Sonos woes

Doctor_AB · 30-08-2009, 1:50 PM

I have had a 5 zone (soon to be 6) sonos system for some time. Rock solid stable, 1 zone which is at the edge of wifi network sometimes dops out but no issues. After the latest sonos 3.0 update all that has changed. Zone players come and go, desktop controller freezes, wont control volume i.e. simple grey volume control that wont change, same with the cr100 this is miserable and there is no way to go back to 2.8 any suggestions?

Big_Si_Owen · 30-08-2009, 2:05 PM

Sounds weird. I've not had any issues since the 3.0 upgrade (with 4 zones)

Hope you get it sorted out!

Autopilot · 30-08-2009, 3:56 PM

I don't think you are alone, have you looked on the offcial Sonos support forums? Seems to be a few having issues with v3.0. That would be my first port of call.

Doctor_AB · 30-08-2009, 6:03 PM

have looked but the view from sonos appears to be nothing to do with them, you are all having network issues yeah right. Will search the sonos forums again and try resetting the system again!

**amcluesent** · 30-08-2009, 6:54 PM

Not a good move by Sonos to muller their wi-fi network, it was the main value-add differentiator from Squeezebox.

Doctor_AB · 31-08-2009, 11:07 AM

reset evrything and still terrible. Zoneplayers come and go. Music drops out, controllers wont respond, dreadful, going to go over to the official sonos forums now.

neilball · 31-08-2009, 11:32 AM

Are all of your zones wireless? Are you in a congested wifi area or have close neighbours?

It could be coincidental that the problems started at the same time as the upgrade - I had a problem with the iPhone app that had been working perfectly and then seemed to stop with the V3 upgrade. In my case the problem was actually due to wireless interference from some new kit I added (non wifi) and I initially assumed was a Sonos problem. I have to say that Sonos support were excellent although the problem was nothing to do with them! I too immediately reached the conclusion the problem was Sonos and wasted several days restricting my fault-finding to the Sonos setup.

Do get in touch with Sonsos support (you can open a support ticket on the website), they can get you to send diagnostic info from your system whcih may help identify where the problems lie.

TheHcc · 31-08-2009, 12:46 PM

Have you actually tried contacting Sonos Support. It is a freephone number and they can do diagnostics of your system whilst you're on the phone. They are usually very helpful indeed.

Doctor_AB · 31-08-2009, 1:03 PM

No havent tried contacting sonos as this has only been a problem over the weekend when they were not open.

In the meantime have changed wireless channels and seems to have improved so maybe it was wireless interference?

I have submitted a question and diagnostic report to sonos today.

will post their reponse in case it helps anyone else.

Doctor_AB · 01-09-2009, 12:47 AM

This is not good.
Tried all the suggestions on sonos forums still getting dropouts and all sorts of problems.
E mailed them that I have an issue and they asked me to phone but just get put on hold despie phoning 3 times and hanging on for nearly an hour each time. This is a real issue according to forums and causing lots of problems, Have run a check on my wireless system and there is no discernible interference. Will try and ring again.

ps cant even log onto sonos forums to post!

Doctor_AB · 02-09-2009, 10:40 PM

maybe some success. Finally got through to sonos tech support via telephone and they made a further download available to me which i installed (with difficulty as controller kept freezing). Turned off zone bridge, all controllers and modem/router. Then turned on modem, then zone bridge and finally zone players one by one. All now seems good so fingers crossed. Interestingly tech only made update available when i said that volume control on controller was greying out. Will let you know if improvement is maintained.

Doctor_AB · 03-09-2009, 9:39 PM

all bad again, lots of complaints on sonos forums but no official news from sonos.

Doctor_AB · 05-09-2009, 5:11 PM

ok update.

Had an em ail from a senior sonos tech and spent 3 hours on the phone analysing and reconfiguring / installing the software and sending diagnostics. So fair play to sonos they tried, BUT it still doesnt work properly, will do a bit more investigation myself.

mawi · 26-09-2009, 3:17 PM

Hello all,

3.0 has many issues reported by many different users. Sonos has yet to address them. It isn't pretty:

Slower CR100 response after 3.0 update
Slower CR100 response after 3.0 update - Sonos Forums

Sound Dropouts When Scrolling With CR200
Sound Dropouts When Scrolling With CR200 - Sonos Forums

CR100 scroll wheel sensitivity changed after v 3.0?
CR100 scroll wheel sensitivity changed after v 3.0? - Sonos Forums

Dropouts since 3.0 Update
Dropouts since 3.0 Update - Sonos Forums

Can't get zone to connect after 3.0 upgrade
Can't get zone to connect after 3.0 upgrade - Sonos Forums

Are you happy with the 3.0 update?
Are you happy with the 3.0 update? - Sonos Forums

/mawi

(trivial?
New icons....what?!
New icons....what?! - Sonos Forums
)

Spy · 26-09-2009, 4:20 PM

Can you not go back to the previous firmware - I haven't updated mine yet as I tend to wait a couple of months (if poss) between any firmware update

mawi · 28-09-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spy

Can you not go back to the previous firmware - I haven't updated mine yet as I tend to wait a couple of months (if poss) between any firmware update

I had the same intention. I just received note from Sonos support that it is not possible to downgrade a remote/CR100 controller - to go back to a previous version. This is really dissapppointing. They are are forcing me to either (a) sell the controller, or (b) upgrade my whole system to a piece of software (3.0) burdened by problemreports.

I'm going to give them a call, lets see what happens.

neilball · 28-09-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mawi

I had the same intention. I just received note from Sonos support that it is not possible to downgrade a remote/CR100 controller - to go back to a previous version. This is really dissapppointing. They are are forcing me to either (a) sell the controller, or (b) upgrade my whole system to a piece of software (3.0) burdened by problemreports.

I'm going to give them a call, lets see what happens.

Have you upgraded to 3.0? If not then stay at 2.8 until you feel the issues are resolved. You only need to upgrade if you add CR200s which require the V3.0 firmware or if you try and add other hardware to your system that is already using 3.0.

I've upgraded and do not suffer the issues presented on the Sonos forums (I've got CR100 & CR200 controllers) and while I agree there are issues they do not seem to be universal, in fact I would expect they are affecting a significant minority of users. Unfortunately at this stage there does not seem to be a simple common cause.

Derek22 · 28-09-2009, 7:40 PM

also dont forget the forums are really just self help and experience from people who use the same system. A good idea to sort out common problems, but when you encounter real problems your best course of action is technical support, which I see you are in the process off.

I am on the software, but fairly new to the system and no problems to speak off so far. To check wireless range of the system I use the wireless strength indicator on the cr200. Remembering to switch of at the socket the zoneplayer I am testing for. If less than 3 bars I will have problems, also worth noting for me much more wireless signals about at weekends, so check at the worst time.

mawi · 29-09-2009, 10:14 PM

I never got a downgrade option from sonos support so I had to bite the bullet and upgrade despite the troubling discussions.

Thankfully, I had no problems with 3.0: Everything works fine for me.

Info: I have 3 zones in an apartment, two remotes. Many competing wifi nets.

GarryPearson · 05-10-2009, 10:17 AM

Doc, how did your Sonos dilemma turn out?. Was it your wireless conflicting?. Keen to know as I am with Sonos today (we are Sonos Authorised Dealers) and I will show them this thread.

So far all of our V3.0 updates & CR200 additions have gone smoothly hence the curiosity.

Cheers.

Doctor_AB · 05-10-2009, 8:14 PM

sorry mate just seen your post. Been very busy so have turned off all sonos and currently usiing one zone. going to add in one zone at a time. I have a feeling that my wireless issues may be linked to using home plugs for other items (eg another pc and popcorn hour). Will experiment maybe at weekend and see how things go.

GarryPearson · 06-10-2009, 11:52 AM

Sounds like a good plan. Pop the Sonos kit in one by one and hopefully they will be fine. Then see at what point things fall over when you intro the homeplugs and other devices. Does your router maybe have a set number of IP addresses to give out and not enough for all the devices?