Play 1, iPhone creating wireless network, no router

You can, with a couple caveats. First, you would need to enter the new WiFi credentials before you leave, because it needs to be done via Ethernet cable if you do not, and the phone probably does not allow connection via Ethernet cable (a travel router hooked up to the phone via WiFi would solve this in a pinch, though). Second, the phone you are using for the hotspot cannot control Sonos. You would need to use the iPad or another device as a controller.

Excellent, thanks for your help. Need to try this after xmas.

To simplify the switch of wireless credentials, you could change those of the network set up by your phone to match those of your home network. (Well you can on an Android phone, so I imagine also on an iPhone.) As @jgatie says, a travel router makes things easy - I use a Netgear Trek N300 PR2000.

I recently got one of these for when I'm traveling and would make using Sonos easy. It has Ethernet port and creates your own personal network like at home ... but instead of having to hook in via lan it can pull from wifi signal of a mobile hotspot or hotel.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CVOLGOG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Had a quick look at travel routers, yes they're cheap enough (£20, can't go wrong), but would it need a wifi network to connect to, or would it create its own which the Play1 and my phone could connect to, to stream tunes?
Just thinking if I'm in the middle of a field, no network, poor phone signal.
Never even had to think of this sort of thing before, hence my ignorance. :?
Cheers.

Hi. You need to distinguish between the wifi network and the connection to the internet, If you just use your phone as a hotspot, then it creates the wifi network and provides a connection to the internet if one is available. Even where there is no mobile data signal your phone can still create the wifi network, but then you will have to have some other local source of music because obviously you can't stream from the internet. You cannot use that particular phone as a Sonos controller (because it cannot join the network it is creating). For the same reason you cannot play music stored on your phone.

If you use a travel router then the router will create the wifi network, so you can choose to:
1. Not connect to the internet, and use the app on your phone to play music stored on your phone or on a USB drive if travel router has a port
2. Ditto point one, but connect to the internet using whatever connection is available to you. In my case it is usually hotel wifi, in your case it would have to be a mobile connection using another phone. But note: the router creates the network, but piggy-backs off the phone's internet connection.

So maybe key point is that Sonos works fine with just a local network, no connection to the internet is needed to play local content. You could have a network with a travel router or a phone without there being a connection to the internet. The other important point is that a phone that is providing a connection to the internet cannot be used as a controller or music source for Sonos

I hope that makes some sense!

I sent my last reply before seeing yours. The one you are looking at has a micro USB but that is probably just for power. The travel router I mentioned can take my 64GB USB drive, which holds a fair bit of music. Mine having one LAN/WAN and a dedicated LAN Ethernet port can also be handy.

Looking at a travel router, it looks easy enough (always does). Set up would be:
1. Travel router
2. iPhone
3. Play1 speaker
Connect all to the same network using 'access point'.
Would it really be that simple?
No. If you want to connect to the internet the phone provides the access point, the router connects to the access point, the Play:1 and some other means of control connect to the travel router's network.

But if I'm not looking to browse the internet....
All I'm after is playing music through the Play1 that is stored on my iPhone or iPad.

You need something to create the wifi network. If you use your phone for that you cannot use it also as a controller or play the music stored on it. You could use the iPad to control and play the music on the iPad.
If you want to use both you need something else to create the network. That could be anpther phone, a travel router or even a conventional router if there is no wish to connect to tbe internet

The one I linked above has USB port for drive as well. The trek John noted is a very highly rated one but more expensive.

Sorry, I was under the impression the travel router would create the non-internet network that the Play1 could connect to, then the iPhone would stream the music via the wifi.

No travel router grabs the wifi off the iPhone and uses it for internet. Then the travel router creates a new wifi network working exactly like your home wifi network. You could even give it same ssid and password as home network and Sonos would think still at your home.

Sorry, I was under the impression the travel router would create the non-internet network that the Play1 could connect to, then the iPhone would stream the music via the wifi.This is in fact correct, and I thought is what I said in my previous post, and I have used the travel router like this. What Chris is describing is the more usual use for a travel router, however.

With the non internet network your iPhone could only stream music residing on phone. No internet streaming.