Sonos iOS cannot add MacOS Music library

Thanks. I have read all of the support documents and scoured the many threads on the support community that address similar issues. None of the advice there seemed to make any immediate difference. To be clear, I got past the “cannot connect error” on the iOS and desktop Sonos apps, and progressed to the following; on the iOS app the scanning would take a long time and then show as complete but the library never showed up, while on the desktop app there would be the normal spinner icon indicating that scanning was taking place but then it would stop after a few minutes with some message about the source no longer being available (this was while I was actively using the Mac Mini with the library so the server was not sleeping).

However after following the exact same procedure for the umpteenth time (lots of repeat sharing/unsharing, restarting, deleting/reinstalling apps) the library showed up on both platforms. I have been trying to stream music from my library but it is currently unusable; music stops/starts, songs in queue are skipped mid-song; stream does not start immediately, etc.. Airplay from iOS Music works as expected. No known issues with our wifi network (and the server and Sonos gear are all wired as well).

Maybe you could help with a couple questions that were not clear despite spending a lot of time on this;

-does the desktop app need to be installed and working for the iOS Sonos app to work? I see a SonosLibraryServer process running on the server.

-if so, does the desktop app need special permissions in MacOS (e.g. Full Disk Access, or Accessibility)? I didn’t see that in any support document. Local Network access I understand so that it can find Sonos devices. I see Sonos app and the Sonos executable with some of these permissions.

-which Music folder needs to be shared on iOS? The top level Music folder (~/Music, which I am using now), the folder with the Music library file (~/Music/Music/Media), or the actual media folder (~/Music/Music/Media/Music, which can vary depending on the MacOS and how the music was migrated from iTunes)? Incidentally, the path formatting is confusing; the desktop app suggests Windows style formatting, “\”, for the NAS choice but shows Unix/MacOS formatting when the library is actually added, “/“. The iOS app suggests “/“ formatting and that is how the path is shown once the library is added.

Anyway, I think it is Airplay for now due to the streaming issues.

The answer to your first question is that the app doesn't have to be installed on Mac but why would it not be? The Sonos Music Library is essentially just a collection of file paths. 

When I had a Music Library I always used the desktop app for all Music Library admin. The mobile app was just for playing.  I never used the mobile app to index. 

It sounds like the mobile app may be suffering from wireless interference. 

Thanks.

I don’t know what you mean by “why would it not be” (I assume you are referring to the desktop app). If it is not needed to stream (initiated from the Sonos iOS app on my phone, which is the device I usually have close at hand) I don’t see the need to install it on the Mini. I also don’t understand what you mean about administering the library. The Sonos apps appear to be separate, if I understand this correctly. Each app would need to separately index the library (unless the index is on a Sonos server?).

Airplay works so I don’t think it is interference. The Sonos devices are all wired as well. I presume (again) that the devices can take advantage of multihoming.

Okay, there is a support document for that: https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-app-permissions

It looks like no special permissions are needed (Accessibility would not be needed as I don’t initiate or control any streaming from the Mini).

And no, the library pointers are stored on each and every Sonos device, and not in each individual controller. The controller app is merely a window into what exists on your Sonos devices, it has no individual settings/knowledge itself. 

Ah, okay. That would explain why I saw the iOS app continue to scan even though I deleted and reinstalled the app. So this means I don’t need the desktop app at all.

Curious how you knew that. Despite continuous searching on related topics this is the first I have heard about this.

Odd, it’s been something all over this forum, said by myself, and dozens of other regular posters. It’s the reason why you can connect several controllers to the system, and all see the same thing. They’re all looking at the app that runs on the speakers. It’s also why you were able to delete the controller from one device, but the process running on the system continued. 

Things may have changed, but I  just.found it easier to specify the Music Library location and re-index etc using the app on the compupr on which he library filed are stored. This also seemed more robust.  

As ​@Airgetlam has explainer, all apps on all devices have the Music Library available to them 

I am not sure why this was marked as the answer. As I indicated, I followed the steps in the online support documents and I could not initially add the library. I repeated the procedure many, many times and it finally “took”. I don’t know why but if the “answer" is that the documented procedure will usually not work, I am not sure that qualifies as an answer.

In any case, even though the library is available in the iOS app, playback is not usable. Songs skip, start and stop, stop with errors, etc. such that it is an annoying, not a pleasurable, experience. Not a WiFi issue as the Sonos gear is wired. So we are using Airplay and we got a family member to cough up their Spotify password.

This all used to work.