play 3 keeps dropping out

  • 28 September 2023
  • 38 replies
  • 1313 views
D
  • dk23
  • Contributor I
  • 3 replies

usually reliable sound and playback on my play:3 speaker until recently. now its a daily event and multiple times making the system unusable in the main.

nothing has changed in terms of location of the speaker or router; have done a router reboot, power off/on of play3 as per previous comments on similar issues.

 

what is the underlying issue here, what has changed & what is the resolution to return to the good user experience previous?

 

have submitted diagnostics : 706080232

 

Moderator edit: changed “raised support case” to “submitted diagnostics”

38 replies

U
Userlevel 2

Another Play 3 user here now suffering multiple drop outs during the day. Doesn’t matter which service I use. Have called Sonos support multiple times, they suggest Wifi/network interference but have tried it wired via Ethernet too and face the same issue (they tell me that Wifi could still cause the problem despite being wired?). Also nothing has changed in terms of router/sonos unit positioning.

It’s been working fine for years and now regularly suffers this issue. It is intermittent however, e.g. can be OK for 1 or 2 days and then struggles.


My suspicion is a recent update has caused this instability but perhaps not many are experiencing/no longer use Play 3s? 

U
Userlevel 2

After my last post I had another call with Sonos support. Where this time a very helpful person took a good look at the different diagnostics and concluded there was a memory issue. This sounds v. plausible given it can work fine for a couple of days following a power cycle and then start to play up. I wouldn’t be surprised if a recent update has caused this, maybe a new feature which the older Play 3’s cannot handle compared to newer models? Who knows, anyway she offered me an out of warranty replacement meaning 30% off a new speaker and I think I’ll take them up on that vs waiting for a potential fix from Sonos.

G

Hi - I have the Play3 - and I have excatly the same issues… I have tried everything… I think because they are now deemed as ‘old’ tech - that they are slowly forcing you to upgrade - a bit like apple do with sopftware updates on the phones….

C

I am experiencing exactly the same issues with my Play:3 speakers - they keep dropping out after they’ve been running/ connected for a few hours. The only solution seems to be to power cycle the speaker and it’s ok again for a while. My system includes 2 Play:1s, 4 Play:3s and 1 Sonos Playbase.

I have tried everything (rebooting my router, factory resetting all my speakers, reserving (fixing) the IP addresses of all speakers, trying different music sources). Always the same result - the Play:3 speakers start dropping out intermittently at first and then permanently off. Until I switch them off and then on again (power cycle). Then they work ok for a few hours. The Play:1s and the SoundBase don’t seem to be affected. It seems like it might be a memory issue (cache not emptying?) and it only started happening in the last couple of months - previously everything worked perfectly - so I’m wondering if a Sonos update and caused all this?

I have owned these speakers for about 10 years, but I would not expect them to become obsolete as I have invested quite a lot in my system. I don’t want to have to upgrade if the same happens again in the future!

V

Ok, after some months of troubleshooting, trying lot's of things with my unifi network setup and things and can only conclude that there is a real problem with S2 and the Play 3
I also have Play 1's here and they don't show any issue.
With the play 3 I had “unable to connect to spotify” errors, slow volume changes, hickups, all that stuff.
I now downgraded to S1 and the Play 3's are super fast again, no problems at all anymore and I can enjoy my music in full.
Only issue, the “annoying” bar in the S1 controller app saying “S2 is now available”
It's a real shame Sonos that you cannot update your own products in a solid way (don't care about testing I guess) and are forcing people onto new hardware like this.  

A
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Today is the 100 day anniversary of my rollback to S1. The system has been continuously powered up for those 100 days and the hardware and controller apps have been super stable, fast and reliable throughout this time. 
 

For anyone with the ability to roll back to S1, I’d say that it’s worth the hassle. There is zero loss of functionality if all you’re doing is listening to stereo audio and the system stability and responsiveness will remind you why you bought Sonos in the first place. 

T

Thanks for posting this, it appears to confirm much of what I have said in my 2 recent posts.

I don’t expect to never have to upgrade my hardware, but if the choice is between supporting old hardware by limiting changes to firmware needed for new features and adding features that break fundamental expectations (being able to stream without a power cycle every 2 weeks or less) then I know which I prefer.

B

Rebooting the router did no good.  I am near the switch so I hardwired the PLAY3 and normal operation was restored with the ethernet connection.

T

S2 on all of them, nothing and no one is still running S1 that uses the system.

The network is fine, which is why I can ping the Play:3 even when it’s not behaving, it’s something in the Play:3’s own streaming firmware, the network stack part of it is behaving as I would expect. The Play:1 devices never miss a beat, if I have the system set as Everywhere only the Play:3 is interrupted. I think that rules out my network and the BBC Sounds streams (when the Beeb is having trouble the symptoms are completely different, the PC controller displays odd images and the data stream with the presenter/track info disappears or freezes). I can also stream the Beeb to my Google Home speaker in the same room as the Play:3 and it keeps going when the Play:3 stutters and stops (the different decoding delays make listening to both devices simultaneously for other than diagnostic purposes unpleasant).

 

Failing memory is possible but I think that a power cycle would not fix the problem for a few days or a couple of weeks, that’s the sort of thing memory leaks in software do in many systems.

 

If I can get it to fall over and collect a diagnostic then I will see if support can help, as I said before this was a problem when I tried it before but maybe that has changed more recently. The Android controller app simply refused to see the Play:3 no matter what I did.

H

Hi, I have exactly the same Problem with three of my Play3 and also with my Playbar since i Updated them ~3 Month ago.

I also have one Arc, Beam and a lot of Play1, they all have no Problems.
All newer Updates the last month didn’t fix the Problem, also there is no different if they are ethernet or wireless connected, the only way is to Power the Play3/Playbar down and then they will work for ~1day again.

How can i downgrade the Play3 / Playbar? Or will Sonos fix the Problem?

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Hi, I have exactly the same Problem with three of my Play3 and also with my Playbar since i Updated them ~3 Month ago.

I also have one Arc, Beam and a lot of Play1, they all have no Problems.
All newer Updates the last month didn’t fix the Problem, also there is no different if they are ethernet or wireless connected, the only way is to Power the Play3/Playbar down and then they will work for ~1day again.

How can i downgrade the Play3 / Playbar? Or will Sonos fix the Problem?

You might be able to go back to the S1 firmware and App if all your gear is S1 compatible but there is no way to return to an older version of your S1/S2 firmware and app.

 

Have you set static/reserved IP addresses for all your Sonos, that solves a lot of regular disconnect issues that are DHCP based. You can do this from your router’s DHCP settings page, usually in only a couple minutes. Once done reboot everything and see if the daily issue goes away.

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

There is no Problem with my DHCP Server, I think there is a Memory Problem of the Old Sonos Play3 with the latest Firmware.
 

To make it clear, I never said there was anything wrong with your DHCP server.

There is nothing wrong with the several different DHCP servers I have tried here either.

Still, following the advice of many other folks on the forums I went ahead and set the static addresses anyway. My problems went away with that single change.

B

I am a long time SONOS user and love the tech.  My only legacy piece is a PLAY 3 that is doing exactly what everyone else is describing.  It has been in the same place for 8 years and only just started dropping out in the last few months.  

buzz

I recommend submitting a diagnostic after an event, then follow up with SONOS phone support. If enough of these events are reported, fixing the fundamental problem will move up the to-do list.

Airgetlam

That certainly suggests either wifi interference of some type, or a hardware failure of the WiFi system in the PLAY:3 was the culprit. If it was the latter, you could submit a system diagnostic and call Sonos Support to discuss it. There would be evidence of the hardware failure, I’d think. 

Bruce
T

I have a Play:3 and 2 Play:1 units, the Play:3 has been misbehaving for some months, requiring a power cycle every few days or couple of weeks maximum.

The Play:3 is, and always has been, connected via wired ethernet. I last changed my WiFi setup 3 years ago and again it has never made any difference to the Sonos network functions. All 3 units are given static IP addresses as they always have been since I purchased them.

I find that when the problem, interrupted play usually when listening to a BBC Sounds service, is occurring the Android and Windows Sonos app struggle to see the Play:3 on the network while both Play:1 units are perfectly fine and visible without problems. My Google WiFi APs all show good connectivity and good mesh performance.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a software problem in the Play:3, probably created in an update sometime in 2023 as this problem did not happen before the middle of last year. It gives every impression of being a memory leak or something else that means incoming streaming data is being lost or overwritten before it is played.

I find that when I try to capture diagnostic information the Sonos app fails to actually obtain any data because it can’t see the Play:3 on the network. I can ping its IP address from another computer, but that’s all I can do until I power cycle the Play:3

Over to someone who can see a way around all this beyond reprogramming the damned thing with an axe.

Airgetlam

Are you running S1 or S2 on those devices? 

Since the controller, no matter what device it is being run on, is only a remote control app, showing you what is happening on the speakers themselves, that suggests trouble with some devices connecting to your router, either via WiFi or via a wired connection. Unfortunately, only Sonos employees can see the data in a diagnostic that would tell us why, so idk suggest submitting one and calling them to discuss it. They won’t contact you if you merely submit one, you must call. And, yes, you should run that diagnostic when the PLAY:3 can be ‘seen’ by the controller. 

Another option that I could see is a difficulty with the stream coming from the BBC Sounds server. Do you have this same problem if you begin the stream from the PLAY:1s versus the PLAY:3s? Sonos, unfortunately, has no control over the BBC servers, the speakers are merely fed the data across the internet. 

The final potential issue I can see is failing memory in the PLAY:3 itself, and the stream coming in running up against not enough RAM to run properly, again, a Sonos diagnostic should reveal that, it’s not something accessible by those of us on these forums. 

Bruce
J
Userlevel 1
Badge +2

This is a problem occurring to lots of hardware
See this thread:

 

A
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

I’ve been running the S1 rollback on my system for 4 weeks now and it’s rock solid stable. 
 

I sure don’t miss S2 and all its associated performance problems with older kit. In fact, it’s not at all clear to me what enhancements S2 brought over S1 (for the older gear).

N
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I have had the same problem with my Play 3 for approx 5 months. I just resorted to switching it on and off and then it worked for another few hours. In a days listening (its in my workshop) I’d have to do it a couple of times. Back then I didn't look at the community board to see if others were having the same problem, I just assumed eventually I’d have to buy a replacement. Then yesterday, after dropping out again, it required a software update. Guess what, it's working, no drop outs (so far). I then read this message board as I was curious. Now its great that its fixed, but I think rather disappointing its taken what looks like over 5 months for Sonos to accept members feedback, recognise the problem and then fix it. Come on guys, some of us have been with you a very long time and bought a lot of kit!

R

usually reliable sound and playback on my play:3 speaker until recently. now its a daily event and multiple times making the system unusable in the main.

nothing has changed in terms of location of the speaker or router; have done a router reboot, power off/on of play3 as per previous comments on similar issues.

 

what is the underlying issue here, what has changed & what is the resolution to return to the good user experience previous?

 

have submitted diagnostics : 706080232

 

Moderator edit: changed “raised support case” to “submitted diagnostics”

Same here, haven't had the time or inclination to try and troubleshoot, changed nothing on my system yet my 2x play 3s have both started, in say the last 2 months, dropping out frequently. My roam, beam and 4x play ones are fine. The 2 play 5s were relegated to the garage on upgrade. Frustrating to think we're being asked to upgrade again. Hope I'm wrong

M

I have exactly the same issue.

Have  a pair of Play 1 in one room, one  Play 1 in another room and play 3 in another. Play 1 are all ok, but one of the the play 3 has the intermittent behaviour as described. And it make the app unresponsive too. Starting stopping streaming, volume all unresponsive. Rebooting for a bit helps.

Francesco

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Hi - I have the Play3 - and I have excatly the same issues… I have tried everything… I think because they are now deemed as ‘old’ tech - that they are slowly forcing you to upgrade - a bit like apple do with sopftware updates on the phones….

How are they forcing you to upgrade?

While I have gotten several very nice upgrade offers my Play 3s are still happily playing under the S2 app.

Airgetlam

Duplicate post, see my response to your other post. 

Bruce
Airgetlam

If the PLAY:3 was not powered off when you rebooted the router, you didn’t get the full benefit. 
 

Since you’ve already submitted a system diagnostic, have you called Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

Bruce

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