Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Home AirPlay 2 to Sonos Speakers out of Sync

M

m477h3w

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 9, 2007
339
8
Bristol, UK
I all. I am having a major issue with AirPlay 2. I have tried a few times to diagnose with Sonos support but with no luck. Really hoping someone can help.

I have a home cinema set up in my lounge (PlayBase, Sub, 2 x Play 1’s), then various Sonos Ones around the house.

When I AirPlay to multiple speakers around the house they keep dropping out of sync. However, if I AirPlay to one speaker, then group others to it in the Sonos app, then they stay in sync. I am using a Sonos Boost.

Any ideas or similar experiences?
 
This is more of an Airplay 2 issue, not so much a SONOS speaker issue. To test, try doing the same thing via the SONOS app preferably on a computer and output to all speakers (without being grouped) and see what happens. If there are still dropouts, then it may be your network but I would suspect it won't.

Personally, while AirPlay 2 has been an improvement over AirPlay and more reliable, it still has its issues. While SONOS is limited in how you can play media, it still is the best when it comes to multi-room audio.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m477h3w
I'm wondering if maybe your home wifi is a bit weak?

I'm not exactly sure how airplay 2 works, and can't seem to find specs.
But I think each speaker is a different stream.

so when you're air playing to each speaker it's
phone -> living room
phone -> kitchen
phone -> bedroom
etc...

each destination is eating up a bit of wifi bandwith between your phone and wireless router.
(the packets for each speaker will go...
phone --Wifi--> router --Wired--> boost --sonos net--> speaker)

when air playing to one speaker, you only have one stream on your wi-fi, and the streams from that one speaker to all the others is entirely on sonos net, so your wi-fi isn't getting overloaded.

you could try changing channels, or possibly the position of your router to see if you can get a better signal.

Also, if you're using the router from your internet provider, There's a good chance, it just can't handle all the streams at once.


iLog.Genius said:
To test, try doing the same thing via the SONOS app preferably on a computer and output to all speakers (without being grouped)
Click to expand...

That won't check much, there is no music stream going from the computer to sonos, the speakers actually play the musical locally. so the only traffic from the computer is "play song X" and then the speakers will send updates "playing X, at 1:03 of 4:00" as well as album art and such
The actual music stream goes from the router via wired to the boost, then sonos net to the speakers.
 
waw74 said:
That won't check much, there is no music stream going from the computer to sonos, the speakers actually play the musical locally. so the only traffic from the computer is "play song X" and then the speakers will send updates "playing X, at 1:03 of 4:00" as well as album art and such
The actual music stream goes from the router via wired to the boost, then sonos net to the speakers.
Click to expand...

But that's what I mean, when you use the SONOS app/controller, say from the computer, and then play the music through it, OP would be letting the "SONOS side" do its thing and if it was indeed a network issue, it would have the same issues. What the OP has tried doing and what you outlined was from his iOS device to play to his SONOS speakers via AirPlay 2 to each individual speaker which I know has been an issue since day 1.

My recommendation was solely to check the performance of AirPlay 2 because I know you should be able to do this without any problems if you were to use the SONOS controller/app. I could do this without having a SONOS Boost - just simply using my MacBook Pro as the "server" and using my iPhone as the controller to stream to all speakers.
 
Last edited:
When using the Sonos controller, the speakers play the music themselves. So the music stream is never touching the house WiFi. It goes from router to boost to speaker.

when airplaying. The music is played on the phone. So the stream goes over the house WiFi to the phone. It then has to return on the WiFi multiple times to get back to the wired portion of the network so it can then go to the boost.

I’m not saying its a network issue. I’m saying it’s a WiFi issue. Which won’t affect playing using Sonos. Since not much traffic has to go on the WiFi.
 
waw74 said:
When using the Sonos controller, the speakers play the music themselves. So the music stream is never touching the house WiFi. It goes from router to boost to speaker.

when airplaying. The music is played on the phone. So the stream goes over the house WiFi to the phone. It then has to return on the WiFi multiple times to get back to the wired portion of the network so it can then go to the boost.

I’m not saying its a network issue. I’m saying it’s a WiFi issue. Which won’t affect playing using Sonos. Since not much traffic has to go on the WiFi.
Click to expand...

I re-read my post and saw where there is confusion.

You are right with regards to the use of SONOS Boost. What I meant to say and recommend to test is, don't use the Boost if possible and set up the SONOS speakers to use the home network/WIFI. This is my current set up and have no issues running off the network. You should be able to stream to all speakers, ungrouped and it should all be in sync.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I have tried the set up without the boost and had the same issues. Everything stays in sync perfectly if I AirPlay to one speaker, then group it to the other speakers in the Sonos app. But if I try to AirPlay to all speakers without using the Sonos app, they just won’t stay in sync. I am using the router provided by my ISP, so maybe a better router might help?
 
a better router might help

before you do that, evaluate where the router is currently placed,
if you can move it away from other electronics or metal objects, it can help

if you search the web for "router placement" you can find some tips to help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m477h3w
iLog.Genius said:
This is more of an Airplay 2 issue, not so much a SONOS speaker issue. To test, try doing the same thing via the SONOS app preferably on a computer and output to all speakers (without being grouped) and see what happens. If there are still dropouts, then it may be your network but I would suspect it won't.

Personally, while AirPlay 2 has been an improvement over AirPlay and more reliable, it still has its issues. While SONOS is limited in how you can play media, it still is the best when it comes to multi-room audio.
Click to expand...

It's not an Airplay 2 issue. Its his wifi network.
 
DarwinOSX said:
It's not an Airplay 2 issue. Its his wifi network.
Click to expand...

It may or may not be which is why we suggested different things. Whether it's AirPlay or AirPlay 2, I personally have never had it work consistently with drop outs or sync issues. If I play music through the SONOS app over wi-fi (no SONOS Bridge or Boost), I don't have issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m477h3w
m477h3w said:
What’s the best way to improve my WiFi network? My router is in the ideal spot in my opinion, but is the standard router provided by by broadband supplier. The download speed is around 38.
Click to expand...
Is one of your Sonos devices close to your router? It sounds like you aren't using SonosNet, which may be what you need in this situation

To enable SonosNet, just plug one of your Sonos speakers into your router with an ethernet cable. Doing so causes Sonos to create a dedicated wireless mesh network so your far away speakers will have fewer problems. SonosNet is the best way to experience Sonos.

Check if Sonos is in a wireless or wired setup | Sonos

Your Sonos products can be configured in either a wireless or wired setup. This article shows you how to check if your Sonos products are connecting via WiFi (wireless setup) or SonosNet (wired setup).
support.sonos.com support.sonos.com

If you go to Settings>About My Sonos System you're looking for all speakers to be WM=0
 
AustinIllini said:
Is one of your Sonos devices close to your router? It sounds like you aren't using SonosNet, which may be what you need in this situation

To enable SonosNet, just plug one of your Sonos speakers into your router with an ethernet cable. Doing so causes Sonos to create a dedicated wireless mesh network so your far away speakers will have fewer problems. SonosNet is the best way to experience Sonos.

Check if Sonos is in a wireless or wired setup | Sonos

Your Sonos products can be configured in either a wireless or wired setup. This article shows you how to check if your Sonos products are connecting via WiFi (wireless setup) or SonosNet (wired setup).
support.sonos.com support.sonos.com

If you go to Settings>About My Sonos System you're looking for all speakers to be WM=0
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. This is my current set up, SonosNet channel 6 via a Sonos Boost.
 
m477h3w said:
Thanks for the response. This is my current set up, SonosNet channel 6 via a Sonos Boost.
Click to expand...
Same deal. So the location of your router probably shouldn't matter because of the boost. You could definitely try changing the channel and seeing if that helps.
 
mpainesyd said:
If you happen to be using an AppleTV HD/4K as your media player then it now has an audio sync function in the ATV Settings. It uses an iPhone to match video with audio. There is an Apple Support page about it here

Use Apple TV to play audio throughout your home

Apple TV can serve as a hub for playing audio throughout your home.
support.apple.com
Click to expand...
I did not know this, thank you!!! Just calibrated it. Although, I’m not sure how this will help with the Sonos Ones around the house going out of sync with each other over AirPlay 2?
 
Do the audio sync calibration mentioned in the link above.

If you pause the music, wait 10 seconds, play again does it fix it even temporarily? (do this 5 times just to make sure).

Does Sonos still support "compressed" audio playback? For testing, turn that on and see if the problem reoccurs.

When you play audio you mention it starts off sync'd and then goes out of sync. Does the music literally pause on certain speakers? If not then something is playing too fast/slow. Specifically which speaker are fast, which ones are slow?

What is the content you are playing? (TV/Movies, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, etc)

What are ALL the devices receiving/playing and what is the source device transmitting/sending/playing? And devices playing into a receiver? (AppleTV to receiver, Sonos Amp to speakers/receiver, Airport Express to hifi/receiver etc)

What does your network consist of? (modem/router/switches/etc w/ model numbers).

Years ago I had a playback speed issue with Sonos. I could time the difference after 10 minutes. This was prior to AirPlay 2 so it wasn't a real problem at the time.
 
cynics said:
Do the audio sync calibration mentioned in the link above.

If you pause the music, wait 10 seconds, play again does it fix it even temporarily? (do this 5 times just to make sure).

Does Sonos still support "compressed" audio playback? For testing, turn that on and see if the problem reoccurs.

When you play audio you mention it starts off sync'd and then goes out of sync. Does the music literally pause on certain speakers? If not then something is playing too fast/slow. Specifically which speaker are fast, which ones are slow?

What is the content you are playing? (TV/Movies, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, etc)

What are ALL the devices receiving/playing and what is the source device transmitting/sending/playing? And devices playing into a receiver? (AppleTV to receiver, Sonos Amp to speakers/receiver, Airport Express to hifi/receiver etc)

What does your network consist of? (modem/router/switches/etc w/ model numbers).

Years ago I had a playback speed issue with Sonos. I could time the difference after 10 minutes. This was prior to AirPlay 2 so it wasn't a real problem at the time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the excellent response. I will try the pausing and playing over the next few days and see what happens, as well as using compressed audio.

The music pauses/stutters on different speakers, and ends up about a second out, sounds like a horrible echoey mess around the house. I haven’t noticed a pattered in terms of which speakers it is. I have 5 Sonos Ones around the house, then a PlayBase, Sub and 2 x Play 1’s in my lounge as a surround set up.

This only happens when I stream apple music over AirPlay 2 from my iPhone or iPad to multiple speakers (all stays in sync if I use the Sonos app instead).

I have a modem/router provided by my ISP (an EE SmartHub). I also use a Sonos Boost.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back