I suggest that you read my post below to rule out any network issues.

Hi Ukmedia,

I appreciate that you have replied, but I don't know whether your tedious 4 year old solution would have worked  because I solved the problem myself by uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Magically everything worked again after that. Possibly this being android I could have used the settings app to delete sonos app data and that would have worked too and been easier. But the fact that the app can get itself into such a mess just emphasises just how bad it is. As is the quantity of people on the message board who have similar problems. 

I still don't know what the app means by "system" by the way, and I think this goes to the heart of the problem as I don't think the Sonos developers know either. I can imagine it as "the way my speakers are (logically) wired". But where is this information stored and how can I view it? Is it part of my account? Can I have multiple systems? And why on earth can Sonos app after 15 years of refinement suddenly not find the working system that's on my network? 

Its an app designed by hardware engineers

I wasn’t going to reply to your comment but for the benefit of other more appreciative members of the forum I will just make a few points:

1/ The ‘Tedious’ solution, as you call it, addresses a large number of issues caused by the poor quality routers most homes have installed by their internet provider.  It was relevant 4 years ago and remains so now.

2/ Removing the App and Reinstalling it won’t fix your issue in the long term as all of the information displayed within the App is stored on each Sonos device.  The fact that your App can’t load your system is because it is struggling to communicate across your home network to each of your Sonos devices.

3/ Sonos define a ‘system’ as one or more Sonos devices within a single network subset.  You can view your System within the Sonos App by clicking on the cog wheel in the top right of your home screen and manage the settings by selecting ‘Manage’ 

4/ Last and not least, users like myself, give up their time on this forum to help other users. A polite interaction is the least that people seeking help can give in return.

I’ll not bother addressing your comments on the Sonos developers, other than to say that the App has just been completely rewritten to enable support for new products like the Ace headphones and Arc Ultra.

Every time you come here for help your network is gonna be blamed. In fairness it is sometimes true. If you have the desktop controller, next time this issue happens, try accessing your system from that. If it can find it and works you know it’s the buggy new app and not your network. 

Sounds logical, until you realize that the means of access has changed, and though the old app may still work, that does not mean the new app is not having network troubles.  

Hi EbayYellow,

Yes that makes sense. I can certainly believe old routers can cause problems that are not Sonos's fault. But having problems for which reinstalling the software fixes them certainly is.

Hi Ukmedia,

I'm sorry if anything I wrote felt to you like a personal attack. That was definitely not my intention.

I also appreciate your explanation of the sonos concept of a System and have a few follow-up questions if that's ok. Can you confirm or deny that:

1. The System is not linked to my sonos account, so any  device I allow on my network can control my speakers without needing my account details.

2. Complete data about the System is stored in non-volatile memory in each sonos device.

3. All sonos apps on my network also have a complete copy of the System data.

I'd be curious how differences between the various copies of the System data get resolved. This could be the source of many bugs. I recently visited my son and accessed his System. It is easy to imagine my app got confused and needed a complete reset if not adequately well designed.

​​​

https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/connect-to-multiple-sonos-systems

Hi craigski,

Thanks! I did do all of that and it mostly worked very smoothly. The only bit that didn't work was the supposedly automatic bit when I came back home.

No probs, please see my answers below:

1/ Yes, your Sonos system is linked to your Sonos account, in so much as when you add a device to your system it automatically adds it to your Sonos Account on www.sonos.co.uk 

2/ i assume that you mean persistent memory that can exist if there is a power cut, the answer is yes.

3/ No, the Sonos App reads the data about your system from the devices it connects to, it doesn't store anything within the App itself. Which is why you can access your Son's system when on his WiFi.  This is how the system is designed so that moving from system to system doesn't cause any issues.

Happy to answer any other questions, just ask.

The updated SONOS system uses the network differently than the original versions. Some router default settings do not support the new scheme very well.

SONOS requires more robust network support because the players are constantly chatting with each other. Web browsing, email, movies, and similar, are dialogs between a remote server and a single network client.

Ian7878,

Which router/Gateway are you using?

Hi Buzz, Router is EE brightbox however I don't use the WiFi on that and instead have a tplink archer access point that covers the whole house.