Sonos Controls and Questions In v.5

I thought it might be helpful to have a thread re controlling Sonos in v.5 since we're all starting to settle in with the new layout. Lot to like in terms of the "clean" and simple layout. One issue I'm having that I'm hoping someone can help out on: I have my Sonos linked to various accounts, including Pandora and SiriusXM. I'm finding that v5 won't allow me to switch from a Pandora stream to a Sirius XM stream. All my favorites appear in the Songs Guide under Sonos favorites, but when I tap on one of the SiriusXM favorites, it does not switch (same for other sources). In v4, I had transport set buttons set up, but they are not available in the new app yet. Thoughts?

Any custom buttons or designs you may have established in a prior version are unchanged. The release announcement covers that:

https://www.simplecontrol.com/sc5release/

Thank you. I’ve read the (very thorough) release announcement (a couple of times!). Not sure if you mean forcing the legacy remote design. I’d prefer to stick with the new layout wherever possible. I’m sorry if I’m missing something but is there a way to fix this issue without forcing a legacy remote? Thanks!

I'm having the same issue with xm satellite. Any resolution?

I'm assuming the only way to access xm channels is to save them in the sonos app under my sonos? If I do this, the channels show up in SC5 under sonos favorites but selecting it does not change the channel.

Thank you.

Have not tried that, but it sounds like something you could probably get working with a .SOURCE SET or .TRANSPORT SET command. This is the kind of thing impossible to diagnose in a forum because the first requirement is a diagnostic.

I am also having trouble controlling Pandora via Sonos. The Pandora extension no longer shows up as a device in SC5. I am ultimately trying to start/change Pandora stations via SC5. How do you set this up in version 5?

This is what I to from the Simple Control guys:

"Sonos recently stopped supporting the Pandora extension via firmware update. They are attempting make an official 3rd party api which currently only supports play/pause control as before and does not support any services. We are keeping an eye for when they release service support so that we can offer that back. "

That language is mostly correct. I would just make sure to distinguish "services" from everything else like media feedback, music library and queue and playlist browsing/guide/control, etc.

The only piece that suddenly didn't work when Sonos broke it is the browsing of Pandora stations. The chances are good that we will be able to add that back at some point. Once playing, everything else works fine.

I just added a Sonos to my home/test setup. I have a pair of Sonos One's configured as a stereo pair.

How does Simple Control 5 handle Sonos in a stereo pair - when I start to "Add device", Simple Control detects both of them as separate devices. Should I add both of them or only one of them or does it matter?

If they are a stereo pair, you should ideally add just one of them. While in principle you can do things with each of them, it's much cleaner to deal with them as one.

Will - Are there plans to implement similar Sonos browsing capabilities on other services besides Pandora such as Apple Music and Spotify? It seems that the Pandora Sonos issue described above has not yet been resolved, but I am wondering if the same issue applies to other music services.

Is there any update on the Sonos integration to Simple Control? Specifically - the ability to control music sources like Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora. I realize there is currently a workaround to initiate pandora stations or Sonos playlists using the TRANSPORT SET. command. Wondering when to expect a more permanent solution.

Sonos has no API at present officially for doing any of that. While most things like music library browsing and internet radio still work fine today in SC5, starting content from third-party services like Spotify needs our special .TRANSPORT SET commands, etc.

The good news is that Sonos states they are building such an API. Last year they released the first version of it, but the current official API has no handling whatsoever of music services so would actually be a big downgrade for us to switch to that right now. We look forward to the future API. Given it's not available yet, you should definitely be measuring that kind of thing in quarters or years. The beta process alone for Sonos would likely be half a year is my guess.