I have two Playone speakers connected over Wifi. Sonos cuts out when I play podcasts stored on my iPad, when I use Spotify, when I stream radio, pretty much anything I try to use Sonos for ...
I have been reporting this to Sonos for a month now, although it has been going on for the last six months. Keep getting the same answers, which I try, but it keeps happening. I did not know I needed a course in IT to use these speakers, but here I am ...
Got myself a new router with two-point-four and five Ghz channels, two-point.four now dedicated to channel one (I have also tried six and eleven). No other wifi enabled devices in the vicinity of my two speakers (although it is passing strange that the device I have to use to control the speaker cannot be close to the speaker ...). Took my iPhone off Wifi entirely and no longer use it for Sonos, I only use the iPad to control Sonos.
I live in a small apartment. Not a lot of distance for the wifi to travel (ten ft for one speaker, fifteen-twenty for the other), but a couple of walls. The two-point-four Ghz Wifi channels are very crowded (service provider test describes the environment as "poor", somewhere between one and twenty percent, of what I have I have no idea). I cannot talk to all of my neighbours about what channel they are using for wifi ... The five Ghz channels are much, much better, but I understand playone does not use five Ghz.
I do not experience these problems with my computer, appletv or ipad, all of which are connected over wifi, none of which are close to the speakers. Speedtest generally shows between fifteen to twenty-five mbps for download on the comp and ipad. I have tried unplugging the router, does not seem to make a lasting difference.
I have seen elsewhere in these threads (which are far too common for any decently reliable and user-friendly product) that I can have a "rock solid, dependable" experience with my Sonos speakers. Can anyone help me to get to that place?
I also saw in one of the threads something about IP addresses, but that is (at this point anyway) beyond my ken ...
Question
You have seen this before - sonos losing connection
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+22I also saw in one of the threads something about IP addresses, but that is (at this point anyway) beyond my ken ...
I suggest, in the first instance, you wait for feedback from a Sonos rep who has access to your diagnostics. Or you could call Sonos
I'd certainly agree that calling in to Sonos is a good idea for you. You can find their contact information at
www.sonos.com/contact
That being said, a good and reliable Sonos system does depend on a good wifi environment. As you've read, often changing the wifi channel works to get the system off of a more congested area, but you've apparently attempted that. The next thing I'd recommend is trying to temporarily wire an ethernet cable to that Play:1 that's only 10 feet away. That would put your system on SonosNet, and perhaps that will reduce the interference you're getting from your neighbors. If that works, and the cable is inconvenient, you could purchase a "Boost" to wire close to your router (about 3 feet is recommended), and that would then communicate to both of the Play:1s you reference.
Of course, it's entirely possible that the folks from Sonos, having access to those diagnostics, might have a better, and more effective solution for you. You can call in, or just wait for one of their reps to respond to this thread.
www.sonos.com/contact
That being said, a good and reliable Sonos system does depend on a good wifi environment. As you've read, often changing the wifi channel works to get the system off of a more congested area, but you've apparently attempted that. The next thing I'd recommend is trying to temporarily wire an ethernet cable to that Play:1 that's only 10 feet away. That would put your system on SonosNet, and perhaps that will reduce the interference you're getting from your neighbors. If that works, and the cable is inconvenient, you could purchase a "Boost" to wire close to your router (about 3 feet is recommended), and that would then communicate to both of the Play:1s you reference.
Of course, it's entirely possible that the folks from Sonos, having access to those diagnostics, might have a better, and more effective solution for you. You can call in, or just wait for one of their reps to respond to this thread.
whitliski,
I noted you say you tried channels 1, 6 and 11 on your routers 2.4ghz band ... why did you choose the exact same channels that are generally used by the SonosNet network? .. I appreciate your speakers are not cabled to your router, but I was just curious that you were actually setting those channels via your router interface.
I hope you appreciate you do not set the wifi channel via the Sonos App... you only do that when one Sonos device is cabled to the router... and it needs to be a different channel to the one used by the router.
What you really need is to set a 2.4ghz wifi channel that is 'least used' in your local neighbourhood. Most routers will have at least 12 channels for you to choose from and I was just surprised you chose to mention the same three that SonosNet uses.
I noted you say you tried channels 1, 6 and 11 on your routers 2.4ghz band ... why did you choose the exact same channels that are generally used by the SonosNet network? .. I appreciate your speakers are not cabled to your router, but I was just curious that you were actually setting those channels via your router interface.
I hope you appreciate you do not set the wifi channel via the Sonos App... you only do that when one Sonos device is cabled to the router... and it needs to be a different channel to the one used by the router.
What you really need is to set a 2.4ghz wifi channel that is 'least used' in your local neighbourhood. Most routers will have at least 12 channels for you to choose from and I was just surprised you chose to mention the same three that SonosNet uses.
+1That's what sonos told me to do for a standard setup:
"Find the wireless settings page and adjust the wireless channel that the router is currently using. This will vary by router, but is often found in a dropdown menu. If “Auto” channel is enabled, make sure to disable it and set a specific channel. Choosing only channels 1, 6 or 11."
All of the 2.4 channels are poor in my neighbourhood. The "best" channels vary, but 1 seems the least worst.
I did not set the channel via the sonos app, only just discovered its possible, and I am still unclear how, but I understand that does not apply to my situation.
Thx for your feedback.
"Find the wireless settings page and adjust the wireless channel that the router is currently using. This will vary by router, but is often found in a dropdown menu. If “Auto” channel is enabled, make sure to disable it and set a specific channel. Choosing only channels 1, 6 or 11."
All of the 2.4 channels are poor in my neighbourhood. The "best" channels vary, but 1 seems the least worst.
I did not set the channel via the sonos app, only just discovered its possible, and I am still unclear how, but I understand that does not apply to my situation.
Thx for your feedback.
whitliski,
Yes it sounds like you were changing the channel in the right place, on your router pages, via a web browser... and yes the channel setup in the Sonos App is just for SonosNet - which is when you cable one of your speakers to your router, which does not currently apply in your situation.
Like I mentioned, in your case, you just need to find one channel on your routers 2.4ghz band that is least used by your neighbour... I tend to use channel 12 on my routers 2.4ghz band which, (from a software scan) is 'least used' in my locality... obviously your router might have channel numbers from 1 through to 12 ... or similar, depending on your country of residence.
However I have one Sonos device cabled to my router and so I run all my speakers on SonosNet wifi Channel 1 (set in the Sonos App)... also that Sonos wifi channel is 'least used' in my neighbourhood and is obviously completely different to my router wifi channel 12... that way, I have greatly reduced the chances of any wireless interference.
I mention these things, as it may just give you some further ideas to perhaps try, whilst waiting for the Sonos staff to get back to you.
Ken
Yes it sounds like you were changing the channel in the right place, on your router pages, via a web browser... and yes the channel setup in the Sonos App is just for SonosNet - which is when you cable one of your speakers to your router, which does not currently apply in your situation.
Like I mentioned, in your case, you just need to find one channel on your routers 2.4ghz band that is least used by your neighbour... I tend to use channel 12 on my routers 2.4ghz band which, (from a software scan) is 'least used' in my locality... obviously your router might have channel numbers from 1 through to 12 ... or similar, depending on your country of residence.
However I have one Sonos device cabled to my router and so I run all my speakers on SonosNet wifi Channel 1 (set in the Sonos App)... also that Sonos wifi channel is 'least used' in my neighbourhood and is obviously completely different to my router wifi channel 12... that way, I have greatly reduced the chances of any wireless interference.
I mention these things, as it may just give you some further ideas to perhaps try, whilst waiting for the Sonos staff to get back to you.
Ken
There are a number of 'free' wifi channel scanners for PC/Mac etc, which you will find for download on the internet, if you search via google or other search engine, which will show what wifi channels are in use near to your premises.
Scanners that I have seen mentioned by some community members include... Acrylic, InSSIDer, WifiInfoView etc.
Scanners that I have seen mentioned by some community members include... Acrylic, InSSIDer, WifiInfoView etc.
+3Try this
https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-channel-for-your-router-on-any-operating-system/
https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-channel-for-your-router-on-any-operating-system/
+1Thx Capn'. I have seen this article, and done the scan a number of times. Each time I do the scan, it gives me different "best" channels. That said, it seems like channel 1 is, as I said above, the least worst channel. Has not solved the problem, although it is a little better. I agree my Sonos system should be rock solid 100% of the time, it just isn't, and so far I cannot get there.
It would be nice if the playone used the 5 Ghz channels. I think that would probably solve my problem, since those channels are waaaay less crowded (it has solved the issues I had with cut out on my appletv). For whatever reason it doesn't (I have a small apartment, so distance is not an issue), and I am left fighting for space with my greedy neighbours on the 2.4.
Thanks to the others for the advice re: boost. My understanding is that it still uses WIFI, the idea being that you set it to a different wifi channel than the one that your other wifi devices are using to get a dedicated sonos net. My problem is not the other wifi devices I am using, or the distance the wifi has to travel (so daisy chaining does not help). My problem is I have a lot of neighbours all using wifi a lot. Any channel I set the sonosnet to will be a crowded channel.
I spoke with a sonos rep last night (after being on hold for more than an hour ...) and I am going to let them know when it happens again so they can assess a fresh diagnostic to see if there is anything I can do. In the meantime, the advice is "move to a different apartment". He was very helpful, I am not being critical, but it looks like the dream of a 100% rock solid Sonos system is just that ... but here's hoping!
It would be nice if the playone used the 5 Ghz channels. I think that would probably solve my problem, since those channels are waaaay less crowded (it has solved the issues I had with cut out on my appletv). For whatever reason it doesn't (I have a small apartment, so distance is not an issue), and I am left fighting for space with my greedy neighbours on the 2.4.
Thanks to the others for the advice re: boost. My understanding is that it still uses WIFI, the idea being that you set it to a different wifi channel than the one that your other wifi devices are using to get a dedicated sonos net. My problem is not the other wifi devices I am using, or the distance the wifi has to travel (so daisy chaining does not help). My problem is I have a lot of neighbours all using wifi a lot. Any channel I set the sonosnet to will be a crowded channel.
I spoke with a sonos rep last night (after being on hold for more than an hour ...) and I am going to let them know when it happens again so they can assess a fresh diagnostic to see if there is anything I can do. In the meantime, the advice is "move to a different apartment". He was very helpful, I am not being critical, but it looks like the dream of a 100% rock solid Sonos system is just that ... but here's hoping!
The other last resort is to cable things, but let the Sonos staff do their work on your next diagnostic first. I appreciate installing cable is not ideal and the last time I saw a 'dreadful' signal issue like yours, was because the user not only had neighbours wifi left, right, above and below, but also had several powerline adapters trying to boost their own router wifi signal .. perhaps that's what your neighbours are doing?...
Anyhow it sounds like you know what you are doing... so let's hope the eventual review of your Sonos diagnostic submission will lead to things being resolved.
I will keep an eye out for any updates here, as I'm curious to see how your matter is eventually resolved.
Anyhow it sounds like you know what you are doing... so let's hope the eventual review of your Sonos diagnostic submission will lead to things being resolved.
I will keep an eye out for any updates here, as I'm curious to see how your matter is eventually resolved.
We use our Play 3 to play ambient noise while we sleep; however, it keeps cutting off. What should I do?
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