Alternative to Sonos.

Well, I might have got it all sorted. As it was configured when I posted this thread, the only thing hard wired was the Boost. And as mentioned, it did nothing to solve issues but I left it in the system anyway.

So I decided to go ahead and wire several of the other components including the Amp and the speaker on the back porch.

As soon as I plugged anything other than the Boost into the router the wi-fi went down everywhere. Unplug and everything is fine. I can't tell you how many times I restarted that router with every combination imaginable. Finally I unplugged the Boost from the router. When I did I could plug in the Amp and two other speakers in the house and everything works and seems to be working well for the first time in ages including the porch speaker which is the furthest from the router.

The irony is that the $100 plastic box not only didn't help solve the problem it actually made things worse.

Still frustrated with Sonos. The implementation of its network is really pathetic but if it continues to work okay I'll keep it for now.

I live in dread of the next 'update'.

Since you appear to be already neck deep with Sonos, try fixing it by hard Ethernet wiring your main device.

I have been on Yamaha’s Musiccast eco system and I find it very stable and sonically superior to other stuff for multiroom applications.

Sooooooo........tonight I was listening to Allegri’s Miserere. I’m not a classical music aficionado, much less Renaissance expert but this is one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music I’ve ever heard. And Sonos cut out so many times I gave up.

Sorry to hear that the Sonos caused allergies, misery and other stuff when you tried to play Allegri’s Miserere. That is a no bueno sono.

I've been thinking about your situation for a while, and I offer this as a possible explanation with a solution.

A Boost creates its own wireless network for your Sonos system, meaning that your other Sonos products communicate through the Boost instead of through your regular wifi. If you installed the Boost after your other Sonos products, it's possible that it created a network that's not being used.

In a perfect world, your Boost would be wired to your router/switch/whatever, and I recommend that you do so. This is a system that works. I use it at home with five Sonos products and at two work locations with quite a few more. BUT, I had to factory reset all of my devices and re-add them when I introduced a Boost into the mix after the fact.

If this is the case (that your other Sonos products are not communicating through your Boost), you need to (basically) rebuild your Sonos network. Unplug everything. Wire the Boost to your router and make sure your Sonos app recognizes it. This is a critical first step.

Once that's done, plug in a component and execute a factory reset. You can find the instructions for each device by searching the Sonos site. After you reset it, adopt it with the Sonos app. Go thought this process with each device. When you're done, all of your devices should communicate through the Boost, significantly reducing the traffic on your regular wireless network.

I absolutely cannot guarantee that this will work, but your description makes it seem like either:

• Your wireless (and maybe wired) network stinks, or
• Your Boost isn't doing what it should

Good luck!

Tim

Thanks Tim. I more or less did all this when the Boost was installed and it never helped the situation at all. It always showed up in the Sonos app as connected and functioning properly. Having said that, there is a real probability that I did something wrong somewhere along the line.

I do think my router is not that great. It is a modem/router combo from the local ISP. So it may have been the source of some of the earlier issues. If the need arises I can get a modem from them and use my own dedicated router but no need at this point.

But, I have taken the Boost completely out of the system. Now I have the Amp, and two other speakers hard wired to the router and so far the system has performed flawlessly. I had to spend a lot of time in the basement pulling ethernet cable and drilling holes but feel it is worth it now.

I don’t know enough about IT or the Sonos architecture to say what the problem was but now the system is working great with the Boost gone.

I have also had some connectivity problems outside of Sonos and they have all disappeared as well now that the Boost is gone.

I really appreciate your thoughts on the matter but given how well things are working I don’t think I’m going to put the Boost back in the system.

Sonos doesn't play well with mesh style wireless networks (think the little plug in repeaters).

If you have an actual proper wireless system, the other issue I've found is channel interference. Changing the WiFi channel to one that's low traffic solved all issues. 

When done properly Sonos is pretty rock solid.