Sonos is behind some of the best multi-room speakers on the market, but that doesn’t mean you won’t encounter any problems using them. Here’s a guide to some of the most common Sonos problems and how to fix them.
There’s a handful of ways to set your Sonos up, including using an Ethernet cable and using a Sonos Boost. If you’re looking to set your speaker up using Wi-Fi, you’ll want to use Standard Setup.
These steps will work whether you are hooking your Sonos up to the internet for the first time, replacing your router with a new one or have fiddled with your network settings and need help reconnecting to the speaker.
To use Standard Setup:
For a more in-depth guide to opening up your brand new Sonos, check out our Sonos Setup Guide.
Unlike most traditional Bluetooth-connecting speakers, Sonos operates over your home internet network. There are a lot of easy fixes to ensure your speaker and router stay working harmoniously.
Before you go any further, make sure the device you want to stream music from is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your speaker. If you’ve connected to a different network, you’ll need to go back and set your speaker up again.
If you’d rather not deal with Wi-Fi at all, you can always connect the speaker to your router using an Ethernet cable. This isn’t an ideal solution but it’s a decent quick fix if you’re throwing a party and don’t have time to work on the issue right now.
If you’re looking to plant Sonos speakers in the furthest reaches of your home but you aren’t sure your Wi-Fi is up to scratch, you’ll probably want to pick up a Sonos Boost.
When you connect a Sonos Boost to your router, all of the other devices in your house will continue to connect to your router as usual except for your Sonos products which will be redirected to the Boost on a dedicated wireless network. If you’ve splashed out for more than one speaker, your Boost will actually daisy chain the wireless signal from one device to the next. This can significantly improve the signal quality – especially in larger homes.
Read our review of the Sonos Play 1
When you set up a Sonos speaker in your home, it should automatically receive an IP address from your router. However, some routers have an advanced setting that stops the router from giving your Sonos an IP address until it has been manually approved.
To fix this issue, you’ll need to add your speaker’s MAC address to the list in your router’s settings. You can find the MAC address on the bottom of your speaker listed as the serial number. The method to add a new MAC address can differ depending on your router so you may need to check with your internet provider for instructions on how to add an IP address to your list.
If your audio keeps skipping, stopping or generally playing up, you could have an issue with wireless interference from other devices in your home. One way to reduce this interference is to switch the wireless channel that your Sonos system is using.
How to change the wireless channel in your Sonos setup:
Read our review of the Sonos Beam
One great thing about Sonos speakers is that if you buy two you can set them up to blast your favourite tunes in stereo. But what do you do if your speakers refuse to work together?
How to configure your speakers to act as your left and right ears:
The Play:3 and Play:5 can be positioned horizontally and vertically so you’ll want to make sure they’re in the same orientation if you plan on pairing them.
Then, if you’re using an iOS or Android device:
If you’re using the Sonos App on PC:
If you’re using the Sonos App on Mac:
Read our review of the Sonos One
The layout of your room and the positioning of your speaker can have a surprisingly big impact on the way you hear music.
Trueplay is Sonos answer to this tricky issue. Trueplay tunes your Sonos to fit the room you’re in. It works by using the mic in your iOS or Android device to measure how sound reflects off all of the surfaces and objects in your room. It will then tune your Sonos to match the environment, optimising the sound coming from the speaker.
To activate Trueplay:
Be sure to move around as much of the room as possible during the tuning process to cover the whole space. You’ll need to grant Sonos permission to use the microphone on your device for Trueplay to work so make sure you’ve agreed to that in your settings.
It is also a good idea to minimise background noise during the tuning process. Turn off any noisy appliances and try not to have a conversation while Trueplay does its thing. You might also want to remove the phone case from your handset if you’re worried about it getting in the way of your microphone and having an effect on the results.
If your computer or smartphone won’t allow you to play music files on your speaker, you may need to configure your firewall.
Sonos has made a handy list of firewalls, so choose yours and follow the instructions provided to configure your firewall to work with your speaker.
If you have a Sonos One or a Beam, you can use Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant to control your tunes hands-free.
How to set Alexa up on your Sonos One or Beam:
Check out our guide for more info on how to set Alexa up on your Sonos.
Music services such as Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Deezer, Audible and Apple Music are all supported by Sonos and Alexa in the UK. This means you can use Alexa’s voice commands to make basic playback commands including play, pause, volume, skip and mute without even opening the app.
How to add new a music service to your Sonos:
How to enable Alexa voice commands for a new music services:
Make sure you’re being specific enough with your commands. If you leave it at “Alexa, turn the volume up”, Alexa will only raise the volume on your Alexa device. If you say “Alexa, turn the volume up in the kitchen”, you’ll hear your music blasting from the Sonos speaker in your kitchen.
If you plan to sell your Sonos speaker, you’ll probably want to know how to reset it to factory settings. Resetting your Sonos will delete all of the data stored on the speaker and allow your Sonos system to be registered to a different email address so its the final step to take before shipping your speaker off to a new home.
To factory reset your Play:1, Play:3, Play:5 (gen 1), Connect, Connect:Amp or Playbar:
To factory reset your Sonos One, Play:5 (gen 2), Boost, Bridge, Sub, Playbase, Amp or Beam:
These are just some of the most common troubleshooting steps for Sonos speakers.
If you’re still having trouble with your speaker, it might be worth checking the status of the streaming service you use to see if its down for anyone else. Sonos also has its own support site where you can learn about other common issues and share tips and tricks for the popular sound system with the rest of the Sonos community.
