Slow Sonos App on Iphone

  • 3 February 2024
  • 9 replies
  • 806 views
E

I have had very slow response and also missing speakers on the Sonos app on my Iphone.  I found a lot of info here on this forum that helped but never fully solved it.  Below is a list of things I tried before I was able to solve my issue.

  1. Get rid of services that are not used.  In my case I had several services and one in particular called TuneIn that once deleted showed improvement.  (Thanks to the member that suggested this).
  2. Limit your outside playlist to under 500 songs.  In my case I had Amazon playlists in excess of 1000 tracks.  I split my playlists and made them about 350 tracks so if I want I can add tracks later.
  3. I put all my Sonos equipment in a separate SSID with a static IP.  Make sure that ONLY Sonos equipment are part of this group.  My issue improved greatly by doing this.  I noticed if my Iphone was in the Sonos SSID the lag was there.  Once I removed my Iphone from the Sonos SSID the lag improved greatly.  No more missing speakers!

My system has ARC, Subwoofer, and 2 ERA 300’s for surrounds.  I also have 2 ERA 300’s and a minisub in another room as well as 2 ports and 2 Play 5 Gen2.  I also have a Move and a Roam.

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9 replies

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Thanks for sharing.
 

It reinforces the message: your wifi network is usually the problem. 

Setting reserved ip addresses fixes a heck of a lot of problems, especially if you also ensure your wifi runs on one of channels 1, 6 or 11. 

T
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Thanks for this post.   I have found my iPhone app very slow as well but just on the connect amps.  If I have other speakers they tend to be better.

Forgive me for such a basic question, but can the iPhone on one SSID be seen by the Sonos app?  Or, I guess a different way to put it, is the Sonos system found when the iPhone is not on the same system?  I thought it had to be on the same.

I’ve experimented with putting as much as my equipment on ethernet that I can, then using only a wifi channel that I didn’t let the rest of the system use, then going back to SonosNet only on a channel I don’t let my system use.  That’s given me the best stability but the iPhone app is still slow to respond.  

 

I’m considering creating a separate SSID just for Sonos but do I need to do that if I’m using Sonosnet and have otherwise removed the wifi credentials?  

I’m guilty of some large playlists so I may be splitting those up. 

 

Thank you.

Airgetlam

I’m not sure I really understand your questions, but I’ll try to respond.

Yes, all Sonos devices, including the controller, need to be in the same subnet. If you’re in to networking, there are implications there, but for most of us, it is easiest to think of that as one SSID and one router, no repeaters/extenders. You can read more at the Sonos Network Requirements FAQ.

Sonos, being reliant on a good network, is susceptible to duplicate IP addresses, whether they are wired or wireless. The vast majority of routers can’t show you a report about this, the easiest way to test is to unplug all Sonos devices from power, and while they are unplugged, reboot the router. Once the router has had a couple of minutes to come back up, plug back in the Sonos devices. This has a dual purpose, not only are you reloading the DHCP table with fresh data in the router, but you’re also reloading both the OS on the Sonos devices, but also forcing them to request new IP addresses. If this does indeed speed up your system, then I’d recommend setting up reserved IP addresses in your router by following the instructions in your router’s manual.

Wiring as many devices as you can certainly doesn’t hurt, you can read more at the wireless and wired systems FAQ.

Not all devices connect to SonosNet, particularly the newest ones, which don’t have the capability. 

If you’re setting up a separate SSID for Sonos, does that mean your controller will be on this separate SSID? Are you running in to speed issues with other devices on your current network? If not, then it’s not really necessary to set up a separate system. It certainly wouldn’t be anything that I’d recommend to anyone at all, the bandwidth necessary for streaming music shouldn’t be enough to affect other devices…unless there is already interference in your network. 

Yes, split up large playlists. There are different memory sizes available on different types of Sonos speakers, but all of them can choke on super large playlists, it’s one of the reasons Sonos has that 65K track limit…which isn’t really 65k, but a total amount of memory used by song tags in a file, but it’s hard to put a number around that, since it is a combination of names, artists, and other tags. 65k is just an easy ‘guide’ number. 

Bruce
T
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

 

Bruce,

Thanks for all this info.

We have a lot of rooms and equipment and my current and running issues have been:  (1) The kitchen that has a connect amp going to wired spearers plus a wireless subwoofer will drop audio out of the Connect Amp.  The subwoofer keeps playing but the Connect Amp drops out.  This Connect amp is connected by ethernet with the radio left in the on position to sync with the sub.  I’ve tried all sorts of alternatives through the years.  This is the best so far but it still drop out.  (2) When I go to change volume, change tracks ,etc., on pretty much any of my “Connect Amps” there is usually like a 20 second delay.  It’s so annoying.   This has been the case regardless if I use Sonosnet or if I’ve used my wifi.  Doesn’t change if I have everything 100% wireless, if I have some by ethernet, or using Sonosnet.

Interesting that you note all devices can’t use Sonosnet.  My current setup is running with Sonosnet only and my wifi credentials removed.  Maybe my devices are the older type still running Sonosnet. 

I currently have my dual band router set up with one wifi channel at 2.4 just for IoT devices.  I then have a 2.4/5 signal going out to the rest of the house.  When I’ve had Sonos on wifi, it’s been on that shared family channel.

If I created one for say just Sonos, I was wondering if I had to change my iPhone to that wifi network in order to control Sonos, then flip back out of it to another network.   That was my main question I guess.   And also, I would love it if my iPhone didn’t take so long to change Sonos.  

I’ve noticed on my iPhone when I’m connecting to non-Connect Amp speakers, the control is much quicker, almost instant. 

I stream music from Apple Music these days.  I removed my local library after I decided to make the move to Apple Music.  I have many thousands of tracks but only a few playlists go over the 500.  Some do so I will look at ideas to split them.  

I already have all of my Sonos equipment set up with static IP addresses. 

 

Thanks again. 

 

 

Airgetlam

All of my 20+ speakers are on SonosNet, save a Roam, which can’t connect to SonosNet. The system works fine, I can group any number of rooms with each other, including the Roam. 

It still seems as though your system is beset by either duplicate IP addresses, or perhaps wifi interference . But since you say they’re all set up with ‘static’ (I assume you mean ‘reserved’ IP addresses), I would be looking heavily at the interference FAQ I linked. I’d also suggest that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.

It is possible, since each Sonos device has a small computer in it, that there is either an issue with the memory, or the CPU in one of your CONNECT:AMPs, which is why the diagnostic is so important. If there is such a failure, it would, I would think, show up in the diagnostic, but as only Sonos employees can see the data, I’m guessing. 

Good luck!

Bruce
T
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

 

 

Thanks for the note.

I have unplugged and re-plugged in all of my 20+ speakers more than I care to admit, so I’d be surprised if I still had duplicate IP addresses.  Correct, these are reserved IP addresses that I’ve done. 

My house is about smack dab in the middle of 150 acres with no one around me, so the only interference would be ourselves.  Not saying we couldn’t possibly have any, but I’ve used wifi man and tried to max out our equipment to cover weak spots, and this stuff happens. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, our system plays music in all rooms, I can play multiple rooms at a time if I want, most of the time.  The main thing I’ve found is the Connect Amps never respond very quickly and this issue in the kitchen I mentioned.  That’s one of the few rooms we use the most so we notice it more.  Randomly pops up.

 

I’ve also gone through the diagnostic stuff with Sonos so much that I’ve sort of written it off now.  The last time I spoke with them they told me…..”Oh, you’re having some issues with old equipment.  You just need to buy all new equipment.”  I’m serious, they wouldn’t give me any specifics.  We build this house new about 5 years ago, put LOTS of this stuff in, and if it gets to the point none of it will play because they claim it is too old, I’m just going straight portable bluetooth.  

 

They blame poor wifi, claim I have interference, but for the life of me I can’t figure out where, if that’s really the issue. 

 

You raise a great point about the Connect Amps, the memory, and the diagnostic.  I think I’m going to fiddle around with the playlist stuff and see if that makes any incremental improvements.  It can also never hurt to do an complete unplug and re-plug in, though I get stressed going through it (Ha), but I just did another one about 8 days or so ago.

 

Sorry for the long post.  Really appreciate your previous notes.

T
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Just sharing this matrix as further info to mine.  No response excepted but sharing just in case.  It’s large so I split it between two posts.  Thanks. 

 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Could your Connect Amp be affected by the S2 memory overflow problem Sonos is currently working on solving? See 

 

T
Userlevel 4
Badge +5

Could your Connect Amp be affected by the S2 memory overflow problem Sonos is currently working on solving? See 

 

Could your Connect Amp be affected by the S2 memory overflow problem Sonos is currently working on solving? See 

 

Thanks for sharing the thread.    I guess it could be as the Sonos recommendation the guy received about….buy new equipment...was the same.  I didn’t think Sonos is “working on it” as it seems they are instead just telling people to buy new equipment.   That’s a long thread so I may have missed where Sonos as acknowledged the problem and is working on it (versus telling us how to minimize it).  

 

The OP in that thread seems to think the problem arose after one of the specific firmware updates and thinks they need to fix it.

I have I think 7 or 8 of these connect amps and don’t plan to spend $4,000+ changing them to new.  

I’ll spend more time going through each page of that thread more deeply.  I gave it a quick review to scan for the highlights.  Appreciate you sharing it. 

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