my 5G tablet that matches my home network, and all three devices (phone & 2 Roams are connected to it).  Works if the 5G connection to the internet is strong so the Sonos app can connect to it.  
  3. Trying to connect my phone to a Roam via Bluetooth without having set it up originally (I factory reset the device while away from my home network). Total failure, no music that day. 
  4. Using Bluetooth on my phone to connect to a pre-configured stereo pair of Roams running on my home network. This works!  What it means is that I can play directly from my phone and not need to use the Sonos app to select my music.  When I did this, only one Roam had the blue light on, and the other just played.  So, there may be some promise here that I’d not tried before.  
  5. I have a Samsung S23 Ultra that supports simultaneous Bluetooth pairing to 2 devices. This is the daisy-chain concept, So I paired a UE Megaboom and a Sonos Move at the same time, and they both played.  (I couldn’t tell if either were playing stereo, but they were in sync and sounded good.)     
  6. My next experiment is to see if #4 works with the portable wifi that tethers the 2 speakers to each other but is NOT connected to the Internet. 
  7. Then I want to try #5 with just Roams, but I have to go away from the home network to do it, and I think will still sound fine with 2 monos at the same time. 

So, I’m getting closer, but would still love Stereo playback over Bluetooth.  ;-)  

Ken_Griffiths

I am dying to have Stereo over bluetooth for Roams.  I was hoping that would be an improvement in the Roam 2 line, but sadly, no.   I think they are halfway there with the bluetooth switch on the Roam 2.  I travel a lot, so having a pair of Roams in Stereo over bluetooth would be awesome.  

Here’s how I’ve tried to solve the problem so far:  

  1. portable wifi router that matches my home network configuration.  This works sometimes, but when you plug into a hotel network, it can get wonky if it requires a password and you’re using the Sonos App to select the music. (The App requires an Internet connection back to the Sonos mothership for its configuration information, so if you can’t get beyond the hotel’s router, you’re cooked.) It’s hit or miss, and 30% of the time it works. 
  2. portable hotspot from my 5G tablet that matches my home network, and all three devices (phone & 2 Roams are connected to it).  Works if the 5G connection to the internet is strong so the Sonos app can connect to it.  
  3. Trying to connect my phone to a Roam via Bluetooth without having set it up originally (I factory reset the device while away from my home network). Total failure, no music that day. 
  4. Using Bluetooth on my phone to connect to a pre-configured stereo pair of Roams running on my home network. This works!  What it means is that I can play directly from my phone and not need to use the Sonos app to select my music.  When I did this, only one Roam had the blue light on, and the other just played.  So, there may be some promise here that I’d not tried before.  
  5. I have a Samsung S23 Ultra that supports simultaneous Bluetooth pairing to 2 devices. This is the daisy-chain concept, So I paired a UE Megaboom and a Sonos Move at the same time, and they both played.  (I couldn’t tell if either were playing stereo, but they were in sync and sounded good.)     
  6. My next experiment is to see if #4 works with the portable wifi that tethers the 2 speakers to each other but is NOT connected to the Internet. 
  7. Then I want to try #5 with just Roams, but I have to go away from the home network to do it, and I think will still sound fine with 2 monos at the same time. 

So, I’m getting closer, but would still love Stereo playback over Bluetooth.  ;-)  

I travel quite a lot too and this device works for me - 5G LTE mobile WiFi-6AX router D-link dwr-2101:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-DWR-2101-Portable-Download-Unlocked/dp/B08M9H2M2F

The linked product here is quite expensive, but you may well find it much cheaper elsewhere online 

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