Access to Music Library Listings by A-Z

Exactly!

we should be able to “roll back” when we lose features with an Update! 

The removal of this feature is a big loss. Also the removal of search, which probably won’t be coming back. They’ve really screwed the local library features. 

This is ridiculous. Cannot search through 4000 plus albums to find what I need. Bring back A-Z please

I’ve had Play 1’s for nearly a decade and for the vast majority of that time I’ve used them as UPnP renderers, mainly because the indexing in Sonos is so limited.

You can’t go wrong with the free version of MinimServer to index, and if you’re on Android, BubbleUPnP as the control point. The only thing missing is the possibility to share playlists across devices - unless they’re indexed as part of your collection - as UPnP control points store them on device.

The vast majority of users won’t want to do this, they just want their system to work as it did before. It’s not a big ask really.

DLNA/UPnP is a media playback protocol that I believe all Sonos products support - although I’m not sure they officially support it.

You’d typically install MinimServer (a UPnP server) on your NAS and point it to your music collection. The server will then perform the indexing and present it to UPnP control points (the app where you view your music and send it to UPnP renderers/speakers).

Within BubbleUPnP (or maybe mconnect if you’re on iOS) you’d select the source of your music (the UPnP server), the renderer you want to play the music on (the Sonos speaker), and then choose what to play, much like you would in the Sonos app.

You’d still need the Sonos app to group speakers (making sure you pick the primary speaker in BubbleUPnP).

UPnP servers are much more flexible than Sonos; with the paid version of MinimServer you can use any Tag as an index, but the free version will likely suit most Sonos users.

I remember the S1 to S2 upgrade debacle, so I unchecked the automatic updates on the app and in the Play store prior to this release, to wait and see. I have tried the new web app however.

Your other options are side-loading the old S2 app if you are on Android or restoring the previous app from iCloud (I think this is possible). If you manage this uncheck automatic updates.

You could also install the old Windows/Mac desktop apps.

Hopefully in a few months Sonos will have all the missing functionality added back to the new app, but I’m not hopefully for search to return to local music library because even in the old S2 app, I had to use the “Classic” search option to make that work.

I’m not sure why Sonos can’t support customers that want to play their own Mp3s rather than focus only on streaming services. Prior to streaming this was the only option, but a lot of users still prefer to “own” their music.

Thank you. You are clearly more technologically adept than I am.

Where do I find Miniserver?

How do I install it on the NAS?

What does pointing it to your music collection mean?

I think I get the rest by downloading BubbleUPnP on my phone.

However, what is my primary speaker when I have 3 pairs in different room.

MinimServer should be available in the Synology Package center.

The MinimServer documentation for Synology is here. Whilst it looks a bit daunting you may not even need it.

After installation MinimServer will ask where your music folder is.

If the speakers are stereo paired you’ll only see 3 names in the Sonos system section, use these in BubbleUPnP. If they’re grouped, choose the name that’s presented first in each group.

In BubbleUPnP you can hide speakers to keep things simple (the non-primary speakers).

I’m using it with fully updated S2 speakers, so unless they’ve crippled newer speakers it should work.

The default interface in BubbleUPnP can be a little busy, so here’s some customisations I prepared for others in the WiiM forum.

    More > Settings > Look and feel:
	    Change 'Light mode theme' to 'Dark bars and Now Playing tab'
        Enable 'Show Devices tab'
        Change 'Side menu icon location' to 'Disabled'

    More > Settings > Library:
        Enable 'Track number'
	    Enable 'Compact Lists'
	    Disable 'Immersive grid view'
	    Grid item size: 150px
        Whilst you're here you can also disable (if you're not going to use them) from the 'Virtual folders' section:
            Bookmarks
            Saved playlists
            Recently Played
            Random tracks/Random albums

    More > Settings > Local Renderer:
        Disable 'Allow remote control' (Can cause unnecessary background battery usage)
	    Enable 'Gapless playback'

    More > Settings > Local and Cloud:
        Disable 'Enable Local and Cloud Library' (Functionality to allow you to access not only local files, but also Qobuz, TIDAL, SMB Shares, personal cloud storage e.t.c)

    More > Settings > Configure device visibility
	    Hide the non-primary Sonos speakers from the Renderers section, and all the Sonos speakers from the Libraries section (by clicking the vertical ellipsis and selecting Hide)

    More > Control:
        Change 'Startup screen' to 'Last Displayed'
	    Disable 'Direct Share'
	    Disable 'Confirm on exit'
	    Change 'Removal from Recent Apps' to 'Always exit app'


## Exit the app and restart as requested

    ## You can only disable this after an app restart because some of the default settings require background processing (Allow remote control and Enable local and Cloud Library).
    More > Settings:
        Enable 'Battery saving mode'

    On the Playlist tab:
	    Select Album View


On the Devices tab,
    For each primary Sonos renderer, click the vertical ellipsis, choose Settings and:
	    change 'FFmpeg audio decoding' to 'Never use'
	    enable 'Gapless control'


Then you simply navigate from right to left:
    Devices (Speaker icon) >     Select your speaker and the Library from which to play music
    Library (Folder Icon) >      Browse to your album/tracks and enqueue/play
    Playlist (List icon) >       The current renderers active queue and the progress within it
    Now Playing (Musical Note) > Shows the metadata of the current track and its progress
    More (Hamburger Menu Icon) > Exit App

I cannot even find my Library.

There is nothing on the ap that allows me to play it let alone choose.

I feel robbed.

Many other problems here, no alarms, sleep timer or even queueing tracks? Is this app even slightly ready for action ?