If I had it to do over, I wouldn't

  • 22 July 2018
  • 6 replies
  • 522 views

About a month ago we purchased a pair of Sonos play 1s to use as a stereo pair and a Play 3. They (the system) has been nothing but a PITA. They regularly cut out for no reason that we can determine. Sometimes they will come back on, often the units have to be turned off and back on to reset. Often, in the middle of playing a song (all songs are stored on the computer/iPhone/ipad - not streamed from the internet) suddenly the message will come up that it's not able to access the song it is playing and will quit. Of course, the shop were we bought them raved about how good these speakers are but they are, IMO, nearly useless.

I had originally planned to buy wired speakers and a bluetooth adapter for the amp, which we use with no issues at all in another location. I fell for the hype that the WiFi provided better fidelity than bluetooth. That MAY be true in theory but slightly lower fidelity that is RELIABLE is orders of magnitude better than slightly better fidelity that fails regularly.

I don't recommend these products at all based on how they have worked for us. I have the latest Sonos software and have done all the appropriate setup...several times in hopes it will resolve the problem but no luck so far.

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6 replies

The Sonos system is fine. You have local network issues.

If you haven't already done so, submit a system diagnostic and post the confirmation number here. Sonos Support can then assist.
JUNK! This stuff - or at least the operating system - is junk! Constant hassles with songs stopping/restarting/can't load/can't find the computer it was playing from 2 seconds ago. Today, amid cutting in/out 10 times in less than an hour, Sonos app says I need to upgrade - then, after trying to upgrade, it says "theres a problem with the upgrade." So basically the Macbok that was working with the system now has no music on it that is visible to Sonus. Absolutely absurd. My two-month old Sonos Play 3 and two play 1's are going on EBay today. Frankly, the whole concept of WiFi speakers is, NOW that I think about it, pretty ridiculous. How would you react if your car's function was based on internet access? 😉 I drank the kool-aid; luckily, I survived and learned a lesson. I want RELIABLE music, I sure wouldn't recommend using WiFi to provide it.

A wired system (amp/speakers) in a different location with a bluetooth receiver on one of the inputs has worked flawlessly for me for several years. Based on what I know NOW, as opposed to two months ago, that's the way to go if you are streaming music to the system via a phone/computer/ipad/whatever. Obviously if you are seriously listening to music, none of this wireless/bluetooth/streaming stuff applies anyway. Wireless/bluetooth/streaming is all about convenience but a record on a turntable is MORE convenient that a wireless/Sonos system that continuously quits/can't find what it was playing a few seconds ago/can't update etc, etc, etc. 😞
Userlevel 4
Badge +6
I have issues too, seems I'm in an area (probably like you) that has a lot of network interference. but working with Sonos support they taught me that rebooting my network dailyand not using my microwave pretty much fixed the problem.

It's a bit of a pain to reboot everything daily since I have 53 networked devices (many of them like all my Sonos units and my washer/dryer need to be physically unplugged). But since I've adjusted to making popcorn on the stove with flavacol and coconut oil everyone is super happy as our popcorn game is epic.
Have you submitted a diagnostic as suggested by @ratty? Have you sought any help at all from Sonos Support? There are millions of users now worldwide, 99.999% of them with stable systems. Me included after 6 years of no problems. Submit a diagnostic and post the number back here if you can. Or call Sonos Support. The system itself is fine
Userlevel 1
Badge +6
I was having problems before but for me what has worked out really well is leaving one speaker plugged in by the ethernet cable, i use the playbar for this. Then dont give the sonos network your wifi password and make it run on the sonos wireless network instead. Had no drop outs since doing this, its a pain you have to leave that one speaker on all the time but i read it doesnt cost much to have it on as it just goes into standby mode.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Or buy a boost, and then you can move your speaker to any room or position you like, even take it into the garden on an extension lead ;O)
Best to leave all your sonos stuff on all the time.