HideWiFi signal

Simply hiding the network ID offers virtually no protection at all. Traffic on an open network is unencrypted. Secure your network properly, using a strong password.

I’m aware of that and have a very strong password on my network. I’ve had someone test connecting to the speaker and they can’t access the network from it. But I guess someone who knows what they are doing may be able to.

What i don’t understand is why the speaker would suddenly appear in the available wifi network connections list. None of the other speakers do and it had been fine for the previous 2 years. How do secure the speaker so a password is needed when connecting to it?

You cannot "secure" a Sonos device, it relies on its network for its security.

In the OP message you says it is an unsecured network, then in the reply you say it has a strong password. Both cannot be true.

Don't understand what you mean by the speaker "suddenly appearing in the wifi list". Speakers connect to an existing wifi network, they don't provide their own visible wifi except maybe during initial setup.

This sounds like an altogether different topic. From your initial post I understood your complaint was that your hidden -- open -- home network was now becoming visible for some reason.

Is your problem that a Sonos unit has started emitting an open SSID? This only occurs in the case of a new/reset unit which is awaiting setup.

Is your problem that Sonos units are appearing as Bluetooth end points? This will be the case for the later models which are able to be configured using BLE. A user will not be able to connect to it directly.

Thank you both for your assistance.
I’m not tech savvy so probably not explaining the situation well.
What has started happening is when on a device ie iPhone you have a WiFi function which shows available wifi networks which can be connected to. One of my speakers has started appearing in that list. It shows as unsecured network and can be connect to, however when connected to it can’t be used to access the internet.
The secure password I refer to is on my modem/router network.
Ratty you may be right that the speaker has somehow entered a setup mode. I didn’t install the system but will do some research on how to run through the installation process and will try and reinstall the speaker with my home network.

Does the mystery network ID start with "SNS", followed by a string of apparently random characters? As I say, this should only appear from a player which is awaiting setup. This won't be a player that is already registered as a 'room' on your system.

i don’t think so, the name of the network is the room to speaker is named as.

I've never seen this. Are you sure it's Sonos?

Do you, for instance, have any devices attached to your TV which can be streamed to directly? Something else might carry the room name, not just Sonos.

Use a WiFi scanner app to note the BSSID (MAC address) of the SSID in question and decode the vendor from a site such as https://www.wireshark.org/tools/oui-lookup.html

Yes. It’s definitely a Sonos system. I use the app.
Will try the scanner to figure out if it’s another device.
we don’t have any devices that stream direct to the TV

JC11,

It could be someone else’s network device, such as an access point (just as an example) from a neighbouring property, particularly if it’s just showing in your mobile available WiFi connection list.

I just can’t see this turning out to be a Sonos Speaker. I’ll be very surprised if that proves to be the case, as I’ve never seen such a thing either with Sonos devices. I’m guessing it’s 'coincidental' that it is broadcasting the same name as one of your Sonos Speakers.