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controller shows music playing that isn't

Rich_S
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I use android and my wife uses ios. We have a number of speakers and love them. The issue is better described by an image.

I have several wireless access points spread over my house. My speakers are on a designated SSID. They work fab. On occasions I get major dropouts. I have a strong 200mbps setup. To try to improve my network I have attached the two speakers on the opposite sides of my house to a physical connection. Since then, I keep getting this issue. My wife selected music on her iPhone. If I go to change anything, music or volume I see music playing on speakers not selected on my controller. The only way I find I can resolve it is to go back to music and select another selection. Another track. It sorts itself out then. It doesn't mater what source I select. I use SONOS radio, Spotify and my Synology NAS. They all give the same result. I am considering removing the physical connection to see if that goes back to normal. I would like to configure my network for the perfect SONOS network.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Rich…

 

 

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Best answer by Corry P 24 May 2021, 11:49

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5 replies

Corry P
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Hi @Rich_S 

I’m not sure of the exact problem you’re describing - it sounds like expected behaviour to me, but I might be misunderstanding you. Your wife playing music in a location should be reflected in your app, but it isn’t expected to change the selected room in your app. If, however, your app is incorrectly indicating the group that’s playing, that’s not expected.

If you have the two ethernet-wired Sonos devices connected to ethernet that goes straight back to the router, this would be ideal. If they are connecting to something else, like a switch or mesh nodes, this isn’t ideal. Given that it looks like you have 5 rooms, I would say one ethernet connection is sufficient so it may help to simplify the Sonos system’s connection by only having one player wired directly to the router. If one (or more) players are remote from the rest, however, a second connection may be needed.

It could also be that you just need to give your router a reboot - this tends to be need done a few times a year.

I hope this helps.

 

 

 

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

As per the screen shots.

I see the rooms my Wife has selected by the animated bar graph on the right, the music is also playing in the same area as suggested.

I select a room and done. Nothing happens.

Before I connected 2 speakers to the physical network, this didn’t happen.

In the same situation, doth of our controllers replicated.

If I see the same instance “rooms my Wife has selected by the animated bar graph on the right, the music is also playing in the same area” and I select another room (Wife selected Bathroom & Bedroom) and I select Lounge and done. Music plays in all 3 speakers and my Wife’s controller reflects the same.

 

I have been trying to create the perfect environment for my installation.

I have a Roam in the bathroom, Sonos Play1 in the bedroom, 2x Sonos Play1 as a stereo pair in the lounge, Sonos One in the kitchen and another Sonos One in the Sunhouse. I haven’t a big house. I have a Virgin Hub3 upstairs, this feeds an unmanaged switch that feeds a WAP in the lounge (EAP110) and a small unmanaged switch in the sunhouse. That in-turn feeds another WAP in the sunhouse (EAP225 EAP)

 

I would like to create a failsafe network to give a perfect environment.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Rich...
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Rich_S 

I would say this issue is a result of poor communication between the Sonos system and the app. As you have listed 3 WAP devices to which your phone could be connecting, I think it best we try and make sure we know which is being used, and if the symptoms change or disappear when connected to a different WAP (ideally, I want you to connect to the Virgin router’s broadcast to simplify the communication path between the app and the speakers).

Given that the initial issue you were concerned about was audio dropouts, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network. They are likely able to fix that problem without resorting to the second ethernet connection which seems to be causing problems. 

You didn’t mention where the wired speakers are wired to. We are aware of an issue whereby two Sonos devices connected directly to a Virgin Media Super Hub 3.0 via ethernet can produce a network storm that would interfere with other traffic. Connecting them both to a network switch resolves the issue, though I don’t know what one connected to the router and one connected via a switch would result in. Generally, this issue causes half the devices on the network to drop off, so I don’t think that’s what’s happening but our technical support team would be able to tell and advise from there.

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

Thanks for getting in touch.

As recommended, I shall change the SONOS installation from its existing WAP to the Virgin router.

As the SONOS system operates on the 2.4 GHz frequently, does it cause issues the controller being connected via 5 GHz WiFi? I prefer my phone to be connected to the faster frequently.

Using the controller, I have seen the option to edit the WiFi. You get the option to add a trusted network. You have the speaker MAC address listed. What is the function of a trusted network?

Can you set a different WiFi per MAC address therefore giving the speaker an individual WiFi connection?

When the speakers are playing and the person with the controller leaves the network,  the speakers continue to play.

How does the system work. Is the controller app connecting to a server? Do the speakers have a separate connection to that server?

I use a NAS to play music, does the NAS connect to the same server? If I can visualise how it works I can understand the issues better.

Kindest Regards Rich...

Rich...
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Rich_S 

As the SONOS system operates on the 2.4 GHz frequently, does it cause issues the controller being connected via 5 GHz WiFi? I prefer my phone to be connected to the faster frequently.

Ideally no. Some routers may separate these two bands, but it’s an option you’d need to turn on and Virgin routers don’t have the option anyway. There should be no issue with having your phone on 5GHz. (I say “should” because there were recent firmware issues with the BT Smart Hub 2 resulting in exactly this problem, so I guess anything can happen.)

Using the controller, I have seen the option to edit the WiFi. You get the option to add a trusted network. You have the speaker MAC address listed. What is the function of a trusted network?

Sonos can either connect to your WiFi, or it can create it’s own. If you wire one Sonos device to ethernet, your whole system would use a private WiFi broadcasted by the wired unit. For those who want their system to use the standard WiFi, this option is how they’d tell the Sonos system the WiFi credentials.

Can you set a different WiFi per MAC address therefore giving the speaker an individual WiFi connection?

No. All Sonos units will share all known WiFi credentials. Each speaker will connect to the strongest signal that it knows how to log on to. Unless Sonos is connected to ethernet - other speakers will prefer Sonosnet over standard WiFi, if it’s available.

When the speakers are playing and the person with the controller leaves the network,  the speakers continue to play.

This is expected - and intended - behaviour.

How does the system work. Is the controller app connecting to a server? Do the speakers have a separate connection to that server?

Each speaker is a computer. When you select a track/album/playlist, that selection is handed over to the selected speaker and that speaker does the actual work of fetching the stream and playing it. The app is no longer needed and is in fact just a remote control. If other speakers are grouped in, the first speaker is in charge of distributing the music across the Sonos system. This can make the choice of which speaker is in charge an important one. If there are ever issues, give the speaker with the best connection the job (a wired speaker or the one closest to the router/wired speaker).

I use a NAS to play music, does the NAS connect to the same server? If I can visualise how it works I can understand the issues better.

I’m not sure what you mean here, as a NAS effectively is a server. As with an online service, the selected speaker is in charge of getting in touch with your NAS and asking it for the files to be played. The main difference is that internet access is not required - everything is done locally.

I hope this helps.

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