Sonos beam gen 2 issues

Thought I’d update this in case anyone else comes across the same issue with their units. I got a video of the issue, got in-touch with Sonos and the suppliers who were both really helpful and suggested a factory reset as it’s an issue they have never come across.

Completed the reset with all my devices and set the system back up. No issues for roughly 24hrs then unfortunately reoccurred. The beam gen 2 is now back with the supplier for testing and they have offered an exchange.

Just an update for my replacement Beam 2.  

I replicated my settings and played music via Youtube music linked to the Sonos app. It ran 3 hours straight without a jackhammer/machinegun incident.

We watched movies/shows/Youtube during the weekend. I also left the TV playing from different apps for an hour each, Netflix, Disney, and Youtube. No static noise incident. 

So far so good. There has been no incident as of yet. Hopefully it was just a defective unit and the problem doesn’t come back. For those experiencing this issue, definitely reach out to support and try to get it replaced. 

Just some things I might’ve missed with my experience.

-Jackhammer/machinegun or static noise does not occur when not playing anything (Standby/low power mode)

-None of the 3 reps I’ve talked with heard of this issue

-All of the diagnostics I’ve submitted came back clean and problem could not have been identified. 

Hope this helps.

I had the jackhammer/machinegun noise issue happen to me on the first day I got the beam 2. When it got delivered I set it up right away and updated it. Linked my Youtube music account to the Sonos app and tested it out. The first half hour was pretty good, then the volume went from 3 to 10 and it started making the noise. My wife and dog were in the room with the beam 2 at the time. My dog panicked and my wife didn’t know how to turn it off, she was about to smash the thing. I thought it was just a glitch or error, so I did a factory reset.  

During the weekend we were watching Youtube on the TV with the beam 2 and it did something similar. Volume went from 4 to 10 but this time a very loud static noise was coming from the beam. By this time I got the rest of the system ( 2 ones and sub) come in and set up. The rest of the speakers didn’t have this issue, it was just the beam 2. I did another factory reset just to make sure everything was setup properly. It didn’t work. I had about 7 to 8 reoccurrences with the jackhammer/machinegun noise and the static noise.  

First day I contacted support their system was down so not much they could do. Second day, the first person I talked to told me that my system was working perfectly. I summitted a diagnostic. He told me I had excellent wifi connection but with a bit of interference. None of the diagnostics will tell them anything since the jackhammer/machinegun or the static issue won’t let you submit a diagnostic and keep giving you a try again error. I assume the beam 2 freezes up during this time and restarts itself. They told me to change my wifi channel to remedy some of the interference and see if the problem comes up again. I changed the channel and restarted my wifi. I played Youtube Music at 2, then 20 to 30 minutes later machine guns blaring out in my living room. I took a video of it this time. Called customer service again, and told me to run another diagnostic. Basically all the same information as the first person. Told me to reset the wifi and if it happens again to take a video of it. If it did happen again they would send out a replacement. Told them I had a video but it wouldn’t count since they have to go through a troubleshooting procedure. Its understandable so I agreed. I reset the wifi and 4 hours later I finally got the video. I managed to recreate it a couple of times, but my camera app wouldn’t open and the beam 2 restarted itself before I could record another video. Called customer service again and sent them the video. They were about to tell me to do another factory reset then recreate the problem again but I got a little bit upset with them. Told them I already did that twice and cant keep putting my wife and dog through this. Its basically torture trying to recreate this issue. They agreed to send me the replacement. Don’t get me wrong all the people I talked to were very kind and helpful but this issue isnt something like having interference, latency, stutters, or setup problems. Having the speaker go from 1 to 10 guns blazing is traumatizing not only for me and my wife but especially for my poor dog, not to mention it can potentially damage your your hearing. One video after everything is checked out, connection, updates, and factory resets should be indicative of a defect or even just one reoccurrence. 

Long story short, for those that are experiencing this issue and to save you time. Change your wifi channel to either 1,6, or 11. Restart the wifi and modem. Perform a factory reset on the beam 2 and anything connected to it. Make sure router and beam 2 are updated. Then have your phone on hand to video the beam 2. Run diagnostic when problem does arise. Keep trying until submit one, then print screen then contact customer support. 

Recreating the problem may be different for people. I linked my Youtube music account to the Sonos app and played it from there. I have only played music using this method, not sure if other services will recreate this issue. Leave the music running at a low volume. Results may vary but my beam 2 will have guns blazing between 20-45 minutes of playing. 

For the loud static noise, I don’t have a reliable testing method. It just occurred when using the Youtube app on our TV, Netflix, and Disney. Volume would shoot from 4 to 10 and play nothing but static randomly for like a minute. We just got the LG C1 brand new so I doubt that the source would be the problem considering the machine gun noise doesn’t come from a source. 

Now just hoping the replacement doesn’t have any problems.  

Yes mate it’s a good shout, I’m an engineer so fully understand your reason for asking as any kind of data can be used for troubleshooting the issue. I have skyQ but on this occasion I think the issue lies in the beam 2 itself as the only attachment it had the 1st time was its power cable so was not connected to any source at all at that time. It had been connected previously via the optical port on the sky Q box as the hdmi provided was not long enough to get to the back of my TV. I’m going to try recreate it today to get a video as mentioned for support.

Update: Smart home sounds who I purchased the beam gen 2 from in the UK have tested my beam over 48hrs and Sod’s law they have not found any issues with it, but have exchanged the unit to which I have just received so fingers crossed it’s all good this time. Just on a side note SHS in the UK have been brilliant and their customer service is excellent so would highly recommend them. I hope everyone who has commented so far gets their issues sorted 🤙

Is anyone aware of a solution to the beam gen2 machine gun noise?

thanks!

Hi all,

I have had the same random machine gun like everyone else here.

Short version: Google assistant seems to be the culprit as I have removed the voice assistant and the issue seems to have stopped. 

Long version:

Bought the Sonos beam 2 two days ago. Installation went smoothly and was working fine at first. Then suddenly the machine gun noise came up while listening to Spotify. Had to pull the plug to stop it.

I then began my research to try and fix the issue. Went through the settings of my projector (plugged by earc) to see if it was sending an unexpected signal. Plugged the beam by ethernet to elimated the possibility of a wifi interference issue. Changed the wifi channel of my router. Tried all kind of different settings. But in vain the issue would keep appearing randomly. 

After a factory reset, the issue seemed fixed until it started randomly again. 

I was about to give up and send it back when I tried activating my roborock by Google assistant and it crashed immediately while before it had alway been at random times after playing music or a movie for a while. I then realized that the issue had always appeared after I had installed the Google assistant back on the beam. 

I then deactivated the voice assistant and haven't had the issue since. 

Fingers crossed that its some kind of interference with certain devices and Google assistant.

Sorry to say, my first sonos purchase has gone back to Costco. I found that the Beam Gen 2, had three issues, and I do not have the patience to deal with a foreign call centre to have them fixed. 

It took me three days to get the Beam to work with the help of their high level tech support. Everyone that I dealt with really knew their stuff.

First was the jack hammer or machine gun out of the blue in and the middle of the news or program

Second was the google commands that the Gen two did not recognize and

Third was the gen dropping the sound when watching a show. 

That was the final straw for me. Just too much to deal with, so I bought a dumb sound bar with a woofer. That should be enough for my setup.

Adios and Merry Christmas to all!

And to sonos… Good night!

I have the same problem, I have a 5 month old pup who is crate trained in my livingroom and I’m worried it’ll happen when I’m out,would give him a heart attack so no confidence in it now, especially as it seems to be a common problem with the gen 2. I wonder if the issue is in the firmware as would be very strange to have such a hardware fault in multiple units?

Sounds rather strange? What audio source were you playing when it happened on each occasion, was it music, or a TV audio source? I think it’s best to try to submit a diagnostic (noting it’s reference) if you encounter the issue again and maybe capture the sound on video for Sonos Support to investigate further.

You can contact/chat to Support Staff via this LINK.

The reason I asked about what was playing, is this site here that refers to a different brand of Soundbar makes mention of a similar noise, but puts it down to an incompatible signal being received from the TV.

https://www.orbitsound.com/en-gb/support/articles/my-soundbar-makes-a-strange-sound-using-an-optical-connection/

TV’s these days have audio pass-through on their ports so it might be a device connected to the TV is sending some kind of unsupported signal - do you have other devices connected to the TV? If so maybe the diagnostic will show where the sound is coming from and help you get to the root cause of the matter (er .. perhaps?) 

I have had my Beam (gen 2) for three days, it took customer support two days to get me up and running, then this morning at 7am, while watching the local news, I had the “jack Hammer” sound resonate through our condo, wife came storming out of the bedroom, ready to kill, and the neighbours knocked on the door asking if everything is all right. Does anyone know if there is a fix or a download available to resolve this issue. I certainly do not want all the neighbours coming over again tomorrow.

Right now, it is disconnected until I can be sure it will not happen again.

Thanks

Hi all,

I’m having this issue sporadically on my Beam Gen 2 despite multiple factory resets, using the hmdi cable, and having ethernet plugged in. 

Why hasn’t Sonos addressed this issue? It’s complete ***** that I now have a $500 paperweight in my apt because it randomly plays the loudest sound you’ve ever heard in your life. What can I do????

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