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So many problems with the Roam!

  • 26 April 2021
  • 99 replies
  • 24507 views

Userlevel 3

We received our Roam last week and have had endless problems with it, which haven’t been solved by Sonos Customer Services.

Initially, it wouldn’t connect to our existing Sonos system at all. Then when it did, the speaker didn’t work properly - it was really tinny with no bass, and when we tried to change the volume there was an awful scratching noise.

We eventually managed to play music normally - but the it cuts out every 3-5 minutes!! On the Sonos app it still says music is playing, and the buttons on the Roam don’t work.

This happens whether it’s on Bluetooth or wifi. Other problems include not being able to turn it off, and the buttons sporadically not working at all.

We spent 45 minutes on hold to CS, and then 2.5 hours chatting with a very nice but ultimately unhelpful technician who remote-accessed our router settings and tried everything he could to get it working. This resulted in us having no internet…. because he changed our router to modem mode, which meant nothing else connected to the router worked! He then told us to call our ISP - even though it’s clearly a problem with the Roam and not our wifi network.

We’ve had no problems with our other Sonos speakers. But although I am loathe to call CS again but I’m going to have to to return this obviously faulty item. Sort it out Sonos!

Are these common problems or is it just us? How do you get Sonos to acknowledge that something is faulty?

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Best answer by James L. 27 April 2021, 12:01

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99 replies

Userlevel 1

I have also had a nightmare experience with Roam and Sonos. 
•first roam failed right out of the box. After wading through Sonos extremely customer unfriendly CRS phone tree (I want to talk to a person!!) for 20 minutes, I then spent another 30 minutes with a tech who tried everything including a factory reset before pronouncing it DOA. I could a) ship it back and wait 5 weeks for a replacement or b) buy a replacement, have it shipped ASAP, and get my $184.00 back when they received my first one back. 
•I chose b) thinking this would be the most efficient path. Credit card billed another $184, new roam arrived, setup no problem, worked great for 3 days, then roam 2 fails, S2 app sez I need an update. OK, update process fails twice. I decide to wait overnight before diving back into customer service hell. Update works third time yay! Only now the unit is completely malfunctioning - unit turns off within 30 seconds, randomly changes Spotify music selection mid-song, turns on (solid white light) without me touching it. Factory reset failed. Clearly ANOTHER malfunctioning unit. 
•so now it’s been 14 business days since I returned the first unit, still no refund. I decide to call. All I want now is my money back on the first unit before I return the second unit (I don’t trust Sonos customer service to handle two simultaneous refunds). I get handed off to 4 different people! No one can help me. I’m on the phone an hour. Last guy says be patient your refund should arrive today. Nope. 
•to summarize, I paid for 2 roams, neither worked, and have not been refunded although one has been returned. I’m done with Sonos all I want is my money back. BTW, I have Bose and UE2 Bluetooth speakers that work fine on my network so don’t go there. 

Userlevel 3

Update on this - Sonos acknowledged that there’s a fault and agreed to replace the Roam. We got our replacement this morning and it worked straight out of the box - no problem connecting, system sounds working, no problem with the top buttons, plays continuously, super responsive.

Sooooo if you’re having problems with your Roam, you might have got a faulty one like us...

Userlevel 1

I too am having issues with Sonos Roam. It seems to work inside the house but when I take it in the garden it struggles to connect to WiFi. When it does connect it frequently disconnects. My phone has a decent wifi signal outside but there is no way of checking the signal on the roam. I connected via Bluetooth and it made no difference. 

I have a BT wifi mesh network which has been solid for years.

It annoys me that companies sell products that are not finished, and then fix them via software updates. It makes for a very bad customer experience.

Userlevel 1

Hi @hanajohnson878,

 

I can assure you that the issues you mentioned are not common, nor should they be expected. I’ve asked that your open case with our support team get escalated to a senior agent. You should receive a response from them in the next day or so.

Sounds like they gave you an open box device. The Bluetooth function can not be used until such point as the Roam has been set up on the Sonos software. 

I’d highly recommend that you do a factory reset of that device, before attempting to add it back to your existing Sonos system. 

I’m having so many problems, just like you. My Roam is basically an overpriced paper weight. What a frustrating product!  At least yours connected.  About to throw this thing into the ocean. Stick with a more traditional Bluetooth brand (JBL, Bose) for portability, SONOS has some work to do. 

Userlevel 2

I love my Sonos speakers, all 5 of them, which is why I purchased the Roam.  Well, that was a mistake!  I wasted hours yesterday trying to get the damn thing to connect to my WiFi and Bluetooth - NEITHER would work!!  I have a free crappy little Coors Lite Bluetooth speaker that connected in 5 seconds.  No excuse for you guys!  Especially since you already have experience with the all-too-expensive Move speaker.  The unit is being shipped back today for refund. 

Clearly, there is a Quality Assurance problem and you need to get on it and recall the bad batches instead of letting your customers suffer and lose faith.  Stop selling defect products before Sonos goes the way of Sony.  Customers expect a quality product from you, not a headache!

As a side note, I’d suggest you add an ethernet port so we can at least connect to get any firmware updates before wasting time trying to connect to our WiFi.

I have been a Sonos fan for years. I have gone through app changes and models becoming not usable and needing to upgrade.  I love the tone and the sound they produce.  But I am going to say these Sonos Roams are a piece of crap.  I bought 4 of them. One for me and 3 for gifts.  They cut in and out. Get loud then soft.  Play when they shouldn’t.  I went outside and it was just playing one day.  No music attached to it.  My friends (who I am introducing them to Sonos) are saying Bose is much better.  I am so disappointed in the $150 speakers.   For that price you should get quality.   I tried to call customer service but who has that type of time.  I am so disappointed.   I might just send them back.  
 

I’m having similar problems with my new Sonos Roam. Very frustrating as it routinely won’t operate. On/Off button is also poorly engineered. Need help to fix, a refund or a replacement. 

Userlevel 2

The best message to send Sonos is a returned product.  That’s what I did with the Roam.  That hits them right in the pocket.  Maybe then they will realize that lowering product quality to improve the bottom line won’t work.

Agreed. I am on my second sonos roam. 

The first one never connected as bluetooth or to my system. I returned it to best buy. Best Buy then offer to order me a new one… so I figured it would give it a try.  The second one worked as a bluetooth speaker until i tried to connect to my home sonos system. Now it will not work on my system OR as a bluetooth speaker.  I am going to factory reset and give it one more try then i am DONE.

We received our Roam last week and have had endless problems with it, which haven’t been solved by Sonos Customer Services.

Initially, it wouldn’t connect to our existing Sonos system at all. Then when it did, the speaker didn’t work properly - it was really tinny with no bass, and when we tried to change the volume there was an awful scratching noise.

We eventually managed to play music normally - but the it cuts out every 3-5 minutes!! On the Sonos app it still says music is playing, and the buttons on the Roam don’t work.

This happens whether it’s on Bluetooth or wifi. Other problems include not being able to turn it off, and the buttons sporadically not working at all.

We spent 45 minutes on hold to CS, and then 2.5 hours chatting with a very nice but ultimately unhelpful technician who remote-accessed our router settings and tried everything he could to get it working. This resulted in us having no internet…. because he changed our router to modem mode, which meant nothing else connected to the router worked! He then told us to call our ISP - even though it’s clearly a problem with the Roam and not our wifi network.

We’ve had no problems with our other Sonos speakers. But although I am loathe to call CS again but I’m going to have to to return this obviously faulty item. Sort it out Sonos!

Are these common problems or is it just us? How do you get Sonos to acknowledge that something is faulty?

 

I am also experiencing the same issues with my Roam. And it will reboot itself and then the battery light flashes Red.

I’m on the second call with support hopefully they will authorize a replacement.

roam sucks. i also like the other sonos products but more than half the time the roam does not work. i have two of them and i have to reset the stereo option all the time to get either of the speakers to work. 

@Sonos @ SonosStaff

I have had similar, albeit fewer issues, with my Sonos Roam products.

I purchased 2 units with the intent of using them in a smaller space as a stereo pair. 

Oddly, I had initial issues with the setup. No scratching or volume issues as listed above, but connectivity to my existing Sonos system was problematic. Sonos recognizes the new speakers in the mobile app, but fails to configure them properly (would not show up in the devices list, etc.).

Additionally, when set up as stereo pair, I noticed one of the speakers would intermittently stop playing. The device remained listed in the speaker list on the app. Furthermore, the app indicated that the device was playing/active. This issue seemed to move intermittently between the left AND right channels.  

I have also noticed issues with the power button and the speaker control buttons. They don’t seem to respond a well or as quickly as my other speakers. 

Lastly, I have these speakers set for auto Trueplay. I’m unsure if this feature is working. I’m not sure how to tell. Along these lines, the EQ setting is resetting to default (bass = 0, treble = 0) settings. 

Overall the experience has been mixed and mediocre.

I have checked wireless configurations, rebooted my router and wireless extenders (which are using a Gb/s backhaul connection to the main router), Sonos settings, and all of my other speakers. I have a number of other Sonos devices connected to my network. I uploaded support diagnostics; 289096592. 

When these s[peakers work, they work well. When they don’t it is very frustrating.

I have had very good experiences with my other Sonos products. I’m confident these issues will be resolved. thank you for your time and attention to these matters.

 

We received our Roam last week and have had endless problems with it, which haven’t been solved by Sonos Customer Services.

Initially, it wouldn’t connect to our existing Sonos system at all. Then when it did, the speaker didn’t work properly - it was really tinny with no bass, and when we tried to change the volume there was an awful scratching noise.

We eventually managed to play music normally - but the it cuts out every 3-5 minutes!! On the Sonos app it still says music is playing, and the buttons on the Roam don’t work.

This happens whether it’s on Bluetooth or wifi. Other problems include not being able to turn it off, and the buttons sporadically not working at all.

We spent 45 minutes on hold to CS, and then 2.5 hours chatting with a very nice but ultimately unhelpful technician who remote-accessed our router settings and tried everything he could to get it working. This resulted in us having no internet…. because he changed our router to modem mode, which meant nothing else connected to the router worked! He then told us to call our ISP - even though it’s clearly a problem with the Roam and not our wifi network.

We’ve had no problems with our other Sonos speakers. But although I am loathe to call CS again but I’m going to have to to return this obviously faulty item. Sort it out Sonos!

Are these common problems or is it just us? How do you get Sonos to acknowledge that something is faulty?

 

I am also experiencing the same issues with my Roam. And it will reboot itself and then the battery light flashes Red.

I’m on the second call with support hopefully they will authorize a replacement.

I’m having exactly the same problems….very frustrating. Return Roam to Sonos tomorrow. I hope my next unit is not defective.

@rsivarajan,

As you have unusual LED lights showing compared to your ‘other’ perfectly working Roam and have tried the various resets etc. Have you submitted a diagnostic report, made a note of its reference and spoken to Sonos Support - if not, you can contact them via this LINK to see if they can suggest anything further for you to try.

I unfortunately had horrible problems with my roam. Beyond all the issues discussed in this thread ultimately the roam caused an issue with my entire Sonos ecosystem. After hours of playing with it I decided to return it. And I’m scared to try another one. I’m worried it might ruin / corrupt my entire set up and I won’t be able to recover again. 

Badge +17

Hi @hanajohnson878,

 

I can assure you that the issues you mentioned are not common, nor should they be expected. I’ve asked that your open case with our support team get escalated to a senior agent. You should receive a response from them in the next day or so.

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

I have a pair of roams mainly used as bathroom stereo pair only issue I had was battery drain early on since update they last around a month before I charge them 

I turn them on they pair in stereo and work as intended like the rest of my sonos products 

Very happy with them.. 

I have a pair of roams mainly used as bathroom stereo pair only issue I had was battery drain early on since update they last around a month before I charge them 

I turn them on they pair in stereo and work as intended like the rest of my sonos products 

Very happy with them.. 

Yes same here for me too - the Roams work fine and the new ‘battery saver’ option keeps them both charged for ages. Their stereo pairing has been greatly improved too. If I manually put one Roam into sleep mode - it immediately restores the ‘pairing’ when I wake it up again.  

I am having issues with toggling between pairing stereo with roam, then when put in ‘everywhere’ mode they drop off stereo and one of them disconnects?   Also, instructions for setup is not very clear.    Roam roll out was not done well.   Come on Sonos, we pay for excellence.  I have 12 sonos devices…. Don’t get me started on S1 vs S2!

Userlevel 6
Badge +15

Hi @berniebaker, thanks for raising this with the Sonos Community.

After looking at your diagnostic, it seems that the left Roam is hanging on to a weak 5GHz connection, potentially causing your issues with audio dropping out. We’re looking in to an issue where the Roam should be reconnecting to the strongest AP after being moved but isn’t, and are hoping to have a fix for this in an upcoming update - in the meantime, when being moved around a location with multiple access points, we recommend fully rebooting the Roam to force it to connect to the strongest AP (Power off by holding the power button for 5 seconds, and then power back on again).

I don’t have the Roam or Move myself, but from what I’ve heard from colleagues who do have one, the Auto-Trueplay effect can be quite subtle.

Let us know if you have better performance from the Roams after fully rebooting :)

You need a lesson in marketing 101 as well as customer service. 
 

The connectivity should be simple. Figure it out.

Well I’m retired, but I did ‘figure it out’ …and just to say my 12 year old grandson said ‘it is a simple setup’. He had no problem at all adding the Roam to his Home WiFi… it really sounds like you may just need some help.

Perhaps refer to my earlier post and contact Sonos Support.

 

Thanks, Ken.

Yes, I just spoke with Sonos support and they will send a new unit. My theory of a fault during the firmware upgrade was wrong and there is indeed a hardware issue. The CSR was able to confirm the issue when I initiated a stereo pairing and the second Roam went to the orange-white status state.

Sonos needs to do more testing before shipping these units out. At the least a stereo pairing, though it may be difficult to automate.

Ah that’s good news @rsivarajan and will save you the bother with troubleshooting things further.

I guess Sonos have been selling many hundreds/thousands of these devices all around the World in the run up to Christmas/Holiday season, so I guess a few devices may run into a few problems and of course that means the customer often then lands here in the Sonos community to complain and that can make the issues feel worse, as rarely do people pop-by these pages to say they’re not having any issues. 

At least Sonos will often quickly diagnose a fault when a diagnostic report is sent to them …and they certainly never quibble to replace a device if something is found to be wrong with it. I still find that to be great service, personally speaking.

Anyhow I hope the new Roam, when it arrives performs well and that this is the end of your troubles…

Happy Holidays & New Year too.👍

I bought mine and used it for a week before returning it today. It is too unreliable while plugged into power. My kitchen is close to my living room and I thought I can use roam to play along with my other sonos speakers. It did for a day, then every-time I come home I have to unplug, turn it on and off for it to work with other speakers.

Did factory reset, did update the driver… multiple times, did try the qi charger, but nothing worked. 

I like my sonos living room setup very much, but roam was a total disappointment :-/

Thank you. I’ll leverage your suggestions and apply the update once it is published. 

I’ll keep you posted should I uncover additional issues.  

I too am having the same issues as everyone else. Bought this as a Christmas present. 

Had to bring it home to work on it. They sent me a replacement. It is doing the same things. They are sending me a third replacement. After reading these comments I doubt the third one will work either and am thinking of just asking for a refund and looking for another brand. Maybe Bose would be better?