Avid Contributor III

Answered

Status light - Indicator?

9 replies
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As I understand it there’s no way to turn any of the speakers off. They go to “sleep” when no streaming is present. But, why does the status light stay on even when the speaker’s “asleep”. And how can you be sure the speaker’s really “asleep”? Thanks

status light

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IkabobAnswer

Avid Contributor III

So, actually, the status light really tells you nothing about the status of the speaker other than it being plugged in to an outlet. Why can’t it be functioned to indicate whether a radio stream is actually active or asleep? Isn’t that valuable information regarding costly power consumption?

K

Kumar

Toggle the status light on/off option under room preferences in the controller. And apart from checking the speaker status in the controller, there is no way to know if it is really sleeping.

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IkabobAuthorAnswer

Avid Contributor III

So, actually, the status light really tells you nothing about the status of the speaker other than it being plugged in to an outlet. Why can’t it be functioned to indicate whether a radio stream is actually active or asleep? Isn’t that valuable information regarding costly power consumption?

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IkabobAuthor

Avid Contributor III

So, why even leave the status light on? What purpose does it serve?
I like the Sonos a lot.

Stuart_W

World-Class Superstar

If you are concerned about power consumption when you aren't listening to the speaker then remove it from the power**.

Sonos have designed the units to consume the minimum power whilst being in idle mode.

** Modern electronic devices may only be expected to survive so many power cycles before failure. If your power cycling in your bid to save a few Watts becomes more than a few a day then I would caution against it.

Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2

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IkabobAuthor

Avid Contributor III

Thank you for the response. I’m not as much concerned about the cost of power consumption as I am about wearing down the speaker. But, I guess that’s not a problem.

You didn’t answer the question of what is the purpose of the status light. Why even have it on?

Thanks again for your information.

Stuart_W

World-Class Superstar

The status light has a number of functions.

- It is used during initial set-up when it glows green before the speaker is set up into a new system
- The light can also show white, amber and green and will flash some combination of those colours depending on error state (if any). (See https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/227/~/led-lights-on-sonos-products).

My guess would be that the primary intention of the solid white light was as a quick visual indication that the speaker is powered up and ready to go (ie no error). This becomes an issue if you use the speaker in place of an alarm clock radio and also others found it distracting so Sonos added the ability to toggle it on or off.

Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2

MrKeith

Prodigy II

Interesting comment from Staurt_W (and I'm not criticising it) ** Modern electronic devices may only be expected to survive so many power cycles before failure. If your power cycling in your bid to save a few Watts becomes more than a few a day then I would caution against it.**
We are constantly being told to unplug devices that are on standby. So shouldn't modern companies be designing things that can be switched off without fear of them deteriorating? The consumer has that expectation, so aren't Sonos flying in the face of that expectation? Just a thought.

With respect to the status light, it has uses when booting up or setting up and with general connection issues. If you don't want it on, there is the option to turn it off.

Mr Keith

Stuart_W

World-Class Superstar

Interesting comment from Staurt_W (and I'm not criticising it) ** Modern electronic devices may only be expected to survive so many power cycles before failure. If your power cycling in your bid to save a few Watts becomes more than a few a day then I would caution against it.**
We are constantly being told to unplug devices that are on standby. So shouldn't modern companies be designing things that can be switched off without fear of them deteriorating? The consumer has that expectation, so aren't Sonos flying in the face of that expectation? Just a thought.

Well I should declare that I am a Mechanical Engineer who has some exposure to electronic design and manufacture but it isn't a particular area of expertise.

I have no doubt that the electronic industry are always trying to improve their products and the associated manufacturing, testing, inspection and verification and "burn-in" processes for the simple reason that those with the lowest failure rates (ppm) will emerge as the winners.

It's possible that I overstate the risk associated with switching Sonos units of multiple times a day but I also recognise that every switching cycle will force a number of components to undergo thermal shock cycles which they are designed to do but these cycles may expose a fault eg a dry joint on a flow soldered board may eventually fail due to repeated expansion and contraction of only a few 100s of microns.

Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2

MrKeith

Prodigy II

Interesting comment, Staurt_W.
I'm just your average consumer, I guess, and have never thought (or had to think) about the stress that switching on and off would put on components. But certainly a point to contemplate.

I must say that I only switch off at night. More down to general safety, rather than from saving any money. I also suspect my safety fears or penny-pinching are unfounded.

Mr Keith

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