Why your Sonos Period 100 and Period 300 will not be part of your SonosNet community

The most recent Sonos audio system to hit the multi-room audio big’s arsenal – the Sonos Period 100 and the Sonos Period 300 – each pack in a whole lot of innovative tech that we have not seen from Sonos earlier than; but it surely’s an omission from the brand new speaker duo that’s inflicting a little bit of a stir.

We have had just a few readers in contact to ask about one thing I would observed myself when testing each the Period 100 and the Period 300… it is not attainable for both the Period 100 nor 300 to hitch a ‘Wired’ Sonos setup.

A Wired setup, which is a little bit of an odd title given it is just about a wi-fi affair, is the place you’ve got a Sonos speaker related, by way of an Ethernet cable, to your router.

A Wired SonosNet association (credit score: Sonos)

As soon as upon a time this was known as a ‘SonosNet’ community, however Sonos hasn’t used that terminology for just a few years now.

However the performance remained; as soon as you might be plugged in, your Sonos system would function by itself mesh community, except for (not as a part of) your own home’s Wi-Fi.

Information: hardwire your Sonos system with Ethernet to create a ‘SonosNet’ community

It operates on 2.4GHz similar to common Wi-Fi, however you may set its personal channel away from your own home community’s, for much less interference.

If you happen to’re on a Wired / SonosNet setup, you will see a WM:1 (moderately than a WM:0) label subsequent to your audio system within the ‘About my Sonos system’ display within the Sonos app.

However whereas the flexibility to create a Wired community nonetheless stays, it seems just like the Period audio system mark a departure from the normal SonosNet expertise that customers have change into accustomed to because the model first went dwell again in 2005.

With the Period 100 and Period 300 audio system, Sonos has made a acutely aware resolution to maneuver past SonosNet, marking a big evolution in how their audio system talk.

Corry P, a Sonos employees member, lately acknowledged within the Sonos neighborhood discussion board, “With the Period collection, we’re slowly transferring away from SonosNet as fashionable dwelling networking is getting so nice that SonosNet’s 2.4GHz community is just too sluggish for the calls for in information throughput we’re beginning to see.”

You possibly can, after all, nonetheless wire an Period 100 or 300 in straight (in case you purchase the extra Ethernet / USB-C adapter, that’s) however – as with the Sonos moveable audio system the Transfer or the Roam they’ll solely function wirelessly on your own home Wi-Fi community.

There’s in all probability just a few causes for this however the obvious is the evolution of Wi-Fi prior to now few years; notably the headway made by Wi-Fi 6 prior to now 18 months or so.

Each the Sonos Period 100 and 300 are Wi-Fi 6 suitable and the newest Wi-Fi requirements enable for lots extra units and visitors on a community, primarily negating the necessity for a devoted SonosNet community.

Learn our information on Wi-Fi 6 to learn the way and why.

There’s additionally the large development of dwelling Wi-Fi mesh programs, from the likes of Eero and Netgear Orbi, that supply blistering Wi-Fi 6 speeds by a number of entry factors all through our homes.

Lengthy gone are the times {that a} Sonos speaker needed to pressure to get a little bit of Wi-Fi motion, and the Period 100 and 300 are testomony to this.