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urban_spaceman's avatar
urban_spaceman
Tuning in
2 years ago

Connecting Sonos to Virgin broadband

Hi there. Am really hoping someone can help me!!!

We have recently moved home and had Virgin Media broadband installed with the “Hub 3”.

However my Sonos is not connecting to it.

The Sonos app is saying that if a router supports both 2.5Ghz and 5Ghz then they need to be split and renamed. I've tried this - I think - by going into the router settings then into Wireless then security and giving both different names. No joy.

One at a time I have also disabled each and tried, but again no joy.

Can anyone help at all please?

Thanks a million.

41 Replies

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  • urban_spaceman's avatar
    urban_spaceman
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    I have yes but it won't connect. The troubleshooting messages that caused me to take the steps detailed above are ...

  • g0akc's avatar
    g0akc
    Problem sorter
    2 years ago

    Are the renamed SSIDs (network names) showing correctly (shining okay)?

    • In the hub settings check that you have renamed them and it has retained the setting - with, say, VMXXXX2 and VMXXXXX5
    • Then use a free Wifi Analyser app and see if you see them both correctly.  You should also be able to see them in your device's list of available networks (check with a smartphone or whatever).
    • Often VM software updates or bugs mean that the hub reverts to a single SSID - hopefully this won't be a problem once your equipment is connected - but maybe keep one of the SSIDs as standard and only rename one of them or the connection might be lost.
    • urban_spaceman's avatar
      urban_spaceman
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Hi there. It's definitely retaining the settings and "shining". Still no joy though 😞

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    2 years ago

    Make sure the 2.4Ghz WiFi of the Hub is set to B/G/N mixed mode as per the Sonos instructions.

  • urban_spaceman's avatar
    urban_spaceman
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    I've followed the Sonos instructions and it's still not connecting.

     

    Here's a screenshot of the Wireless signal settings:

     

    • Adri_G's avatar
      Adri_G
      Forum Team (Retired)
      2 years ago

      Hi urban_spaceman, thanks for reaching out on our help forums and welcome to the VM community. 🙂

      We're sorry to see you've been struggling with connecting your Sonos speaker to the new hub 3 and VM network.

      We'd love to best help with this, from what we can read above you've tried to split the frequencies and follow the advice from the Sonos App without luck so far.

      Have you switched the smart Wi Fi feature off (channel optimisation off) on the hub settings when amending these to ensure the changes will stay on? 
      (Channel optimisation is set to switch back to the smart wireless default settings if on).

      Have you by any chance tried to switch to WPA instead of WPA2 option for security as your hub should be on by default at the minute to see if this helps?
      To make this change, go to advanced settings>wireless>security and opt for WPA protocol instead of the WPA2 one.

      Once you save this, see if refreshing the Wi Fi connection with your speaker works this time.

      Lastly, could you please tell us what error you get when attempting to connect your Sonos to the Wi Fi so we can advise more?

      Please, share these and we're here to assist further where needed.

      • urban_spaceman's avatar
        urban_spaceman
        Tuning in
        2 years ago

        Hi Adri. Thanks for replying and sorry for the delayed response, I have been away with work.

         

        In the meantime we were upgraded to a Hub 5 but unfortunately we are still having issues with Sonos.

         

        The Sonos now connects to the WiFi but we can't use Alexa to play music (through any player: Amazon Music, Spotify, etc).

         

        The router settings are as per above - ie we have given 2.5 & 5 GHz separate names.

         

        I have also followed your advice by switching off smart Wi-Fi however a) this didn't resolve the issue, and b) it meant that other devices (eg my TV) couldn't connect to either 2.5 or 5.

         

        Also I am unable to switch from WPA-2 to WPA as there is no option for this. The available options are WPA2-PSK, WPA3-SAE, or WPA2-PSK/WPA3-SAE.

         

        Would really appreciate more help. Thanks.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    The Hub 5 is has the newer wifi 6 AX protocol, so some older IoT can cause problems.  Check as below and set the 2.4Ghz to legacy;

    Access your Hub by navigating to 192.168.0.1
    Login with the default login info (on base of Hub) unless you've already updated it.
    Go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > Wireless signal
    In the Wireless frequency 2.4GHz select Wireless mode > 802.11b/g/n/ax mixed
    Select Apply changes

    If all fails, you could try a basic 2.4Ghz wifi extender, connect this to the Hub and connect the Sonos to the basic extender.?  Something like this Buy TP Link 300Mbps Universal Wi-Fi Range Extender | Wi-Fi boosters | Argos

  • urban_spaceman's avatar
    urban_spaceman
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    As per above I am already using those settings. 

     

    Per the wifi extender - are you suggesting this to boost my signal? If so that is irrelevant as the device is set up pretty much next to the router and by all accounts (inc Virgin's app) the strength is excellent.

    • newapollo's avatar
      newapollo
      Very Insightful Person
      2 years ago

      Hi urban_spaceman 

      I have a hub 5 and don't have any issues connecting my various devices. I have left my hub on the default settings which means both SSID's have the same name (I need to do this so my VM supplied WiFi pod will work)

      The default settings mean that the 5Ghz band is actually using channel 108 which is the DFS band - perhaps yours is using one of the DFS  band channels too and it needs changing?

      If so I would Disable channel optimisation and select the Manual channel option and change the channel under 5Ghz, then scroll down and click on Apply Changes.

      There may be a problem going forward and you might have to keep repeating this though as the hub5 likes to reset to the default settings.

    • Adduxi's avatar
      Adduxi
      Very Insightful Person
      2 years ago

      Not suggesting for a better signal.  It’s more a case of seeing if the Sonos will connect to the extender rather than the Hub.  It may do because it’s different hardware. 

  • Chris_W1's avatar
    Chris_W1
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    2 years ago

    Hi urban_spaceman, thanks for the message and welcome back to the forums. 

    I am sorry to hear that you are still having issues with this, can you do what newapollo has suggested? 

    Thanks for your input new apollo and hopefully this resolves things for the customer. 

    Kind regards, Chris. 

    • urban_spaceman's avatar
      urban_spaceman
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Hi Chris and Apollo.

      I tried what you suggested but it did not work. In fact it meant that other than my laptop my other devices couldn't connect at all (see screengrab from my phone to illustrate this). NB I had no connection either when I tried the "via Virgin Connect" options.

      Cheers, Matt

      • Adduxi's avatar
        Adduxi
        Very Insightful Person
        2 years ago

        One suggestion here, don’t use a period (.) in SSID names.  Some devices will not connect. 

    • urban_spaceman's avatar
      urban_spaceman
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Hi Chris (or @Adri_G) as per the above I am still having no joy. Any more suggestions please?

      • Zach_R's avatar
        Zach_R
        Forum Team (Retired)
        2 years ago

        Hi urban_spaceman,

        Thank you for the update on this. It's a shame to hear that the issue is ongoing for you.

        To clarify, are any other devices having problems connecting to your broadband connection, or is it only the Sonos speaker that's struggling to connect?

        Thanks,
         

  • urban_spaceman's avatar
    urban_spaceman
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    Hi Zach, it's only the Sonos speaker - or specifically playing music on the Sonos (via any combination of voice control / music platform).

    • Zach_R's avatar
      Zach_R
      Forum Team (Retired)
      2 years ago

      Hi urban_spaceman,

      Thank you for confirming. Have you been able to reach out to the manufacturer of the device directly to see if they're able to offer any additional assistance and insight to remedy this?

      Thanks,
       

  • urban_spaceman's avatar
    urban_spaceman
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    Thanks for posting David - I was concerned I was doing something wrong. I'd had zero problems for a few years when my supplier was Talk Talk, and the problem only started when we moved house and switched to Virgin.

    Would be great to hear if you do find a solution as the process here hasn't been great.

    • Robert_P's avatar
      Robert_P
      Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
      2 years ago

      Hi urban_spaceman

       

      Sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with your hub and Sonos equipment, we appreciate you taking the time to raise this via the forums and welcome to the community.

       

      Have you spoken to Sonos in regards to this to see if they can offer support? As Sonos is third party equipment we are limited to the support we can offer. Which model Hub do you have? Are you using this in modem mode with a mesh system or connecting directly to the hub?

       

      We'd ask to ensure the Sonos equipment and app are up to date with the firmware for the equipment and the app version is the latest. 

       

      Rob