Avid Contributor I

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Connecting Arc Ultra to existing Sonosnet

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I am having trouble setting up my SOnos home cinema.

In my sitting room, I have a One connected to my router. All my other speakers use Sonosnet and this mostly works great.

I added an Arc Ultra to the sitting room and this is also working. However, I am now trying to connect up rear speakers.

I moved another One into the sitting room and tried to setup both this and the One connected to my router with the Arc. I get a little way through the process and then I am told that the Arc needs a wired ethernet connection.

I should say at this point that I have tried my Sonos setup in wifi standalone mode before and it did not go well - the network was incredibly unreliable and I do not want to go there again.

I spoke to technical support about this and from what I can gather I have three options.

1. Get a very long ethernet cable and drape it all around the walls of the sitting room so I can plug the Arc in. One of the reasons I chose the Arc was to avoid having cables everywhere.

2. Buy a mesh network so I can extend my wifi range. Then go all-in with standalone wifi again and ditch Sonosnet.

3. Return my Arc and ask for a refund.

The guy I spoke to seemed to think that wiring the Arc is the best way to go. But then I might be better off with a traditional wired home cinema if I am going to have cables everywhere. I presume if I do this then the Arc becomes the controller for the Sonosnet network that everything else is using.

Just wondering if anyone else has any suggestions.

Is the mesh network a viable option? If so, any recommendations for one that is going to be easy to setup and plays nicely with Sonos.

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Mr. TAnswer

The Arc Ultra is not compatible with SonosNet and does not create SonosNet for other devices when wired.

Surrounds are bonded to the Arc Ultra over a private 5GHz connection. You cannot use a single wired surround to create SonosNet for other devices.

What happens when you disconnect the wired connection to the One and attempt to add as surrounds again?

If that works and you still want to use SonosNet for your other devices, consider purchasing a 2nd hand Boost or move another device into the sitting room to connect with your router instead.

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mrgrievesAuthor

Avid Contributor I

Useful to know about the speed, I will bear that in mind when I choose what to use it for. I have my Philips Hue bridge connected to a random One in the house and it works pretty well so think it would be perfect for something like that.

As maybe a longer term option, would something like the Amazon eero work well with Sonos? So put everything Sonos related to wifi and then just have a couple of the boosters where needed.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

If you add Sonos Boost units you are going to be running Sonosnet, not what you really want theses days in most situations. You’d have to buy them used too as they are no longer sold by Sonos.

If you are talking about adding mesh nodes for the eero then you’d be staying on your WiFi.

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mrgrievesAuthor

Avid Contributor I

I just have my ISP router at the moment and the last time I tried to run my Sonos from that it was a bit of a disaster. Sonosnet is working pretty well for me these days. The thought of buying something like the Eero appeals if it will give me better wifi speed and coverage overall but I read a bit more about it and although it does sound good it also sounds like it might be quite complicated to set up, given I’m no networking expert.

Anyway I relocated another One to my sitting room and now have the Arc setup with two Ones as surrounds, all wirelessly. The trailers for Napolean sounded great, so we will see how that goes. I’m a little unclear as to why the Arc would need an ethernet connection for normal TV viewing - in that the sound source is not from the internet and it is connecting to the surrounds wirelessly anyway. Possibly if I am going to be using it in conjunction with my other Sonos speakers. I presume there is a complicated technical reason why this setup is preferred.

I ordered a Boost from ebay for £25, so that will give me options.

Anyway, thanks again for all the input. You have all been really helpful.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

PITA but you really need to say Arc Ultra or just Ultra, Arc alone can get folks thinking you are talking about the original Arc and it is different enough to get you some very confusing answers.

The Ultra shouldn't need Ethernet, Wi-Fi should be good enough if you have an adequate signal.

The Boost may help you with any Sonosnet compatible device's connectivity. The internal Network Matrix web page will show you if it is being used or ignored.

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