Initial setup was ok 

now it’s not working at all

it’s stuck with flashing orange light and doesn’t even turn off. 
I tried every possible combination of button pushing, in vain 

Bluetooth connectivity has serious issues 

Hi @Dgiann 

I recommend you hold the power button for 12 seconds to force a full reboot.

Can’t get the damn thing to flash the blue light.I tried everything proposed here. Tried for two hours. Resetting. Updating software. Factory resetting. Pressing when it’s on. Pressing when it’s off. Playing music and pressing. Praying. This is extra annoying. I’m going to return this piece of useless c@&$.

Hi @Uriar 

If your Roam hasn’t been Bluetooth paired (or not since the last factory reset), you will need to hold the power button for 2 seconds until you hear the second chime.

If you are trying to pair to a new device, after Roam has already been paired before, you’ll then need to press and hold for another 2 seconds for a third chime.

I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system, if this doesn’t work.

Had the same problem. But updating the Roam fixed the problem.

Indeed the update fixes the problem.

Thanks

I’ve received a lot of criticism from my friends for the amount I’ve spent on Sonos.  I always tell them it’s worth the cost because of how smart and amazing the speakers sound.  Also, how easy it is to use and for others to use at our place.  However, when trying to show off my new Roam I run into constant issues and have to take an “I told you so” beating when it completely flakes out and won’t work. This has happened multiple times and the other day on a walk with my partner I tried for 10 minutes to connect to bluetooth with my phone and I gave up.  Really disappointed in these hiccups and hope Sonos gets a fix real quick.  This speaker should be so easy to use a baby could connect their baby iPhone.    

Finally did it. Let Go!

The key for me was the detail on the let go.  I was holding the button for to long.  Most blue tooth devices go into paring mode while you are holding the button. Not Sonos

Now press and hold the rear power button on the Roam for two seconds and let go.

Once you master the Bluetooth pairing on the roam you will be blown away with it I suggest you pair all your devices one at a time one after the other apparently you can add up to 8 devices. I did struggle to get it to work but once it clicked with me l am fine with it I even connected my iPod classic to it with a Bluetooth sender unit and best of all you don’t have to go through pairing mode again once you have set up your devices I have 5 devices setup.

Same here, and as the S2 app has detected older S1 gear, it wont let me set up the Roam so I cant install the update to fix this issue.

Two questions. 

1. Why is a bluetooth speaker leaving the factory for the retail channel when it has buggy firmware that prevents it from pairing?
2. Why does the S2 app refuse to set up the roam when it detects older S1 gear???? 

Actually make it three questions

3. why hasnt someones head rolled at Sonos and refunds been offered???? I’m off to buy a speaker brand that actually works. Bye Bye Sonos

Hi @patdude 

The problem is that your system is on S1, and the Roam is only compatible with S2, as mentioned on our Set up your Sonos Roam help page.

You’ll need to reset the S2 app and when reopening it select to setup a new system, not to connect to an existing one. It may also help to turn the S1 units off while setting up S2. Once setup, however, the S1 and S2 systems/apps will operate properly side-by-side (though separately).

If your Roam isn’t ready to be setup (flashing green) you’ll need to factory reset it first.

In answer to your direct questions:

1. Units are manufactured in advance, to build up stock and we cannot update Roams while they are in boxes in a warehouse. Software development is an on-going process and doesn’t always go as smoothly as marketing plans/executives would like. Therefore, few products (of any brand) that run software are ever sold with up-to-date software installed at the factory.
2. A Sonos system requires all units on it to be operating on the same software to operate and configure correctly. A new unit, therefore, is not allowed to be added until the app and system are operating on the same software - if they were not, many strange things could happen making you (and many others) even less satisfied with the products. In addition, S1 is vastly different from S2, despite their common look.
3. If you’d like a refund, arrange for one - just visit https://support.sonos.com/s/money-back-guarantee or return it to the store from which it was bought (though in this case you will be subject to their refund policy, not ours).

I hope this helps.

I appreciate your getting back to me, but hey, these are really pretty lame excuses.

The reality is this - selling a Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t pair because of buggy firmware doesn’t come down to manufacturing logistics, it comes down to an abysmal testing regime. This bug should have been picked up well before the units even made it from the factory to the warehouse. 

As for your reply that "Sonos requires all units to be operating on the same software"???? That excuse might have washed back in the 1980’s but nowadays, regardless of what software is running on Sonos firmware, the gear and its network protocols should be based on agreed industry standards, and these should should work seamlessly via a remote controller app regardless of any software issues.

Putting it simply, this is why I can plug a western digital NAS into a Dlink Router and retrieve files on my Microsoft Surface PC or Mac. If it works with all those brands, why cant Sonos just get it right??? Is this really such a difficulty?

How about you just admit that Sonos went ahead with the S1/S2 debacle to push people into upgrading in order to bolster their revenues. 

I’m definitely getting a refund, but also as a reviewer I am going to actively tell my readership to avoid Sonos until this mess is sorted out or Sonos grows a conscience. Sadly I doubt either is going to happen any time soon.   

Just got the roam and same issue here.  App was a mess, wouldn’t connect, didn’t like the wifi.  Uninstalled and reinstalled it.  Didn’t help.   I can turn it on but it goes from flashing white directly to flashing green.  I want to just connect via bluetooth but it won’t go into pairing mode.  Holding the power button at any point of the process just seems to turn it off with no sound whatsoever.  Really very frustrating and not very, well modern.  Feels like a decade ago in regard to ease of set-up.   

Are you are using the S2 App and does your controller device and the network setup meet the Sonos system requirements, only both my Sonos Roams each popped up themselves in the App, I hit "setup" and they were both sorted within a matter of seconds… it didn’t take any more than a minute for each setup.

Assuming your new speaker is not faulty, I’m thinking you are ‘perhaps’ doing something wrong in your case, as it was really was that simple.

I am using the new app, S2.   Requirements look fine.  I’ll test at home today as well.  I don’t care about the WIFI part that much. 

You will find that you just need to do the first-time initial setup on WiFi, but after that you can then choose to use Bluetooth, but if that’s your primary goal, I would have perhaps just bought a Bluetooth speaker instead, rather than one that is computer-controlled/designed for multi-room synced wireless audio. Here are some of its features, briefly outlined below:

• Waterproof 
• Automatic-Trueplay Tuning
• Apple Airplay Capable
• Wireless Audio
• Sound Swap available with many other Sonos products.
• Bluetooth (with audio pass-through to grouped wireless Sonos devices)
• Stereo pairing & grouping on WiFi 
• 10 hour battery life
• Built-in mic with voice assistant control (Alexa/Google?)
• Available in Black/White colours
• USB-C/Wireless Qi charging.

Can’t connect via Bluetooth. How about this: NO chime sounds at all, not even during power down. Did the reset. Can’t update because I’m out of town for the summer; my Sonos system is back home. No blue and white lights, no pairing tone.

Have been wasting hours of my time.

If you’re away from Home and opted for a ‘last-resort’ reset of the Roam, what were the setup steps taken to get the speaker back up and running? 

It’s NOT running. That’s my point. 

The speaker is a mini computer and not just a Bluetooth speaker and in the same way as resetting your smartphone (also usually a last-resort option) you will need to setup the Roam again so you will need your S2 App on your mobile connected to a local accessible wireless router to provide LAN/WAN access for you to setup your ‘reset’ device again on your account. It won’t work until you have installed it.

The ‘reset’ of the device is most likely at the heart of your issue here. You can often be connected to any local WiFi to do the setup, but not one that requires access through a login page. HTH

I’ve tried using the S2 app but it wants to find my current Sonos system before I can do anything with it. 

Like I said, I am living/working out of town for the summer and do not have any of my Sonos components with me. Therefore I can’t do anything beyond opening the app.

I should mention that I was going to buy a bluetooth speaker while on the road but saw the Roam and was already a longtime Sonos user. But was it wrong to do so (since as stated above, the Roam is ‘not just a bluetooth speaker’) and I won't be home until September to set it up? 

If you have more than one mobile device and one of them can provide a WiFi hotspot, you can temporarily set up Roam on that hotspot. get it updated and then switch it over to Bluetooth mode. Once you’re back home you’ll need to reset it and add it to the rest of your Sonos household, but doing the hotspot method will allow you to use it out on the road 

As a quick temporary measure to help get your Roam back up and running, just reset the S2 App for now, “Settings/App Preferences" it will not affect your Home setup, but you will need to reset the App again when you return Home in September and connect it back to your ‘existing system’ when back on your Home WiFi.

After you reset the App, setup your (reset) Roam on your now-accessible WiFi, as a new system. It can be created using your current Sonos Account, but will use a different HouseholdID, so just create a separated system for temporary use. That will get you back up and running hopefully, but note you may need to first ensure that you have the local WiFi credentials and that the WiFi access does not use a login page. HTH.

(edit: James beat me to it.)

THANK YOU gentlemen. It was the reset of the app (!) that was really the key. Funny I didn’t find anything in the literature re: syncing to system, set up with app, updating, even the weird but cool NFC registering… hm.

Anyway, all is working, even using the Roam for better Zoom meeting audio. A million thanks.