Sonos without WiFi :: Revisiting an old topic
by Volker Weber
Warning: this is not a beginner's practice. If you don't know about network design, do not try any of the things I am talking about. I have written about it before, but that post is no longer valid as of Sonos 7.3. The web interface at port 1400 now expects a hidden CSRF token and the player no longer accepts parameters as GET variables. The good news is that WiFi Control has been redesigned so that this form now works.
Sonos pretty much takes care of networking all by itself. There are two ways it works. The simpler and newer approach is that all players just connect to your WiFi access point. The original and more elaborate scheme is that you connect one player or a BOOST device to your router via an Ethernet cable and Sonos manages its very own mesh network. This can cause problems in more elaborate networks since Sonos uses STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) to avoid building loops which can lead to broadcast storms. If your network has a Smart Switch, you need to make sure that Sonos does not mess up your network via STP. Disabling the mesh takes care of that. The network matrix of a large-ish Sonos mesh can be quite daunting:
With WiFi Control there is a third way to run your network. You have to run an Ethernet wire to each player and then you disable the WiFi component inside the Sonos player. The default is ON, and if you set it to OFF, it will turn back on when the player reboots. That means, if you make a mistake and cannot see your player any more you only have to recycle it to get it back. The third option Persist Off means, it will not come back on after a reboot. Handle with care.
You can see the active interfaces by issuing the same ifconfig command as you would on a Mac or Linux. ath0 is the WiFi interface. You just have to pass it as a URL to the player:
http://192.168.1.129:1400/status/ifconfig
You will find the IP address of your players either inside your DHCP server or via the About my Sonos option in your Sonos controller. The WiFi Control interface is at
http://192.168.1.129:1400/wifictrl
This setting only affects one player. You need to apply it to all players that are supposed to run without WiFi.
Comments
Gut zu wissen dass es Möglichkeiten gibt wenn man Probleme hat. Solange bei mir alles ohne irgendwelche Eingriffe funktioniert bleibe ich beim alten "never touch a running system".
Über :1400/support/review freut sich der Nerd in mir, danke.
Wie beim normalen WLAN sehe ich, dass unser Wohnzimmer funktechnisch ungünstig liegt. Trotz gelbem bzw. rotem Eintrag in der Network Matrix zum Glück keine Einschränkung spürbar.
