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GSTechs
Contributor I
April 3, 2021
Answered

When adding a specific Play:5 (gen2) to system, everything else is removed

I have a simple system using three Play:1 units and two Play:5 (gen2) devices.  I was using the Sonos S1 app on iOS, but after trying to resolve this issue I decided to see if the S2 app would resolve the issue.  Spoiler, it didn’t.

The system has been up and running for several years without issue.  Yesterday none of the devices were showing up on the app interface.  I called Sonos support and they helped troubleshoot for about 2 hours, but ultimately laid blame with my ISP router.  They indicated that the problem appeared to be that my router was “converting multicast into unicast”.  So I reached out to my ISP (AT&T) for support and we proceeded to troubleshoot for 5 additional hours with only a tiny bit of success.

I gave up and went to sleep and resumed troubleshooting on my own this morning.  

 

I was able to get some of the devices connected to my account again, but one of the Play:5 units gave me trouble.  I reset all the devices back to factory settings and started over.  But that same Play:5 still wouldn’t connect to the network with the other devices.  I could either get the other four devices set up and working, or I could get the single Play:5 set up and working, but not all of them at the same time.  It’s like they repelled each other.  This was the result if I used only WiFi or connected the Play:5 to the Ethernet.  It seemed to me that the single Play:5 was being forced to join a different network.  

Oddly, whenever I got the single Play:5 set up and working, the process would log me out of my account.  When I logged back in, I’d still only have the single Play:5 connected.

I decided to change my wifi network to separate the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.  I went through the process of erasing the network settings from the Sonos app and then going through Manage Networks to Update Networks for each of the Sonos devices.  This is where I noticed a slight difference between the single Play:5 and the other devices.  When selecting the unit that is giving me problems, the app prompted me me to “Press the button on your Play:5 to connect to it.”  When selecting the other Play:5 (the one that connects to the other Sonos devices as expected), I’m prompted to “Press the button on the Play:5 that’s playing the chime.”  The rest of the process for this device works properly.

Nothing I tried was able to get that one Play:5 to behave like the other one.  

 

Has anyone else had this experience or have any ideas what I can try to resolve the issue?

 

And just a reminder, this system has been working flawlessly for years.  We did switch ISPs from Comcast to AT&T several months ago, but the Sonos system has worked properly since then too.  

Besides a simple Netgear 8-port switch, there are no other network devices in the network besides the ISP provided HumAX Model BGW320-500.

 

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Corry P
Corry PAnswer
Sonos Staff
April 22, 2021

Hi @GSTechs 

Apologies - the issue is a gateway IP address mismatch. All your devices, apart from the problem Play:5, agree that the router’s local IP address is 192.168.1.254. Your Play:5 thinks the router’s address is it’s public IPs address (which I won’t share), and the speaker itself also thinks that it’s local IP address is what your public IP is - like the speaker is in your router’s DMZ (demilitarised zone). All of your submitted diagnostics report this either with one speaker or another.

I can’t give you any specifics about how to fix this, as it varies from router to router and it could also just be a fault, so I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them remotely connect to your computer and have a look at the router settings for you.

Failing that, all I can suggest is a factory reset of your router or contacting your Internet Service Provider. It could be a faulty router (this seems more likely than anything else, apart from possible misconfiguration).

The speaker not having a local IP address explains why the router describes it as “not on network”. Aside from any diagnostics, right now the Dining Room is reporting it’s private IP is your public IP.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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Corry P
Corry PAnswer
Sonos Staff
April 22, 2021

Hi @GSTechs 

Apologies - the issue is a gateway IP address mismatch. All your devices, apart from the problem Play:5, agree that the router’s local IP address is 192.168.1.254. Your Play:5 thinks the router’s address is it’s public IPs address (which I won’t share), and the speaker itself also thinks that it’s local IP address is what your public IP is - like the speaker is in your router’s DMZ (demilitarised zone). All of your submitted diagnostics report this either with one speaker or another.

I can’t give you any specifics about how to fix this, as it varies from router to router and it could also just be a fault, so I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them remotely connect to your computer and have a look at the router settings for you.

Failing that, all I can suggest is a factory reset of your router or contacting your Internet Service Provider. It could be a faulty router (this seems more likely than anything else, apart from possible misconfiguration).

The speaker not having a local IP address explains why the router describes it as “not on network”. Aside from any diagnostics, right now the Dining Room is reporting it’s private IP is your public IP.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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