Airplay 2: Existing Sonos One speakers not showing up


I have upgraded my Sonos to the latest version which includes Airplay 2. In the settings page of the Sonos app it tells me I do not have any compatible Airplay speakers. I have 3 Sonos One speakers, 2 grouped together. Why are these not showing up?

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

41 replies

Sonos need to make this crystal clear.

You mean like here, in the main support page for Airplay 2:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/1230?language=en_US

The following Sonos speakers are compatible with AirPlay 2:

Beam
Sonos One
Playbase
Play:5 (second generation)
If one or more of the above speakers are not listed, make sure they are powered on and connected to your Sonos system. Sonos One and Play:5 speakers that are setup as surrounds will not be available for use with Airplay.


Yep exactly in the middle of a SUPPORT page. When I buy a new product I don't go to the Support pages first. Most of the material people read before a purchase is on how to enable non Airplay speakers by connecting a Sonos One or other Airplay 2 enabled speaker. The pages even have a pic of the Playbar.


Yep exactly in the middle of a SUPPORT page. When I buy a new product I don't go to the Support pages first. Most of the material people read before a purchase is on how to enable non Airplay speakers by connecting a Sonos One or other Airplay 2 enabled speaker. The pages even have a pic of the Playbar.


You should be checking the support page for the functionality you are purchasing, because there isn't a company in the world who prominently lists up front what their product doesn't do.

Anyway, my point was that Sonos most certainly makes it crystal clear.


Yep exactly in the middle of a SUPPORT page. When I buy a new product I don't go to the Support pages first. Most of the material people read before a purchase is on how to enable non Airplay speakers by connecting a Sonos One or other Airplay 2 enabled speaker. The pages even have a pic of the Playbar.


You should be checking the support page for the functionality you are purchasing, because there isn't a company in the world who prominently lists up front what their product doesn't do.

Anyway, my point was that Sonos most certainly makes it crystal clear.


As I said, the marketing material is misleading and no it isn't crystal clear from that point. At the end of the day it's their loss, the speakers are going back.
K 2,

I must admit the Airplay topic was also quite very widely spoken about here in the community too, when the Sonos One, the PlayBase and Play:5’s (gen 2), each became Airplay-2 compatible. This was before the Beam was released and added to the Airplay capability.

A few people were more 'miffed' though, that the PlayBar was not capable of Airplaying, but it was certainly clear that Sonos Ones were not able to Airplay when bonded as 'slaves' in a HT setup. I mean they can’t even be seen as a 'separate' room for Airplay purposes, as they form part of the main PlayBar Room, so it was always fairly obvious to me.

However it makes sense to buy a couple of Play:1’s and swap-out the Sonos Ones and use them elsewhere in the home. That’s what I would prefer to do, if I was in your situation.

I currently have a Beam, 3 x Sonos Ones, 2 Play 5’s and 8 x Play:1’s ... and no regrets here! ...I’m now hoping for a next generation PlayBar.

I found it better to 'add' more speakers, rather than 'take-away'.?


As I said, the marketing material is misleading and no it isn't crystal clear from that point. At the end of the day it's their loss, the speakers are going back.


As I inferred, anyone looking at marketing material expecting to learn what a product doesn't do is going to be very disappointed.
Yep, I'm an idiot. Turns out that I have a PLAY:1. Sorry to have wasted everyone's time. All along I thought the Christmas gift I got was a Sonos One, and couldn't wait for AirPlay2. Fail.

This thread led me to recognize that I, too, have play:1, and not Sonos 1.
Actually (and to be pedantic, sorry), you have a PLAY:1, and not a Sonos One. There is no Sonos 1.
Umm great. Useful stuff
Yea, sorry about that. Sonos' strange naming makes it difficult for many of us who attempt to support here on the forums, since the speakers are somewhat different, and the names so similar.
So I’m a little late to the gripe fest, but add me to the list of users doing a double take after finding out their new Playbar doesn’t support AirPlay 2. I get the older speakers not being supported, but it’s just ridiculous to support the Playbase and not the Playbar.
Not a dealbreaker for me though, my garage/bedroom/living room all play great music wirelessly via Sonos app fine enough. It’s a little clunky compared to the Apple Music native solution but whatever.
The PLAYBAR was designed what, 5 years before the PLAYBASE came out? It makes sense to me that the electronic components in them might be different. I'd be more hesitant about that position if they came out a year apart, but that's just not the case.

Yes, it is mildly frustrating, but I too purchased a specific speaker to receive AirPlay 2, so that I could group it with the other rooms that didn't have a "newer" Sonos device in them. I get the fact that older tech just doesn't have the horsepower to run newer software. My original iPhone won't run iOS 12. Why would I expect any different from Sonos?
There ya go, thx Bruce. I didn’t know one was 5 years older.

I get it, but don’t like the analogy. If the Playbase was discounted to $399 that’d make more sense to me. Your post is kinda like saying “of course your iPhone 8 doesn’t have Face ID, you need a iPhone X or newer. How can you expect Apple to add these features to a 3 year old phone, get a new one.” Except, Apple prices all those phones differently as they have different features. Playbase and the old Playbar are both $699 msrp.

Either way, it’s fine for me as I’ll just use the Sonos app when needed. 99% of the time the Sonos use is all TV anyway, streaming music is just an add on for me.
Yea, I'm not the CEO of Sonos, so I don't have much control over pricing. But I don't recall that the pricing was that different between my iPhone X or my iPhone 8, either. As any company does, they charge what the market will bear, not what the appropriate price should be based on feature differences. If I were a shareholder, that's certainly what I would want.

But I do hear you. Unfortunately, despite my hanging around these forums for years, Sonos hasn't implemented many of my suggestions 🙂

Goodness I hope that's the not case, Ones used as surrounds don't work with Airplay 2. I use that surround system the most when not enjoying a movie. Would have saved myself the $ and bought Play:1's instead. Do you remember where you saw that at? If not, would be great if you could share it if you happen upon it again.Hi ChrisWalsh,

In a Sonos 5.1 setup, the device connected to your TV determines its Airplay 2 compatibility. Due to the way the 5.1 speakers communicate, it wouldn't work well for the rear speakers to handle Airplay streaming for the front channel. If your 5.1 setup has a PLAYBASE or a BEAM for its front channel, you can use the speakers as a target for Airplay 2. If you are using a PLAYBAR, you can't target the speakers for Airplay 2 even if you have Sonos Ones for your rear speakers.

As with all Sonos speakers, you can group the 5.1 speakers with a Sonos One, PLAY:5 gen. 2, PLAYBASE or Beam, and target the group for Airplay 2 streaming.


Hey guys, sorry but I am not sure if I get this right.

TLDR: Can I have a Setup connected to my TV (Playbar, Sub, 2xPlay:1 as rears) and add an additional Sonos One, to be able to access the whole Setup via Airplay2?

Now the disappointing Background Story:

My Problem: I was super disappointed when Sonos decided not to upgrade their Playbar and offer a newer version that also supports Airplay2 and instead just said to me: buy a beam or a playbase (both sound so much worse than the Playbar, but everybody can judge here on his own ofc).

The offered solution: no Problem, put it in a Group with e.g. a Sonos One and you're all set and airplay will work... I hesitated for long time because its 200 Bucks extra just to get your Setup working with Airplay. My setup was: Playbar, Sub, 2xPlay:1, so no reason for an additional Sonos One at all, but yeah...

So I went for the "cheapest" solution and replaced one of the Play:1 with a Sonos One to have a happy live again. But here it comes: it told me: hey buddy you can't have your rear speakers mixed! You need either 2xPlay:1 or 2xSonos One, nothing in between. Well that was an unpleasant surprise! I do not at all understand why in the world? But yeah...

Next thing is: Got a second Sonos One more or less out of frustration, which really triggered me... just to find out that, if I use them as rear speakers it still does not work. I mean COME ON?! Can you imagine the desparation after reconfiguring and playing around for hours as well as spending over 400 bucks on additional hardware that didn't even solve the problem with the otherwise more than pleasant Sonos experience? Sorry for dumping all my frustration here, but I hope this will help other people to not make the same mistake that I made...

So coming back to my original question: can I still somehow have my setup working with my TV as before, plus bring it into airplay? I couldn't figure out how to do it though. Now I'm running with the 2 Sonos One as rears and running out of time for today after this research...


Yep exactly in the middle of a SUPPORT page. When I buy a new product I don't go to the Support pages first. Most of the material people read before a purchase is on how to enable non Airplay speakers by connecting a Sonos One or other Airplay 2 enabled speaker. The pages even have a pic of the Playbar.
You should be checking the support page for the functionality you are purchasing, because there isn't a company in the world who prominently lists up front what their product doesn't do.

Anyway, my point was that Sonos most certainly makes it crystal clear.

Goodness I hope that's the not case, Ones used as surrounds don't work with Airplay 2. I use that surround system the most when not enjoying a movie. Would have saved myself the $ and bought Play:1's instead. Do you remember where you saw that at? If not, would be great if you could share it if you happen upon it again.Hi ChrisWalsh,

In a Sonos 5.1 setup, the device connected to your TV determines its Airplay 2 compatibility. Due to the way the 5.1 speakers communicate, it wouldn't work well for the rear speakers to handle Airplay streaming for the front channel. If your 5.1 setup has a PLAYBASE or a BEAM for its front channel, you can use the speakers as a target for Airplay 2. If you are using a PLAYBAR, you can't target the speakers for Airplay 2 even if you have Sonos Ones for your rear speakers.

As with all Sonos speakers, you can group the 5.1 speakers with a Sonos One, PLAY:5 gen. 2, PLAYBASE or Beam, and target the group for Airplay 2 streaming.
Hey guys, sorry but I am not sure if I get this right.

TLDR: Can I have a Setup connected to my TV (Playbar, Sub, 2xPlay:1 as rears) and add an additional Sonos One, to be able to access the whole Setup via Airplay2?

Now the disappointing Background Story:

My Problem: I was super disappointed when Sonos decided not to upgrade their Playbar and offer a newer version that also supports Airplay2 and instead just said to me: buy a beam or a playbase (both sound so much worse than the Playbar, but everybody can judge here on his own ofc).

The offered solution: no Problem, put it in a Group with e.g. a Sonos One and you're all set and airplay will work... I hesitated for long time because its 200 Bucks extra just to get your Setup working with Airplay. My setup was: Playbar, Sub, 2xPlay:1, so no reason for an additional Sonos One at all, but yeah...

So I went for the "cheapest" solution and replaced one of the Play:1 with a Sonos One to have a happy live again. But here it comes: it told me: hey buddy you can't have your rear speakers mixed! You need either 2xPlay:1 or 2xSonos One, nothing in between. Well that was an unpleasant surprise! I do not at all understand why in the world? But yeah...

Next thing is: Got a second Sonos One more or less out of frustration, which really triggered me... just to find out that, if I use them as rear speakers it still does not work. I mean COME ON?! Can you imagine the desparation after reconfiguring and playing around for hours as well as spending over 400 bucks on additional hardware that didn't even solve the problem with the otherwise more than pleasant Sonos experience? Sorry for dumping all my frustration here, but I hope this will help other people to not make the same mistake that I made...

So coming back to my original question: can I still somehow have my setup working with my TV as before, plus bring it into airplay? I couldn't figure out how to do it though. Now I'm running with the 2 Sonos One as rears and running out of time for today after this research...


Same scenario here: Bought one Play One to replace a Play:1 and get AirPlay, but that doesn’t work. Got a second Play One to replace the second surround Play:1 but AirPlay won’t work because they are surround.

I don’t need an additional speaker - I just want AirPlay. After reading this forum, this is not possible. I’ll be returning both Play One. Very unhappy with Sonos.

Wish Apple came up with a surround set up rather than expensive stand alone speakers.

Hello Guys, 

I’m new Sonos user I bought 2 Sonos One SL and I have the following issues:

While I’m able to use the two speaker on my iPhone Sonos app I cannot connect them to my macbook Sonos app.

Looking for an already existing system the app does not show up any device, then the app ask to push the rear butto with the infinite symbol and also in this case it does not show up none of the two speakers.

Moreover I cannot connect the two speakers on iPhone HomeKit app and to use them with the iPhone (and Mac of course) AirPlay.

 

In few words the only way I can use the speakers is only with the iPhone Sonos app that makes them a big waste of money for the time being.

Thank you for the attention.

Antonio