AT&T Uverse Compatibility Trouble


Setting up Sonos with the AT&T Uverse network after a move. Since doing so, TV will freeze, network will shut down, phones won't connect to wifi/internet. AT&T Techs have, essentially, reinstalled our network and checked their equipment. No issues found. One mentioned hearing of others having connection challenges with Sonos and AT&T. Does this ring true out there?

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19 replies

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Hi TeamHolcomb,

Welcome to the Sonos community

I have AT&T Uverse with no problems at all for over two years.

I have one Sonos product wired to my router and it is at least two feet from the router, both on different channels.

have a look below


SonosNet
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I have a Pace 5268AC
but I have had other routers with them with no troubles.
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Please tell us more about your setup and what modem you have
I have had no problems with U-verse and sonos. However I always turn off their wireless radio and currently have a triband links's with 9 antennae. I bridge to their router.
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I too turn off their radio and use my Apple air port extreme on a different channel
Tons or issues with Sonos shutting down my whole AT&T Uverse network. Have been troubleshooting for a long time. AT&T tech says they have lots of problems with Sonos conflicts. I also have other friends with similar issues. Please help!
As CapnLes has been saying, many of us have resorted to hanging a separate router off of the Uverse device, and turning off the AT&T radio. I happen to use a Netgear wifi router, and it works flawlessly, without any of the issues many have reported using the UVerse device.
Thank you Airgetlam. Do you turn off both routing capabilities and the Wifi capabilities in the ATT router? So essentially, the ATT device acts only like a modem...then hang your Netgear router off of it to handle all routing for your home network?
Absolutely. I have no faith in AT&T to provide me with something that works properly, unfortunately, beyond just the bandwidth. So yes, it's just a modem, to which I've connected my actual router. Sure, the router cost me something like $50 to $80, I think, but it is from a company who does routers for a living.

Now, it sure seems like I'm beating up AT&T, which I actually am not, I use their bandwidth as well as their cell phone services, and use their DirecTV services for my televisions. But given that I have moved fairly often in the last 10 years, it just became easier for me to use my own router, and not have to worry too much about setting up in a new home. Just connect the bandwidth to the router, and all my devices just work.

I've never tried to connect my Boost/Bridge to the AT&T unit, but given all of the various reports about it slowing down the bandwidth, I'm not about to, either. Cheap insurance, for me.
We have been having intermittent Uverse problems for years and AT&T tech's always suspected Sonos may be the problem.

One step closer to confirming that today when network immediately "came back up" when Sonos was dc'd from AT&T modem and immediately "went back down" when reconnected. Did that back and forth several times with a consistent result. TV and phone seem to remain up all the time.

We love our sonos , need to find a way to make it work and am considering the idea of connecting the additional router, but barely know enough to be dangerous & need some technical help.

Is the suggestion...buy a new router from someone like Netgear (open to recommendations :-)), plug that into the AT&T modem/router box with a cable and then plug the Sonos bridge into the new device? If yes, should I then rename/ignore or disable the AT&T wireless and can I rename the new wireless box to the network name/pw combination we currently use on the AT&T device?

If yes...at that point, should I expect all the wireless devices to find/reconnect with new device that has the same wireless network name/password as the AT&T device?

Does it matter how close/far the new device and sonos bridge are from the AT&T device?

Thanks,

Louis


Is the suggestion...buy a new router from someone like Netgear (open to recommendations :-)), plug that into the AT&T modem/router box with a cable and then plug the Sonos bridge into the new device?


Yes. As far as suggestions, there are lots of good options. It somewhat depends on what kind of wireless range you in. I spend a lot of time in the backyard and wanted a strong single out there, so I went with the Netgear Orbi system. Great range and no issues, but is probably overkill for many.


If yes, should I then rename/ignore or disable the AT&T wireless and can I rename the new wireless box to the network name/pw combination we currently use on the AT&T device?

You should disable the wireless. There is nothing to gain from leaving it on. If you have the administrator password to the AT&T router, then you probably can find the menu option to turn off the wireless. If not, I would think AT&T help line can help you with that.


If yes...at that point, should I expect all the wireless devices to find/reconnect with new device that has the same wireless network name/password as the AT&T device?


In many cases, your devices will automatically connect. For other devices, you may have to reboot them, or manually disconnect and reconnect to the wireless network.


Does it matter how close/far the new device and sonos bridge are from the AT&T device?


It shouldn't.
Indeed, that's the setup I have. An AT&T UVerse device (which I just consider a modem, I had the wifi turned off) connected to a Netgear, with the Sonos Boost hanging off of the Netgear. Works fabulously.
So ... I have had the same Uverse issues. About 18 months ago I gave up and disconnected SONOS. Hated to do it but Uverse is my TV provider and I had a choice to make. Now with Alexa enabled speakers I want to re-visit using SONOS but not re-visit the issues. My question is whether the solution above - hanging a router off the ATT modem/router combo - will work with Uverse TV? I have read elsewhere that Uverse TV requires the signal from the ATT modem/router combo. Has anyone been able to solve the SONOS Uverse conflict as described above and still use Uverse TV? Thanks for the help.
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Im trying to find a solution to this problem. I have 4 connects / 1 connect amp. I have not had problems until last 6 months. I have used sonos 10+ years and have loved the system. I have the PACE 5268AC modem - set in bridge mode - using Apple Airport Extreme Time Capsule for wifi --- and hard wire 1-connect off of airport extreme time-capsule. Random internet shutdowns - no activity and have to reboot modem. If i unplug from router - no problems with internet. If I replug - i can play sonos but will then shut down internet at some point after I leave sonos. It will also shut down internet if not using sonos whether sonos app open or closed (quit). I have also tried plugging connect into Pace 5268AC modem and problem happens.

There seems to be a lot on here about this problem? What is SONOS doing about the compatibility issues? Seems like if they do not create/find solution.....the sonos system will become obsolete and worthless? Sonos compatibility list of routers that are not compatible looks like it is growing? How is SONOS addressing these issues? If sonos equipment is not compatible -- sonos will become a has been company that once had a great product? Very frustrated......

SET UP: 4 Connects / 1 Connect AMP -- Pace 5268AC (ATT uVerse) Bridge Mode / Radio OFF - Hard wire (Cat6) to Apple Airport Extreme TC - Sonos Connect hard wired to Apple Airport Extreme

I've thought of adding some areas to system but have held off due to this problem. I will not invest anymore into sonos if this is not resolved? I just want it to work again reliably without causing shut-downs of my internet. Family complaints about internet going down getting old. d
Jeshull ... thanks for your reply. I also have the PACE 5268AC modem/router from AT&T. It is probably two years old and I'm thinking about asking AT&T for a new modem/router. I hate to do that though because my AT&T TV works fine ... I can live without Sonos and have for the last 18+ months, but need my TV!
This post was a lifesaver. Just switched to ATT uverse after years with cable. I wasn't so comfortable with the ATT delivered router (vs my own ASUS which I've been happy with), but the cost savings was so great I decided to try it. After install, everything worked except Sonos. This post educated me that I could continue to use my own router and turn off the ATT radios. Put the old router back on, switched off both ATT radios, plugged in my Bridge, and...Sonos back up and running without a hitch. Thanks everyone - this fix goes beyond Sonos! So much happier with this setup and I'm still saving money.
Hi Jebecali -- Thanks for your post. I assume that after putting your old router back on that Uverse TV still works. Also, how did you disable the AT&T wireless? Many Thanks!
I'm not using the Uverse TV, so that's an open question, sorry I can't advise. Once you get access to the advanced settings on the ATT router, you go to the Wifi tab. On my setup there are two radios, one for 2.4 GHz and another for 5.0. Select one from the drop down and immediately underneath you'll see an option to turn the radio to off. Save settings and then go back and disable the other.
I'm so disappointed that in this age of security concerns ATT is distributing "user friendly" modems with the wifi password on a bright yellow sticker on the unit. So user-friendly, they make it easy to share your banking information with anyone who happens to get a look at your modem! I was shocked.
I had all kinds of problems with freezing and internet drops because the ATT Router Model BGW210 kept rebooting. I have resolved them by doing the following:

1) Plug TV Controller Boxes directly into a switch port on the Router. Initially I had a Netgear Switch uplinked into the Router with TV Controllers plugged into the Netgear. Once I moved both TV Controllers into Router the frequency of problems reduced but still occurred.
2) I inserted a LinkSys Router with Wifi and connected its WAN port into the ATT Router switch. I turned off ATT Wireless and moved all my devices to the Wifi on the LinkSys. I also moved the Netgear switch to the LinkSys Router.
3) By only having the TV Controllers(2) and WAN port of LinkSys connected to the ATT Router ALL my freezing issues have been resolved for over 4 weeks.

I am running 2 Connect Amps(wired to LinkSys), a pair of Play3s, two Play 1s. It was a RPITA to do this reconfiguration but without isolating everyday network traffic and Sonos traffic to a separate LAN I could not stop the ATT BGW210 from rebooting. ATT had sent me two replacement Routers as an attempt to fix the issue which to no surprise fixed nothing.