I e got a playbar and two s1 speakers about 10 years old. They work ok. I recently added an era 100 that drops out intermittently. When it is working, The status on the app shows its wifi is not connected though. How can it be made to work full time? Nits on channel 44 the others are on channel 1.
v annoying
Best answer by Ken_Griffiths
Your router outputs a WiFi signal over two separate bands. The 5Ghz WiFi band which is faster and has less penetration through walls etc. and the 2.4Ghz band which is slower, but far more reaching/penetrating.
At the moment your Era 100 is using the 5Ghz band and your other products are using the 2.4Ghz band - the obvious thing to try is what I suggested earlier, which is to put the Era speaker onto the 2.4Ghz band. Sadly it seems you’re not confident to do that, via the router configuration pages and don’t wish to read the router user guide - so I can only suggest you get someone into to do that for you and see if it then works.
Only if not, it just perhaps becomes a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Edit: I don’t think you need a new modem/router, but that’s a matter for you.
Unfortunately the Era 100 is not compatible with the Playbar as shown below:
View the full FAQ for Era 100 here
I e got a playbar and two s1 speakers about 10 years old. They work ok. I recently added an era 100 that drops out intermittently. When it is working, The status on the app shows its wifi is not connected though. How can it be made to work full time? Nits on channel 44 the others are on channel 1.
v annoying
I assume you only have just the one Era 100 and not using it as HT surrounds, but just as a standalone speaker, which is fine.
I see your older devices are using the 2.4Ghz WiFi band and the Era 100 is using/trying-to-use the 5Ghz band - i would see what happens if you shift it over to operate on the 2.4Ghz WiFi band (channel 1) alongside all your other devices - you likely can do this in your router configuration pages by blacklisting it’s MAC address for the 5Ghz band only - see if that resolves the matter.
One other further thought is it’s possible the router is isolating the 5Ghz WiFi band from the other LAN segments and if that is the case (albeit unlikely). then simply remove that 5Ghz band isolation.
Let us know if that assists.
Also
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/understanding-the-network-details-section-in-the-sonos-app
That link mentions how to view a device’s SNR level in the Sonos App - it’s the strength of WiFi connection of the speaker to the network AP. It might be worth checking your Era 100 SNR level is not showing a weak signal.
> 45dB is an excellent signal
25dB <= SNR < 45dB is a good signal
below that its weak.
Ken
so where are my “router configuration pages”? Would that be some adress stuck on the modem itself?
Ken
so where are my “router configuration pages”? Would that be some adress stuck on the modem itself?
If you’re unsure how to change any router settings, I suggest you leave things alone and perhaps speak to Sonos Support Staff instead. That’s unless you want to read the user guide for the router, which explains how to make changes to any settings (if required), but did you check the SNR level for the speaker in your Sonos App and see what the signal strength is showing?
Anyhow if you’re struggling to make changes, here is the link to contact Sonos Support Staff…
Ken
i spent an hour with Sonos Support staff in Manila. They eventually sent me an email that consisted of 100% jargon. ( no use ) “Unless I want to read the user guide to the router” … no I don’t want to read it … But it’s never too late to learn it seems …
All SNRs are between 29-41 the support staff tell me to split the router into 2 different ghz . Woo hoo!
All SNRs are between 29-41 the support staff tell me to split the router into 2 different ghz . Woo hoo!
I’m sorry to hear you perhaps ‘may’ not understand these things, I’m the same when it comes to plumbing and fixing cars etc. so I pay/get a person in that deals with those things to do it for me.
You probably just need to find a friend ‘in the know’, or pay an audio installer to perhaps achieve the outcome you’re looking for, they will easily be able to follow the things suggested by Sonos Support and in this thread too. Hope you can get it sorted. 👍
Edit.. by the way the link I provided earlier to the Sonos Support document explains the SNR level and where to find it in the Sonos App. Ideally you’re looking for a signal level of 45dB or higher. The 2.4Ghz band is the further reaching/more-penetrating band and was why I suggested you use that band in my earlier post too.
If you do get a friend in etc. to assist you, then if not in use already, ask them to set the 2.4Ghz band to a channel-width of 20Mhz only aswell, if the router allows that, as that will also help reduce interference around your premises. These two Sonos Support documents are perhaps worth a read, or bringing to their attention too…
Yes the reason I paid big $ for Sonos is to avoid having to pay someone to plug it in. I hoped that being a so called state of the art that it would be user friendly… but adding a speaker has destroyed the whole thing .
I’m not sure what the new Sonos App design has to do with your Era 100 speaker dropping out as the App is a ‘remote’ controller for your devices and not an audio player? In fact once the music begins playback on the player(s) the Sonos App can be closed fully and the host mobile device even powered off and the music should continue to play. Your issue is certainly not Sonos App related as mentioned in that link. It is more likely network related either LAN or WAN and of course I can’t rule out the hardware or software on the player might be faulty, but presumably if the latter were the case then Sonos Support would have likely highlighted that during your contact with them.
I’d personally suggest you take a closer look at the network setup for the time being as that seems far more likely as being ‘the culprit’ in this instance.
Music ( ie apppe ) plays ok. All I’m trying to do is listen to tv on Sonos speakers . I’m not suggesting anything about the Sonos app design.
Yes the reason I paid big $ for Sonos is to avoid having to pay someone to plug it in. I hoped that being a so called state of the art that it would be user friendly… but adding a speaker has destroyed the whole thing .
Yes, I guess the same can be said for my car and central heating boiler too - I can do a few things myself, but there are times when I prefer to pay someone else to do it, like annual servicing etc. I don’t think it’s your speaker that needs attention here anyway, but more likely your local network setup, but that’s just my guess at this point in time.
That link was to a story noting that Sonos stock is dropping due to poor revenue etc … I wonder why
Your router outputs a WiFi signal over two separate bands. The 5Ghz WiFi band which is faster and has less penetration through walls etc. and the 2.4Ghz band which is slower, but far more reaching/penetrating.
At the moment your Era 100 is using the 5Ghz band and your other products are using the 2.4Ghz band - the obvious thing to try is what I suggested earlier, which is to put the Era speaker onto the 2.4Ghz band. Sadly it seems you’re not confident to do that, via the router configuration pages and don’t wish to read the router user guide - so I can only suggest you get someone into to do that for you and see if it then works.
Only if not, it just perhaps becomes a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Edit: I don’t think you need a new modem/router, but that’s a matter for you.
Yes the reason I paid big $ for Sonos is to avoid having to pay someone to plug it in. I hoped that being a so called state of the art that it would be user friendly… but adding a speaker has destroyed the whole thing .
Yes, I guess the same can be said for my car and central heating boiler too - I can do a few things myself, but there are times when I prefer to pay someone else to do it, like annual servicing etc. I don’t think it’s your speaker that needs attention here anyway, but more likely your local network setup, but that’s just my guess at this point in time.
There is, as you know, a fundamental difference between the way that the car and central heating boiler is marketed when compared to Sonos.
When I purchase a car, the service requirements are clearly stated in the handbook so I know what the requirements are and can factor in the cost to my decision. Same with the boiler the manufacturer tells you what is needed so the cost can be understood.
Sonos is sold as a plug and play system suitable for the consumer to install and manage themselves. Before 7th May 2024 that was true for me but it now seems that we need to factor in additional costs or become “experts” for ourselves.
The user should not be blamed for expecting it to “just work” the problem belongs to Sonos and needs to be addressed by their marketing, who could explain the complexity before we buy, or their technical people getting the system to work like it used to i.e. without expert interference.
Yes the reason I paid big $ for Sonos is to avoid having to pay someone to plug it in. I hoped that being a so called state of the art that it would be user friendly… but adding a speaker has destroyed the whole thing .
Yes, I guess the same can be said for my car and central heating boiler too - I can do a few things myself, but there are times when I prefer to pay someone else to do it, like annual servicing etc. I don’t think it’s your speaker that needs attention here anyway, but more likely your local network setup, but that’s just my guess at this point in time.
There is, as you know, a fundamental difference between the way that the car and central heating boiler is marketed when compared to Sonos.
When I purchase a car, the service requirements are clearly stated in the handbook so I know what the requirements are and can factor in the cost to my decision. Same with the boiler the manufacturer tells you what is needed so the cost can be understood.
Sonos is sold as a plug and play system suitable for the consumer to install and manage themselves. Before 7th May 2024 that was true for me but it now seems that we need to factor in additional costs or become “experts” for ourselves.
The user should not be blamed for expecting it to “just work” the problem belongs to Sonos and needs to be addressed by their marketing, who could explain the complexity before we buy, or their technical people getting the system to work like it used to i.e. without expert interference.
I’m sorry, but I don’t see changing a router setting as requiring any ‘expertise’, personally speaking, as it’s settings and how the user can change them, is in every user guide that I’ve ever encountered. It’s certainly no more difficult than setting up a TV, or making changes to some boiler settings or topping up the oil in a car engine - the issue here is not about making a change to Sonos anyway, it’s about changing a router setting and if anyone is not confident to do that …and is not prepared to read the user guide, then they need to find a friend who can do it for them, or pay someone to do it, in the same way I pay for my car and boiler service. There are no changes that need changing on the Sonos side of things here.
As another analogy when my new TV landed here a few years ago I set it up initially with its default settings, most of which were extreme power saving and with no internet connection etc. I had to read it’s user manual to get it working on WiFi (and later on a wired connection with a static IP address) and changed a few settings to improve its display and to get it working with Alexa - so out the box it did work fine, but there were certainly changes needed to get things working in a more optimal way. A router and other plug-in’play devices are no different and to sometimes get everything working together optimally, it may mean that some configuration changes will assist… it’s why the manufacturers of such devices give their users access to such settings.
As another analogy when my new TV landed here a few years ago I set it up initially with its default settings, most of which were extreme power saving and with no internet connection etc. I had to read it’s user manual to get it working on WiFi (and later on a wired connection with a static IP address) and changed a few settings to improve its display and to get it working with Alexa - so out the box it did work fine, but there were certainly changes needed to get things working in a more optimal way. A router and other plug-in’play devices are no different and to sometimes get everything working together optimally, it may mean that some configuration changes will assist… it’s why the manufacturers of such devices give their users access to such settings.
Yesterday I would have loved it if I could have said about Sonos “out of the box it did work fine” like your TV. It did not yet today it is fine 🙅🏽
If Sonos want us to use static IP addresses then we should be able to configure an address for the speakers. I use static IP addresses for devices that support this and allow me to specify in the devices settings the IP address that I want to use. The current approach of “reserving” the address on the router for Sonos is not a real solution to static IP addressing.
UPnP requires DHCP, which is why reserving IP addresses was the only way to configure Sonos to keep the same address.
Yesterday I would have loved it if I could have said about Sonos “out of the box it did work fine” like your TV. It did not yet today it is fine 🙅🏽
If Sonos want us to use static IP addresses then we should be able to configure an address for thspeakers. I use static IP addresses for devices that support this and allow me to specify in the devices settings the IP address that I want to use. The current approach of “reserving” the address on the router for Sonos is not a real solution to static IP addressing.
In addition to what
In my own experience of loitering around the community here for a while, it often appears to be some routers at the cheaper end of the spectrum, usually supplied by ISP’s ‘for free’, or ‘at minimum cost’, rather than perhaps a more upmarket product.
That said, my router/mesh setup these days has a purchase price of over a £1000, but I still choose to reserve my device IP addresses, but it’s possibly not essential - I just did it automatically on setup of the local network some years ago, following the suggestions from jgatie & many others here.
I’ve also reserved addresses for my home security cameras and a half dozen smart-plugs and numerous Amazon Alexa devices too as they occasionally caused me a similar issue.
It’s not a Sonos requirement though and certainly not something I’ve suggested as being needed in this particular thread.
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