Why Can’t My Smart Speakers Stream Music Correctly?
This is a common problem: you or someone you know spent money on an incredibly fast internet connection, but they still can’t get their wired and wireless devices to play properly in their home or apartment. This invariably leads to the question, “Why am I paying so much for the insane internet speed that I can’t see?”
I recently moved – just as the coronavirus frenzy began, which is history in itself – and the people I rent from now paid their ass for a gigabit Comcast. However, they used so many wireless repeaters in their home to transmit signal from one corner to another that they couldn’t even access the Internet in any meaningful way in their home. Imagine having access to speeds that most people in Silicon Valley will never see, but can’t even load Instagram in the living room. Uf.
Life hacker reader Michael has a similar problem: excellent internet speed and terrible home connection. He describes his predicament on this week’s 911 service :
Q: I have excellent internet speed and poor connection. What gives?
I have a Sonos system with eleven devices. My home internet speed is 1000MB over fiber (in Chattanooga). I bought a new computer to make this easier, but I still have problems, presumably because although the wifi card in my new computer was advertised as a 100MB download, it only does about 56. They seem to be able to advertise bs and avoid punishment. My model is a hp 15-dy1xxx laptop. I can plug the USB to Ethernet adapter and get enough power for Sonos. You have a recommendation for a plug-in device that will replace the “100 MB” Wi-Fi card on my computer. Sonos says I must have at least 5MB per device for it to work properly. Ps- I do not understand. Thanks!
A: Here are some non-technical ideas for improving your network connection.
First, thanks for sharing that you’re not tech savvy, Michael. I think this is important! I will not try to overwhelm you with solutions that the average person cannot implement. While I would like to think that everyone knows how to run an Ethernet cable around their home and set up access points, the reality is that for many people, the thought provokes the same initial fear as the assumption that something can be changed. … oil in the driveway. No no no.
Let’s highlight a few of the technology issues you raised to make this process easier. First, you have amazing super-fast home internet speeds. Anytime up to a month ago, I would have been madly jealous that you have a better internet in Chattanooga than I do in the heart of technology in California’s ever-disappointing Silicon Valley. However, now we are equal, and I am happy for you and your attitude as well as for mine.
While I highly doubt your home internet has an issue preventing your Sonos speakers from streaming music, there is an easy way to check. Take an Ethernet cable and use it to connect your computer or laptop directly to one of the non-Internet or WAN ports on the back of your wireless router. This Internet / WAN port must already be connected to your cable modem.
If you’re using an all-in-one cable modem and a Wi-Fi router – for example, a device you got from your ISP that already has a coaxial cable plugged into it – any Ethernet port on its back should suffice.
With your laptop or desktop connected, visit a site such as fast.com . You probably won’t see gigabit speeds (1000+ Mbps), but you will at least see a big and great number. Here’s what mine looks like on a similar 1000 Mbps plan:
Again, I highly doubt your internet connection is causing any of these problems, but if you see something surprisingly slow compared to what you are paying for, say 50-100 Mbps, you can talk to your internet service provider.
Let’s move on!
Don’t believe the Wi-Fi numbers you read on the boxes
When you use any wireless-capable device, such as a laptop, router or Wi-Fi adapter, you are usually shown the maximum speeds supported by the device in its specifications (or written in giant font on the box itself). … You will never reach these speeds in real life, even if you are sitting next to your wireless router with any new device or dongle you purchase.
This is not so much bait as a misunderstanding of the number. The problem lies in the inherent variability in wireless networks. The company cannot find one number that accurately represents the experience you are likely to get from its wireless device, because there is no way of knowing what speed you might have. Your home may have ideal conditions; there can be a lot of interference in someone else’s apartment. Would it be fair for the second user to see an “actual” performance number that reflects the experience of the first user? I suspect they will be just as annoyed or worried about being robbed unless they reach the same speed as someone else, even if it wasn’t the wireless device in question.
So, to level the playing field, this number on the box usually represents the maximum theoretical speed that the device can support – at least when it is written as “N600”, “AC1200” or whatever. If the copy of the box instead states it in Mbps or Megabits per second, it’s the same thing. That is, it is not a guarantee; it is simply an expression of how fast your device can run. You will never see a wireless connection this fast.
That said, if your laptop only supports 100Mbps connections at best, but you’re paying for 1000Mbps internet, that’s a problem. You won’t get anywhere near the speed you could be, and you could probably save a lot of money by going for, say, a 300Mbps service tier from your ISP (or less, even if they offer one. ). Even 150Mbps will give you a lot of music streaming overhead to your Sonos setup; The highest quality Tidal stream consumes just 5 Mbps – child’s play for the smartest data plans.
But what about Sonos streaming?
Without knowing the full details of your home network, I suspect that the problem with your setup is your wireless network. Your Sonos speakers seem to be set up correctly, and if you can stream audio to them from a computer connected to Ethernet, I don’t think the speakers are to blame. For some reason, your computer is having difficulty connecting wirelessly – even at 50+ Mbps, which is odd but likely.
With all that said, I’m surprised you are streaming audio from your computer to said speakers – at least that’s what I understand. I expected most people to use Sonos apps as remote controls, allowing them to play music on their Sonos speakers from connected services like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music. In this case, the speakers stream music directly from the service using their own wireless connections; Your computer shouldn’t stream music to them.
I explore this route first. Make sure you set up your favorite audio services with your Sonos speakers, then use the app on your computer to simply play songs from those services on your Sonos. Don’t play songs on your computer or stream that audio to your Sonos because it adds unnecessary complexity to the chain. (You can also learn how to dump the so-so Sonos app on your computer and switch to your probably better-equipped smartphone to control what comes out of your Sonos speakers.)
Otherwise, here’s how I would solve this problem. I would start by checking to see if you can use the laptop with Sonos speakers when your laptop is connected to a wireless router (or hybrid router / cable modem) within line of sight. Literal line of sight; I had a crazy connection problem the other day where the absurd amount of insulation in the walls separating the nearest AP and laptop made connecting the laptop almost unusable. The issue was resolved immediately after line of sight (not through walls).
Then I would consider moving your wireless router (or router / cable modem) as close to a central location in your home as possible. Ideally, you want it to sit as close to the main Sonos speakers as possible. Centering your primary Wi-Fi signal source in your home can help provide solid coverage for everything – at least better than if your Wi-Fi bubble, for lack of a better way to articulate it, came from the far end of your house and stretching to get to the other side.
As far as your laptop goes, you can get a powerful USB Wi-Fi adapter – one that’s at least as fast as any Wi-Fi speed supported by your router or router / cable modem. Don’t skimp on this if you want a more reliable connection. If you are using a hybrid router / cable modem, I assume it is fairly new and will probably give you an AC wireless signal – AC1200 at best. Look for an AC1200 Wi-Fi adapter for your laptop and it should help a little with connecting your laptop.
I hesitate to recommend my typical tip “update your wireless setup” because even if you had a nice and easy-to-install grid at home (not a very cheap upgrade) it still wouldn’t help your slow Molasses-free laptop connects much faster with its current Wi-Fi capabilities. A laptop that can handle no more than 100 Mbps seems very ancient – and most likely limited to connections in the interference-prone range anyway. This is likely the reason it struggles to connect to your Sonos, and a reasonably priced Wi-Fi dongle should fix that. This one costs about $ 40 and it should be all you need.