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Best Mesh Set Up

  • 22 July 2021
  • 3 replies
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No shortage of discussion about the issues with Sonos systems on mesh wifi networks.

I’m just seeking advice on whether purchasing the Sonos Boost will let me circumvent the most common ones assuming I also purchase a Google Nest Wifi system.

I’m hoping to get set up with the following:

  • Sonos One (currently have)
  • Sonos Five (currently have)
  • Sonos Boost (considering purchasing)
  • Google Nest Wifi (considering purchasing)

Any advice from the experts is most appreciated

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Best answer by Airgetlam 22 July 2021, 16:51

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3 replies

If your One or Five is already wired to your router, there isn’t really a need to get a Boost in your system. Any Sonos device wired to the router will put your devices on Sonos own mesh network.  As far as the Google WiFi, I can’t speak to that specifically.  I am using the the Orbi mesh setup and don’t have any issues with it.

There’s several things to think about here. 
 

  1. You don’t have to use a BOOST. Simply wiring one of your speakers does the same thing by setting up SonosNet. The only reason to use a BOOST, as I do, is because the speaker isn’t conveniently close to the router for wiring it directly. Which means you could test this type of connection right now.
  2. SonosNet is another radio signal, so it’s subject to any and all of the same issues as discussed in the wifi interference FAQ. You need to be sure your mesh network and your SonosNet networks are not using the same channel. Some mesh networks don’t give you that control to lock down the channel in use.
  3. When creating a SonosNet setup, you should always wire the Sonos device to the ‘root’ device creating the mesh. Never use an extension device to connect to. Some mesh devices create different subnets for each extender device, and Sonos wants their system to be on a single subnet.
  4. Sonos was initially designed for SonosNet connections, so you might think of it as the most robust/tested connection. There is no data, however, that one type of connection is actually better/preferred, both work equally well, IMHO.
  5. Sonos is only as good as the network it is connected to. The connection type does not change that, if there are network issues, either local to the home, or further upstream, it will potentially impact the Sonos. So ensuring the quality of the internal LAN is important. Many folks including myself have taken the extra step of assigning reserved IP addresses to all their network devices, including any Sonos devices.
  6. Personal opinion here, but Google Nest devices share any data about your network activity with Google, so that Google can show you appropriate advertising, and other things that they think are appropriate due to their tracking of information. I’m not particularly wild about that. 
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@melvimbe , could you say what Orbi model and which firmware you are using?  (I have an RBK53 setup to tend and given all NetGear’s problems, chose not to allow auto-update.  Apologies if you have already said this in some other thread; but your answer might help @malkin7111  to price shop vs. Google too.)