Sonos is one of the most stable multi-room systems on the market. Nevertheless, some users experience problems with the playback of music, radio stations or podcasts from time to time.
This usually involves short but regular interruptions that seem to occur for no apparent reason.
If you search for the term “Aussetzer” in the German-language Sonos support forum, you will find over 1700 posts.
There can be countless reasons for dropouts that are not directly related to the products: Problems with streaming providers such as Spotify or Tidal, a poor internet connection, the radio waves from your neighbor’s microwave or incorrect Wi-Fi settings.
With the following tips, however, most connection problems that lead to dropouts with Sonos speakers can be resolved.
Fixed WLAN channels
If the SonosNet mentioned above is not possible because none of the devices can be connected to the router by cable, then at least fixed channels in the 2.4 GHz range should be set.
With a FritzBox, for example, this is very easy to do under WLAN > Radio channel > Adjust radio channel settings. I recommend channel 1, channel 6 or channel 11.
SonosNet against dropouts
The so-called SonosNet helps with 90 percent of all connection problems and can put an immediate end to dropouts.
The SonosNet is a separate WLAN that is set up under the Sonos speakers. It is activated automatically as soon as one of the Sonos speakers is connected to the router via a network cable.
All other Sonos speakers in the house then connect to this speaker and even act as repeaters among themselves – they amplify the wireless signal again, which also increases the range.
If you want to take a closer look at the connection strength between the individual speakers, you can display a hidden matrix in the browser , which is actually only intended for support and repair purposes.
To do this, look up the IP address of a Sonos device in the router and add:1400/support/review to the IP, for example 192.168.1.10:1400/support/review.
The different colors and values then indicate the connection quality.
You can check whether the devices are running in SonosNet or in the normal WLAN in the Sonos app settings.
Under the menu item System > About my system you can access the system information. For each device it says either WM0, WM1 or WM2…
- WM: 0 – The device is currently running in SonosNet
- WM: 1 – The device is currently running via the normal WLAN
- WM: 2 – Surround speaker or sub with home theater speaker
The two portable devices Sonos Move and Sonos Roam as well as the new Era 100 and Era 300 cannot be integrated into SonosNet, which is why WM: 1 is always displayed there.
Should Sonos abandon this technology in the future, as the development of the new devices shows, there could be more problems here again.
Under System > Network > SonosNet channel, you can choose between channel 1, channel 6 and channel 11 in the Sonos app. Ideally, a channel should be selected here that is not set in the normal WLAN.
Updates against dropouts
For a Sonos system to run stably, all devices involved should be up to date with the latest software.
This includes not only the Sonos devices (which can be updated directly via the Sonos app) but also the WLAN router, any WLAN repeaters, the smartphone, the music apps and, in the case of home theater applications, even televisions and playback devices.
Incompatible WLAN routers
Wi-Fi routers are one of those household devices that people are very reluctant to replace. It’s often not just the internet provider that is connected to it, but also countless other devices.
Unfortunately, however, there are a few models that do not work with Sonos devices, or only very poorly.
Sonos itself has published a list of incompatible devices, including the Telekom Speedport W921V:
| Brand | Model |
|---|---|
| Actiontec | GT724WGR/M1000/W1000/PK5000 |
| Alcatel Lucent | I-240-W-Q/I240W-R/I240W-T |
| Arcor | Easy Box a300 |
| Belkin | F5D and F7D series/F9K1103 |
| D-Link | DSS-5+ |
| Lorex | WLAN surveillance cameras |
| Micronet | SP648 |
| Netgear | DGN2000/FS526T/FVS336G/GS108v1/GS108v2/WGT624 |
| Planet | FGSW-1828 |
| Speedport | W921V |
| Technicolor | TC7200U |
| Ziggo | ConnectBox |
I personally used to have problems with the Speedport W924V and replaced it with a FritzBox 7590. Since then, I have no longer experienced any dropouts with Sonos.
Sonos hates repeaters
One of the main causes of connection problems and dropouts with Sonos is the interaction with WLAN repeaters.
Surely there are a few people in this world who have managed to do this smoothly…
But if you have better things to do over the next few years than tweak the WLAN configuration, you can make sure that the Sonos devices don’t connect to these nasty repeaters in the first place.
The easiest way to do this is to give the repeater ‘s WLAN a different name and not set up the Sonos devices in this WLAN.
Instead, it is better to let the Sonos devices set up their own wireless network – the so-called SonosNet – as described above.
Sonos Boost as a signal amplifier
Sonos has also been offering its own device, the Boost, for years to improve the connection between speakers.
On the Sonos homepage it says“You need a boost to strengthen a weak WLAN connection or if there is a lot of interference“.
Technically speaking, there is a Boost in almost every Sonos speaker – that is, if you connect it to the router via cable as described in the first tip.
If no speaker can be connected to the router in your own four walls, the Boost can be a good alternative for €119. Sometimes the refurbished device is even cheaper.
Alternatives to Apple AirPlay
The newer Sonos devices are compatible with Apple’s AirPlay 2. This makes it easy to stream music from an iPhone, iPad or Mac to the speakers – without having to go through the Sonos app.
However, AirPlay technology is often not stable enough with Sonos. Especially when more than one speaker is supposed to play the same music.
This annoyed me so much a few years ago that I swapped my entire Apple HomePod system for Sonos products.
The most stable music should run directly from the Sonos app. The Spotify Connect technology is now also very sophisticated and can be started directly from the Spotify app.
Lars Grudzinski has been working as a sound and lighting technician since the 90s, was a DJ for electronic music, has a large collection of vintage speakers, and has been working for various radio stations in Germany for 20 years. At home, he enjoys high-quality home theater products such as soundbars and projectors and has installed an extensive Sonos system in his own home.