Sonos Troubleshooting – How to Fix the Most Common Sonos Problems

Sonos speakers have become extremely popular due to their unique features. With fantastic sound quality and wireless interconnectivity, Sonos speakers offer a one of a kind musical experience.

But now and then, you might face some issues with your Sonos system, as is the case with many electronic devices. A lot of these issues are commonly faced by many users and can be fixed easily, but often people just don’t know how to fix their Sonos not working.

That is why we have put together a list of solutions for some of the most common Sonos problems so that you can find a quick fix for multiple issues all in one place.

Further reading: What is Sonos? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Wireless Sound System

Sonos Not Working: How To Fix

The reason Sonos speakers don’t work sometimes is because of a network loop. So let’s understand what a network loop is.

Sonos speakers can be directly connected to your router with an Ethernet cable, and they can also connect to each other through their own wireless signal, which is called Sonos Connect. Now take an example where you have three Sonos speakers – we’ll call them speakers 1, 2, and 3. Speakers 1 and 2 are connected to the router with an Ethernet cable, and all three speakers are also connected to each other through their own wireless connection.

Here, speakers 1 and 2 are receiving a signal from the router through a wired connection and from each other wirelessly. Speaker 3 is receiving two wireless signals from both speakers 1 and 2.

Such an intricate connection where the speakers are receiving signals from multiple connections will basically confuse the speakers, the same way we would get confused if three or more people were talking to us at once. Such an issue is called a network loop, and that’s the reason your Sonos speaker could stop working.

The Solution

Once you understand that the input of multiple signals causes the network loop, the obvious solution is to ensure that each speaker is only receiving a signal from a single source, either a wired signal from the router or a wireless signal from other Sonos speakers. So to fix a network loop, you have two possible solutions:

• Only connect one Sonos speaker to the router with an Ethernet cable. Then turn on the wifi from that speaker so that it sends a wireless connection to all other speakers.

Or,

• If you have wired in more than one speaker to the router, then turn on the wifi in just one wired speaker and keep the wifi off on the rest. That way, other wirelessly connected speakers will receive a wireless signal from only one speaker so there won’t be any network loop.

Sonos Not Connecting To Wifi: How To Fix

Sometimes, the Sonos app or Sonos speakers may not connect to your wifi, which is a common problem. There can be different factors that cause this issue, so we’ll list out various solutions based on what could be causing the problem.

The Solution

• Make sure your router supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz connections. Sonos system needs a 2.4 GHz wireless connection, so if you’re using a router that only has offers a 5 GHz network, then you can only connect Sonos speakers with a wired connection, or you have to get a new router with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network.
• Make sure you are not connecting to a Guest wifi network or your phone’s mobile hotspot as Sonos systems won’t work on those wireless connections.
• If you are using VPN, it can cause connectivity issues on Sonos systems, so turn off the VPN and try connecting again.
• The problem could also be with your wifi and not the speakers, so connect your phone or laptop to the wifi and see that it is working fine in the first place.
• Wifi connection problems can also occur if you have recently changed your router settings or installed a new router. In that case, you need to reconnect your Sonos system to the router. Go to the Sonos App, and if it’s showing ‘Unable to connect to Sonos’, then there will be an option that says ‘Learn More’. Click on that, and you’ll see the next option saying ‘Changed router or wifi settings?’ which will then guide you through the steps to reconnect your Sonos system to the router.

Sonos not Connecting to Spotify: How to Fix

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services, and it can be quite annoying when your Sonos speakers sometimes cannot connect to Spotify. Not to worry, as there are different things you can try to fix this issue.

The Solution

• First of all, make sure that both the Sonos and Spotify apps are updated to the latest version.
• Reboot your router and try connecting to Spotify again.
• If rebooting the router doesn’t work, go for an entire system reboot. To do so, you need to disconnect and unplug all speakers, reboot your router again, then plug-in and connect the speakers back one by one.
• Also, remove Spotify service from your Sonos app, close the app, then open it and add Spotify service back again.
• Based on what’s causing the issue, it may be fixed by just one of these steps, or you might have to execute all the above steps.

See more: Can You Play Spotify Through Sonos?

Sonos not Playing Music: How to Fix

One common issue with Sonos systems is that sometimes it doesn’t play the music. The app might not be able to play the music at all, or you may be able to play but either get no sound or experience the disturbance like the sound breaking up in between.

The Solution

• If the issue is caused by some changes in the system, a complete reboot will fix the problem. As we mentioned before, fully reboot the system by unplugging all speakers, rebooting the router, then plugging in and connecting the speakers one by one again.
• Another reason for this issue could be wifi interference caused by devices like a microwave, video cameras, and even fluorescent lights. In that case, the solution is to move your speakers away from such devices and place them somewhere else.

Sonos not Working After Update: How to Fix

Another common issue that you can face with Sonos speakers is that they might not work immediately after an update. This problem is actually caused by your router and not the Sonos system. After the update, the router assigns a new IP address to the speakers, which causes problems with the connection.

Now we could go into the details of how IP addresses work between routers and Sonos speakers, but that’s a bit outside the scope of this post. Just know this – the IP address assigned by your router to the speakers is what helps the router identify and connect to the speakers. But when a new IP address is assigned after an update, the speakers are not recognized by the router.

The Solution

Once again, a full reboot of the router and the Sonos system will get everything working correctly. But this is a temporary solution, as you’d probably face the same problem with the next update. So the permanent solution is to assign a static or reserved IP address for all devices connected to the router. Assigning a dedicated IP address means that you’re changing the router’s setting and telling it always to assign the same IP address to all connected devices so that they can always be identified easily by the router.

Even if you don’t know much about computer networks and have no idea how to assign a reserved IP address, there’s no need to worry. All you need is to spend a few minutes browsing your router’s manual carefully. The entire process of assigning static IP addresses on your router’s settings will be explained with simple instructions on the router’s manual.

Sonos Speaker Not Showing Up: How to Fix

One day, you open the Sonos app and find that one or more of your connected speakers are no longer showing up on the app. It’s frustrating when that happens and is a common problem many Sonos users have faced, but there’s also a simple solution for it.

The Solution

• Your speaker(s) might have lost power, which is why it doesn’t show up. Check the speaker’s power cable and if it has come loose, then connect it firmly and also check the status light to confirm it’s plugged back in. It should then show up on the app.
• If loss of power isn’t the cause, try rebooting your router and then check the app to see if the speaker shows up. If it still doesn’t, then reboot the speaker by unplugging it and plugging it back again after five to ten seconds. The speaker will either show up on the app just fine, or it will emit a green status light, which means you will have to set it up and add it to the app again.

Sonos System was Not Found: How to Fix

Sometimes, you will get the message ‘Your Sonos system was not found’ when connecting the speakers on the Sonos app. This problem is mostly caused by connection issues between the Sonos app, speakers, and the wifi network.

The Solution

• Since connectivity problems are the most probable cause of this issue, try all the solutions we mentioned above in the section for Sonos not Connecting to wifi: How to Fix to re-establish the wifi connection.
• And as with most issues, also try the standard solution of rebooting your speakers and router.

Sonos No Sound from TV: How to Fix

Sonos speakers work great with your TV, and the Playbar is specially designed to deliver high quality, rich, and immersive audio from televisions. When you have Sonos speakers connected to your TV, sometimes they may not play the audio. Here’s how you can fix the issue of not getting audio from TV through Sonos speakers.

The Solution

• Check the optical cable that connects your TV to the Sonos speaker to make sure it is connected properly.
• Set your TV’s audio settings to Dolby Digital, as that is the only format the Sonos speakers support.
• Also, set your TV’s audio output to external speakers and not its internal speakers.

Sonos Not Working with Alexa: How to Fix

The feature of Sonos speakers to integrate with Amazon Alexa makes it so much more convenient to control the Sonos system with voice commands. But sometimes, you may encounter an issue where Alexa stops working with your Sonos system.

The Solution

If your Sonos speaker is voice-enabled, then you follow these steps:

• Go to the Alexa app, then head over to the Skill and Games option and disable the Sonos skill.
• Log in to the Amazon website with your account and deregister the Sonos speaker.
• In the Sonos app, click on Settings, then Services, and go to the Voice option. Your list of speakers will be displayed, so choose the voice-enabled speaker you are using and then click on Remove Alexa.
• Now log out your Amazon account from all Amazon apps on your phone.
• After you’ve done all this, your speaker will be disconnected entirely from Alexa. Now set up Alexa with your speaker from scratch, and it should work fine.

If your Sonos speaker is not voice-enabled and connects with Alexa through an Echo device, you just need to disable the Sonos skill from the Alexa app, deregister the Sonos speaker from the Amazon website, then enable the Sonos skill and register the speaker again.

Sonos Trueplay Not Working: How to Fix

Trueplay is genuinely an innovative feature of Sonos speakers for iOS devices, but many users often face issues when trying to tune and calibrate their device with Sonos Trueplay.

The Solution

• Try tuning another iOS device with Trueplay and see how it goes. If it works, then the problem is with your iOS device and the Sonos system.
• Close all background apps on your iOS device and disconnect them from Bluetooth devices before you start tuning it with Trueplay.
• Make sure that your phone’s case is not obstructing the microphone from hearing the Trueplay signal correctly.
• Make sure that the room is tranquil with no background noise to interrupt the tuning process.

Sonos Not Working with Netflix: How to Fix

The combination of Netflix and Sonos speakers is a perfect audio-visual treat. Netflix is home to thousands of movies and series, and Sonos speakers deliver fantastic audio when watching Netflix. But the experience can sometimes be ruined when Sonos doesn’t work with Netflix. The good thing is that it doesn’t take much to solve this issue.

The Solution

• First of all, make sure that the connection between your TV and Sonos speakers is set adequately by following the same solutions as in the Sonos No Sound from TV: How to Fix
• Also, make sure that audio settings on the Netflix app are also set to Dolby Digital.
• Some of Netflix’s content may not be available in Dolby Digital format, so you need to put the audio settings to Stereo for such content.

See more: Can I Play Netflix On Sonos

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Sonos Issues and Troubleshooting

Why Are My Sonos Speakers Not Connecting To Wifi?

Your Sonos speakers are not connecting to wifi probably because your router only offers 5 GHz network, while Sonos systems can only connect to a 2.4 GHz network. Either connect the speakers to the router with an Ethernet cable or get a new router with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks.

What Audio Formats Do Sonos Speakers Support For TV Audio Output?

When you’re connecting Sonos speakers to TV, only Dolby Digital audio format will be supported by the speakers.

Why Does The Sound Keep Breaking Up When I Play Music On Sonos?

If your Sonos speaker’s audio is breaking up, it implies that a nearby device like a microphone or video camera is interrupting the signal by causing wifi interference. Either move away from the speaker or the device causing the interference.

How Can I Watch Netflix With Sonos?

Watching Netflix with Sonos depends on what device you are watching Netflix on. If it’s an Android device, just set the phone’s audio to play from Sonos speakers through the Sonos app. If you’re watching Netflix on iPhones, you can stream the audio to Sonos speakers with AirPlay 2 feature. If watching on TV, just connect the TV with Sonos speaker using an optical cable and set the audio settings to external speakers.

How to Reset Sonos Speakers?

To troubleshoot some of the common Sonos problems, you might need to reset the Sonos speakers. If you don’t know how it’s done, here are the steps to resetting different Sonos speakers.

• Unplug the Sonos speaker from the power outlet.
• For the next step, you need to press the reset button, which varies for different Sonos products. The new style Join button works as the reset button for Beam, One, Playbase, 2^nd Gen Play:5, Boost, Port, and Amp. For the Play:1, Play:3, 1^st Gen Play:5, and Playbar, the Play/Pause button serves as the reset button. For Connect and Connect: Amp, it’s the Mute button, and for the Bridge and Sub, it’s the old style Join button.
• Based on the Sonos product, press the appropriate reset button. Now plug the power cord in a while, still keeping the reset button pressed.
• Once you see orange and white flashing lights, release the reset button.
• Finally, the light will turn green, which indicates that the Sonos speaker has been reset successfully.

Conclusion

Sonos speakers are surely one of the best Hi-Fi speakers in the market and are used by thousands of people.

But despite being high-quality products, the complex nature of interconnected devices, as well as your own wifi and router issues, can lead to some common problems with Sonos devices and Sonos not working.

But don’t let that ruin your audio experience, as you can easily fix most of these problems quickly with the solutions we have listed above.

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