Searching for system

You never have to factory reset under such circumstances. You have a basic networking issue.

You'd need to describe your network/system in more detail. What router is it? Is the Sonos in 'Standard Setup' (using your WiFi)? Could your phone/tablet have been attached to a 5GHz WiFi when the controller failed to find your system?

BTW if you came here wanting Sonos Support to assist, your opening remarks are hardly likely to provide an encouraging start.

Thanks for the reply. Wouldnt expect Sonos support to help - they are useless. I wouldn't worry about them reading it - it takes them 2 hours to answer the phone so reading anything might be a bit much.

It is a standard Sonos setup, BT Home Hub 5 router, no other issues with any other devices, just the Sonos. Neither my phone or PC (wired connection) on which I have the Sonos app were connected to 5GHz.

Thanks again for the reply. Any help appreciated.

Actually Sonos have recently said that they'd be beefing up their online support efforts. And many people have commented that Sonos Support were the most professional and knowledgeable operation of their type that they'd encountered.

When this happens does the Desktop Controller on the wired PC also fail to find the PLAY units? It sounds like Sonos Support (yes, them) should take a look at the wireless data from the system diagnostics. I suggest you submit one and post the confirmation number.

I am pleased that Sonos are beefing up online support but 100 x zero is still zero. I have dealt with them on various issues by phone and email and have found them to be incompetent at best although friendly enough.

I'm guessing that as you have some many replies to your name Ratty that you are Sonos' online support. I hope you get paid.

The Desktop controller does not find the units either. It does after the Factory Reset. Diagnostic Number is 6602808

I am pleased that Sonos are beefing up online support but 100 x zero is still zero. I have dealt with them on various issues by phone and email and have found them to be incompetent at best although friendly enough.

I'm guessing that as you have some many replies to your name Ratty that you are Sonos' online support. I hope you get paid.

The Desktop controller does not find the units either. It does after the Factory Reset. Diagnostic Number is 6602808

I've had a number of interactions with Sonos support over the last couple of years and the only real negative is that recently the time to answer their phones has become excessive - I have no idea why that is.

Other than that the outcomes have always been very good and the overwhelming feedback on this forum is positive. I suggest, judging by the tone of your posts, that is more likely to be down to you if you don't get the outcome you expect from support.

Either way.

There are people on here who do want to help - Sonos employees are identified as such under their name. So if you would actually like guidance in the things you might try if you would describe your system and the issues you are having people will likely try and help.

Anybody who verbally abuses people who cannot choose to defend themselves because they have to answer to their company deserves about as much help as they'd get if support personnel actually had the choice - None. Since I do have that choice, he can rot.

I don't verbally abuse the support personnel. Like I said they're friendly, just poorly trained and incompetent. That's an opinion, not an abuse.

I've had a number of interactions with Sonos support over the last couple of years .

Not surprising - the Sonos system isn't as good as it should be and support is required way more than it should. After appalling support on various issues I just factory reset every time now. The support I expect is none as the system should just work as advertised. Call me old-fashioned but if I pay a high price tag (and for what you get it is a high price tag) I expect it to work.

Call you old fashioned? I wouldn't call you that.

Hello moose2001

I hope your online moniker is not descritptive of your personality. However, reference Sonos Support and for that matter assistance from within this community..."you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar". Nuf' said on that...let's talk about your issue....

You indicated that you are using a BT Home Hub 5 Router. You also said..."Neither my phone or PC (wired connection) on which I have the Sonos app were connected to 5GHz". Are you positive that your Sonos Standard setup is not operating on 5GHz?

I ask the question because according to a review by TechRadar when using the BT Home Hub 5 Router it is impossible to determine if you are operating on 2.4GHz or 5GHz without making a few adjustments as indicated in the attachment.

You can verify this information at: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/networking-and-wi-fi/modem-routers/bt-home-hub-5-1239932/review

I hope this helps. Let us know what you uncover. Cheers!

[img]b4288841-2c89-4c6c-83ed-bdae5ba255e0.png

I don't verbally abuse the support personnel. Like I said they're friendly, just poorly trained and incompetent. That's an opinion, not an abuse.

Your "opinion" is professionally insulting and abusive, and you are a complete jerk. I imagine you like to give wait staff a hard time too, because they can't fight back either. Just an opinion, of course. 😉

You indicated that you are using a BT Home Hub 5 Router. You also said..."Neither my phone or PC (wired connection) on which I have the Sonos app were connected to 5GHz". Are you positive that your Sonos Standard setup is not operating on 5GHz?
It can't. It only works with 2.4GHz (or dual-band) routers.

I ask the question because according to a review by TechRadar when using the BT Home Hub 5 Router it is impossible to determine if you are operating on 2.4GHz or 5GHz without making a few adjustments as indicated in the attachment.

There have been issues with the latest Hub6, where during initial setup a Sonos unit was apparently being steered from 2.4GHz to the same SSID on 5GHz. Connection therefore failed. AFAIK the problem didn't arise (a) with Hub5 or (b) after setup was complete.

Your "opinion" is professionally insulting and abusive, and you are a complete jerk. I imagine you like to give wait staff a hard time too, because they can't fight back either. Just an opinion, of course. ;)

Hah! Hilarious! I don't give anyone a hard time. I have said twice already - support staff are friendly. I don't give 'wait staff' (?) a hard time either. Nice to see you included a personal insult though but as I am not a pathetic wimp I don't need to go and find a 'safe space' to have a cry about it.

There have been issues with the latest Hub6, where during initial setup a Sonos unit was apparently being steered from 2.4GHz to the same SSID on 5GHz. Connection therefore failed. AFAIK the problem didn't arise (a) with Hub5 or (b) after setup was complete.

Thank you for the replies. To add, I use the Sonos in my main kitchen. It can be working fine for a few minutes. I stop the music to answer the door or whatever. When I get back to the app, the 'Searching for your system' appears and then failure. The only way I have found to get it working again is the factory reset. Just in case it is the banding issue I will switch off 5 and leave 2.4 on and see what happens over the coming days.

Continual factory resetting of the speaker(s) is NOT going to resolve your problems that are, assuming no hardware fault, most likely network issues - Either duplicate IPs and/or wireless interference.

It appears your issue is not uncommon with the BT Home Hub 5 according to their Community. BT Home Hub 5 issues related to Sonos date back to 29-01-2014 with the most recent being 25-8-2015. Click the link:

https://community.bt.com/t5/Connected-Devices-Other/Losing-Sonos-controller-connection-to-BT-HH5/m-p/1153360#U1153360

Sonos has suggested in situations similar to yours that switching to a Boost setup may be helpful. You can try it with one of your Sonos speakers if near your router or if not you might consider the Sonos Boost as the go-between. No guarantee this will work but it's worth a try. If you purchase the Sonos Boost be sure you can return it if the problem is not resolved. Click the link for Sonos opinion on this:

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3046/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDc1NDk2NDIyL3NpZC9IMkJXYWEqbQ%3D%3D

All else failing you might contact your ISP to see if you can use a 3rd party router of your choosing. I use Google Fiber as my ISP (who provides their integrated modem/router device) but I have switched off the WiFi on their unit and attached an ASUS RT 5300AC Tri-Band router with no problems. FYI, I use a Sonos Boost for the best wireless signal and flexibility with speaker placement.

That looks rather like an older interaction problem between some iDevices and some BT Hubs. The iDevices appeared to be reluctant to transmit discovery broadcasts. The OP on the thread you referenced has a wired Sonos system.

FWIW I've had a few PLAY:1s in WiFi mode on a BT Hub5, and now a Hub6, without encountering these kinds of issues. I always split the bands to separate SSIDs, disable smart wireless, and disable smart setup. On Hub6 I also disable band steering.

Substituting a non-BT router could lead to problems if the customer has a BT IPTV service.

FWIW I've had a few PLAY:1s in WiFi mode on a BT Hub5, and now a Hub6, without encountering these kinds of issues. I always split the bands to separate SSIDs, disable smart wireless, and disable smart setup. On Hub6 I also disable band steering.

Thanks for the information.

Assuming the OP has taken the steps/precautions you suggested (which BTW is why I included the insert in my initial post...hoping the OP would take the hint :D) his/her issues should be resolved. If not... IMO...the OP should try the Boost setup which also reduces WiFi interference from other devices (internal & external).

the OP should try the Boost setup which also reduces WiFi interference from other devices (internal & external).
Yes and no. BOOST/SonosNet setup of course has its strengths, and naturally my primary system uses this. However I would say this in Standard/WiFi mode's defence:
- for a couple of Players it should work
- a BOOST (or any other Sonos device) wired too close to a BT Hub can be compromised despite the standard 5-channel separation

the OP should try the Boost setup which also reduces WiFi interference from other devices (internal & external).
Yes and no. BOOST/SonosNet setup of course has its strengths, and naturally my primary system uses this. However I would this in Standard/WiFi mode's defence:
- for a couple of Players it should work
- a BOOST (or any other Sonos device) wired too close to a BT Hub can be compromised despite the standard 5-channel separation

Thanks again!

I'm getting the impression that ISP requirements here in the States - for lack of a better term - are less demanding than those in other parts of the world. Not sure if that's good or bad? I've switched between 3 different ISP's - because of cost...not network issues - and have always used my own modem and routers (with the exception of my current ISP...as I still use their modem) without problems. Go figure...🆒

I'm getting the impression that ISP requirements here in the States - for lack of a better term - are less demanding than those in other parts of the world. Not sure if that's good or bad? I've switched between 3 different ISP's - because of cost...not network issues - and have always used my own modem and routers (with the exception of my current ISP...as I still use their modem) without problems. Go figure...🆒
When BT's FTTC/VDSL service first appeared the modem and router were separate boxes. Early adopters often selected a different router. Nowadays the router includes VDSL/ADSL, though there's still a grey market in standalone VDSL modems. One can use an alternative VDSL modem/router. However, as already noted, a BT-supplied router is required for the ISP's IPTV service (live channels, VOD, etc), which uses a WAN IP multicast scheme and, I believe, some QoS.

Thank you all very much for the replies. I'm a foster carer and have had three emergencies in today so the Somos will have to tajke a back seat for a while. I will try what has been suggested and report back as soon as I can. Thanks to all again.

Back in the saddle with this. Been on with Sonos tech support. They answered very quickly and were very helpful - much improved and certainly appreciated. They recommended.... factory reset. Oh well.