I have tried everything...Literally...

G
Userlevel 2
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Yes its true, I tried it all, I have even asked Google’s Bard and the AI was like “ You have done extensive troubleshooting, I can’t think of anything else you can to do.” Then Bard said that I can buy new speakers lol.

 

Rewind a bit, so I have a Yoga studio where we have 6 Play 3’s, a Sonos Connect, Sonos Boost, and in the Lobby 2 Sonos Symfonisk bookshelf speakers. For a period of time things we good, normal the way it should be but then things got worse. 

 

Once you hit play only half the speakers would go on, it would then by about the 30 second mark all come back. Then every few tracks the audio would skip. So as I mentioned we tried everything to resolve, for example: Restarted the router, restarted the modem, restarted the speakers, updated router firmware, changed networks entirely, connected Sonos to a brand new Network, removed an existing LTE backup router, tried all the different SonosNet channels, nothing would work, the error still persisted as if I didn’t even attempt a fix.

 

Sonos rep I spoke to looked at my original Diagnostic and said we should test the bandwidth of each device; he said all the devices seem to be from the same Generation (except the Sonos Sub) and had a concern about the amount of devices that are connected to the “Coordinating Speaker”. We choose the Symfonisk to be our coordinating speaker.

 

Once I connected to that 1 speaker (Symfonisk) everything was perfect Diagnostics #359478355

 

Then I grouped 2 Symonisk’s (my 2 lobby speakers) and 2 Play 3’s and 1 Sonos Sub, everything was perfect: Diagnostic #326650861

 

Then I added 2 more Play 3’s so a total of 4 Play 3’s, 2 Symonisk’s and a Sonos Sub, everything was still perfect, Diagnostic #1918676361

 

I went to add another Play 3, and the moment I added it, that speaker dropped off then came back after almost 20 seconds then my skipping began again Diagnostics #715468770

 

I then ungrouped that 5th Play 3 and kept it to the 4 speakers that was working well, and although the audio Isn’t dropping out when a new track would start it does still skip every 3-4 songs. and sometimes quicker. Here is the final Diagnostic number I just pulled # 595992515

 

Does the Play 3 or Sonos Connect, or even the Boost have issues when connecting to a certain number of devices?

 

If anyone has any insight or has experienced this please do share as I am not providing the best experience to our customer right now.

 

Truly appreciate any kind of help!

 

Moderator edit: removed case number

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98 replies

G
Userlevel 2
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*Update* After testing speakers one at a time I noticed the issue never went away, with one speaker I was skipping tracks. 

 

I missed a reply from @sjw about testing Crossfade (thanks for the reminder). As it turns out there were a couple things going on here. First was the amount of Spotify accounts connected to the system (10) and the new “Crossfade” issue. The crossfade issue seems to be the Primary issue to causing the skipping. I have now tested hours of use with Zero skipping, all via the Sonos app, it was Definitively Crossfade for us. 

 

The issue with too many accounts didn’t cause the skipping but apparently is throwing up some kind of red flag to the Sonos team, they said the issue (Both) will be resolved with a new update forthcoming.

 

I appreciate all the help from @buzz @AjTrek1 @Airgetlam @sjw @106rallye @Stanley_4 for all your replies and support!

buzz

Thanks for the update.

buzz

Humans are essentially bags of water and water absorbs WiFi energy. If your space is full of water bags, WiFi performance can suffer. This Matrix is showing very good signal strength all around.

However, there is a lot of interference. Your WiFi should be set for 20MHz channel 1, 6, or 11. What other wireless products are in the area?

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Call Comcast and tell them to place the box in Bridge mode. Well… keep it simple…just tell Comcast you want the router portion of their box turned off (no WiFi capability)

They may push back and give a bunch of rhetoric about support. Don’t buy into that. Comcast still supports the Modem which is how they provide internet service.

Once that issue is resolved you’ll have to make sure your NightHawk mesh is setup properly. Who setup your NightHawk mesh?

 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
buzz

Work with SONOS support. They can see details not available here.

buzz

Placing wireless gadgets close together virtually guarantees interference. Separate the BOOST and Netgear by three feet. Similarly, don’t collocate players and mesh points.

buzz

Don’t wire SONOS to a mesh point.

buzz

As a test wire BOOST to the router, but keep BOOST at least three feet from the router. Allow a few minutes for the system to work out the new topology, then produce a network matrix.

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Have not added the Boost yet, Sonos support think they found:

 

We are testing this now….turns out the Comcast Modem has a router built-in CBR-T is the model

 

@GLO Yoga 

Are you serious????

Maybe you should have read my last post. Here it is….

I would say the issue is the Comcast business router which I believe is also your modem. My instincts suggest that the Comcast box needs to be placed into Bridge mode.

My guess is you have two WiFi networks and devices are hoping between the two. I have Comcast/Xfinity as my ISP. Their router/modem combo is in Bridge mode.

My 3rd party Asus AiMesh controls all WiFi. I have 30 Sonos devices running in wired mode with a Boost to create the SonosNet. I have numerous other devices on main WiFi such as cell phones, tablets, computers, cameras and other IOT devices with no issues. Knock ✊ on wood 🪵. 

You have nothing to loose by placing the Comcast box into Bridge mode. In fact I’d venture to say Comcast may have suggested placing your Nighthawk into Bridge mode when in fact it should be the opposite. Your Nighthawk should be in Router mode. Of course I’m just guessing about your setup.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

So … you still don’t believe that the router portion of the Comcast modem is (or be) the cause of your issues. Until it’s prove otherwise that’s my belief. The router portion of that modem needs to be disabled or stop using your NightHawk mesh and use the router built-in to it. 

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
buzz

After placing the Comcast Gateway in bridge mode, first reboot the Gatateway then the NIGHTHAWK. I hope that you had previously reserved IP addresses in the NIGHTHAWK, otherwise there could be a mess after the reboots.

buzz

You can explore that by powering down Boost and wiring another player. Boost is simply a player with the audio guts stripped out.

G
Userlevel 2
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*Update* - L2 Support is saying that my Mid Left Studio is experiencing “Streaming Underflow”, so they want to hardwire that to ethernet, then add each speaker 1 by 1 to determine the threshold of the Group which they are saying is only about 5 speakers before dropouts begin. 

 

 

Airgetlam

There really aren’t any ‘Sonos servers’ for Spotify content. When you select Spotify in the Sonos controller, your speakers reach out to a server operated by Spotify, on which Spotify has implemented the Sonos API. This usually (not sure with Spotify, but would be stunned if not) is a separate server than in use for Spotify’s normal app.

I tend to agree with your conclusions, and would certainly press my complaints to Spotify. I have to imagine they’d take a paying customer’s complaints with more seriousness than random feedback from a company like Sonos who has no financial relationship with them. 

Bruce
buzz

Based on this discussion, your system had very poor connectivity. Directly playing Spotify on your phone uses a different set of network resources than multiple SONOS players.

You need to improve connectivity. Consider the possibility that you have a defective player that is poisoning the wireless environment. The diagnostics are the place to research this, but you could bring the players online, one by one, while checking the Matrix. When the rogue comes online, the Matrix will go sour. Remember, the Matrix is static.

G
Userlevel 2
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@buzz Yes exactly, what you are mentioning is the current test we are running w/support. One by one bring the speakers online, then run a diagnostic after each, with the test including one speaker actually being hardwired (with and without the boost). 

 

Keep you guys posted!

 

 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Having ten connections form different Spotify accounts is not a widespread use case for a consumer system, so Sonos might not have much experience with it. But, since it has worked before, I can see you want to know what happened.

buzz

Sonos support said that: “ ‘Stream Limit detected for Music Service on Sonos’ A stream limit error is a failure condition that occurs when multiple streams are initiated from the same account. When this occurs, the music service terminates the oldest audio stream to allow the newest one to play”

 

I suspect that the teachers are attempting to use their Spotify account simultaneously in two different locations. For example, while they are teaching in your facility, someone at home is using the account too. I have never tried this, but it might cause trouble if their Spotify account is playing through your system while they attempted to access Spotify using their Spotify account on their phone.

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Question...what is the Connect being used for?

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
G
Userlevel 2
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Absolutely nothing...I always had an idea if we ever brought in any RCA device I can connect to it, but that literally never happens. It just sits there and gets hot...totally can remove it if it is a detriment to the system

 

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Not sure if that’s the root cause but we need a starting point. So by all means remove the Connect. You may have to use the system for a few days to see if the issue reappears. If it does reappear then we’ll know to look elsewhere.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Another question...what speaker or stereo pair is the sub bonded to??

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
G
Userlevel 2
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So I have my Studio speakers listed as (all Play 3’s) Rear Left, Rear Right, Mid Left, Mid Right, Front Left and Front Right. I have the Sub tied to my Rear Right Play 3.

Connect is disconnected and I restarted the system, I will start playing. The issue will happen within the first 3 songs played, always is the case (not sure why)

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Can you send a diagram of where the speakers are positioned in both rooms; Play 3’s and Symfonisk (including the sub).

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
G
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Like clock work, 3rd track in, it skips to the next track

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