Grouping Sonos Gen 1 and Gen 2 devices together

Roon Software Discussion
1

Hello,
I would just like to confirm if this is still possible.
In the past I could group Sonos Gen 1 & Gen 2 together but now even though they show they can still be grouped together I get the error
“ Roon has lost control of the device “
Is this the same for other members or is it something I should put in a ticket about ?
Thanks in advance.

3

Yes they are, nothing has changed on my network it’s something that’s happened a few updates ago

4

I had ChatGPT help me write this better, ‘cause I was explaining it awfully, but I think this is right:

If all of your Sonos devices are still running on the S1 app, then yes, you can group and control them all together without any issues.

However, if you’ve updated some of your devices to S2, then your system is now effectively split into two separate Sonos systems:

  • One system running on the S1 app (for legacy devices).
  • One system running on the S2 app (for newer or updated devices).

Important:

  • S1 and S2 devices cannot be grouped together - they operate independently, even if they are on the same network.

  • If you’ve updated some devices to S2 but want everything back on S1, you might be able to factory reset the S2 devices and set them up again on an S1 system, but only if they are still compatible with S1. If all of your Sonos devices are still running on the S1 app, then yes, you can group and control them all together without any issues.

5

Hello Johnny, thanks for your reply.
Some of my Sonos was set up using the S1 app and some were set up using the S2 app and that was it.
I do not use the Sonos apps at all……only Roon and for the past 2 years or more I have been able to group them all.
It’s only in the last 6 months that I have not been able too.
Using the Roon app I can stream to Gen 1 and Gen 2 speakers but now I can’t group Gen 1 and Gen 2 together even though they come up in the group list.

6

Yes, the S1 and S2 devices are technically in different Sonos “systems”. You must have used the Sonos apps to set them up. If you want them to be groupable you’ll need to set them up in a single system (because Roon kindly uses Sonos native grouping, which is a good thing as it leverages all the Sonos goodness like sync etc). That would require factory reset, and rebuild system from the S1 app - I think but I’m not sure that would work. It’s possible that once an item has been upgraded, even a factory reset won’t make it downgradable, I just don’t know and have seen conflicting opinions. Just know that as of right now you’re experiencing expected behavior with S1 and S2 not grouping.

7

Thanks,
It just seems strange that it’s been working fine for so long ……even when Sonos introduced the S2 app it worked and then when they revamped the S2 app it worked but as of a few updates from Roon ago it now doesn’t.
I was just wondering in the community if someone else could try and verify it too.