Question

Sonos Move - existing sonosnet

  • 10 September 2019
  • 18 replies
  • 6478 views

Userlevel 1
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Hello,

I understood from several messages that the Sonos Moce will not be incorporated in the Sonosnet mesh network and if I continue using the sonosnet basically will not be able to included the move in groups and plkay synchronized music.

I have an existing network with 10 + speakers, consisting of play 1 One, play 3 play 5 (1ste and 2nd gen) beam and sub, .
Till now the clear message was that for such qty of speakers the only good option was the Sonosnet.

My network is build up from with ubiquiti material (USG / managed switches & 2 accesspoints)

Basically buying a Move would push me from the Sonosnet to wifi, will this setup be as stable as the sonosnet ?

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18 replies

Userlevel 7
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I don't think this is correct. You can have some of your speakers on SonosNet and the Move on WiFi, and they'll work together as normal.
I understood from several messages that the Sonos Moce will not be incorporated in the Sonosnet mesh network and if I continue using the sonosnet basically will not be able to included the move in groups and plkay synchronized music.
That's incorrect. Unless it's in Bluetooth mode (when it would be operating standalone) the Move would be able to join groups just like any other Sonos player.

The fact that it uses WiFi when the rest of the devices are on SonosNet merely puts the system into 'mixed mode'. WiFi is just another connection method, like SonosNet or Ethernet. The Move would still be part of the same IP subnet.
Userlevel 1
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Hello Ratty & pwt

Thank you for the clarification.
At the moment I have here a setup where a play 5, a play 3 and a beam + 2 x play 1 + sub are used for 80% in 1 group, 1 open area so any out of sync between speakers is noted fast. I would exchange the play 3 with the Move or simply add the Move, depending on sound experience.

1) Will this mixed mode network be able to give the same experience ?
2) how about multicast, now I have 1 wired connection from my network to the boost and all speakers connected via Sonosnet, will this mixed mode not generate an extra stress on the network ?

Koen
Userlevel 7
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I run in mixed mode in my garage and cabin and it syncs with the house speakers(on Sonosnet) perfectly. The only issue i sometimes get is a failed update but that normally works on a second attempt.
1) Will this mixed mode network be able to give the same experience ?
I don't see why not, assuming your WiFi coverage is up to scratch.

2) how about multicast, now I have 1 wired connection from my network to the boost and all speakers connected via Sonosnet, will this mixed mode not generate an extra stress on the network ?

I doubt it would make much difference. The amount of additional stress on SonosNet caused by the addition of a WiFi-based group member ought to be minimal.

(I've no idea what might happen if the Move was the first 'room' in the group, since in theory it ought to become the 'group coordinator' serving traffic to the other group members. Sonos staff might like to comment.)
Userlevel 1
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Thank you for all the feedback, I was not aware of this mixed mode.
Time to think about pre-ordering the Move
Userlevel 1

Actually, this little “feature” (rather a bug to me) is not mentioned anywhere. So, I bought a new Move under the assumption I would be able to add it to my existing SonosNet, consisting of 10+ speakers. Half of those speakers are hard-wired and all of them are in a separate subnet. I don’t have a WiFi access to this subnet for many reasons, security being one of them. Also, I don’t want to add Move to my main protected WiFi network, also for security reasons. And even if I do, Move won’t be able to see the rest of speakers in SonosNet. What a bummer!

 

Actually, this little “feature” (rather a bug to me) is not mentioned anywhere. So, I bought a new Move under the assumption I would be able to add it to my existing SonosNet, consisting of 10+ speakers. Half of those speakers are hard-wired and all of them are in a separate subnet. I don’t have a WiFi access to this subnet for many reasons, security being one of them. Also, I don’t want to add Move to my main protected WiFi network, also for security reasons. And even if I do, Move won’t be able to see the rest of speakers in SonosNet. What a bummer!

 

 

It’s not a bug, it’s by design. All Sonosnet capable speakers need to be unplugged to be moved anything other than a short 3’ distance.  When they are plugged back in, they go through a setup sequence during which the Sonosnet mesh is recalibrated to account for the new location.  They will not play until this sequence is complete.  On the other hand, the Move is able to be moved long distances without powering down, and while playing music.  This means it would have to recalibrate the mesh constantly, on the fly, which is not practical and would lead to dropouts in the music.   This is why the Move was designed to be WiFi only.  

Userlevel 1

It’s not a bug, it’s by design. All Sonosnet capable speakers need to be unplugged to be moved anything other than a short 3’ distance.  When they are plugged back in, they go through a setup sequence during which the Sonosnet mesh is recalibrated to account for the new location.  They will not play until this sequence is complete.  On the other hand, the Move is able to be moved long distances without powering down and while playing music.  This means is would have to recalibrate the mesh constantly, on the fly, which is not practical and would lead to dropouts in the music.   This is why the Move was designed to be WiFi only.  

 

I realize it’s not a bug, but a technical limitation. But it is a deal breaker for me! And it is not mentioned anywhere in the marketing materials for the product. So, I now need to return it for refund, as I can’t really use it w/o compromising my setup… A technical limitation of a major functionality that is not disclosed - if I knew about it upfront, I wouldn’t have spent $400!

 

 

I realize it’s not a bug, but a technical limitation. But it is a deal breaker for me! And it is not mentioned anywhere in the marketing materials for the product. So, I now need to return it for refund, as I can’t really use it w/o compromising my setup… A technical limitation of a major functionality that is not disclosed - if I knew about it upfront, I wouldn’t have spent $400!

 

You have a decidedly unique environment.  For 99.9% of the installs out there, the Move’s WiFi vs Wired setup issues would be transparent to the user and therefore not a “technical limitation”.  I imagine that is why the “limitation” is not prominently disclosed.  

 

You have a decidedly unique environment.  

Sufficiently unique as to not meet the system requirements, which include “WiFi router”. 

Userlevel 1

You have a decidedly unique environment.  For 99.9% of the installs out there, the Move’s WiFi vs Wired setup issues would be transparent to the user and therefore not a “technical limitation”.  I imagine that is why the “limitation” is not prominently disclosed.  

 

While it’s not a very common setup, you’d be surprised how many people are moving into this direction of segregating insecure IoT devices into own isolated networks… So, I wouldn’t call it 0.1%, but more like 1-2% :)

 

Userlevel 1

You have a decidedly unique environment.  

Sufficiently unique as to not meet the system requirements, which include “WiFi router”. 

Plenty of people have WiFi APs instead of routers. I’m pretty sure system requirements for all Sonos products call for some sort of WiFi access. I have 4 separate WiFi APs serving multiple networks and 10+ existing Sonos products working perfectly fine with this setup. Where in the linked page does it say that Move is different from the rest of Sonos products?

 

 

While it’s not a very common setup, you’d be surprised how many people are moving into this direction of segregating insecure IoT devices into own isolated networks… So, I wouldn’t call it 0.1%, but more like 1-2% :)

 

 

Regardless, as ratty stated, it is outside the specified requirements.  Here’s hoping that after a long rest up, and packing of emergency supplies for the journey, your trip to the store/shipping drop off to return the item, while although perilous, will not be very life threatening. 

 

Userlevel 1

 

Regardless, as ratty stated, it is outside the specified requirements.  Here’s hoping that after a long rest up, and packing of emergency supplies for the journey, your trip to the store/shipping drop off to return the item, while although perilous, will not be very life threatening. 

 

Yeah, thanks for the snarky remark - it’s very helpful! :)

 

It really isn't realistic to expect Sonos to mention this in marketing material when it would be irrelevant, baffling and unnecessarily off-putting to the vast, and I mean VAST, majority of potential customers.  ('Can't connect to SonosNet? What does that mean? Does that matter?'). 

You have a decidedly unique environment.  

Sufficiently unique as to not meet the system requirements, which include “WiFi router”. 

Plenty of people have WiFi APs instead of routers. I’m pretty sure system requirements for all Sonos products call for some sort of WiFi access. I have 4 separate WiFi APs serving multiple networks and 10+ existing Sonos products working perfectly fine with this setup. Where in the linked page does it say that Move is different from the rest of Sonos products?

 

A WiFi "router" is of course a basket of functions, including gateway, NAT, DHCP server, DNS forwarder, switch, access point and so forth. If the same functions can be provided by multiple devices then all well and good.

 

The Move page on the Sonos site, entitled "Move: A Portable WiFi + Bluetooth Speaker" also says:

"WiFi at home, Bluetooth everywhere else

Stream over WiFi and connect Move to the rest of your Sonos system at home. Switch to Bluetooth when you're away and offline."

Certainly good to see Sonos making a careful distinction betwen wireless and WiFi. Perhaps at some point they will deal with that enable / disable WiFi setting in the app.