School me on SONOS and other home streaming systems

I seem to remember the workaround for this involving setting something up in the built-in iOS Home app but I’m not 100% sure of that, it was a while ago when I did it. I do find it a miracle that I eventually managed to build a working system that involved Sonos, Spotify, Alexa and Home all working in conjunction without falling over.

"Show Lock Screen Controls" is in preferences on android

Hmm, thx - looks like it is in iOS, too… it’s toggled on by default, but doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe I’ll restart or something

I've had the Sonos Roam for 6-8 months and have been super happy with the sound. Was a bit of a pain at the start as far as charging the battery and figuring out when and how often to do that; otherwise good.

Haven't used its exclusive programming much, but did enjoy David Byrne's monthly playlists (each on a different theme) and the Thom Yorke-curated channel of ambient things.

Amazon Ultra HD streamed thru this Sonos Five is pretty sick… even at low volume, it sounds like Billie Eilish is doing her whisper-drawl thing right here in the room. I’m really glad I got this thing!

having trouble with my volume (or possibly my hearing lol)

it all just seems much lower than it ordinarily has been -- all my remotes are currently set close to max and it doesn't seem especially loud. you used to be able to turn it way loud!

anyway is there a way to adjust or reset the scale so that "not especially loud" sits in the middle rather than at the outer extremity?

Have you turned the Volume Limit off?

is that "hardware volume control"? do i leave it off or adjust tv setting while it's off and turn it on again?

In my app, when I click into Settings -> System and then select my "Living Room" speaker under Products (I only have that one, but it looks like others would be displayed there if I had them), Volume Limit is an option under the Sound settings. I initially tried setting the volume limit at different levels; then ended up turning it off altogether.

ah ok

FWIW, the lockscreen controls have actually been working on my iPhone the past few days (not sure why, after not working for so long)... though occasionally I need to reset (unplug/replug) the speaker, because it loses connection with my phone somehow, refuses to play certain songs, or does other funky stuff.

i wondered abt just reinstalling the whole thing at factory setting -- if i can find the manual (physical or online) i will do just to see what happened

i have to turn the boom on and off again and restart the wifi every few weeks also

i'm also trying to get some out of the build-up out of my ears, it definitely isn't helping: is everyone allowed their own ear wax thread?

Apparently it's pronounced səʊnəʊs (as in 'so') not sɒnɒs (as in 'sot') according to the robot who answered when i rang up to complain that my new speaker had been delivered to bangalore not birmingham. I will never pronounce it that way.

the “inbox” feature in the ipad app is an incredibly annoying marketing gimmick
i don’t need fake notifications about you trying to sell me more stuff through the stuff i already bought

is there really no cheaper way to link a legacy vinyl hifi into a sonos ecosystem besides sonos port or amp ? nothing third party ?

You can use a Roam https://www.gearpatrol.com/tech/audio/a36877979/how-to-connect-bluetooth-turntable-sonos-roam/

nothing third party. it's a hardware company.

ok there's partnerships
https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/news/sonos/148285-what-is-works-with-sonos-and-which-devices-are-compatible?

Nothing third-party, no, unless you include a Raspberry Pi hack that turns the turntable output into a radio stream that you can tune into with Sonos. And Victrola just announced a turntable with built-in Sonos compatibility — for $800.

The best way to do it in my opinion is with a secondhand Sonos Connect (making sure it’s a 2015 or later model so it’ll run the current software). They’re readily available for around $180 but if you’re patient they come up on Facebook Marketplace for under $100 now and then.

I have two pre-2015 Sonos 1s and a vinyl hifi -> Sonos Connect. It has had hiccups now and then but has been recently very stable. I use the S1 app, works just fine

yeah, i am still Connect/S1 user.
had a weird hiccup the other day when my hi-fi amp and sonos connect both went 'POP' at the same time (i literally heard a click sound).
recycled my amp via its master switch,
waited for the connect to get reconnected to my network only to discover it had a cleared out library,
so had to do the re-index process.
have been concerned that it's a sign the connect is beginning to show its age,
but not had any other problems since that happened.
when it does die, then i am totally straight down to richer sounds to get a port.
dont think i could cope with all the various alternatives that are out there.
have done research, and for windoze users the sonos desktop app is still the only real option for a simple NAS drive collection like i have.

The app is rubbish. When it's working well it takes ages to connect to the system. Today it wasn't working well, it wouldn't connect and everything was greyed out. At first it claimed it was still connected to two of my three speakers but it couldn't find the third, eventually it admitted it couldn't find any of them. I had to turn them all off and on, then turn my router off and on as well. Finally after it was all working - a twenty minute process - it wanted to update one of the speakers and to do so it had to stop all the music playing.

Google voice control is also sub par to say the least. You can't use it to play in shuffle mode. I have to say "(play whatever) ON SONOS" even when I'm speaking to a sonos speaker, if I ask it to stop playing it says "you have to tell me which device" even though it's only playing on one device. It often thinks we're talking to it when we say my daughter's name or other random words.

The voice controlled house-wide celestial jukebox is a great idea in theory and pretty neat in practice when it works but when it doesn't I find myself longing for an old fashioned system.

I hate the app and never use it. I just have a Sonos Move, which is a somewhat big and heavy "portable" speaker that sounds reasonably good. I stream spotify direct from my iphone to the speaker, and do not use the app to do it.

Yeah I should do the same - except this time spotify couldn't see the speakers as it was borked at a more fundamental level. And we sometimes play the radio and, surprise, voice control stopped working for bbc 6 music after some update at the bbc end last year.

I use Alexa not Google, but don't get the problems you outline, Ledge. But have had the odd bit of jankiness that has led me to set the whole thing up from scratch once or twice (moving homes was involved, to be fair). The app is a bit rubbish for song choosing so I use Spotify for that. I like the fine volume control the Sonos app gives you though – "Alexa, volume up" often jumps far too much.

As for BBC, I found I can't reliably say "Alexa, stop" to stop it any more, but "Alexa, quit BBC" works. As does asking it to mute, but that's slightly different, I guess.

My app used to glitch out a lot, I'd have to reset the speaker/router etc., but it hasn't happened lately (cross fingers). I only have one speaker, though.

Did you see they just replaced the One with a new model: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/sonos-replaces-the-sonos-one-with-new-era-300-and-100-speakers/

I really like what I've read in the early takes of the Era 300 (both the sound and the line-in/Bluetooth capabilities).

I've come around on the app and prefer it to using spotify directly these days.

Press and hold on tracks to bring up menu is good

The app lost my speakers again. I went to the support chat bot and after some initial questions it wanted me to go through the same steps that the app recommends of turning off and on all the speakers and the router. 'fuck this' I typed'. 'Ok, redirecting!' said the bot and a live person appeared. They came up with some router settings to try, which I haven't done yet but it's a start!

What do you all think of the New Search function in the app?

Just had a look - as I only ever use it for searching spotify it's probably an improvement, switching tabs to search for songs/artists/albums was a pain.

Meh, it's fine but I like seeing a list of results aggregated by service.

You can still do that; there are now little buttons at the top to limit results by each service. I just wish it were faster!

Got me an open-box discount on one of the new Era 100s, which we're using to replace our OG Alexa. Sounds great!

Spotify generally seems better at finding the speakers than the app itself. Here's the advice they gave me, tailored for BT routers. Haven't actually tried any of the advanced stuff as it seemed to involve downgrading to older slower protocols.

Wireless Mode 2 (b/g/n) is recommended for station mode. BT's guide on this here.

- If is not possible to fix the wireless channel or to separate the 2.4Ghz and 5ghz Bands on the Smart Hub 2, you can perform a "rescan" against each of the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, within "advanced" - >"wireless"

-Opt out of BT Web protect help service:BT Web Protect You can turn off BT Web Protect by logging in to My BT and scrolling down to ‘Manage my extras’ and then selecting Turn Off in the ‘BT Web Protect’ panel within the 'Your included extras' page. It will take up to two hours for your service to be removed.

- If you have association issues, it may be worth toggling UPnP off then on and rebooting the router ( Advanced → Firewall → Configuration tab → Upnp On/Off

- Worth Turning off "Smart Setup" - > from the router home page → this can cause devices to have to "login" before getting an internet connection - Not necessary

My biggest gripe now is, once I used to be able to say 'Hey google play autechre'. Then that changed and I had to say 'Hey google play autechre on sonos'. Now I have to say 'Hey google play autechre on spotify on sonos in the living room'!

can you not define macros for these things?

My biggest Sonos gripe is that rewind and fast forward doesn't work on the BBC Sounds Alexa skill - even though it announces that it's doing it, it just goes back to the start of the bloody show. It works fine on Echo devices. No idea if it's the BBC's fault or Sonos's.

Is this voice control of Sounds via Alexa on a Sonos speaker?

And what are you saying to it?

Yes, that's it, Tracer. Using Alexa integration on the Sonos.

I'm listening to the most recent edition of a show on demand then say "Alexa, ask BBC to fast forward 10 minutes" and it replies "Going forward 10 minutes" and then the show restarts from the beginning.

Same happens with resume function. I go back to a show and it says "Would you like to resume the episode of Cerys Matthews from Sunday 9th July" or whatever and I say yes and it just starts the show from the start.

Not the only one with this issue

https://en.community.sonos.com/amazon-alexa-and-sonos-229102/bbc-alexa-skill-6851039

That's v helpful, thanks :)

:)

I'm told it's either Amazon or Sonos at fault but Amazon are now aware...

Thank you!

To be honest I'm amazed that this elaborate fusion of iOS, Sonos, Amazon and fourth (fifth?) parties like the BBC or Spotify works at all. So many layers!

FWIW there is a Sonos "controller app" for BBC Sounds though you're probably aware of that..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-on-a-smart-speaker/sonos

Thanks Tracer. I do have BBC Sounds added to the Sonos app but don't use it much as I find it easier just to use the BBC's own app and then Airplay it. But experimenting with it again, I've found that if I've started listening via Alexa, it does remember where I was if I resume via the Sonos app, and once I've resumed via that route, Alexa voice commands to rewind and FF magically do start working. Something about passing through the app seems to set the whole thing right. Not ideal but good to know until it's properly fixed.