Spotify Desktop App for Mac No Longer Controls Sonos Speakers.

[AntGil]

I recently actioned a Sonos system update, since then the Spotify desktop app on Mac no longer controls the speakers. There is no problem using the Spotify app on iPhone or iPad to connect to my Sonos speakers, and no problem playing Spotify directly from the Sonos desktop or smart devices app. All speakers are shown as greyed out in the 'Connect to a device' list in the Spotify desktop app with the error "Unavailable to control" message under each speaker name. 

I have re-installed Spotify on my computer and deleted, then re selected the Spotify service within my Sonos account. I have also rebooted all speakers and rebooted my modem. The app was working fine prior to the Sonos system update. Any ideas?

[AntGil · Accepted solution]

Finally got it to work by deleting the prefs files. Now "Spotify Connect" appears under all speaker names, and can now communicate to the speakers.

[Alex]

Hey @AntGil,

Thanks for your post and for sharing what works for you.

We'll mark it as a solution so other users facing this issue might find it easier 🙂

Cheers.

[nola_soul]

I'm having a very similar problem.  Before I make a new post, how do I delete the prefs file?

[AntGil]

Hi Nola Soul

This was an issue on my Mac, if you are on Windows you may need to google where the Prefs files are located. On the Mac, quit out of both Sonos and Spotify. Go to the FINDER desktop window (your main desktop screen), select GO from the menu at the top of the screen, hold down the ALT/OPT key and choose LIBRARY from the list (about half way down the list). This will open a new folder window on your desktop. Choose and open the PREFERENCES folder. Locate the file name: "com.spotify.client.plist", either by viewing the list alphabetically, or use the search feature at the top of the folder window to find the file name (don't forget to select Preferences from the search bar to only search in this folder). Depending on which OS you are on, if you can't see the exact file name search instead for 'spotify' in the same folder using the search function. Delete this file by dragging it to the trash and emptying, (the pref file gets recreated again the next time you open Spotify so don't worry). Restart the Mac. That fixed the issue for me as my Sonos system reappeared back in the Spotify app. I hope it helps you.

[nola_soul]

Thank you for the detailed instructions.  This is on a mac and I was able to locate and delete the file.  I restarted the computer and opened spotify, but I still cannot see the sonos speakers.  I have another macbook that sees them with no problem and my phone also sees them.  On this macbook, I can see the speakers from the volume control, but not in spotify.  I can see my amazon echo and a stereo receiver with spotify connect.

[AntGil]

Hi

That’s a shame it didn’t work. You could try powering down everything, turn off the speakers, Mac and modem, then power them up again, however the fact that you can see them on other devices indicates they are working well though, sounds more of an issue with the Spotify app on the Mac.

As a last resort maybe re install Spotify, here’s a link on how to uninstall it completely first before reinstalling it again, a complete uninstall should get rid of any corrupted files and catches, scroll down the link page to locate your device (Mac).

https://community.spotify.com/t5/FAQs/How-can-I-perform-a-clean-reinstall-of-the-app/ta-p/4746485

Otherwise post a new post and hopefully Spotify support can help you. Good luck.

[Living_iPod]

What helped for me --for those struggling with this now-- was trying to cast the audio via airplay instead. It showed the speakers here just fine, just not on the Spotify app itself.

When I connected to the speakers via my phone, the Mac app did show the music playing on the sonos speaker, but didn't recognise it as a speaker, just a generic device.