Line in problem - sound cutting out intermittently


I've seen this question a few times, but cannot find a solution and would like my system checked out. I have a Connect, SUB, and three PLAY:5's. The system is set up to have 3 groups, and I run them connected to one another 90% of the time. I have no issues with the services or other inputs, however, my TV and streaming inputs are a hit-or-miss thing. When I last moved, I upgraded my internet signal and speed to be at 100mbps and I have connected the CONNECT with ethernet directly to the modem/router, so that shouldn't be an issue. I have line in coming from either the TV or from the cable box. In both cases, every once in a while, I get a garbled/cutting out of the sound. It recovers, but it is extremely annoying. I have to keep it on Automatic to have a decent watching experience, as if i change compression, the lip sync is terrible. I sent some diagnostics to the support team and have usage data on, so im hoping you can see that information and make an assessment. my last diagnosis send was confirmation number 4663215. I've tried using wireless with the connect, using different AV wires, plugging into PLAY:5s directly and bypassing the CONNECT, changing wireless channels (although if there's a trick to this specifically based on my new wireless system, and even using a separate receiver! ( please check the wireless signals? out) and multiple input sources. In my old place, I gave up on it. I thought I had it hooked up in a way to be able to enjoy it, and it works most of the time, but now has begun clipping and dropping all the time and I have to turn it off until I get it fixed because it is so frustrating. Please let me know if there's something im missing or if I need to sell the CONNECT and get a playbar, or whatever the best solution would be. I just want to be able to watch cable or ROKU without the sound dropping. Love these products, but this one problem is a big bear.

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.

69 replies

Userlevel 4
Badge +3
A channel change can often help, if there was lots of traffic on the previous one. I'm a little surprised it made a big improvement in your case but if it works, then great! Regarding the PLAYBAR; really it's just an optical connection into it. The only way to get it working with that TV would be to use some kind of converter such as HDMI to optical or RCA to optical. These are not officially supported but have often worked for many customers.
Thanks Tom. Appreciate the help.
@dakotalazenby - Welcome to the Community! Sorry you're having trouble with the CONNECT. It sounds like submitting a diagnostic report would be great, especially while we are passing PS4 audio through the TV.

I'd also check the audio from the headphone jack on the back of the TV while passing PS4 audio through the TV as well. We want to check the full signal flow at every possible break point.

Thanks in advance.


After a month and a half of being out of the country, I finally had the time to sit and watch a movie today. The problem I was experiencing before I left it seems I am still having. The Connect will sporadically cut out all sound. Please see the topology diagram and descriptions from previous messages for details.

I have Line in turned up to 10 as suggested in other people's comments.

I also submitted diagnostic: 7666701

I submitted it today during the movie. It seemed that the sound most frequently cut out after the movie was loud for a bit and then after reaching a quiet part the sound would die. Sometimes it would recover on its own, sometimes you had to go to the app and hit play on line in. Could it be something with the Connect device measuring input amplitude to determine whether it is playing or not and cutting off due to low amplitude input?
For what it's worth, I had the same issue for the longest. And my home wifi is solid. I decided to try installing the Sonos Boost just to give it a whirl and it's solved nearly all my issues. I still experience it once in a long while but for the most part it's eliminated the issue for me. It would occur daily for me before.
Badge +1
Hi

I experience this problem also for a long time. I read the whole thread and it looks to me that for some it was a problem with wifi. But for some others it ONLY happens when using Line-IN. And some it did work a few months/years ago without any problem.

I tried all the difference solutions mentioned here and it Line-IN still doesn't work properly for me. I have everything wireless and did tests with all sonos wired. But it doesn't work here. So I expect for me it is not a wireless problem.

I find these answers interesting where sonos obviously mentioned this: "The info I got from Sonos support is that after V7 and Spotify connect, the system uses more CPU-power. "

The strange thing I have is that it sometimes does work really well and then it changes within minutes to really bad.

My Diagnostics number is: 7720133

Thank you for your help.

Beat
Badge +1
My Diagnostics Number during the problem did happen: 7720634

thank you for your help
Just looking for an update from Sonos on this. It is really annoying that the sound cuts out randomly and for varying amounts of time during movies and games. It is doubly annoying that I was out of the country for the majority of my "return period" and now I am stuck with a seemingly defective device... unless it is something with their automatic input amplitude monitoring algorithms that turn the device on automatically when it detects sound on line in, I don't know WHY it would intermittently STOP patching sound through from line in to line out...
Well, here's another diagnostic... just in case the old one I posted has expired by now. Same issue, same device, now well outside my return period.

It's a good thing the other speakers work so well, because this Sonos connect issue is really getting under my skin.

Diagnostic: 7900208
I had a problem playing with music cutting out intermittently from the line-in. I am running a gigabit network, so I would have thought that all my cabled devices would have had plenty of bandwidth, but that was not the case. I tried changing the SonosNet channel, but that made no noticeable improvement. Compression greatly helped with the issue, but then the music lagged behind the original source connected to the input. After a fantastic call with Brae at Sonos we determined that my Netgear GS108T managed switch disables BPDU Flooding by default. We enabled that and the issue completely went away. I'm not sure how many of you out there have managed switches, but I hope this helps someone since I would have never figured this out without help from Sonos tech support.
Userlevel 7
Badge +19
dakotalazenby: Thank you so much for your patience, while we get caught up here in the Community. I was able to take a look at the diagnostic from the 30th of September, and you may be hitting on something about the signal the CONNECT is receiving. Based on the diagnostic sent, I can see that the CONNECT is detecting the sound to be WAV, shortly after it detects silence and will auto-stop. This lines up with you are experiencing. If you try plugging in a different audio source (such as your mobile phone or CD player) to the CONNECT, do the issues persist? We essentially want to nail down what side of the CONNECT is having the problem.
Hi, unfortunately same problem here.

I use Connect with line-in and stream it to Play:1 (same room). Sound randomly drops out on both devices. Sometimes together, sometimes only Play:1. Tried different audio cables, sources, setting Line-in source level to 10 with no luck.

Even worse is the second scenario. Streaming sound from TV using Playbar to Play:1 and Connect. Same behaviour - sound drops out every 10-20 seconds.

I have also Play:5-2 and it's behaviour is same and it doesn't matter if it's in the same or next room.

I have to say that using Spotify or playing file from NAS works great on all devices. No lag, perfectly synced without any error. But Line-in in Play:5-2, Connect and Playbar (counting optical cable like line-in) doesn't work 😞 So bad, just bought it 2 weeks ago :@

I have submitted diagnostic (TV streams to all devices): #7974035
Thx
Userlevel 7
Badge +19
Apther: Thanks for reaching out and for the diagnostic. I was able to take a closer look and noticed that your system has a few things we may want to take a look at. For instance, the PLAYBAR is dropping about 25-33% of the data it should be transmitting to the router. This can be due a few things like the wireless environment or what is physically between the two endpoints. Not to mention a few DNS errors, it may be best if you are able to give us a call and have a technician look at this with you over the phone in real time. We can set up a remote session to get some eyes on your local network and see what is going on. Our contact information can be found here.
Keith N,

Thanks for looking into the problem. After being away from home for a while again, I finally managed to have enough time to run the test you requested, plugging up another devive into the CONNECT. Two things:
(1) I have tried a new TV (Sony Bravia 900 4K) and it suffers the same problem. The CONNECT occasionally (5-20minute cycle) drops the sound.
(2) I tried unplugging the headphone plug from the TV and plugging it into my phone. The rest of the setup remained unchanged except the source. The system ran fine like this through 1.5 full albums played through my phone using the iPhone music app. The iPhone was sending the music into the CONNECT and the CONNECT was able to stream the music to every other Sonos device in the house without dropping the sound.

The afterword: Immediately after I played over 1 hour of music on the CONNECT using my phone, I switched the headphone plug back to the Sony Bravia and within minutes the sound cut out. So I generated a Diagnostic.

The Diagnostic is: 8199617

Since that Diagnostic (30-45 minutes ago) the sound has come and gone 4-5 more times. It seems like when the sound cuts out, you can go to the Sonos controller on the iPhone and press play and most of the time the sound will come back, but even then sometimes the controller app doesn’t always bring the sound back. Sometimes, if you leave it long enough, it will recover on its own without using the app. During the last 30-45 minutes it has recovered with no intervention once, and it has been started up using the app the remainder of the instances.
I have the same issue

1 play 5 2 gen. Connected to the tv via Line-in.

Have 2 play 1's paired in stereo, and the right Channel speaker drops out randomly. VERY anoying.

My dignostic nr is 6995841



I've the same problem since I've a stereo paire....work perfectly with music...don't work with line in / Tv

Help me please! Thx

El Chup
Same here.
Streaming move sound from Apple TV via airplay on airport express which is plugged in line-in input on connect apm.
Sound disappears when I am switching between applications on apple tv and some time while I am watching movie.
Diagnostic report # 8390369
And here one more diagnostic report where sound breaks in the middle of the streaming: 8390436
Any one have update on this issue, I am Experiencing same problem, with 2 stereo Play 3 and a connect line in to the TV Samsung UE48JU6400
I tried Line 10, Channel 1 6 10, ethernet...

Same issue.
Badge +1
This is happening to me too. New CONNECT. New BOOST. I've tried channels 11, 6, and 1. I've changed the level to 10. I've done factory resets and turned everything off and on. The record player is going into the CONNECT and stuttering so bad it's unlistenable. Kind of feels like spending $450 on the CONNECT and BOOST is just a waste if they aren't going to work. Any other ideas on how to solve this issue?
I'd recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of replicating this issue, and contact Sonos to discuss it. There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.