Question

Wi-Fi connection problems

  • 5 February 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 556 views

I purchased my first Sonos speaker, Play: 5. I plugged it into the router and followed set up instructions. Entered my wi-fi network and password. Received message that Sonos was now connected to my network. Played music. As soon as I unplugged the speaker from router, the speaker tried to connect and could not. I have tried all suggested fixes. Restarting router, Advanced Setup, nothing works. The speaker will not connect and play music unless it is plugged into router.

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4 replies

Userlevel 5
Badge +10
ummmm... well. That isn't right. Let's see if we can figure out what is happening...

Welcome to the Sonos Addiction... I mean.. community. :)

Is there any chance that you inadvertently "lied" to the system and entered incorrect credentials for your network?

Perhaps update these again when the device is physically connected to the router.

I'm assuming you've tried connecting in various locations and that it isn't simply that the wifi noise/signal, etc is poor where you placed it...?

Do you "see" the device in the controller when the Play 5 is trying to be used via wifi?
Also, if you wired the speaker to start with you should have gone through the steps for a "Boost" set up and then gone into Settings, Advanced Settings, Wireless Setup and followed the steps there, so as to switch from Boost to standard mode. OR you should have not wired it at all and followed the steps for a "standard" setup. It sounds like you may have done something in between, like wiring it and then doing a standard setup to enter the credentials. Note that wiring ANY Sonos component from outset requires Boost setup, it doesn't have to be a Sonos Boost device.

Please can you tell us what you did? Please see this link:

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3046/~/choosing-between-a-standard-and-boost-setup

You are probably best now factory resetting the speaker and starting again:
https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1107/~/factory-resetting-a-sonos-product
Upon the initial set up out of the box, I used Standard Setup. I followed all steps, but when I got to the wi-fi set up, it would not connect. I tried all fixes but did not use the Boost set up. When I eventually connected to the Ethernet, I successfully connected to the network. I just tried to connect again. In a room 30 feet from router with no walls inbetween, there is no connection. When I plug the speaker in 8 feet from my router, I am able to connect. Obviously, this is a signal or wi-fi range issue, but this is disappointing. I would expect Sonos to be able to connect just as well as my other devices including my smart TV which is also 30 feet away from router. If I must purchase a Boost, will this dramatically improve the range? I would like to put a speaker in the basement, but I'm concerned that several walls and a greater distance will make connecting to wi-fi impossible given the current range of 8 feet for my Play: 5.
Userlevel 5
Badge +10
Have you considered using an app that will allow you to display wifi networks in your immediate area and the channels they are on? I use one on my Mac that allows me to see the relative signal strength of neighbour's networks and the channel they are on.

Sonos products, in my experience, seem to have pretty good wifi radios, but are sensitive to lots of noise/congestion given they can't effectively play with latency issues..

You could then go into your router and tell it what channel it should use (don't let it auto select).

A Boost, or in fact plugging in ANY Sonos device, will enable the "Boost setup" which means the Sonos devices create their own mesh wifi network and take load off your router. You can then set the Mesh network to use a different wifi channel than the router.

For a single device, I'd find an app that tells you some information about your neighbouring networks and noise and then assign the router to use a network that has few and low strength networks on or around it.