‘Legacy generation’ speakers disappearing from app


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So, as they say, here’s the thing: I invested a lot of hard earned cash in a complete Sonos system in 2014-16 (8 x Play 1s, 1 x Play 3 and 1 x Soundbar). It all worked really well then the problems started not long after we moved house in 2016; essentially, most of the speakers regularly disappear from the app/system and this has been the case with both Sonos apps. I have tried pretty much everything suggested by Sonos but the problem remains.
Having spent all that money, I am reluctant to follow Sonos’ advice and upgrade my speakers so I am at a loss as to what to do next. Any advice gratefully received!


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Are you able to connect any of your Sonos speakers directly to your router with an ethernet cable?

Incidentally,  none of the speakers you have mentioned is 'legacy'. I see no reason to believe that 'upgrading' the speakers would improve the situation. 

@GuitarSuperstar makes a relevant point. There would be little chance of this many Sonos speakers being stable in WiFi mode. 

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I have tried connecting a speaker to a previous router, yes, it’s not possible with the current set up.

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@John B whether or not they are ‘legacy’ they are older speakers although at no point during my adoption was I under the impression that they might become obsolete at any point.

I have no idea about wifi mode and if this is an issue it has never been mentioned by Sonos. Can you have too many speakers? Not been advised to restrict how many I have.

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Cable connecting a speaker to your router would result in having your speakers on a dedicated network (Sonosnet). The can also be achieved by installing a Sonos Boost.

Since you on so many speakers, nd seem to have wifi problems is your house very large, or are there many walls between your router and (some of) the speakers?

@christopher.murgatroyd .  I am not sure why you have replied so tetchily to an attempt to help.  I was trying to tell you that your problems are absolutely nothing to do with the age of your speakers, and that therefore you would be wasting your money by replacing them.

None of your speakers has become obsolete.  All the speakers you mentioned are S2-compatible, fully supported and will receive any new features that are added by firmware updates.  This is a total non-issue for you and a complete red herring in finding a solution to your problems.

As for ‘too many Sonos speakers’ - yes you can have too many, where ‘too many’ means ‘more than your WiFi network can cope with’.  As the others trying to help you have pointed out, the correct thing to do in this situation is to connect one of your Sonos devices by Ethernet to your router.  This pushes all the Sonos data traffic off of your WiFi and onto a dedicated mesh called SonosNet.

You should try this, even if you have done so before.  If it doesn’t work initially come back for further guidance.  Just temporarily move a speaker near the router (but not within 3 feet) for the purpose of the experiment. Whether you do so or not is of course entirely up to you.

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@106rallye thanks for that. I live in a fairly small house but it is older style and has thicker walls. Would you recommend a Sonos Boost as well?

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@John B apologies if my reply came across as being tetchy: the tone was meant to be exasperation with the situation rather than ire aimed at the help offered, which I do appreciate.

I will try connecting a speaker via Ethernet, thank you

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@christopher.murgatroyd 

I use a Boost myself, centrally located in my home.

@John B apologies if my reply came across as being tetchy: the tone was meant to be exasperation with the situation rather than ire aimed at the help offered, which I do appreciate.

I will try connecting a speaker via Ethernet, thank you

Well, if you weren’t tetchy, I think I was!  Apologies also.

Give it a few minutes after wiring a speaker then check in About My System that all speakers have WM:0 not WM:1.  If any still have WM;1, power them off and on again.

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@106rallye has your Boost improved your connectivity?

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@John B no problem. I’ll give that a go, thank you!

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@christopher.murgatroyd It has. I used to have the Beam cable connected to my router but that is placed in my living room that is further away from the speaker in the kitchen. With the Boost the conduction in the kitchen is better.

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@John B 

@106rallye 

@GuitarSuperstar 

I invested in a Boost, set it up yesterday and so far, so good!

Thanks for your help everyone!

I’m very pleased to hear that - long may it continue.  Thanks for the update.

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Yet another BT Smart Hub 2 user I am sure. That router really is a pile of you-know-what.