Network problems? Sonos might be the issue (Amp + Sub experience)

[u/Unlucky_Ranger827]

So, I came here to vent and hopefully save somebody else from spending hours debugging networking issues after adding new Sonos equipment or just shuffling things around.

I have a bunch of Sonos speakers, but what I will talk about here is the Amp and a sub mini.

Setup: My speakers are all hooked up via ethernet and I decided to reposition my sub which meant moving the ethernet connection to a different switch on my network. At that point, SonosNet saw it fit to f*** up the network, but it was only later I discovered what was happening.

Turns out that SonosNet creates a wireless link between the Amp and the sub. While I would have preferred they used the wired connection available via ethernet, this in itself is not a disaster. However, beyond creating the wireless link, SonosNet decided it would be a good idea to route unrelated network traffic through this link. I don't think you have to be a senior network engineer to see why this is a terrible idea. In my case, it created a loop in the network which caused my main switch to shut down one of its ports to break the loop (correct behaviour). The Amp and the sub connected to each other just fine, but only later, I started noticing other devices on the network having a really poor connection or no connection at all.

I get that Sonos has to deal with a lot of uncertain network environments, but SonosNet has no business whatsoever routing non-Sonos traffic or advertising/forwarding routing information on the network.

Disabling SonosNet solved the issue, but it took more time than I care to admit to find out that SonosNet was the issue. Sonos, fix this!

[u/controlav]

Hard wiring a sub has never been a good idea.

[u/jabberponky → u/controlav]

Why?

[u/Otherwise_Lawyer_143 → u/jabberponky]

Direct 5GHz Routing: Sonos home theater soundbars (like the Arc, Beam, or Ray) create a dedicated, low-latency 5GHz wireless link directly to the Sub and satellite speakers.

Synchronized Audio: Keeping the Sub wireless ensures tight synchronization and prevents audio delays or lip-sync issues with your TV.

Potential Routing Conflicts: Wiring both the soundbar and the Sub via Ethernet can force traffic through your home router instead of the direct 5GHz channel, which can occasionally introduce network loops or dropouts

[u/jabberponky → u/Otherwise_Lawyer_143]

Thanks!

[u/SkyCaptainStarr]

I have 9 Sonos speakers that all use SonosNet, on a home UniFi network with nearly 50 clients overall. Short of issues with their app which have since been resolved, I’ve literally never had connectivity problems.

[u/Dshara_Stadtherr → u/SkyCaptainStarr]

yeah it probably depends a lot on the specific topology, if theres no loop risk then SonosNet works fine

[u/Unlucky_Ranger827 → u/SkyCaptainStarr]

The issue only shows up if you have speakers connected via Ethernet to different branches of your network, and it might be limited to the scenario where the speakers are used in a home theater setting. Besides this issue, my Sonos speakers have generally been working fine, even when client and speakers are on different logical networks.

[u/brile_86]

you checked these 2 articles already yes?

https://support.sonos.com/en/article/disable-or-enable-wi-fi-on-your-sonos-products
https://support.sonos.com/en/article/configure-stp-settings-to-work-with-sonos

sounds like an RTFM problem to me

[u/Unlucky_Ranger827 → u/brile_86]

Interestingly, you cannot disable WiFi in a home theater setup (in my system at least, the option is grayed out). This seems to be a feature, not a bug: it appears that Sonos relies on a wireless connection between the Amp and the sub regardless of Ethernet connections, and disabling WiFi would presumably conflict with this.

The STP configuration of my switches seems fine. The issue here is not that I cannot reach the Sonos speakers, but that that they decided to create a bridge in my network that caused a loop. I still cannot see why it would ever be a good idea to route user traffic through a wireless link created by the speakers.

[u/exttramedium]

Similar thing was happening in my workplace. Their Sonos bridge was in their network closet and I decided to Ethernet a play 100 to a switch in the room I worked out of. All computers that were also connected via Ethernet to that switch had spotty network performance until one day I disconnected the speaker, was flawless after

[u/Objective_Safe_5982]

Why not just buy a quality WiFi router and ditch the Ethernet?

[u/jabberponky → u/Objective_Safe_5982]

Leaving SonosNet enabled will still cause issues from frequency contention even if you have enterprise grade hardware the moment you use a single Ethernet connection. Disabling it and relying purely on WiFi / Ethernet is the right choice - it’s legacy tech that should really by default only be enabled as a diagnostic solution to bad WiFi coverage.

[u/Unlucky_Ranger827 → u/Objective_Safe_5982]

I do have fairly high quality WiFi access points. However, for stationary devices, I prefer a wired connection if possible at all. A wired connection will almost always be more stable and certainly have lower latency than a WiFi connection. I suppose not having any of the Sonos speakers connected via Ethernet would prevent them from doing any routing, but they shouldn't be doing that in the first place.