Sonos is a multiroom sound system brand known for its state-of-the-art wireless cum smart speakers.
Sonos has a range of wireless speakers, some support Bluetooth while others do not. If you ask – can other wireless speakers connect to your Sonos system? The direct answer will be NO. But there is always a workaround.
A solution that is farfetched and a process with a bit of terms and conditions. Let’s figure out the steps as we move forward. For this, it is important to know the Sonos speakers that support Bluetooth.
Further reading: What is Sonos? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Wireless Sound System
Sonos Speakers Support Bluetooth
So, the only Sonos compatible speakers that support Bluetooth are Sonos Move and portable Sonos speaker Sonos roam.
If you have either of these two in your current Sonos system, other wireless speakers can be connected to Sonos is a possibility.
Sonos Speakers That Support Airplay 2
Next, we will have to know what Sonos speakers support Airplay 2. The majority of the Sonos speakers support Airplay. The most popular Sonos compatible speakers are:
- Smart speaker like Sonos One, Sonos One SL
- Soundbars like Sonos Beam and Sonos Arm
- Other smart speakers like Sonos Five, Sonos Beam, Sonos Play:5, Sonos Port and Sonos Roam.
Remember that Sonos speakers that are set as surround speakers cannot work on Airplay. Also, a non-Airplay-supported Sonos speaker can still group together with an Airplay compatible speaker to enjoy multi-room music.
But what about a non-Sonos speaker? Can a wireless non-Sonos speaker connect to the Sonos system? The answer is only wireless non-Sonos speakers that support Bluetooth can be set up in the system. This is also only restricted to sending music from one speaker to another, thereby creating a multi-room music experience.
Connecting A Wireless Speaker To Sonos: 2 Ways
Connecting to Sonos with Bluetooth
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If you have a Bluetooth Sonos speaker, you can connect the same to a Bluetooth wireless speaker (non-Sonos). You can connect the rest of the Sonos speakers with Airplay.
To connect a Sonos speaker to a non-Sonos wireless Bluetooth speaker, you need to pair them both together.
To activate Bluetooth on the Sonos Bluetooth speaker like Sonos Move, press the pair button on the back of the speaker (button placed between the power button and join button). Keep it pressed until Move gives a chime and the LED turns blue. Now, open your mobile device, go to the Bluetooth settings, and search for Move. When you select it, the Blue LED on the Move will turn on. This means that the speaker has entered Bluetooth mode.
Now, you can connect Sonos Move to another wireless speaker that supports Bluetooth. Press the Bluetooth button on such a speaker, and both speakers will be connected to each other.
Similarly, you can use Sonos Roam to connect another wireless speaker to it.
Also, remember that once the Sonos Bluetooth speaker is in Bluetooth mode, it does not appear on the Sonos app. Also, the controls are restricted. You need to use the non-Sonos Bluetooth speaker to change the volume, song, and other functions.
Also, the Sonos speaker in Bluetooth mode cannot be used as a voice assistant, stereo pairing, or grouping with another speaker. So, basically, you can enjoy only a limited multi-room music experience. Both Sonos move and Sonos Roam automatically connect to the nearest device or the recent device it was paired with.
This is the only feasible way to connect a wireless speaker (necessarily a Bluetooth speaker) to connect to Sonos speakers.
Connecting to Sonos with AmpMe App
AmpMe is an app that can be used to synchronize music over multiple devices. It is compatible with Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud. This is another way to play the same music over multiple speakers, including Sonos and non-Sonos wireless speakers.
Under this, first AmpMe will allow casting music over compatible Sonos speakers via Airplay. Therefore, AmpMe can synchronize the music over other connected Bluetooth speakers. Thus, AmpMe acts as a mediator between the Sonos and non-Sonos speakers to play music.
However, in this case, the role of speakers will be limited to playing music only, and voice assistant commands won’t work upon it.
Conclusion
These were some of the workarounds that can connect other wires speakers to Sonos. Using Bluetooth and AmpMe are the two not-so-efficient ways to do so.
There is no harm in giving it a try.