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Can't get ERA 100 to turn on voice control

  • 25 December 2023
  • 11 replies
  • 426 views
S

Using Sonos app on iOS. Everything is update. I have activated Amazon Alexa and can successfully play music from that source using the Sonos app. Sounds great, BTW.

What’s not working is voice control of any kind. Microphone switch at lower rear is ON and showing green stripe. When I press the voice control button on the top of the speaker, the accompanying white LED blinks about five time and then turns off. Pressing voice services on the iOS app is non-responsive, which probably make sense since the speaker isn’t accepting input.

Any thoughts? I've run through the usual reboot thing to no avail.

Many thanks and best wishes for a great holiday.

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths 26 December 2023, 01:49

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11 replies

Ken_Griffiths

In addition to the two Era 100 mic buttons mentioned, which do need to be enabled and the mic LED showing…

  • Have you installed Alexa to your Era speaker via ‘Settings/Services/Voice/Amazon Alexa’?
  • Is the Sonos ‘Skill’ installed in the Alexa App and linked to the Sonos Household/System?
  • Are you using a paid subscription music service that is installed in both the Amazon Alexa App and Sonos App and is that service set as your default music provider in your Amazon Account? 
  • Are both your Amazon and Sonos Accounts set to the same country settings? The Sonos account country settings are held in your online profile HERE (Also see attached screenshot, which perhaps may assist).
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S

Thanks Ken for your quick response.

I think that the answer to each of those questions is “Yes”, or at least close enough that I can use my Alexa Dot to drive Amazon’s music thru the Era 100 by voice control of the Dot. In other words, the Dot and the speaker are communicating well together.

What’s not working still is voice control of the Era itself. When I try to activate Voice Control in the Sonos app, nothing happens in the app or on the speaker. If I press the hardware Voice Control button on the speaker itself, the LED blinks a few times and the speaker plays a low pitched tone, but then the light goes out. I have tired flipping the microphone switch at the rear of the speaker on and off. The speaker emits a tone the frequency of which seems to reflect whether I’m moving the switch into the on or off position, but the behavior of the Voice Control button’s LED indicator is the same in both switch positions. 

I’m starting to wonder if this is not some kind of hardware problem. I have had considerable bad luck over the last few years with quality control in consumer electronics, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this speaker had a hardware problem. I guess no one tests these things anymore.

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks Ken for your quick response.

I think that the answer to each of those questions is “Yes”, or at least close enough that I can use my Alexa Dot to drive Amazon’s music thru the Era 100 by voice control of the Dot. In other words, the Dot and the speaker are communicating well together.

What’s not working still is voice control of the Era itself. When I try to activate Voice Control in the Sonos app, nothing happens in the app or on the speaker. If I press the hardware Voice Control button on the speaker itself, the LED blinks a few times and the speaker plays a low pitched tone, but then the light goes out. I have tired flipping the microphone switch at the rear of the speaker on and off. The speaker emits a tone the frequency of which seems to reflect whether I’m moving the switch into the on or off position, but the behavior of the Voice Control button’s LED indicator is the same in both switch positions. 

I’m starting to wonder if this is not some kind of hardware problem. I have had considerable bad luck over the last few years with quality control in consumer electronics, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this speaker had a hardware problem. I guess no one tests these things anymore.

Did you actually install the software for Alexa onto the speaker… and do you see it installed in its room settings ‘Settings/System/[Era Room Name]’ - See my screenshot example attached:

 

 

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S

Ah ha, and here we are at the key point.

As near as I can tell, if I go into

Settings/System/Kitchen

and scroll down to voice, Amazon Alexa does not appear. If I click on 

+Add a Voice Assistant

that selection highlights briefly, but nothing else happens. In other words, it’s impossible for me to add the Amazon Alexa assistant (or anything else for that matter) as a Voice Assistant. So something isn’t right, but I can’t figure out what. I tried to do that earlier today, following the instructions on the Sonos website, but that’s where I got stuck.

Thanks again for the assistance.

Ken_Griffiths

Ah ha, and here we are at the key point.

As near as I can tell, if I go into

Settings/System/Kitchen

and scroll down to voice, Amazon Alexa does not appear. If I click on 

+Add a Voice Assistant

that selection highlights briefly, but nothing else happens. In other words, it’s impossible for me to add the Amazon Alexa assistant (or anything else for that matter) as a Voice Assistant. So something isn’t right, but I can’t figure out what. I tried to do that earlier today, following the instructions on the Sonos website, but that’s where I got stuck.

Thanks again for the assistance.

It sounds like something is blocking the install of the Alexa software, are you in a compatible country and is that country set in your online Sonos profile as mentioned earlier?

See if these support links below may also assist you…

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/set-up-amazon-alexa-with-a-voice-enabled-sonos-speaker

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/amazon-alexa-availability-on-sonos

S

It’s the USA, but as you suggest, there’s something blocking the hardware. I’ll try to contact the support number. This one may be going back.

Ken_Griffiths

It’s the USA, but as you suggest, there’s something blocking the hardware. I’ll try to contact the support number. This one may be going back.

And is your online Sonos profile set correctly? - It’s also worth checking your Sonos controller device and ensure it is not blocking things with either a Firewall, VPN client, or other security software.

S

Online profile says United States. By “online” I’m assuming you mean the profile at sonos.com.

Sonos controller device is an iPhone 14 running latest iOS version, so there’s no clue about security software. OTOH, if this were a common problem with vanilla iPhones, this forum would be lit up with others having similar problems. Do you know if the Sonos app also greys out the Voice assistants if the speaker unit has turned off the hardware switch for Voice Control? I’m still thinking there’s something wrong with the unit itself because there is no description anywhere of the blinking voice control LED problem that I see.

Many thanks and best wishes for a happy holiday week. If nothing else we’ve cut down on the number of things we haven’t tried.

😉

Ken_Griffiths

Online profile says United States. By “online” I’m assuming you mean the profile at sonos.com.

Sonos controller device is an iPhone 14 running latest iOS version, so there’s no clue about security software. OTOH, if this were a common problem with vanilla iPhones, this forum would be lit up with others having similar problems. Do you know if the Sonos app also greys out the Voice assistants if the speaker unit has turned off the hardware switch for Voice Control? I’m still thinking there’s something wrong with the unit itself because there is no description anywhere of the blinking voice control LED problem that I see.

Many thanks and best wishes for a happy holiday week. If nothing else we’ve cut down on the number of things we haven’t tried.

😉

Just to clarify a point here… Are you looking at the mic LED, which is on top of the speaker near to the back - it should not be blinking, it’s either ON or it’s OFF. The status LED on the front of the speaker (just above the Sonos logo) is a different thing altogether and that may blink for a variety of reasons - If the mic LED on the top is flashing then yes there maybe an issue with the device - if you think there is an issue, then it maybe best to submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.

Also double check the mic switch on the back of the speaker, it should be in the ‘UP’ position.

S

Yeah, it’s the mic LED on top that’s blinking briefly while the mic button is pressed and then turns off. The switch at the back is in the UP position with the green stripe showing. Behavior of that LED is the same whether the mic switch is in the on or off position which makes me think this may hardware related.

I’ll get that system diagnostic submitted and then try to contact support. Given that it’s the day after Christmas, I have the feeling they may be a bit busy…….

 

Thanks again.

S

Just to close this out, I contacted the Sonos service number and the agent responded by connecting to the Era 100. When I went back into the iOS app, it was then possible to add the Alexa Voice Assistant, and the white Voice Control LED at the top of the speaker started glowing like a champ. Everything works correctly.

Thanks and best wishes for a most successful 2024.

 

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