Connect to a device (almost) never works

[RoelJanssens]

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

After searching this forum I'm seeing lots of users with the same issue but I haven't found an answer yet.

When I run the Spotify application on my Windows 10 laptop it (almost) never finds my Sonos speakers. When I start the Spotify app on my Android or Apple phone it immediately shows all available devices. When I start the Sonos app on my laptop it also finds the Sonos speakers within a second. All my devices are on the same wifi network and same vlan. The problem really is in the Spotify Windows client.

[Xenia]

Hey there @RoelJanssens,

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community!

We hope you don’t mind us replying now as we just stumbled upon this thread.

In case you're still having trouble with this, we'd recommend taking a look at this Spotify Answer.

For even more troubleshooting tips, check out this support article.

Let us know how it goes! We’ll be right here if you still need help 🙂

[RoelJanssens]

Thanks for the suggestions but I already that all of them.

The bug is clearly in the Windows 10 app, for some reason it shows a different list of devices every time you start the Spotify app. The mobile app always works fine and shows all devices.

Take a look at the two screenshots I just took. My laptop doesn't show the Sonos speakers while my mobile does. 

[Alex]

Hi there @RoelJanssens,

Thanks for the screenshot.

Could you try running a clean reinstall of the app on your laptop following the steps from this guide? It's also worth trying to download the app from our website instead of the Windows app store.

Restarting your router is also a good idea, as in some cases with certain network devices, not all devices connected to a network will be displayed if one is connected to the network after the other.

Keep us posted.

[RoelJanssens]

I restarted everything and I also reinstalled Spotify, the situation is still the same.

It would be nice if we could 'stick' or 'favorite' your devices in the Connect list so that they're always available.

[Alex · Accepted solution]

Hi again @RoelJanssens,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Could you try the following - Connect your phone to the Sonos speaker, make sure you can see it in the Connect devices displayed on your phone > play a song > select the Sonos speaker as the Now playing on device > restart the Spotify app on your laptop and check whether it's showing that the song is currently playing on the speaker.

If that doesn't work, could you try creating a Mobile hotspot and hooking your PC, phone and speaker to it, in order to see if your PC can detect the speaker if they're connected to a different Wi-Fi network?

[RoelJanssens]

Hi,

Yes, that does work (see screenshot)! After playing a song via Mobile and restarting Spotify on my Laptop I can see that Spotify shows the currently playing file on the Sonos speaker.

Why do I have to play a song via another device to make the device visible in Windows? That's strange isn't it?

[Alex]

Hi again @RoelJanssens,

Thanks for getting back to us.

All devices that you're logged in on are supposed to appear in the Connect tab. However certain network adapter settings on the laptop itself or the router may be limiting this. You can check whether there are newer networking drivers for your PC and if the Sonos speaker is running the latest firmware. 

Let us know if you find any other workaround that worked for you.

[spotify6846]

I can confirm the same behavior here like @RoelJanssens . I first need to play a song from my mobile phone on my remote speakers until they are being recognized by the Windows 10 app. Thereafter, I can easily connect via Windows 10 app and change songs / start / stop / change volume etc.

[Ver]

Hey @spotify6846,

Thanks for getting in touch with us 🙂

We'd suggest you restart your devices and then log out and log back in again. It's important that the app and the firmware are up-to-date.

If that doesn't do the trick, it's a good idea to give the steps @Alex mentioned a go. 

Keep us in the loop! We'll be right here if you have any questions.