Answered

Issue with Sonos AMP bricking upon setup (HDMI ARC + Bose outdoor speakers)

  • 21 September 2021
  • 12 replies
  • 287 views
K
Userlevel 1

Hi all! I hope you can help me with the following super frustrating situation...

 

Overall issue:

 

I'm trying to set up a Sonos amp for an outdoor kitchen unsuccessfully - 2 Sonos AMPs have been "bricked" (gone irresponsive) attempting to go through the setup. I haven't been able to get any direction or resolution from Sonos support (who only attempted to diagnose / resurrect the faulty Sonos AMPs with no success). I'd appreciate any ideas / help...

 

The setup:

 

Sonos amp connected to:

  • a pair of Bose 251 Environmental Outdoor Speakers
  • Samsung - The Terrace Series 65" - via HDMI connected to the HDMI ARC port on the TV

 

Detailed setup sequence:

 

Hooked up the Amp to the speakers and HDMI cable (my electrician misplaced the banana connectors so he directly hooked the speaker cables into the audio ports)

Connected it to power outlet

The Sonos app identified it as new device and started the set up process

updated the software as part of the setup process

then asked if I wanted to set up as TV or stereo

I selected TV

it claimed it didn't sense an ARC connection

I tried playing music using the Sonos app (spotify)

It didn't work - displaying "error occured while adding tracks (1001)"

tried again - same error

I disconnected from power and reconnected

AMP booted up with LED blinking white

At this point it disappeared from the Sonos app / system

No combination of attempts to restart, factory reset it (with or without ethernet) would work

 

I purchased a new SONOS amp, AMP, went through a somewhat similar process (this time I did the initial setup in the house, without connecting first to the speakers and TV, then took it outdoors, hooked it up (this time I used the banana speaker connector), powered it up, and ended up with similar outcome - tried to play music fron the sonos app, got same 1001 error, I disconnected from power, reconnected, and this time the LED never even turned on again (while the unit did get power - eg you could see the 2 small ethernet port LEDs were lit and you could hear the "click" from the AMP a few seconds after disconnecting the power cable).

 

Net net - I'm at loss...any advice most welcome :) 

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Best answer by kahanop 14 October 2021, 01:47

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12 replies

G
Userlevel 7

Could the power source outside be faulty?

How is the Amp connected to your network outside?

Can you play music from the Amp when it is connected inside the house?

When connected to the TV, is the Amp connected to the TV’s HDMI ARC/eARC port (HDMI 2)? Do you have Anynet+ (CEC) enabled on the TV? Are there any other devices connected to the TV?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
K
Userlevel 1

Thanks @GuitarSuperstar for the quick response! :)

Follow the answers to your questions:

Could the power source outside be faulty? → Good question...I think it’s unlikely given the same power source is feeding the TV and other outdoor kitchen appliances.

How is the Amp connected to your network outside? → Wifi (I have a NetGear Orbi mesh with a nearby outdoor Orbi extender)

Can you play music from the Amp when it is connected inside the house? → I didn’t get to try that as the speakers are outdoors...(and after it bricked outdoors, no attempts to “revive” it indoors (whether wired ethernet or wifi, hard reboot and/or factory reset...) succeeded)

When connected to the TV, is the Amp connected to the TV’s HDMI ARC/eARC port (HDMI 2)? Do you have Anynet+ (CEC) enabled on the TV? Are there any other devices connected to the TV? -→ Indeed the Amp is connected to HDMI 2; I’m not sure about the Anynet and will check; no other devices connected to the TV (the TV is also connected to the same wifi network and working well with streaming video / audio etc).

 

Thanks again :) 

Ken_Griffiths

@kahanop,

As you are using a Netgear Orbi system with an Orbi access point, you may perhaps find this thread helpful too…

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/troubleshooting-sonos-on-wifi-6856334?postid=16520976#post16520976

 

K
Userlevel 1

Thanks @Ken_Griffiths ! please note we have another 7 Sonos devices indoors which never had any issues with the Orbi...also even if there is a wifi related issue I wouldn’t have expected the Amp to irreparably brick unless there’s a software bug in its Sonos software….

 

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @kahanop 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

It’s highly unlikely that your Amp “bricked” upon setup - it’s much more likely that it’s experiencing network issues, for whatever reason. For this to happen to two devices is even less likely. However, if you are sure that you followed the reset your Sonos product instructions properly and didn’t get a flashing green light, then the only path forward is to get in touch with our technical support team to look into replacement options.

If you are able to reset the unit, I recommend you turn off your router for at least one minute. If your Orbi system is there in addition to another router, please reboot Orbi too. Try setup once you have WiFi again, and can connect to the rest of the Sonos system.

And, if you do have a router in addition to the Orbi system, please ensure Orbi is set to operate in Bridge or AP mode. @Ken_Griffiths’ link above has instructions. Reboot the main router afterwards.

If you’re still unable to add/see the Amp, please connect the Amp with ethernet (wherever you can, it doesn’t need to be connected to anything else other than power) to the router and try again. Once the unit has been setup (do TV setup later, not now) properly, try moving it to it’s intended location without the ethernet connection. TV Setup can be restarted from within Settings » System » [Room with Amp].

Finally, if you can reset the Amp but still not add it, 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 what it reports about the situation.

I hope this helps.

 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
K
Userlevel 1

Hi Cory! Thanks for the detailed response. Indeed both units “bricked” , neither were responsive to multiple factory reset and diagnostic attempts, neither were responsive to wired / ethernet setup attempts.

On the wifi/Orbi front - is the Amp different with its wifi module than the rest of the Sonos units (Given they are working just fine with the Orbi network?).  On my network setup - there’s an xfinity xFi XB7 cable modem / gateway that operates in bridge mode (the Orbi is the router).   Should that create an issue with the Amp?  Regardless, even if it did, I’m assuming the Amp shouldn’t brick as a result...

I spent quite a bit of time with the Sonos technical support team to no avail - they weren’t able to neither diagnose nor resolve the issue and I now have a 3rd Amp unit which I’m afraid to install before better understanding what caused the units to brick. So I’m stuck :( 

Any thoughts most welcome!

best

odk

buzz

Full disclosure: I have limited experience with Orbi.

Bridge mode for the Gateway is a good plan. Only the Orbi should be connected to the Gateway.

Wire one of the AMP’s directly to the Orbi router and power down the other AMP’s. Will AMP come online now? I’m not a fan of constantly Factory Resetting SONOS units, because this does not often solve fundamental issues, but in your case I don’t know the status of your AMP’s. I also recommend deleting the controller App and installing a fresh copy of S2. You will then be starting the SONOS system from scratch and the the Orbi WiFi will be mostly bypassed. (obviously, you’ll need it for your controller device)

If you are successful at getting the first AMP operating, then wire the second AMP and get it going. Once you have two AMP’s installed, you can keep one AMP wired and wirelessly deploy the second AMP. The first AMP will wirelessly support other SONOS units. For this first level of testing, there is no need for speakers. If the units seem to be playing (try Internet Radio) then you can move on to connecting speakers and finally the TV. If the system seems to be operating in this mode, then Orbi is messing with you.

By the way, there is an option to turn OFF the AMP status light. In any case, Factory Reset will clear this option.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @kahanop 

I know of no way to brick an Amp, other than by physically assaulting it.

I can’t blame you for not wanting to connect a third unit, but you shouldn’t have any issue - mind you, I would have said the same about the second Amp too.

If you have Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), you should not connect Sonos to it, but I don’t think it would brick the unit. I would certainly avoid the power outlet you used last time.

As factory resets don’t help, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team for replacement options and a full investigation.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
K
Userlevel 1

Hi Corry,

Thanks for the follow up! 

I know the bricking situation is unusual but unfortunately it seems to be the case. Given the 2nd unit bricked following a similar setup sequence - it most likely implies the first unit bricking wasn’t just a rare faulty unit and thus the bricking may related to some combination of the specific setup and/or a software bug being triggered by it)...hence  I’d like the issue to be diagnosed first before going down the same route again. The 2nd bricked unit was RMA’ed (RMA 03247341-00385871) and has been received by Sonos about a week ago but I haven’t heard anything yet - is there a 2nd tier support contact I should be following up with? 

thanks again :)

P.S.

(to your question - we don’t have POE...) 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @kahanop 

I see that since writing your last post here, you’ve been in touch with technical support - it looks like they have a solid plan in place to get to the bottom of this. 

I hope it all get’s sorted out for you - with a bit of luck, it was all just a freak occurrence.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
K
Userlevel 1

Thanks Corry! I hope they’ll be able to resolve it :) 

K
Userlevel 1

Hi,

Just wanted to close the loop on this thread - I had an EE friend take a look and it appears that the wiring - 2 speaker wires and the HDMI cable - were all shorting each other, likely due to a stray nail or screw that pierced through the cables...this likely caused the bricking behavior (possibly frying some circuit in the AMP).  We tested the 3rd unit by connecting it with a temporary set of new speaker cables and a different HDMI cable and it worked like a charm.  At this point I need to wait for the contractor to route new cables through the outdoor kitchen structure so we can finally complete the sonos install.

Thanks to all who have provided advice on this thread - much appreciated!

 

all the best

odk

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