Short answer: mostly, yes — the Sonos app is in far better shape than it was at its 2024 low point, though some users still hit rough edges. Here's an honest rundown of what happened, what's been fixed, and what to do if your app is still misbehaving.
What went wrong
In mid-2024, Sonos shipped a ground-up redesigned app that launched missing or broken features people relied on — local music library support, alarms, sleep timers, queue editing, and several accessibility features among them. Reliability also suffered: speakers dropping out, slow loading, and devices not appearing. The backlash was significant, and it disrupted Sonos's product plans.
What's been fixed
Sonos publicly apologized, published a fix-it roadmap, and restored the missing features over the following months while improving stability. By now the app has the core functionality back and is meaningfully more reliable than at launch. A leadership change in early 2025 came with a renewed focus on getting the fundamentals right. For most users, day-to-day playback, grouping, and settings work as expected again.
That said, "fixed" isn't universal — depending on your system size, older speakers, and network, you may still see the occasional dropout or slow load. The steps below resolve most of what remains.
If your Sonos app is still buggy
- Update everything. Update the Sonos app on your phone and run System > System Updates in the app. Many lingering issues are old software on either side.
- Restart the system. Power-cycle your speakers (unplug for at least 30 seconds) and reboot your router — clears stale connections that make the app slow or speakers vanish.
- Fix discovery on your network. Most "speaker not found / won't load" issues are network: disable router AP/client isolation and band steering, and put your phone on the same 2.4GHz network as the speakers. The same discovery steps resolve a Sonos speaker that won't connect to the TV.
- Wire one speaker for SonosNet. Connecting any one Sonos product to the router with Ethernet switches the system to SonosNet (Sonos's own mesh), which is more robust than busy home Wi-Fi for larger systems.
- Use an alternate control path. Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, and Sonos's web/desktop controllers let you play to Sonos without leaning on the mobile app when it's acting up.
FAQ
Has Sonos fixed the app? Largely — it's far more stable than the 2024 launch and the missing features are back. Some users still see occasional issues, mostly network-related, which the steps above resolve.
Did the missing features come back? Yes — local library, alarms, sleep timers, queue editing, and accessibility features were restored over the months after launch. Update the app to get them.
My app is still slow or loses speakers. That's almost always your network. Update everything, power-cycle the system and router, disable router AP isolation/band steering, and consider wiring one speaker for SonosNet. If a bonded Sub stops producing bass, that's a related bonding issue rather than the app itself.
Can I control Sonos without the app? Yes — Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, and Sonos's desktop/web controllers all work as alternatives when the mobile app misbehaves.