"network connection speed insufficient to maintain playback buffer"

  • 20 January 2014
  • 75 replies
  • 48096 views

I've been having the same problems with music playlists stop playing and "network connection speed insufficient" messages coming up shortly after every track it try's to play and skips to the next!!!! Really gets annoying when your trying to chill out!!!

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75 replies

Userlevel 1
I wish to add that I am experiencing these issues. This problem started immediately after the most recent updates to the Controller Apps and SONOS components. I have not had this issue previously. Until this update ALL related and connected components have operated properly.

I strictly play from my own music collection stored on my PC, no music renting services nor mobile devices for source.
I use the BRIDGE aka BOOST method and not WiFi.
Playback through: 2 CONNECT:PLAY, 1 CONNECT AMP in my small home.
I have an up to date 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac router that is not showing any other signs of poor performance.

Following suggestions I have changed the channels used by the BRIDGE and have attempted to use the WiFi configuration and am still experiencing this error on all 3 components.

Do note that I have had this system in the BOOST configuration over 5 years and have never experienced this issue before. But, with a previous update I had the issue where the controller app could not connect to my system - no matter what troubleshooting tips I tried. To fix this specific issue I had to delete all controller apps, reset all components then reinstall as new.

During this last update I experienced some noteworthy issues.
On my phone (Nexus6P) the app installed twice consecutively. Immediately upon loading into a "what's new" screen a "check for updates" engaged and forced another update.
On my PC (homebrew Win10 with overly sufficient specs) an initial update took place and 2 days later there was another update required. This 2nd update would not start and did not cite any error codes or specific issue. This is rather common and often I have to delete the controller app on my PC and install new. This is very tiresome.

As SONOS has shifted away from its foundation and has focused more on mobile devices, music rental services and other cloud based content more and more negative situations are happening. I am near the point where I am feeling I wasted far too much on these products that you are making problematic with your updates which are intended to improve the customer experience, not weaken it.
I have the same problem and have tried resetting everything in order as advised by others online. This is a painful issue.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Hello Dave and Mark,

That error message usually indicates a connection problem between the device that you're trying to play music off of, and your Sonos system. Do you have problems playing from only one source, such as a music service, or a NAS drive? If you're getting this message when playing off of a mobile device, you're likely experiencing stability issues with that connection. 

We'd recommend starting with checking the wireless channel on your Sonos system and that of your router to make sure the two aren't overlapping. It's best to have 5 channels between the router and the Sonos channel. 

If you're seeing this from a network source, it may be an issue with latency on the network. Can you please submit a diagnostic from your system and reply back with the confirmation number? 

Cheers.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
You can view a local version of the diagnostic by going to http://:1400/support/review, clicking Network Matrix will show you the to view the signal levels between units. Since just have the one CONNECT, the colors will help the most there, worst is red, then orange, yellow, green.

Is the Time Capsule wirelessly connected back to your BT Home Hub or is it wired in? How is it wired? This could be a latency issue with how the Time Capsule is wired. If possible, wire the Time Capsule into the CONNECT.

Thanks
Badge
I had the greatest experience by talking to someone live. I can’t recommend this enough as he was able to tell me exactly what was going in for each unit and while we were on the phone I made changes live. Things have been working perfectly since!
I have the same issues. Rebooted my router. It works fine for a few days but then it starts having issues again. My diagnostic number is 8218058
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Not sure if this is the right place to get support...no response to my original post but the problem has got worse to the point my entire Sonos system is unusable. Another diagnostic sent...1239309134.

At the bottom of a multipage topic under "Wireless Speakers" isn't the best spot to post a help request. I'd suggest starting your own topic under the Troubleshooting heading so your post and the responses to it don't get lost in the noise of other folks discussing other issues.

Make it easy for the Sonos staff to find your post and you'll get a faster response instead of a delayed "Sorry I missed your post" a week late.

The other option is a phone call to support which is often needed in any case so they can remote-access your system and poke around inside.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
Not sure if this is the right place to get support...no response to my original post but the problem has got worse to the point my entire Sonos system is unusable. Another diagnostic sent...1239309134.

Hi Ian,

Thanks for sending in the diagnostic report. Due to the nature of your issue it would be best to troubleshoot this live. Please give us a call, you can find our contact information here.
Just as a note for others following this thread, in almost all cases, this message is not a reflection of the speed of your modem to the internet, but instead the speed between your local Wi-Fi router and the speakers themselves.
same problem here. Spotify works perfectly on SOnos, but playback from my time capsule constantly cuts off. Problem appeared after updating sonos.
Diagnostic number: 3913171
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Thanks for that diagnostic. It looks like your CONNECT is getting a lot of wireless interference. Even though it's wired in, enough wireless can cause the unit to fall behind while trying to pares the wireless for information.

Can you please check the wireless channel on your Sonos system? If you can check your router's Wireless Settings, please make sure the channel there is a good 5 or more lengths between them (try using one of 1, 6, or 11 for each).
Thanks Ryan, for your reply. Sonos is on channel 6, BT Home Hub 4 (the broadband router) is on 1, and time capsule and airport express are both on 11. I have a total of 4 wireless sources, plus I also detect other wireless routers from neighbours, BT Open Zone, etc. BTW, I moved a few albums from the time capsule (also wired) to a WD mybookworld NAS, and they play back on SONOS flawlessly. However, this does not really help me because my music is (and always has been) on the time capsule. moving the entire library to WD NAS is not an option for me. What I do not understand is that everything was fine until I upgraded to BT Home Hub 4. Is there any way I can see the diagnostics results which might give me ideas about how to reconfigure the wireless sources?
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Hello Dave and Mark,

That error message usually indicates a connection problem between the device that you're trying to play music off of, and your Sonos system. Do you have problems playing from only one source, such as a music service, or a NAS drive? If you're getting this message when playing off of a mobile device, you're likely experiencing stability issues with that connection. 

We'd recommend starting with checking the wireless channel on your Sonos system and that of your router to make sure the two aren't overlapping. It's best to have 5 channels between the router and the Sonos channel. 

If you're seeing this from a network source, it may be an issue with latency on the network. Can you please submit a diagnostic from your system and reply back with the confirmation number? 

Cheers.

Thanks for the details and that diagnostic. What format are the tracks from your music library in? It looks like they might be mostly Lossless tracks, is that correct?

I'm seeing a lot of network latency there which could cause issues trying to play high quality streams across multiple rooms.

Can you ungroup your rooms and see if any of those rooms have trouble playing individually?

When you group your players I'd recommend selecting the Group button from the Family Room or Perry's Bedroom if those two are going to be included in the group. The room that was chosen to start the group becomes the coordinator and will be sending the audio to the others. It's best to use a wired player for this in a system with the latency yours has.

Just a few network related questions for your setup there to get a better understanding of where this latency can be coming from:

Where are your Sonos players wired to the network?
What does the network layout look like there?
Is your computer wired to the router directly or another point on the network?

Thanks 
Hello Dave and Mark,

That error message usually indicates a connection problem between the device that you're trying to play music off of, and your Sonos system. Do you have problems playing from only one source, such as a music service, or a NAS drive? If you're getting this message when playing off of a mobile device, you're likely experiencing stability issues with that connection. 

We'd recommend starting with checking the wireless channel on your Sonos system and that of your router to make sure the two aren't overlapping. It's best to have 5 channels between the router and the Sonos channel. 

If you're seeing this from a network source, it may be an issue with latency on the network. Can you please submit a diagnostic from your system and reply back with the confirmation number? 

Cheers.

Oh yes, Spotify and Internet radio streamed flawlessly - but they are heavily compressed, right? I want CD quality. If we can get this to work, want to install in 2 more homes! Your interface makes my wife very happy. Happy wife= Happy life!
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Hello Dave and Mark,

That error message usually indicates a connection problem between the device that you're trying to play music off of, and your Sonos system. Do you have problems playing from only one source, such as a music service, or a NAS drive? If you're getting this message when playing off of a mobile device, you're likely experiencing stability issues with that connection. 

We'd recommend starting with checking the wireless channel on your Sonos system and that of your router to make sure the two aren't overlapping. It's best to have 5 channels between the router and the Sonos channel. 

If you're seeing this from a network source, it may be an issue with latency on the network. Can you please submit a diagnostic from your system and reply back with the confirmation number? 

Cheers.

Wiring additional players in your setup there sounds like the best bet for streaming the high quality tracks. Since they're mostly in that central location and can be wired, it's a good practice. We'd usually recommend all to the same switch, but daisy chaining a few can work too. 

Spotify streams at 320kbps which is a pretty high quality stream, radio can be up to 320, but it depends on the station and stream. Your AIFF tracks are likely copied at 1411 kbps which is standard CD quality.

The higher quality takes more bandwidth to transfer and has less opportunity to recover before an error surfaces.

Hope this keeps everyone happy, but let us know if we can help further.
4271021 diagnostics submission, also having same issue
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
4271021 diagnostics submission, also having same issue
Hi Oliver,

Thanks for the diagnostic. The system is registering some interference which could be causing some trouble with the iPhone's connection as well. If your BOOST is on top of your router make sure to separate them by a couple feet.

Also, I'd suggest changing your Sonos wireless channel to see if that will help clear up the environment. You can follow the directions here

Do you have trouble playing any other music or just tracks on your iPhone? 

This page has some great suggestions to follow for troubleshooting this sort of trouble.
Diagnostic number: 4662312

same problem.

jon
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Same problem. 
Thanks for the diagnostic. Your BRIDGE is getting hit with a lot of wireless interference causing this error message to come up when the CONNECT:AMP isn't able to get the data stream fast enough without errors. I'd recommend starting with changing the wireless channel on your system and making sure your BRIDGE is a couple feet away from your router.

If you now what channel your router is on, you'll want to make sure to spread the wireless channels apart. If not, try all the Sonos channels for a good 10-30 minutes and see which one behaves best.

Let us know how it goes.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Diagnostic number: 4662312

same problem.

jon

Jon, it looks like your players are having trouble contacting the source of your music here. The last cutout seems to have been off of your Macbook. Are you getting this error message when playing from any other source of music? Do radio stations and music services play fine?

How's that Macbook connected to the network? Is it wireless only? Your Apple Network seems to be on the same wireless channel as Sonos, and it might be getting overwhelmed since you have a robust system. Can you try changing the wireless channel on your Apple Network to channel 11 or 1 and see how it goes?
Diagnostic number: 4662312

same problem.

jon

hi Ryan, thanks for your reply. I found the issue in my case - poor broadband speed from my supplier (BT). i was only getting a download speed of 0.5 megs because of some setting somewhere. as soon as it was fixed, my sonos started working properly again. perhaps you could check my current diagnostics as i am open to suggestion as as how to improve performance:

4676168
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Diagnostic number: 4662312

same problem.

jon

That looks much better Jon. There are a few players that could use a restart, but for the moment you're fine to leave all as is. If anything comes up, let us know and we'll be happy to help.
Same issue, Diag 4702897
Ben your probably best posting a new thread with your issue.  
done: https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/play1-x-10-boost-network-connection-speed-insufficient-to-maintai...