Drastic action - Reset and go back to S1 App - Hints/tips appreciated

A real network scanner should show the Sonosnet, it isn't quite standard Wi-Fi and many consumer class scanners won't show it. A good Internet search should turn up some old discussions of it.

If your networking hardware is able to deal with multiple wired Sonos there will be no issue there and for the Sonosnet it will be similar to wiring a second (same channel) AP in a conventional Wi-Fi mesh system. That assumes you haven't disabled the wifi on any of the Sonos. 

As others, I don't understand the desire to complicate your life by wiring Sonos instead of following the Sonos recommended wifi only option. I'm on a small screen so if that has been covered above I'm not finding it.

Sorry Ian, I don't understand your question.

​@Smilja 

Many thanks for you reply, I am slowly getting to understand how this system does/doesn’t work. 99% of the problem is me, but I would like to get a firm understanding of the technology involved.

You are more than right with the comment above. I always understood I was using the SonosNet, literally for years on end with no apparent problem. As I said in my first post, Since the dreaded App update things went from bad to worse, then over Christmas/Holiday period the Sonos appeared to fall of a cliff.

So I am “trying” my best to get it to work again.

Basic engineering principles would dictate that a “hard wired” connection is a known entity. Whereas WiFi is a bit of a black art that can easily fail, especially when idiots like me get involved.

For reference when you mentioned “recommended wifi only option” did you mean general household WiFi or the Sonosnet?

I simply mean what router are you using for your non-Sonos (i.e. not Sonos net) WiFi?

​@Ian_S 

I am in the UK using Plusnet for my ISP.

My Router is a BT (British Telecom) Smart Hub 2.

With Fibre Optic to the Cabinet, copper wire for the last  mile to my property

Download speed 40Mbps

Upstream 10Mbps

Household wifi, Sonosnet is not suggested unless there are wifi issues.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/recommended-settings-for-using-sonos-on-wireless-networks

Support search for Sonosnet, not much there. Not surprising as it is really old technology in v2, v1 is even older.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/search?q=Sonosnet

​@Stanley_4 

The first article is interesting, regarding the issue if you want to stream to numerous rooms simultaneously. I stream my music collection in FLAC to 5 rooms from early morning until bedtime, so a good 14hrs a day. Perhaps the “hard wired” option my be beneficial in my circumstances. If they were all “hard wired” I expect I would have to click “disable WiFi” on the speaker connection option within the App.

If they were all “hard wired” I expect I would have to click “disable WiFi” on the speaker connection option within the App.

You can if you want to, but it’s not required. A wired connection is always going to be the most reliable one.

The disable wifi is an option on any Sonosnet capable speaker, enabled only when wired. It only impacts that one speaker. 

Check your data rate to your Sonos when streaming, CD quality isn't very high and well within the capabilities of any modern wifi that isn't seeing severe interference. 

Wired is a good option if wifi is iffy but going from modern wifi to antique Sonosnet is not a good plan. So wire ALL Sonos or suffer the older Sonosnet techs limits.

A search of this community will find numerous posts about connection issues with BT Smart Hub 2 routers.

Do yourself a favour and invest in a better router.

​@Mr. T 

That's a fair comment, I did work in customer services for a massive technology firm. We found that most people only complain when something doesn’t work, hardly a peep out of them when things work perfectly.

​@Stanley_4 

Just in the process of digging out LAN cables to see if some/any/or all my problems disappear. On the other hand I may make it worse…..It’s a learning curve, especially for me.

Anyhow, my antique SonosNet still handles Apple Music Lossless with ease. 🤗

​@Smilja 

​@Stanley_4 

Hi guys, I don't want to start an argument, all I want is my Sonos working again.

I thank you all for your input.

​@GMR, I guess this also applies to the BT SmartHub 2:

BT HomeHub 3 compatibility | Sonos

Your Beam is hardwired, did you try and change the SonosNet channel?

Change your Sonos system’s wireless channel | Sonos

My personal ‘take-away’ is that SonosNet is just another version of WiFi. It’s equally a radio signal, on a band, and affected by WiFi interference.

You certainly may see better results (temporarily) from wiring all devices and turning off each device’s radio…but it tends not to be realistic, and is most often more easy to solve the source of the wifi interference. In my two cases, it was replacing a failing microwave (bleeding into radio frequencies when it was on) and changing frequencies in use when I got a new neighbor with a ‘loud’ WiFi device that was using the band I’d been using. Neither particularly hard to do….once identified. 

If I were to hazard a guess, and based on the many other threads about an issue, my guess is your BT router. But you’re ’on the ground’. 

​@GMR - as you have older devices and I gather you have at least one device wired to your router, you may find it beneficial to view the Network Matrix which shows how the Sonos devices are communicating with each other.

​@Smilja 

The home Hub 3 is very old technology.

We have had the Hub 4, Hub 5, Smart Hub 1 and mine the Smart Hub 2.

I am now looking into changing the SonosNet channel.

​@Mr. T 

That's heavy reading, give me a day or so to digest and I will get back to you.

My take on Sonosnet is that these days you should try and avoid it. The main reason for that is it tries to control network paths, but does so via an older version of the protocol that conflicts with many devices now. The BT Smart Hub is one such device as unlike older WiFi routers, it too can create and manage a WiFi mesh network if you have BT Discs… Another common UK device is Sky Q, which somewhat sneakily will attempt to boost a Sky Broadband signal using the Sky Q box and any Mini’s… The reason I call it sneaky is because unlike most devices which use default settings for the STP protocol which is used to control paths, Sky use a deliberately lower root value to mostly ensure it grabs control… whether you want it to or not… 

So, with Sonos now, given that newer speakers don’t support Sonosnet anymore, you can still wire up some speakers, but you need to do it one at a time and make sure that before you power on the next component, you disable the WiFi… If you plug any Sonosnet capable device into your network and leave WiFi on, it will create Sonosnet and wireless Sonosnet speakers will join that. If there’s no Sonosnet they’ll just use your WiFi. 

On the BT ‘Smart’ Hub, I think there's a setting in the I think Advanced settings, firewall, configuration for uPnP extended security. If that’s on, you might want to try turning it off. 

The other potential problem with the BT device is by default its IP is .254 which means there’s lots of scope for something else to control multi-cast grouping, and if that device doesn’t work well at it, it may cause Sonos issues. So if none of the above works, it might be worth changing the BT Hub to be .1 on your network. This is a full reboot of everything you have … The device chosen to control multicast on a network is usually the one with the lowest IP. My thinking here is that changing the hub to .1 (you may need to tweak DCHP server ranges) means it’s guaranteed to be in charge and may work better. 

​@Mr. T 

I have got the matrix following your instructions…..what does it all mean?

Not sure how to add a copy of the matrix so you guys can review and comment.

​@Ian_S 

Many thanks, I will head your comments

At least I don't have SKY Q, or BT discs. two less things to worry about.

Make a screenshot of the Matrix and upload it here.

In very simple terms, if you see either Amber or Red boxes within the columns (excluding the first column as that deals with noise levels) then the communication between your Sonos devices is not ideal.

A screenshot would help, or if you want to learn more about the matrix, I found the following article helpful:

https://freetime.mikeconnelly.com/archives/6050

​@Mr. T 

Finally I managed to get a screen shot.

The beam is powered and connected to the LAN.

The two surrounds are powered and are NOT connected to my LAN

I have unplugged all other speakers from the mains power.

On the app for the beam the “connection” option has Enable WiFi ticked.

I have not moved any channels on my router yet.

This is the info I obtained. 

In your opinion or anybody else, is this a good or bad start?