Using Sonos app in 2 different homes...and taking sonos speakers from one home to the other

Apologies,  it your post is indeed somewhat confusing, at least to me. I parse your questions as:

1. can you set up an already set up Beam On a new network, without a factory reset which erases everything.
2. not sure how this relates to your vacation house…

So, a couple of comments. First, here’s how to change a WiFi on your system: as part of the new router - installation instructions FAQ.

Now, some more explanation / caveats. If you’re just moving physical location in the same WiFi, you’d just need to change the name of the speaker, if you want to. Moving it from upstairs to downstairs wouldn’t make any difference to the Sonos, assuming both locations have the same signal coverage. 
 

Now, some other information, pertaining to a second location. All data is stored on the speakers, not in your controller, or on a web source. So if you ‘add’ something to your main home, it won’t reflect on your second location, despite the fact that they’re connected to the same email. Sonos just doesn’t store data in a ‘multiple locations’ way. So, if you add something in either location, you’ll need to do the same thing in the other location. 
 

Does that make sense? Ask more questions if you need to. 

Oh, to comment about your title…

If you add a device from one location to another (moving a speaker from one house to the other), when you add it to the second without a factory reset, it will copy the contents of that system over to the new location, effectively melding the two set ups.

Thank you for the reply.   Sorry about confusion in the post...honestly wasn’t trying to be.

So in short, based on your reply am I correct in saying I can move speakers between homes and set them up without any issues?

Since the existing speakers are physically moving from one house to another, is it best to factory reset them?  Or just set them up on the app?

Didn’t think you were ;) we all process data differently! 

Yes, you should be able to ‘move’ speakers between homes. If you’ve setup the WiFi with different SSIDs, just connect the speaker you’re ‘moving’ with an Ethernet cable. 

No, I wouldn’t suggest a factory reset…I’d almost never suggest that, it is honestly super destructive to the data stored on the speaker. Connection with an Ethernet cable is a much better solution, especially if they’re both tied to the same email. Just wire them, and they should show up in your controller, with the same ‘name’ as before. 

Quick question regarding the Ethernet cable.  Do I have to connect each speaker with an Ethernet cable for Sonos to recognize them?  Won’t the app recognize the speaker once there is power to it and I add the new home network to the app?  Or as you said its because the WiFi networks have different SSIDs (wifi names?) and connecting an Ethernet cable is part of the new setup?  And does the Ethernet cable need to go directly to the router during this setup?  Just asking because I’m fairly new to Sonos and just want to make sure I understand exactly what you are saying.  

No, just the one speaker that you’re moving from household to household. It makes it easier for it to ‘join’ the new system. And that can be removed once it’s in your system, and showing up in the controller. But it makes it easier for it to join and copy overall the data, in both directions. Doesn’t hurt to leave it wired if you can. 

My advice is also that you never turn off the ‘radio/wifi’ on any device in the controller, even if it is wired.

So, the answers to your ‘quick question’ are:

1. Yes.
2. Not necessarily, the new network needs to be communicated to the speaker, if it is a different SSID. You need that cable to communicate any data, including changes to the network, to the ‘moved’ speaker first. 
3. Yes.
4. Yes.

One thing that might help you understand Sonos a bit better is to realize that the controller is merely a window through which you are communicating to the real app, which is running on your speakers. Each Sonos device is a computer, and the controller allows you to send commands to it. If that computer doesn’t ‘know’ about a new network, until it is told via Ethernet cable, no amount of changing data on the controller will reach it. 

Take a look at the speaker compatibility list in this link for S1 and Sonos App products.

Your Sub Mini will not work on the S1app.

You may have to run separate systems (S1 and Sonos App) depending upon how you plan to integrate the Sub Mini.

The only way to have a seamless setup using the Sub Mini would be to factory reset any speaker currently on S1 that is capable of running on the Sonos App. The downside to a factory reset is that you will lose all stored playlists. 

Ah, a good point, which I missed in the original post…and S1 devices will never communicate with S2 devices. so if you’re running both ‘homes’ using the same controller, it would likely be all S2 and work as suggested.

If, however, one home is running S1, and the other running S2, nothing I said will work. 

I suggest upgrading the S1 system to S2. Otherwise, you’d need to upgrade and downgrade units as you move them from system to system. This would be messy.

So a little more history on this which might help to make sense of my situation.  The setup I had at vacation house 1 (call it VH1) on network A1B1C1 (not the real name but lets call it that for this explanation) was 1 pair of Era 100s, 1 pair of One SL, a Beam and a Sub Mini.   No longer have VH1, now have vacation house (VH2) with network 2A2B2C.  From VH1 I took the pair of Era 100s and the pair of One SLs.  I set up those 2 pair of speakers in VH2 in 2 different rooms.  The way I did that was powering them on and then completing the setup in the Sonos app once the app recognized the speakers and they both work fine.  In VH2 I upgraded to the Arc Ultra and the Sub 4 and also added 1 pair of Fives and 1 pair of Era 300s but have not set up any of these speakers yet.  Am I going to have an issue setting up the Arc Ultra, Sub 4, Fives and Era 300s in VH2 with the Sonos app when I get around to it?  I then took the Beam and Sub Mini to my house and want to use them in the basement only.  This is where I am having the issue.  Do I just do a factory reset on the Beam and Sub Mini?  I’m not worried about losing anything on either of these.  As I said these 2 speakers are for the basement where the kids hang out and watch TV and play xBox. 

I use the apps below.  Someone mentioned the Sonos S2 app.  When I look in the app store on the iPhone I don’t come across a Sonos S2 app.  Just come across the icon below the Sonos and Sonos S1 apps.  Is that the correct app I should switch to?

Thank you for all the responses.  Basically what I’m trying to achieve is the following. 

I have the Sonos S1 controller which I control my whole house audio with the sonos connect amp which powers in-ceiling speakers.  I have the Sonos app which I control the speakers in the vacation house.  Since I upgraded to the Arc Ultra and the Sub 4 in the vacation house I took the Beam and the Sub Mini to my house where I live full time.  I was planning on using the Beam and the Sub mini in the basement where my kids have a TV.  I don’t want to use the Beam and Sub Mini anyplace else except in the basement.   When I tried using the Sonos app I got the error below. 

I checked the compatibility list link that AjTrek1 sent and the Beam and Sub Mini are both compatible with the Sonos app.  What are the next steps to take to get this to work?  Do I have my son get one of the Sonos apps on his phone and have him set this up?  Or is there a way for me to keep the whole house audio separate from the basement audio?  Do I attempt to set up a new system as shown below in the Sonos app?  I apologize as I seem to be having a difficult time understanding the way Sonos works.  If you need to break it down to something that a Kindergartener would understand please do, I promise I will not take offense.   I really want to try and understand how Sonos works in situations like this. 

SONOS has changed the names of the controllers. The original controller was simply known as the “Controller”. When the redesigned controller was released, the original was renamed to “S1” and the redesigned controller was named “S2”. Currently the S2 controller is named “Sonos App” or sometimes referred to as “Controller” and the S1 controller is named “Sonos S1 Controller App”. Based on past experience, as staff turns over, these names are subject to change in the future.

I suggest that you “upgrade” the S1 units to S2. This will reduce the work required when moving units from one location to the other. While I’m not a fan of Factory Reset, in your case I think this would be the minimum work approach and avoid surprise changes to music service registrations and Playlists. If you are partially transferring a system, for example transferring only surrounds or a SUB, use the Controller to “Remove” these units from the current Room assignments before the Factory Reset. 

A critical point is to “Add” the Factory Reset, transferred units to the other system. Avoid setting up a “New” system, else you’ll be back here complaining about all of the mess.

As you move units to the other system there will be a period while the original system will show the removed units, even though they have moved on. This is a bit annoying, but understandable and the units will disappear from the original system in a few days. Units are retained in a system for a while because they may have simply been powered down during physical construction or simply in the process of being moved to another area of the house. If this is too annoying, reset the controller after the units in transit are powered down.

So would it be best for me to wait until I go back to the vacation home where the Sonos app has access to all of the speakers that were on the speaker list and remove the Beam and Sub Mini from the list of speakers there and then try to add them at the new house/location once I get back there?  And do a factory reset to the Beam and Sub Mini?  I do not plan on moving any other speakers between locations.

As you said, I believe what I’m doing would be considered a partial transfer of a few components in a system.

I would remove them from the Sonos app once I’m at the vacation home and then when I back at my permanent residence, do a factory reset to the Beam and Sub Mini and then try to add them to my permanent home system.  

Since I’m doing a partial transfer would it be possible or make sense to keep the Sonos S1 for my whole house audio and use the Sonos app for the Beam and Sub Mini that will be in the basement.  I’m trying to keep things separate but not sure if that is the best thing to do….or do I have my son create a Sonos account and get the Sonos app and set up the basement speakers on the app on his phone?

All of the players in a system must be at the same level of S1 or S2. Otherwise you would need to upgrade or downgrade any player shuttled between unlike systems. This will waste a lot of time.

Unless dad and son have the same taste in music, I still think Factory Reset before transfer is your best plan.

I don’t know why this thread got so long winded.

YES

NO and NO

If you don’t care about preserving any data (settings or playlists) then yes just factory reset them and use the Sonos app set them up as a new system in your permanent home.

Thank you Mr. T.  One last question…..before I set them up as a new system in my permanent home, should I remove the Beam and Sub Mini from the speaker list when I’m at the vacation home?

Then I would use the menu below on the Sonos app to set up a new system in my permanent home.  Is that the correct sequence I should follow? 

​@JDH99 - There is no app option to “remove” speakers from a system. When you disconnected the Beam and sub Mini from power, they will fall off the vacation home system list after a couple of days. What I would have done if moving speakers between locations would be to remove the Sub Mini from being bonded with the Beam, but if you factory reset both devices when setting up the new system, it makes no difference.

​@Mr. T - makes sense.  And I will do a factory reset to those to completely clear them. 

And then I would choose the “+ Set up a new system” option and add the Beam and Sub Mini?

Yes.