Will a powerline adapter help?

  • 30 May 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 800 views

Hi
Sometime Im noticing that the music in my kitchen seems unable to connect (or some such error) and will skip to the next song.
I have two Sonos Play 1s in there and the router is a bit away from them.
They're both connecting wirelessly.

Would a powerline adapter help?
I was thinking the wireless connection might not be great so to connect an Ethernet cable via powerline to the left speaker.

As I've two (left and right pair) will it just make the left one better?
Would the left communicate wirelessly with the right in this scenario or will the right always try to connect wirelessly to the router?

Thanks
P

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4 replies

Userlevel 4
Badge +6
I don't think Sonos recommend them. I have a recent model that I can use with my Playbase. It has two outlets one I use for my TV. If you like I can plug my Playbase into it as well and see how it performs. Might take a couple of days to get a good idea though.
Userlevel 4
Badge +6
I meant to say also do the recommended trouble shooting. The help pages may be useful. Check for interference for instance.
Userlevel 7
Badge +20
@pmwhelan Powerline adaptors can work well, but are quite dependent on the quality of your electrical wiring among other factors, and I understand they are not officially supported by Sonos.

I use powerline adaptors to serve the PLAY:5 stereo pair in my kitchen. One of the speakers is wired, and connects wirelessly to the other using SonosNet. It works very well.

If the PLAY:1 that you connect to the Powerline adaptor is the first Sonos device in your system that you connect wired, it will automatically switch your whole Sonos system from Standard (WiFi) mode into BOOST (SonosNet) mode. This will not be a problem if the two PLAY:1s are your only Sonos devices, but if you have other devices it will change how they communicate and may cause problems. Essentially, any one wired device will cause the switch to SonosNet.

See https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3235 for discussion of the different networking modes.
Userlevel 4
Badge +6
Haven't had time to test it much but seems to work OK connected to the Playbase. If your problem is weak wifi in the kitchen perhaps it will cause issues with your other devices when it switches to sonosnet.