Enthusiast II

Answered

Sound occasionally drops from one speaker in a Play 3 pair

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In my home office, I have a zone with two Play 3 and a Sub. What happens every now and then is that the left speaker goes silent for a while, and then comes back some 15-20 seconds later, and then a minute later or so there is another dropout. Once this has started to happening, it keeps on going this way.

I have tried to unplug all three players in the zone and plug them back in, but I am not sure that helps. But unplugging all players that I have (one zone with two Sonos Five, one zone with two Play One SL, one zone with two Play1 and finally a Port) and plugging all back removes the problem for a while but then it comes back after some weeks. Possibly the periods it works are getting shorter. This time it started to appear after one week since I plugged in all players.

I have note noticed dropouts in other zones, but this zone is also the one where I most often play music.

Anyone recognise the problem? Could it be that the Play3 is getting old and tired and it’s time for a replacement?

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AirgetlamAnswer

Seems unlikely, but you could submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

I would lean more towards duplicate IP addresses, which could be potentially and temporarily fixed by unplugging all Sonos devices from power, then rebooting your router. Give the router a couple of minutes to reboot, before plugging back in all your Sonos. If this works, I’d encourage you to assign reserved IP addresses to your Sonos, instructions should be in your router’s documentation. Reserved IPs is a more permanent solution, if that is indeed what you’re experiencing, and certainly a good practice in any case.

Of course, it could be simple wifi interference .

Bruce

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Erland SommarskogAuthor

Enthusiast II

Thanks Bumper. When the S2 came out, I decided that it was better to be on the onward train, and replaced all S1 devices that were incompatible with S2, so S1 is not an option for me.

And I don’t really have an issue with replacing the Play 3:s with Era 300 (which is the closest replacement, IIRC). But it would be a bummer to buy new players, only to see the problem reappear. But from your and Ricardo’s post, it seems that there are some chances that new players will solve the issue.

Bumper

I think the Era 300 would be a very good upgrade so definitely not trying to dissuade you, I would do it 😀

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Richardo_S

Lyricist I

The latest update to S2 version 16.0 and Associated firmware update seem to have improved things for me. Been stable for 72 hours+ when it was falling over within 24 previously.

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Erland SommarskogAuthor

Enthusiast II

Thanks for the update, Ricardo.

My zone broke down quite spectacularly a few days before the update. It was not only a matter of drop-out - the right channel was dead for minutes and never came back. (And the left channel occasionally dropped out, leaving only the Sub.) But it had been working for a little more than two weeks.

I have now set up for the final test: I’ve swapped the devices between two rooms, so in my office I now have two Sonos Five. The idea is that my usage profile between the two rooms are different. Hopefully, the Sonos Five will not end up in the same way as the Play 3 pair, and in such case, I will go for the ERA 300, and maybe a new Sub too.

Although from what you report, maybe I should give the Play3 another chance in the office before I take that step. (Provided that they don’t break down in the room where they are now.)

S

Steve_237

Enthusiast I

Hi Erland,

I’m getting the same thing. It’s hugely frustrating. I’ve found turning off and on again sorts things out for a few days. I am considering getting a timer switch to turn off my older units overnight. Seems crazy to have to do this though. Obviously a running out of memory issue, and in my opinion the firmware needs an update to clear this down periodically.

Good news (kinda) to report is that one Play:3 unit that was particularly bad I replaced with an Era:100 and I’ve had no issues since with that unit. The Era:100 sounds much better than the Play:1 that it is more equivalent to, and a is actually a decent replacement for a Play:3.

Steve

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