Oh, boy: Troubleshooting your SONOS system. If you’re having trouble syncing your SONOS speakers, you’re not alone. With the increasing complexity of multi-room setups and the introduction of new products like the SONOS Ace Wireless Headphones, users may experience issues, especially when combining wired and wireless components in the same system. In this post, we’ll walk you through some common syncing problems and offer tips to help you get your SONOS system back in harmony.
Troubleshooting Your SONOS System: Syncing Wired and Wireless SONOS Devices
SONOS systems are designed to provide seamless audio throughout your home, but syncing can become challenging when mixing wired and wireless components. For example, if you have two speakers wired directly to your network and two speakers connected wirelessly, you might notice slight delays or out-of-sync audio between them.
As of October 2024, syncing becomes even more complicated if you’re trying to use the SONOS Ace Wireless Headphones to listen to the same source as your SONOS sound system. Currently, SONOS does not officially support wireless audio syncing between the headphones and other SONOS speakers. This can be frustrating if you’re trying to move from room to room while enjoying a seamless audio experience. But don’t worry—we’ve got some workarounds and tips to help improve your setup.
Step-by-Step Solutions to Syncing SONOS Devices
While SONOS has yet to release a patch to directly support syncing between the SONOS Ace Wireless Headphones and other SONOS devices, there are a few things you can try to get the most out of your system:
- Avoid Mixing Wired and Wireless Components Whenever Possible
- The first step in troubleshooting syncing issues is to simplify your setup. If you have a combination of wired and wireless speakers, try switching to an entirely wireless setup. Wired components can create slight delays due to differences in how audio signals are transmitted, causing an out-of-sync experience.
- If wiring is necessary, make sure all your wired speakers are grouped together in the SONOS app, separate from the wireless components. This won’t completely eliminate the delay, but it can reduce it.
- Use SONOS Trueplay Tuning to Optimize Audio Performance
- SONOS Trueplay allows you to fine-tune the sound of your system based on the room’s acoustics. While it won’t fix the syncing problem entirely, it can help balance the audio and reduce noticeable lag.
- Open the SONOS app and navigate to Settings > System > Room Settings, then select the room where your speakers are located. From there, you can run the Trueplay tuning process.
- Adjust Group Audio Delay Settings
- In the SONOS app, you can manually adjust the Group Audio Delay to help bring wired and wireless components more in sync. This setting lets you set a delay on audio playing to certain groups of speakers, which can help even out the timing.
- Go to Settings > System > Group Audio Delay and experiment with different delay times to find the best balance for your setup.
- Try Using a Third-Party App to Stream Audio to the Headphones and Speakers Simultaneously
- Although SONOS does not currently support syncing the SONOS Ace Wireless Headphones with the rest of the system directly, third-party apps like Airfoil or AudioRelay can be used to stream audio from your computer to both your SONOS speakers and headphones.
- Be aware that these solutions may introduce additional latency, but they can be useful workarounds for specific situations.
- Update Your SONOS Firmware Regularly
- SONOS is actively working to improve their devices and software. Make sure your speakers and the SONOS app are running the latest firmware. This can help resolve minor bugs and syncing issues.
- In the SONOS app, go to Settings > System > System Updates and check for any available updates.
What to Expect from SONOS in the Near Future
SONOS is aware of the syncing issues when mixing wired and wireless devices, as well as the demand for seamless integration of the SONOS Ace Wireless Headphones. While there is no official fix as of now, SONOS has a history of addressing customer feedback with software patches and updates. Keep an eye out for future updates that may bring new syncing capabilities to the headphones and multi-room audio systems.
When to Contact SONOS Support
If you’ve tried the steps above and are still experiencing significant issues, it might be time to reach out to SONOS support. They can help troubleshoot your specific setup and may have more advanced solutions available.
You can contact SONOS support directly from here: https://support.sonos.com/en-ca/home
