Aka daisy chain. Many cheap bluetooth speakers can do this so it would be disappointing if the Roam can't. I do know that two Roams will not do stereo in bluetooth but I can't seem to find anywhere if it even supports two Roams or more in mono.
Thanks
Best answer by Corry P
View originalAs of my last knowledge update in September 2021, the Sonos Roam does not support daisy chaining or connecting multiple Roam speakers in mono or stereo via Bluetooth.
It's designed primarily for individual portable use, and while it can connect with other Sonos speakers using Wi-Fi for a multi-room audio experience, this feature is limited when using Bluetooth.
However, Sonos may have released firmware updates or new products with additional features since then.
To get the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding the capabilities of the Sonos Roam, I recommend visiting the official Sonos website or checking the user manual for the latest details or any software updates that might have been introduced since my last update.
Apologies, might have been another thread or I might have missed the wifi references.
No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.
‘grouping’ only occurs over a WiFi connection.
No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.
I’ve looked back over the thread and the Staff put it forward as a feature request and the rest of the thread is mostly about pairing/grouping and playing back the Bluetooth audio to all when on WiFi or mobile WiFi .. that’s how I read things, at least. I don’t think I’m missing the point here.
No, you’ve missed the point, according to prior posts on this thread you’re supposed to be able to group two Roams and play mono Bluetooth signal to both without any additional transmitting devices. If this is not correct than prior posts above are incorrect.
Man this is frustrating. So I’m at the beach and don’t have the second cell phone on me so can’t do the hotspot workaround. All I’m trying to do is to get both Roams to play a mono signal. Holding the Play button on the second Roam does nothing.
I’m assuming I need to trudge back up to the rental house, find wifi again, separate the previously established stereo pair between these two speakers (which you can’t do when not connected to wifi), and then the Group function will work?
Since I’m on a different wifi (rental house) I don’t even know if that will work.
They should have called these Roam speakers NoRoams…
If you don’t have the right kit with you, then there’s little anyone can do to assist. It’s been mentioned here in the community ‘many’ times, to either use a dual Bluetooth transmitting device (some android mobile phones support this), or a mobile hotspot, or MiFi device. If you don’t have any of those with you, then you can only play the Bluetooth stream to one Roam only. Anyone of the things mentioned will allow you to play to two Roams (or a good many more speakers in some instance).
Man this is frustrating. So I’m at the beach and don’t have the second cell phone on me so can’t do the hotspot workaround. All I’m trying to do is to get both Roams to play a mono signal. Holding the Play button on the second Roam does nothing.
I’m assuming I need to trudge back up to the rental house, find wifi again, separate the previously established stereo pair between these two speakers (which you can’t do when not connected to wifi), and then the Group function will work?
Since I’m on a different wifi (rental house) I don’t even know if that will work.
They should have called these Roam speakers NoRoams…
Thanks guys, this sounds pretty easy and this tip should allow us to listen to good music in stereo in the beach without lugging my much larger JBL Extreme Bluetooth speakers.
Sonos really needs to address this shortcoming, just no excuse for such a limitation with a higher end product like the Roam when much cheaper options have no issues streaming stereo over Bluetooth. Anyone willing to pay Sonos prices does so because they have a deep appreciation for SQ, and most anyone in that portion of the market will typically be less than satisfied with mono. It’s really inexplicable that they still haven’t addressed this at this point.
Many thanks for the workaround.
Another ‘similar’ option is to connect the mobile device to a rechargeable dual Bluetooth transmitter that can connect/stream to two (Roam) devices simultaneously. It means stereo audio plays on both speakers, but I find that works fine for outdoor use. Here’s an example (selected at random) from Amazon, but there are many others to choose from…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONRU-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Adapter-Black/dp/B0BD89GRW1
Thanks guys, this sounds pretty easy and this tip should allow us to listen to good music in stereo in the beach without lugging my much larger JBL Extreme Bluetooth speakers.
Sonos really needs to address this shortcoming, just no excuse for such a limitation with a higher end product like the Roam when much cheaper options have no issues streaming stereo over Bluetooth. Anyone willing to pay Sonos prices does so because they have a deep appreciation for SQ, and most anyone in that portion of the market will typically be less than satisfied with mono. It’s really inexplicable that they still haven’t addressed this at this point.
Many thanks for the workaround.
Yes I’ve tried this with an iOS mobile hotspot and it works - both the other mobile phone (controller device) and the speakers need to be connected to the WiFi hotspot. No real need for bluetooth (if you prefer not to use it) as you can stream the music over the WiFi hotspot connection too.
+17
When the speakers are also connected to this wifi, then yes. I’ve not tried to connect speakers to a phone wifi though. Also Sonos does not support connections via cell networks - but that does not mean it wil not work.
You can find the hotspot function in the wifi settings of her iPhone.
Can you guys clarify the mobile hotspot option for me?
Let’s say my wife and I are both on the beach with no wifi connection. Are you saying I can connect to her iPhone’s mobile hotspot (with her cell only receiving a cellular signal), and my iPhone will see that as a “Wifi” connection which will allow me to Bluetooth stream to my stereo paired Roams in stereo?
Clearly I have been listening to sales people in shops when I should have been digging in to community forums. :D
Try buying a pair of Sonos Roam when you are staying in a hotel. Getting a WiFi network to register the products before I could use them was great fun and Blutooth was the only option for playing music. The lack of decent documentation is always a problem. I hadn’t seen anything about mobile hotspots… one for the future perhaps.
I don’t use 3rd-party WiFi connections, as I don’t like the security issues that may bring about, that’s just a personal thing however - Sometimes when travelling regularly, I tend to take one of these MiFi (travel) routers, which you will see mentioned in my earlier screenshot, listed as ‘MobileLink-5G’
It can handle more speakers than I can carry, either paired and/or grouped and of course there is the option to use the Sonos App, Airplay, API Casting or Bluetooth Audio sources from a phone and/or tablet and can access the Music library stored back Home using the Plex service on Sonos too.
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I bought a pair of Roam speakers from a Sonos reseller thinking/assuming that they would (of course) work as a pair. The assistant didn’t point out the flaw in my thinking!
I found out that you can create a pair on a Mac via MIDI and such like but this is disappointing and doesn’t work from my iPhone… and adds a nail in the coffin for me and Sonos. The initial products were great, but why pay a premium price for something that doesn’t quite hit the mark?!
(I have 2 Sonos Move - that I have found out do not work on SonosNet and do not work properly on my mesh network - another pair of nails for products that lack detailed information before buying and only work within a limited set of parameters)
Where have you been the past few years then, since these products were launched. There’s been quite a few discussions about the things mentioned here and elsewhere online - oh and you can stereo pair the Roams and group Roams/Moves together, wherever there’s an accessible network/WiFi connection and play Bluetooth audio to all - I tend to use a mobile hotspot to pair/group them (an iPhone XR in my case) and control/play to all from my iPad App and it’s Bluetooth - only one device needs to be BT paired, even when playing to all.
Clearly I have been listening to sales people in shops when I should have been digging in to community forums. :D
Try buying a pair of Sonos Roam when you are staying in a hotel. Getting a WiFi network to register the products before I could use them was great fun and Blutooth was the only option for playing music. The lack of decent documentation is always a problem. I hadn’t seen anything about mobile hotspots… one for the future perhaps.
I bought a pair of Roam speakers from a Sonos reseller thinking/assuming that they would (of course) work as a pair. The assistant didn’t point out the flaw in my thinking!
I found out that you can create a pair on a Mac via MIDI and such like but this is disappointing and doesn’t work from my iPhone… and adds a nail in the coffin for me and Sonos. The initial products were great, but why pay a premium price for something that doesn’t quite hit the mark?!
(I have 2 Sonos Move - that I have found out do not work on SonosNet and do not work properly on my mesh network - another pair of nails for products that lack detailed information before buying and only work within a limited set of parameters)
Where have you been the past few years then, since these products were launched. There’s been quite a few discussions about the things mentioned here and elsewhere online - oh and you can stereo pair the Roams and group Roams/Moves together, wherever there’s an accessible network/WiFi connection and play Bluetooth audio to all - I tend to use a mobile hotspot to pair/group them (an iPhone XR in my case) and control/play to all from my iPad App and it’s Bluetooth - only one device needs to be BT paired, even when playing to all.
I bought a pair of Roam speakers from a Sonos reseller thinking/assuming that they would (of course) work as a pair. The assistant didn’t point out the flaw in my thinking!
I found out that you can create a pair on a Mac via MIDI and such like but this is disappointing and doesn’t work from my iPhone… and adds a nail in the coffin for me and Sonos. The initial products were great, but why pay a premium price for something that doesn’t quite hit the mark?!
(I have 2 Sonos Move - that I have found out do not work on SonosNet and do not work properly on my mesh network - another pair of nails for products that lack detailed information before buying and only work within a limited set of parameters)
You can do a stereo pair on bluetooth while you’re still connected to WiFi. Of of WiFi, you won’t be able to do the stereo pair. Seems likely that WiFi is doing the connection between the two speakers, rather than bluetooth or some other protocol.
Thank you. I’ve just unfortunately proved your point. It’s an astonishing oversight on Sonos’s part. I’m losing faith in the brand.
Oversight - unlikely, more likely ‘by design’ as you can stream music up-to 16 stereo pair of Roams or 32 ‘grouped’ devices. That’s not achievable over the Bluetooth protocol, but is achievable over WiFi.
I have mine working as a stereo bluetooth pair for the first time. They were set up as a stereo pair on my home sonos network. I then paired both to bluetooth and pressed play. Hey presto! Stereo bluetooth. Not sure if I can recreate it away from home or if I just fluked it. Anyone else get this to work? PS I also just downloaded updates.
You can do a stereo pair on bluetooth while you’re still connected to WiFi. Of of WiFi, you won’t be able to do the stereo pair. Seems likely that WiFi is doing the connection between the two speakers, rather than bluetooth or some other protocol.
Thank you. I’ve just unfortunately proved your point. It’s an astonishing oversight on Sonos’s part. I’m losing faith in the brand.
I have mine working as a stereo bluetooth pair for the first time. They were set up as a stereo pair on my home sonos network. I then paired both to bluetooth and pressed play. Hey presto! Stereo bluetooth. Not sure if I can recreate it away from home or if I just fluked it. Anyone else get this to work? PS I also just downloaded updates.
You can do a stereo pair on bluetooth while you’re still connected to WiFi. Of of WiFi, you won’t be able to do the stereo pair. Seems likely that WiFi is doing the connection between the two speakers, rather than bluetooth or some other protocol.
I have mine working as a stereo bluetooth pair for the first time. They were set up as a stereo pair on my home sonos network. I then paired both to bluetooth and pressed play. Hey presto! Stereo bluetooth. Not sure if I can recreate it away from home or if I just fluked it. Anyone else get this to work? PS I also just downloaded updates.
Yep, it does a pretty bad job of doing stuff it wasn’t designed to do. Perversely, it’s an amazing device when deployed for its intended use.
Honestly I inherited some Sonos gear from the missus, but pretty disappointed with its lack of connectivity... No Chromecast, no line in (on the arc, beam, sub, one's, move or roam), no ability to share Bluetooth from the move to the Sonos group and no multi roam support off network. Genuinely surprised why people spend so much on this stuff.... Hard to recommend.
I’m surprised and frustrated this still doesn’t work -- after literally years of questions and requests.
The Sonos ecosystem and its Wi-Fi connected speakers are outstanding -- I started with Sonos in 2013 and I have 3 soundbars, 2 subs, and 2 Sonos 1’s scattered around the house -- and I love what they can do. But I waited to buy 2 Roam speakers until they worked out the kinks and its software had caught up to the rest of the Sonos home speaker lineup.
The Roams work great at home – outside, inside, upstairs, downstairs - even in the shower. Take them away from your Wi-Fi network and you have a Bluetooth speaker that sounds good -- but the second one is a brick. Or, you need to buy an additional $100 Bluetooth receiver/transmitter so that you can get sound to come out of them both – even if they’re not stereo paired.
It’s the direct opposite of the name of the speaker -- Roam -- because you can’t. Unless you cart around that third, extra device -- that might even have to be plugged in to work sometimes. We waited forever to have a Sonos speaker that could use bluetooth -- but it still come up short.
I bought a pair of portable Bose speakers for my son, and a pair of portable Boom 3 speakers for my daughter. They happily take them everywhere -- and they work everywhere. They can even daisy-chain additional like-branded speakers if they want.
So come on Sonos -- don’t force us to buy other hardware. Especially when we’ve invested so much money in you already...
I purchase 4 roams thinking it would be easy to use them outdoors via Bluetooth. I was surprised to find that I could only use one of the speakers. I thought with the name “Roam” that the speaker was designed to roam. My mistake at the tune of $850
Use a mobile WiFi Hub/Access point outside too, then you can use all Roams ‘grouped’ or ‘paired’ with ANY audio source including Bluetooth. I often take two Roams ‘paired’ when glamping outdoors using a d-link dwr-2101 mobile WiFi, but there are dozens of ‘cheaper’ options too that will work just as well.
I purchase 4 roams thinking it would be easy to use them outdoors via Bluetooth. I was surprised to find that I could only use one of the speakers. I thought with the name “Roam” that the speaker was designed to roam. My mistake at the tune of $850
huh? The name “Roam” made you think that you would be able to connect 4 of them to a single bluetooth source? I’m not following that logic. You can return them if they are not what your looking for. A Move sounds like it might be a better fit for you, if you want bigger sound/volume and still be connected to the Sonos system.
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