Headliner I

Ethernet vs Wireless or a combination of the two? Best Route to go

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Evening all. Have a large Sonos environment started maybe 13 years or so back. It’s been refreshed a time or two and continues to grow. It has in the main, been near flawless in operation. It’s all S2 and most devices not so old.

But a problem recent months has prompted some questions which I’m hoping I can get your experience and recommendation on please.

We took the view way back that running RJ45 copper to each device was the best way to go. Every device bar an ARC with wireless One’s associated, are hard wired.

But I’m now wondering what is the optimum networking configuration for 2025?

Discussion today with Sonos support caused me to think that wireless seems be the preference. Or a combination of some wired and some wireless. There was less enthusiasm for wired only.

Why do I say this? We I swapped two very old and long in the tooth Netgear 48 port PoE switches out in favour of two brand new high spec managed Netgear switches. The PoE side of things had been failing for some time although the switching itself fine. Since doing this, lots of troubles! Devices dropping our, performance issues etc.

I now am led to believe that Sonos does not play well with managed switches and STP. Our new network devices perform perfectly until I add wired Sonos devices.

I’m not upset at the issue as such, I don’t mind change or revision and indeed the very reason to make a slightly ill-informed decision on the managed switches. But I do want now to make the right networking decisions and am interested in the best practice way to go to make my long standing Sonos environment at perfect as possible and our home network likewise.

Appreciate any advice and direction to arrive at the ‘new’ best system I can

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craigski

Local Superstar

Also is there a web page or explanation page within the Sonos web site?

Thanks

Not on Sonos website, but co-authored ‘SONOS Networking Best Practice’ will answer most of your questions, and probably generate a few more:

https://www.guildintegratorsalliance.org/fieldguides

My recommendation for a typical home (eg not high density Sonos Amp install in a rack), is use wireless with ceiling mounted APs. Well positioned £100 ceiling AP will perform a lot better than a £300 AP tucked away on a cabinet, shelf etc. Sonos does not need much bandwidth, but performs best with reliable low latency connection.

@Mr. T I refer to SonosNet ‘Sonos Network’ as a network path created between Sonos devices, the guide I refer to above, co-authored by Sonos:

Generally, SonosNet operates in the 2.4Ghz band. The exception is for 2.1, 3.1, 5.0, and 5.1 speaker configurations, where Sonos uses the 5Ghz band to distribute audio from the center speaker directly to the rear satellite speakers and/or subwoofer. Because SonosNet inherently creates two different network communication paths (i.e. data can be passed through the hardwire connection OR through the wireless SonosNet connection), it creates the possibility of network loops when more than one Sonos device is hardwired with SonosNet enabled, so you need to follow best practices to avoid causing network loops.

Apologies for any confusion.

Mr. T

Thanks for the link @craigski, I hadn’t seen that publication before, or if I had, I’d forgotten about it.

Yes, technically you are correct. SonosNet is the private network path between Sonos devices and that between soundbar/subs/surrounds would fall into that category.

The widespread use of the term SonosNet in the community is in reference to the 2.4GHz connection only, rather than the 5GHz exceptions.

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craigski

Local Superstar

Glad we are on same page, we just didn't have our glasses on. 😀

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

I'm not used to seeing the 5 gHz inter-speaker link called Sonosnet, mostly see it called something like "5 gHz private network" so that is new information for me unless I just forgot being told earlier.

Is the inter-speaker Sonosnet v 2 or is it newer?

I do wish it had a different name, this dual / incompatible use is going to complicate answering questions.

Mr. T

I'm not used to seeing the 5 gHz inter-speaker link called Sonosnet, mostly see it called something like "5 gHz private network" so that is new information for me unless I just forgot being told earlier.

Is the inter-speaker Sonosnet v 2 or is it newer?

I do wish it had a different name, this dual / incompatible use is going to complicate answering questions.

I’ve seen the Sonos Bridge referred to as SonosNet v1.0. Hardware in later devices allow SonosNet 2.0, potentially from the release of the Play:3 but not 100% on that. The 5Ghz bonding happens on both v1 and v2.

I wouldn’t change how you answer questions around SonosNet.

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attacama40Author

Headliner I

I’m not fully understanding the scope or even if I have SonosNet invoked.

Is this visible in the mobile app or laptop app or even using third party tools? Interested to see the setup you describe.

Also is there a web page or explanation page within the Sonos web site?

Thanks

In 99.9% of cases, the use of the term SonosNet in the community refers to the dedicated wireless network created by wiring at least one Sonos device to the router.

In the app, under Settings > Network, you will see SonosNet Channel with option to switch between 1, 6 and 11 which are all on the 2.4GHz band.

Previously the WM (wireless mode) was visible in the mobile apps within About My System, so you could see relatively easily how each device was connected, but this has still not been implemented yet in the new app, but still visible on desktop apps.

Explanation for each WM mode given here:

https://support.sonos.com/en-us//article/check-if-sonos-is-in-a-wireless-or-wired-setup

A useful tool in the past was reviewing the Network Matrix when using a wired setup, but with newer devices and portables not compatible with “SonosNet”, there is less useful information to help potential troubleshooting now than before.

A good starting point for the Network Matrix/SonosNet however is this article:

https://freetime.mikeconnelly.com/archives/6050

Super stuff, many thanks for the comprehensive explanation. And apologies for the delay getting back to you.

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attacama40Author

Headliner I

I’m not fully understanding the scope or even if I have SonosNet invoked.

Edited to make clear which version of Sonosnet this applies to.

SonosNet (the system-wide 2.4 gHz version) status is easy to figure out, if you:

- Have a SonosNet capable device.

- Have it connected to Ethernet.

- Have the internal radio enabled.

Then you have SonosNet running.

The only way to stop (the system wide) SonosNet is to remove one of the three above conditions.

I really wish we had a Disable SonosNet option next to the Disable Wi-Fi one.

Again great explanation. Strange, I’ve had Sonos for years, maybe started back in 2010 ish? But there’s so much I realise I still don’t know about it operationally. Guess that in a sense is the reflection of a solid product …. the fact that you don’t need to ordinarily, only when things jump the tracks very occasionally. Apologies for the late reply.

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