We have had a Beam 2 for a few years and all in all it's worked fine. That is until our Vodafone Router had it's firmware upgraded by them for another issue this week. During this process the router now will only offer a combined 2.4ghz /5ghz under one SSiD and there is no option to split them. All our devices connect at thier required frequency including the Beam however when I come to control it from my phone which is connect at 5ghz it get an error Could not play content. Try again. It shows the radio station selected but nothing happens either playing or pausing. Then it suddenly starts to play and I can then pause it from the app. I can stop it by touching the button on the Beam.
So the only change is the router, is this likely to be my issue or is it a coincidence.
I could get round it / test it by setting up a separate network with just 2. 4ghz maybe.
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Are you saying the update changed the SSID? If not the steps in the link should get you back on track.
The the router had two SSiDs one on the 5ghz frequency and one on the 2.4ghz frequency before the firmware update. It now has one SSiD with both frequencies together. The beam is connected fine and you can see it attached at 2.4ghz, my phone is on the same SSiD but the 5ghz frequency and the Sonos app seems to connect but it just won't let you play or control the beam properly.
This is the error screen
Huh. The controller seems to think the speakers are having trouble reaching out through your network to reach this Smooth 80s station.
Have you tried powering down the Sonos speakers, followed by a reboot of your router? Wait two minutes for the router to reload before plugging back in your Sonos devices.
Is it the same error no matter what station/streaming company you try?
Your comment ‘Then it suddenly starts to play and I can then pause it from the app.’ makes me wonder if there could be some sort of network issues, which is delaying data (commands, streams) getting sent to the system.
The the router had two SSiDs one on the 5ghz frequency and one on the 2.4ghz frequency before the firmware update. It now has one SSiD with both frequencies together. The beam is connected fine and you can see it attached at 2.4ghz, my phone is on the same SSiD but the 5ghz frequency and the Sonos app seems to connect but it just won't let you play or control the beam properly.
This is the error screen
The 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz being under the same SSID shouldn’t be a problem. I have 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and 6Ghz under the same SSID. Some of my Sonos connects 2.4Ghz, others to 5Ghz and my iPhone to 6Ghz.
One possibility is that the source you are trying to play is already engaged (although not playing) on another Sonos speaker. Check to see if it is showing on another speaker.
If so return to the home page of the Sonos App. Change the speaker in the “Now Playing” area at the bottom of the screen to the speaker you want. Select the source from the Sonos Home Screen (i.e. Favorites or Recently Played). It should appear with the speaker you changed to in the Now Playing area.
Hi @Liteboy
Welcome to the Sonos Community!
Sorry to hear of this issue you are having with your Beam and new router not working well together.
You mention a firmware update for the router - it may be an idea to factory reset the router after updating the firmware, or at the very least give the router a reboot by turning it off for 30 seconds.
If that does not improve matters for you, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.
I hope this helps.
After a lot of diagnosis and testing of various wifi attached devices the issue is definitely with the router. The Sonos issue highlighted the problem but mobile devices are all having issues.
The Beam worked fine yesterday but this morning the app can't even find it.
I used to run with the WiFi frequencies separated into two different SSiDs but the updated router firmware nolonger offers this it also won't let you manually set channels. Vodafone support is pretty awful so I might have to setup a separate WiFi network to get round some of the issues until they can fix it, or just use the Vodafone router as the modem and get a more advanced router I can configure.
Hi @Liteboy
At least it sounds like you are closer to a solution!
If you do get a third-party router, be sure to disable WiFi and DHCP on your Vodafone router. Mesh options are generally pretty good in terms of coverage and compatibility.
I hope this helps.
After a lot of diagnosis and testing of various wifi attached devices the issue is definitely with the router. The Sonos issue highlighted the problem but mobile devices are all having issues.
Can you please confirm the make/model of your Vodafone router?
Would be beneficial to know as other users here will likely have similar issue as yourself in the future using the same router.
