Internet speeds vs Sonos devices?

[N80]

I get my internet service through the local phone company which is the only source other than satellite. It is okay at best; sketchy at times. I use their router which has a built in modem. I get their "high speed internet" which is not the highest speed option. I have no idea what that means. Lately internet speeds have been noticeably slow. I began checking them a few days ago. Anywhere from 5 mbps to 20mbps. Usually around 10 mbps.

I called tech support. He said two things: 1) To get advertised speeds the devices had to be wired to the router. I'm sure that is true but also a bit bait-and-switchy in my opinion. 2) He said he could see that I had 16 devices on the modem network. It is just my wife and I: 2 cell phones, 2 computers, 1 ipad and a Sonos system. There are six Sonos devices. One is hard wired. He says those devices are causing me to lose bandwidth even when they are not in use.

Then he tried to upsell me.

Now, this problem is new. Maybe 3-4 weeks. Nothing had changed in terms of devices.

So my question is: Do Sonos speakers use up enough bandwidth to choke internet speeds even when they are not in use?

 

[plowhog]

I just installed whole house Sonos yesterday. Along the way I found a massive amount of disinformation about their products.

The sales rep brought out the highest level / highest skilled tech in the region for a job walk before finalizing my order. That rep told me a Sonos system requires 25-40mb download speed on your internet. I could not understand why/how that would be possible, so I asked for an explanation. Got a bunch of "fudge" but not a good answer.

He recommended all sonos devices be hardwired to minimize the amount of load on the wifi.

Yesterday, the tech who installed it said " noooooooooooooooooo " you don't want to hardwire it. So I looked up the data at sonos.com, and found that they mostly recommend doing hardwire to one device only, then letting sonos build its on wifi capability outside of that.

I can understand a lot of wifi traffic between devices within my home, but I cannot understand what traffic would be going up/down the internet pipe. Except, of course, for music streaming which *is* something that sonos offers.

I've only run it for a day ... but so far no problems with streaming TV or operating the Sonos system.

btw, Sonos is great! Our house was pre-wired with 15 speaker locations, but until yesterday we had not yet installed speakers and used this capability. Now, now we can have music, TV audio, or anything similar to any combination of locations. So far it seems like a very good system, and easy to use via the Sonos phone app.

 

[Jchonline]

I get my internet service through the local phone company which is the only source other than satellite. It is okay at best; sketchy at times. I use their router which has a built in modem. I get their "high speed internet" which is not the highest speed option. I have no idea what that means. Lately internet speeds have been noticeably slow. I began checking them a few days ago. Anywhere from 5 mbps to 20mbps. Usually around 10 mbps.

I called tech support. He said two things: 1) To get advertised speeds the devices had to be wired to the router. I'm sure that is true but also a bit bait-and-switchy in my opinion. 2) He said he could see that I had 16 devices on the modem network. It is just my wife and I: 2 cell phones, 2 computers, 1 ipad and a Sonos system. There are six Sonos devices. One is hard wired. He says those devices are causing me to lose bandwidth even when they are not in use.

Then he tried to upsell me.

Now, this problem is new. Maybe 3-4 weeks. Nothing had changed in terms of devices.

So my question is: Do Sonos speakers use up enough bandwidth to choke internet speeds even when they are not in use?

Tech support answers:

1. In general wifi signal bandwidth is slower than an actual ethernet cable form your computer to the router/modem. So that IS true. However....it depends on the 802.11 protocol that the router is broadcasting, and the ability of the receiving device to also accept that same speed. Example: router can broadcast at 802.11ac but your old laptop can only receive at 802.11b. b is way slower than AC. In summary the best way to test true speed of your internet from house to ISP is with a device connected via ethernet cable directly to the modem/router. Nothing bait and switch...you just dont understand networking quite well enough

2. Really depends on the device count. You would need to get admin access to the modem/router, then look at each device's MAC address in the devices table. Then you can match those up to the MAC address that should be available on each of the physical devices. Ipad will be in the Settings menu, computers you can look at Networking settings, Sonos should be printed on a label on the device. Sometimes old devices also stick around on the table, so some could be that as well.

To answer your question...easy answer. Sonos probably uses almost NO internet. It is using Wifi. So if anything it is clogging up your home wifi network. However if you want to know a real world test is just unplug all Sonos when you are seeing poor internet speeds and check it out. Most likely that is a load of crap, and the rural ISP just sucks. Seen this multiple times...always want to blame equipment when their ISP backbone is 40 years old.

More than likely they have added new clients on the same backbone lines as you are on, and this diminishes the throughput at any node where they interconnect. However you arent going to get them to fix it. Better to find a new ISP.

 

[Jchonline]

I just installed whole house Sonos yesterday. Along the way I found a massive amount of disinformation about their products.

The sales rep brought out the highest level / highest skilled tech in the region for a job walk before finalizing my order. That rep told me a Sonos system requires 25-40mb download speed on your internet. I could not understand why/how that would be possible, so I asked for an explanation. Got a bunch of "fudge" but not a good answer.

He recommended all sonos devices be hardwired to minimize the amount of load on the wifi.

Yesterday, the tech who installed it said " noooooooooooooooooo " you don't want to hardwire it. So I looked up the data at sonos.com, and found that they mostly recommend doing hardwire to one device only, then letting sonos build its on wifi capability outside of that.

I can understand a lot of wifi traffic between devices within my home, but I cannot understand what traffic would be going up/down the internet pipe. Except, of course, for music streaming which *is* something that sonos offers.

I've only run it for a day ... but so far no problems with streaming TV or operating the Sonos system.

btw, Sonos is great! Our house was pre-wired with 15 speaker locations, but until yesterday we had not yet installed speakers and used this capability. Now, now we can have music, TV audio, or anything similar to any combination of locations. So far it seems like a very good system, and easy to use via the Sonos phone app.

Internet is not the same as wifi. I see no reason why a Sonos device would need to communicate data rates of 25 + mbps over the internet outside your home. If it does, be very weary.

 

[plowhog]

router can broadcast at 802.11ac but your old laptop can only receive at 802.11b. b is way slower than AC.

fyi sonos requires using the 2.4G portion of a wifi signal. Not 5G.

 

[Carl_NH]

We have the Sonos system with the Sonos Boost for wider area coverage (total 12 Sonos devices throughout the house).

I don't think Sonos devices take any significant bandwidth as they are their own network of devices.

A year ago, we signed up for 1GB service from Comcast (cable) as we had 50MB before that (and Sonos) also added a 3.1 Docsis cable modem, and a AC1950 Netgear Router which was touted as a gigabit router. Still fastest DL we could get was 170MBS right next to the router, and dropped off to 10MBS in the house.

Finally this summer I had Comcast come out and troubleshoot the system and we were getting 1GB download but the Netgear router maxed out at 250MB (its 5 years old and no firmware would solve it). So we upgraded to an Orbi 753 mesh router with 2 satelites and now get over 100MBS all over the property.

I think the issue is with the router and line speeds as it will vary depending on traffic - check your speed directly connected to the modem and you should be at your rated speed or better, if not it's on the company to resolve.

 

[Jchonline]

fyi sonos requires using the 2.4G portion of a wifi signal. Not 5G.

That was just a general example. There are 802.11 protocols newer than AC now....but yes AC was the first to support 5g. It also supports 2.4g as well. b is 2.4, no 5. However none of this has to do with data over the internet at all. We are still talking internal home network....

 

[LittleBill21]

understand every wifi network you add to a house, increases the "noise floor" and will cause performance hits on the other wifi networks, especially if they happen to use the same channels, how big of a hit is dependent on a bunch of factors but. if you easily have the ability to wire them, then wire them.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys.

I cannot get another ISP. Phone company is a monopoly here.

I got a Sonos Boost a while back to get signal to the porch. It did not help at all. Will probably hardwire porch speakers.

I love Sonos too but mine cuts out a lot. Boost did not help that either.

I'll have to check and see if I have Sonos on 2.4g.

Finally, tech came out to the house and replaced router/modem combo and speeds are now as advertised around 600 mbps! Earlier today it was 4.

 

[plowhog]

My sonos was connecting/disconnecting upon first install, which kind of stumped the installer. He asked if my wireless APs were a mesh network and a few other questions that would come into play if different AP's were serving different devices. It was doing that when it was "wireless only."

When I had them convert to "wired" (for just one sonos device) that problem melted away. Just looked at it, and best I can tell the hard wire ethernet connects to one of the Sonos "ports."