Mister Wi-Fi does NOT like me! In fact I dread doing anything that involves hooking up a new Wi-Fi devise!

[chief38]

Last week end my wife and I went to 3 Memorial Day parties - they were all great. The one thing they all had in common was every home we were in had Sonos speakers throughout the house - they sounded great and they all sinked to each other for a seamless sound experience walking from room to room or from inside to outside. In fact I likes them so much I went to Best Buy today and picked up a bunch of them. As my title above says, Mr. Wi-Fi and I just don't get along! Whenever I try and hookup a new Wi-Fi devise I always have trouble. In anticipation to that I summoned one of my "geeky" friends over for the assist - his exact saying was, " this is going to be a can of corn, you'll see". Yea- right!!

So anyway, I let him start the process of downloading the app, getting the first speaker programmed and synced. We got about 1/2 done and then Mr Wi-Fi raised its ugly head! The process only went 1/2 way even though we were doing everything correctly and then it did nothing at all. He then told me how great their customer service is so we called them. It was very difficult for us to understand the person on the other end of the phone between the poor connection to India and their accent. We got cut off 6 times and each time we called back we had to start over from square one, gave them all my info over and over each time and had to re-try everything from the beginning each time. That in itself was frustrating enough, but each time we called we did get one step closer to getting the first speaker working. Long story short, after 2 hours and 45 minutes the first speaker was finally hooked up and working. Getting the rest of them set up was fairly easy.

So as I understand it, for some reason the Sonos did not like the name of my network. Not only do I have a router I also have an eero system hooked up to the router. We changed the network name temporarily and the Wi-Fi did connect. After that success, I changed the name back to what it has been for 3 1/2 years. I truly don't get it, but what the heck - it works! Getting all the other speakers connected was pretty much "a can of corn", but the process all in all took 3 1/2 hours. It's a good thing my friend was here - I was gettin ready to bring them back to the place of purchase.

They do sound pretty good and tomorrow I will auto tune the to the rooms. Hopefully they will continue to work well and we will enjoy them. Unfortunately, each time I have tried connecting a new devise to Wi-Fi, I always have issues - big time! And yes, I do turn off my VPN, I do turn on location services while the process is being done. Thankfully this is not something I will need to do on a daily or even weekly basis. Smart homes and devises are great - when they are working. When they don't - they are a real P.I.T.A. !!

 

[Onomea]

I like my Sonos system, two Play 5s and a Sub downstairs and a Beam upstairs with the TV. What I learned about WiFi and Sonos is that when I installed a T-Mobile 5G terminal, replacing a Comcast fiber router, it did not like the Google Nest system that I had. I disconnected, after much fiddling, the Google Nest from the network and all has been well.

But I find I don't really like speakers all over the house. I like my music in the living room. The Beam device hooked up to the TV is good for TV audio, though. TV speakers are really poor.

I do like the wireless aspect of Sonos. Hate all those audio wires all over the place. Always have.

----

The switch from Comcast — or was it XFinity? — anyway, the switch, to T-Mobile, was way more of a PiTA than I anticipated. So much stuff in the house is now connected to WiFi. Hardest one was my Kohler whole house generator. If I had known what a PITA it was gonna be, I am not sure if I would have switched...

 

[LVSteve]

A piece of equipment that requires me to turn on location services to get it hooked up is something I don't need.

"So as I understand it, for some reason the Sonos did not like the name of my network."

Red flag for the way the thing is made and programmed right there. Thanks for the heads up of not what to buy.

 

[chief38]

I turned off location services after initial hook up and it is working fine. I am basically just channeling my Pandora music to the Sonos. I find that location services are usually only required while setting up. The only other time I have LS on is when using Apple Maps on my phone, otherwise it’s off.

I have a VPN and try and stay private as much as possible but the truth is that in 2025 you can no longer “hide”. Yea, maybe for guys like us, but if someone who is tech savvy wants to find you or your location it’s not that difficult anyway. Tracking, facial recognition, monitoring of texts, calls, email, etc. 1984 is here!

 

[gwpercle]

I dread all things electronic / computer ...

It's just not in my DNA and I will never understand it .
Gary

 

[johnjohn]

Whenever I have any sort of WI/Fi /electronic problems. I call one of the grandkids the can explain over the phone/or drop by and fix it.

 

[chief38]

Well after only a few days with the Sonos system finally up and running, I am really liking it! I just bought another speaker for my Master Bathroom. It is a rather large bathroom and just my iphone playing doesn't cut ut now that I know there is way better - lol.

 

[TX-Dennis]

That is a nice bathroom.

Mine is similar.


Well, similar in the respect that it has two sinks, a shower, and a toilet anyway. It's definitely not similar in size.

I remember when I was a kid a great aunt lived in an early 20th century Craftsman. It only had one bathroom, but that bathroom was as big as the living room. As a kid I always wondered why it needed to be so big.

 

[chief38]

That is a nice bathroom.

Mine is similar.


Well, similar in the respect that it has two sinks, a shower, and a toilet anyway. It's definitely not similar in size.

I remember when I was a kid a great aunt lived in an early 20th century Craftsman. It only had one bathroom, but that bathroom was as big as the living room. As a kid I always wondered why it needed to be so big.

Thanks - yes it is huge! The shower is 10' x 5'. A bit ridiculous actually but we have grown used to it. When we go away and stay in a hotel or my Son & DIL's house, the showers seem tiny in comparison. There is another 12 feet behind me that does not appear in the picture too. That is why we put the Sonos speaker in there - make for a relaxing experience. .

 

[lihpster]

Thanks - yes it is huge! The shower is 10' x 5'. A bit ridiculous actually but we have grown used to it. When we go away and stay in a hotel or my Son & DIL's house, the showers seem tiny in comparison. There is another 12 feet behind me that does not appear in the picture too. That is why we put the Sonos speaker in there - make for a relaxing experience. .

The world is what you make of it. If it doesn't fit, make alterations.
The first time my buddy asked me to help him move his aunt's belongings from place to place, was when her ex-husband died and left her the house they built together and all it's contents. As we walked into the house, the first thing I noticed was a piece of furniture made of walnut and large in size. I thought, well this will be the rough one. It wasn't, but that's another story. I come around to the front of it and realize it's an enormous speaker. It was 6' wide 2 1/2' deep and 3 1/2' high. Huge thing, but beautiful. Now we're standing in a long living room with a glass wall on one side, with a fireplace in the middle, and at the other end from the speaker is the kitchen, with a corner sink and widow. The whole room is oriented so that Mt Hood is framed in the background.
I ask my buddy about the speaker and he tells me it's a high end speaker that delivers incredible sound, but it sounds best at a certain distance. That distance, which I forget exactly, but was 35-40 feet, is the distance from the speaker on one wall, to the sink with it's corner window. See, since they had built and designed the place, she had made the entire room for one thing. To enjoy the view and her favorite music, with a fire crackling in the fireplace while she washed dishes. Seriously, the main focus of the house was designed to make washing dishes a more pleasant experience. When I asked her why she went to so much trouble, she just made a face and said, "I hate doing dishes."
When we got to the storage area we were moving some of the things too, including the speaker, I noticed a familliar sized lump under moving blankets. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He said, "Yeah, after they split up she decided she missed the first one and bought another one."
I miss that old lady. She was a good egg.

 

[chief38]

The world is what you make of it. If it doesn't fit, make alterations.
The first time my buddy asked me to help him move his aunt's belongings from place to place, was when her ex-husband died and left her the house they built together and all it's contents. As we walked into the house, the first thing I noticed was a piece of furniture made of walnut and large in size. I thought, well this will be the rough one. It wasn't, but that's another story. I come around to the front of it and realize it's an enormous speaker. It was 6' wide 2 1/2' deep and 3 1/2' high. Huge thing, but beautiful. Now we're standing in a long living room with a glass wall on one side, with a fireplace in the middle, and at the other end from the speaker is the kitchen, with a corner sink and widow. The whole room is oriented so that Mt Hood is framed in the background.
I ask my buddy about the speaker and he tells me it's a high end speaker that delivers incredible sound, but it sounds best at a certain distance. That distance, which I forget exactly, but was 35-40 feet, is the distance from the speaker on one wall, to the sink with it's corner window. See, since they had built and designed the place, she had made the entire room for one thing. To enjoy the view and her favorite music, with a fire crackling in the fireplace while she washed dishes. Seriously, the main focus of the house was designed to make washing dishes a more pleasant experience. When I asked her why she went to so much trouble, she just made a face and said, "I hate doing dishes."
When we got to the storage area we were moving some of the things too, including the speaker, I noticed a familliar sized lump under moving blankets. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He said, "Yeah, after they split up she decided she missed the first one and bought another one."
I miss that old lady. She was a good egg.

Good story! Speakers have undergone drastic changes over the last 60 years. My very first set of loudspeakers when I was 16 were AR speakers and they were huge! I had them for many years but constant playing of loud music eventually took its toll on them (and my ears too). When I was away at college I had a pair of Dynaco speakers which were half the size of the AR's and actually sounded better. I believe that was the start of the new technology in small sized speakers. When we moved into our first home I bought a whole new stereo system made by Techniques. Those speakers were gigantic standing almost 3.5 feet tall, 14" wide and a foot deep. Believe it or not they were not all that terrific. When we bought our second house I went for my lungs and purchased a very high end 12 speaker surround sound unit made by Bose. That was incredible - and the speakers were 4" x 6" except for the very large subwoofer. Since I hardwired everything into my old den, the couple who bought my house were interested in buying the Bose system and I did sell it to them.

Fast forward to where we are now. We have very high 12 1/2' ceilings in this home and there is still a slight echo even after trying to furnish with softer sound absorbing accessories & furniture. After going to many people's homes here I have concluded the best sound system for these houses is the Sonos. Aside from the power cord, they are wireless and can be placed anywhere there is an outlet within 6 feet. That allows great versatility and the speakers automatically tune to the the exact place they are put in. The one exception is the "Move2" speaker which is battery powered (plays 24+ hours on battery only) but normally sits on its charging base to easily just be lifted off and taken anywhere. That speaker auto tunes to wherever it is placed and changes upon the requirements of the area.

Today's technology is incredible! They can put giant sound in a very compact package! Sonos speakers are expensive but I must say, they do perform. Up until I bought the Sonos two weeks ago I had a few portable Bose speakers but the models I had were not really all that great. Bose uses Bluetooth technology instead of wi-fi and you can NOT sync the music from room to room. Sonos uses wi-fi so all my speakers are perfectly in sync. I believe in their new lineup Bose might have added wi-fi, but not sure. We love listening to music throughout the day!

 

[oldbrownhat]

Good story! Speakers have undergone drastic changes over the last 60 years. My very first set of loudspeakers when I was 16 were AR speakers and they were huge! I had them for many years but constant playing of loud music eventually took its toll on them (and my ears too). When I was away at college I had a pair of Dynaco speakers which were half the size of the AR's and actually sounded better. I believe that was the start of the new technology in small sized speakers. ...

Those names of yesteryear bring back some memories! Being interested mostly in classical music I never went the "tower of power/blow yer ears out" route (!) I had a pair of Celestion Ditton 25's for years beforer selling them to a friend (who may well still have them). I've had two of Bowers & Wilkins 800 series professional speakers for about 30 years now- the smallest of the floor-standing ones (804) and the compact 805's, which I think were designed as near-field monitors for Abbey Road Studio 1. They are certainly far better than my ears are now.

But I remembered this thread this morning after yet another incredibly annoying attempt to "chat" with my gf on MS Teams (previously Skype) where the connection at her end kept freezing (buffering?). She's on a good connection- faster than mine in fact - and streams online video/Netflix/Britbox etc. She tried her iPhone, iPad and her industrial-strength Dell laptop, all to no avail.

"This is not a bug, it's a feature" still seems to be valid!